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Fed up with after not even two years of employment I decided to quit my job and go travelling for a few months. This travelogue is a personal account of the trip, but it also includes some general information on things to do and places to go. It was the first time I travelled on my own, but as it turned out, travelling on my own did not mean travelling alone...

Asia Tour 1999-2000: India

Andreas Mayer
2005-12-04 11:49:33

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Bombay

30/9/99

Did not really start off on a good note leaving the UK. Was staying with Jason (who I was going to meet in Goa in a few days time ) the last night in Manchester, but missed the train stop at Burnage and got off at the next stop. Then cut my finger on Jason’s door and got blood all over my new hiking pants, was this a sign of things to come?

Mike came over to Jason’s as well and we had a few beers and Jason’s Chilly. We discussed where to meet in Goa (at the ferry terminal) and some back up plans, which were called into action.

Left early the next morning, Jason drove me to the airport. Flight to Bombay was 2 hours late, but not a bad flight with own TV in economy class (watched Big Daddy, Wild Wild West and Rogue Trader.

Got picked up at the airport, after changing some pounds into a huge stack of rupees, and got to the hotel at 3.00 am, just in time for the Manchester vs. Marseilles match.

Slept in the next morning, got up at 12:00 to get the ferry ticket. However unfortunately the phone number for the ferry office in the Lonely Planet (LP), was out of date and the tourist information centre did not know what is going on, only that the ferry was not running at the moment. So went to train station to get 1st class ticket to Goa for Friday night.

First impressions of Bombay and India are rather better than I had expected. There has been no hassle at all, some smiles but mostly people seem to take little notice. At the train station people were very helpful, usually without expecting anything in return.

Perhaps I still have memories of Egypt in my mind, but so far I feel good about India (despite the obvious poverty and people shitting on the street ). There are some really nice buildings but unfortunately I forgot to put a film ...