Mumbai Mania

Phew! I am sure falling behind on my updates! At the risk of omitting certain facts and observations, let me instead summarize the exciting, glamorous and educational chaos that was Mumbai.

First let me say I have become a huge fan of the website www.couchsurfing.com, which in March, will reach it's one millionth member (could be you)! I have used it 3 times now with resounding results! Each time, I met brilliant people that not only offered me a place to stay, a home being so much better than a rundown lonely guesthouse, but also shared unique perspectives on their respective hometowns and provided excellent company out in the nightclubs/pubs, camping, festivals, beaches and eyeopening tours like my "slumdog tour" on motorbike. A big thanks to all those I met through the site, through friends of friends and special thanks goes to Jayant, Mahesh, Rushank, and Sanu!

Mumbai, like the rest of India is a city full of contrast. I feel I overuse that word, but nothing is more true. That being said, Mumbai is extremely unique in it's modernity and style. I had the chance to see Slumdog Millionaire while I was in Ahmedabad (before it came out ;) and then again in the theatre in Mumbai. I loved it and highly recommend it although, the same cannot be said of my Mumbaiker friends, most of whom feel it sets Mumbai in an undeserving negative light. If you understand the film is just one fictional story, and not meant to be a documentary, then it is hard not to appreciate the score, the cinematography and the screenplay - go see it for yourself and tell me what you think! My friend Steve said that the sheer enthusiasm for life was what shone through and it made him want to come here - Yes! :)

Rushank, one outspoken Mumbaiker made it a goal to take me on a tour of his Mumbai vs Slumdog's Mumbai. I got to see all of the places that they filmed as well as his favorite parts of the city (which I had to buy a pair of heeled shoes for as my backpacker garb just wouldn't do ;). It was one of my favorite days in the city!

Many of my 12 days in Mumbai were spent wandering various parts of the massive city. Eating the local specialty of Bhel Puri on Juhu beach, visiting the Iscon temple and the quiet national forest for a long walk to some ancient caves, more caves on elephanta island, being impressed by the beautiful architecture of the Colaba area including the imposing Victoria Train Station, Taj Mahal Hotel and India Gate, finding a cafe that served a surprisingly tasty Washington Apple soup(!) and one day trip out to the secluded Khim beach with a random mix of travelers. The nights were not any less exciting!

One of the highlights of course, for those of you that noticed my status updates on facebook, was my taste of the bollywood scene! I absolutely adore the movies that I have seen since I have been here in India, Om Shanti Om being my favorite! I made it a goal to be an extra in one while I was in town, since I heard that they are often looking for foreigners. My luck held and I was approached by an agent my third day in town. It took a while for the right time to work out, but eventually I was in one TV series (where myself and another white girl, the token foreigners in an episode set in Canada, had to wear skimpy little outfits as opposed to the normal jeans and jackets of the other girls - typical) and two movies (London Dreams with the mega-star Salman Khan, yes I even got to shake his hand haha and Phir which starred a lesser known actor but was actually a lot more fun to shoot)!

Each of the movie shoots were about 12 hours long, most of which we waited and waited and waited. The food was good though, we were well taken care of with mineral water and fresh chai and for the second movie, I even got hair and makeup and costume! All the glamour you could expect for being an extra :). I hope to get pics up soon although the computers have not been very friendly towards uploads lately!

On my last night, a couple friends took me to a viewpoint to get a shot of the city. We sat around and chatted for a bit until a "tourist police" jeep rolled up and wanted to know what we were doing. We most certainly looked like hooligans up to no good so I am sure they were just doing their job. A 'discussion' took place between my friends and the 'authorities' which hovered around a) some document my friend did not have with him, I think an auto registration? and b) what a foreign girl was doing alone with two boys this late at night (nearing midnight). After some time, a (monetary) agreement was made and the police were on their way. Lovely impression to leave on a tourist when my poor friends were just trying to show me the good side of Mumbai!

One final highlight was an epic reunion. I have been in touch with a globetrotting friend of mine, Ivan, since we met in Germany in 2001. We met again in Austria in 2002, but since then, email and now facebook have been our only means to track each other all the while with hopes that our paths may cross again. And so they have! We were able to meet for a short 2 hours in a gorgeous rooftop restaurant with a sparkling view of the sun setting over the Indian Ocean since he happened to be here on business! This after 7 years! I love it :)

That night, I waved a wistful goodbye to Mumbai and arrived the next morning in Aurangabad, ready to explore 2nd century BC caves in the nearby towns of Ajanta and Ellora. I will unfortunately do them a great disservice by not going into detail, but they were both magnificent sites, chock full of incredible carvings, stone temples, sculptures and unbelievably well preserved paintings! I even saw the Bibi Ka Muqbara, nicknamed the "Baby Taj" for obvious reasons!

I've since been to Hampi, a truly magical place and will hopefully get that update, along with pics on here soon!