Yesterday morning Lee woke up with an upset stomach and neither of us slept much so we mostly just stayed in. It was our last full day in Mumbai because around noon we’re leaving for the airport where we will take an hour and fifteen minute flight to Goa.
This post is the last time I’m 100% sure I will be able to use the internet from my laptop and can post pictures, so there will be an excess.
On Thursday, after getting up at six in the morning, we had breakfast and then started our journey to Elephanta Island. We took an hour long ferry (each way) to the island, and spent about three hours there. There are beautiful caves and gods engraved into the walls and pigeons that live in the engravings and monkeys that steal food with their babies dangling from their stomachs. It was our first day interacting with Indians in any real way. We also ran into a man from Austin, Texas, and a woman with an accent that sounded Australian but I really cannot be held accountable because anyone who knows me knows I am terrible with accents. Regardless of where she was from, she was white and that makes running into her notable.
We didn’t realize until then that really, all the other tourists are Indians. This is summer for them so anyone traveling is on vacation/holiday/leisure. That’s why there are hardly any non-Indian tourists. Because they checked and saw this is not the best time to be here for the weather. But not us, we just booked it and here we are.
We had several interactions with several different people and each time we would walk away from it going, “Did that really just happen? Is this a dream?”
Now would be a good time to note that Lee did not bring his camera, and instead has been using the camera in his iPad. It is quite the sight to see him standing with this huge screen above his head, taking a photo of something. It inevitably attracts attention. As if we didn’t already stick out enough. At one point he had taken a photo of part of the caves, and people started gathering around him and asking what it was about. He started demonstrating it and it was quite the little show.
I was off to the side, waiting on him, taking photos of a man taking photos of the group around this tall whitey, when a group of Indian women came up to me and asked where I was from. They asked my name, and the one initiating conversation repeated it back to me. My name was like a pebble being dropped in a pond, they all repeated it like ripples. Surrounded by these beautiful Indian women, towering over them as they all look at each other quietly saying, “Ollie? Ah-lee?”
They asked if I was a student and then actually asked me if I was lonely. I guess standing there by myself, I probably looked lost and definitely out of place. It was almost surreal and made me wonder why I’m so afraid of being that honest. I cannot see myself going up to an obvious foreigner and asking them if they are lonely. But it seems like a legitimate, valid question and it was just very refreshing.
That is the impression I get of most everyone here. They seem fearless when it comes to saying what they think. And aside from the people trying to sell you something at every turn, they also seem like very kind, respectful, and curious people.
While I was waiting on Lee to finish climbing a stretch of stairs, I was alone on the path in front of the caves. Sitting in the shade was an Indian family and when I noticed them one of the daughters had her camera out, pointed at me. So at the advice of my brother Justin, I posed. I threw my arms out to the side, tilted my head, and made a face. The mother’s shoulders started to shake with laughter and I couldn’t help but smile. I don’t know if the girl taking the photo found it amusing or not, though.
It was overall much more manageable day and less chaotic. And now it’s almost time to leave Mumbai. That seems hard to believe because we just got here, but now it’s already time to move on to the next part of the trip. In Goa we are staying with one of Lee’s friends, and I am looking forward to that greatly.
Other things to note:
· Got my first sunburn in India
· Met a photographer who called himself a celebrity in India, took a photo of him and Lee, and when he saw it he went, “Ah, lighting is not right.”
· There is so much trash everywhere
· Lee played Angry Birds on the ferry back after he and every Indian on the boat took a nap, which I found hilarious—it made me think of Justin and Adrienne especially, but Rockford and Grant as well
· My ankles and right leg is swollen, I don’t know why, and it’s really freaky looking
· What is happening
· Where am I
· Who am I
· These are the questions
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