Walking...
Yesterday afternoon I decided that I wanted to just walk, so I started off along the beachfront boardwalk right in front of my hotel. A lot of young couples strolling hand in hand, old men meditating on the rocks, and...bathers. (The ocean is quite multi-purpose here). I eventually took a right turn in towards the commercial district. The main road that I was walking on had a million little shops and stands sandwiched in between large department stores. Aside from a little beggar girl who kept hitting my arm and eventually pinched me, I did not get hassled much.
After awhile, I got tired of the busy, mainstream street and headed down a smaller, dirt road. This road led into a whole other world with no paved roads, English language signs, or tourists (like yours truly). It was pretty hard core. I didn't bring my camera on this walk, so I can't post pictures and its hard to describe, but I'll do my best. It sort of reminded me of what I envision olden times to be. People EVERYWHERE. I wouldn't even describe what I was walking on as a road, more of a dirt path that wound through the neighborhood. Tons of kids playing games and animals running around (PS: I've discovered that the site of goats makes me laugh. Those little guys are hilarious.) Lots of food stalls selling vegetables covered in flies, onions, potatoes, green beans. Ice cream carts with stacks of bright orange cones. Ladies dress maker shops. Fabric stores. Toy shops. And trash. Trash everywhere. I wouldn't say that the smell was unbearable, but it was definitely pungent. And it was hot...so hot. There is little to no air circulation in this area so everything felt very stagnant. I was doing pretty well in terms of direction, but eventually got a bit lost because a lot of streets just stop. A street that you expect to connect with another doesn't. It's weird. By the time I found my way back to my hotel, I was exhausted and totally overstimulated.
My night last night was the complete opposite of my day. Ellen, Tracy and I went to dinner at a place called Indigo in the popular and more touristy section of Mumbai, Kalaba. The food was fantastic (and ridiculously cheap, comparatively) and the decor sort of reminded me of Butterfield 8 in Chicago. After dinner we went to a club called Polly Esther's which plays all 70's and 80's music. (ND Kids: Think The Linebacker, decked out in 70's decor. Lots of shot taking, drunk dancing, and 'Oh, What A Night.') We made a pretty quick exit from here to go to Insomnia, my new favorite club in the world (Well, maybe after Roscoe's). Insomnia is truly Bombai meets LA. Everything is very sleek and modern, with distinct flourishes of India throughout. There are tons of loungy areas to curl up and chat and a huge dancefloor with a stage overlooking the floor that you can also dance on (and, oh did I). The music was sparkling: current club music from the US mixed with intense Indian electronica and Bollywood. I really need to learn this one Indian song that EVERYONE sings along to. A lot of "oh's" basically, but really cool. It sort of reminded me of that Zombie Nation song (Dean might be the only one to remember that tragic, tragic song that used to be in my nightly repretoire). The crowd was pretty evenly split between Indians and foreigners. I'm surprised how many foreigners I've met here (all from varying industries) who are staying for extended periods of time like me. The club finally kicked everyone out at 3:30am (!)
This morning, I decided to check out the local coffee shop just down the street from my hotel, Barista, and I made my first Indian friend! I walked in and this kid was totally playing my type of music. We started chatting about bands and next thing I knew, Mohammed and I were best friends! I ordered a Veggie sandwhich on wheat bread and he insisted on making me his special coffee drink - a surprise. I sat down and started to eat my low-cal, healthy sandwhich when he brought out a glass 2/3 full of ice cream, a couple table spoons of chocolate syrup and caramel and a teensy bit of coffee floating on top. Oh, he also brought me a piece of apple cake on the house. And yes, it was good.
On my way to the gym now for the next thirteen hours.
Yesterday afternoon I decided that I wanted to just walk, so I started off along the beachfront boardwalk right in front of my hotel. A lot of young couples strolling hand in hand, old men meditating on the rocks, and...bathers. (The ocean is quite multi-purpose here). I eventually took a right turn in towards the commercial district. The main road that I was walking on had a million little shops and stands sandwiched in between large department stores. Aside from a little beggar girl who kept hitting my arm and eventually pinched me, I did not get hassled much.
After awhile, I got tired of the busy, mainstream street and headed down a smaller, dirt road. This road led into a whole other world with no paved roads, English language signs, or tourists (like yours truly). It was pretty hard core. I didn't bring my camera on this walk, so I can't post pictures and its hard to describe, but I'll do my best. It sort of reminded me of what I envision olden times to be. People EVERYWHERE. I wouldn't even describe what I was walking on as a road, more of a dirt path that wound through the neighborhood. Tons of kids playing games and animals running around (PS: I've discovered that the site of goats makes me laugh. Those little guys are hilarious.) Lots of food stalls selling vegetables covered in flies, onions, potatoes, green beans. Ice cream carts with stacks of bright orange cones. Ladies dress maker shops. Fabric stores. Toy shops. And trash. Trash everywhere. I wouldn't say that the smell was unbearable, but it was definitely pungent. And it was hot...so hot. There is little to no air circulation in this area so everything felt very stagnant. I was doing pretty well in terms of direction, but eventually got a bit lost because a lot of streets just stop. A street that you expect to connect with another doesn't. It's weird. By the time I found my way back to my hotel, I was exhausted and totally overstimulated.
My night last night was the complete opposite of my day. Ellen, Tracy and I went to dinner at a place called Indigo in the popular and more touristy section of Mumbai, Kalaba. The food was fantastic (and ridiculously cheap, comparatively) and the decor sort of reminded me of Butterfield 8 in Chicago. After dinner we went to a club called Polly Esther's which plays all 70's and 80's music. (ND Kids: Think The Linebacker, decked out in 70's decor. Lots of shot taking, drunk dancing, and 'Oh, What A Night.') We made a pretty quick exit from here to go to Insomnia, my new favorite club in the world (Well, maybe after Roscoe's). Insomnia is truly Bombai meets LA. Everything is very sleek and modern, with distinct flourishes of India throughout. There are tons of loungy areas to curl up and chat and a huge dancefloor with a stage overlooking the floor that you can also dance on (and, oh did I). The music was sparkling: current club music from the US mixed with intense Indian electronica and Bollywood. I really need to learn this one Indian song that EVERYONE sings along to. A lot of "oh's" basically, but really cool. It sort of reminded me of that Zombie Nation song (Dean might be the only one to remember that tragic, tragic song that used to be in my nightly repretoire). The crowd was pretty evenly split between Indians and foreigners. I'm surprised how many foreigners I've met here (all from varying industries) who are staying for extended periods of time like me. The club finally kicked everyone out at 3:30am (!)
This morning, I decided to check out the local coffee shop just down the street from my hotel, Barista, and I made my first Indian friend! I walked in and this kid was totally playing my type of music. We started chatting about bands and next thing I knew, Mohammed and I were best friends! I ordered a Veggie sandwhich on wheat bread and he insisted on making me his special coffee drink - a surprise. I sat down and started to eat my low-cal, healthy sandwhich when he brought out a glass 2/3 full of ice cream, a couple table spoons of chocolate syrup and caramel and a teensy bit of coffee floating on top. Oh, he also brought me a piece of apple cake on the house. And yes, it was good.
On my way to the gym now for the next thirteen hours.
posted by Steven | 1:35 PM
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