After arriving at Mumbai at around 4.30 in the morning (midnight GMT), I met up with Oana once we got off the plane (while unloading the hand luggage compartments, someone's case fell on my head, which amused me after a few seconds) and headed towards border control. There we were shuffled into a long queue, where we inched forwards for about 45 minutes before finally I was up before the guard. A quick look at the passport, a question about the purpose of my journey and a stamp on my passport and customs declaration form, I was through. It took less than a minute, but with so many people (a flight from Kuwait arrived 5 minutes after we did and many people got ahead of us in the rush for the queue) I felt sorry for the people who'd been the last to get off our plane. Once Oana was through we had to show our passport stamps to another guard, then collected our luggage - thankfully we didn't have to wait since the queue had taken so long. I saw my purple case within a minute, and soon we both had our luggage. Then through toward the exit, handed my customs form to another guard (he gave it back to me to fill in my details before letting me through, some people got through without anything written on their forms), then finally we were at the exit of the airport. A driver dressed in white held a placard with our names, and asked us to wait at a parking bay. About ten minutes later he showed up, loaded our suitcases, then at around 6am we began our three hour journey to Pune.
I slept on-and-off for most of the journey. At the start I was wide awake wondering how anybody could drive and feel safe in doing so: if there was room to breathe, a car or motorcycle was through that gap, weaving in and out of lanes with beeping horns. At one point we turned onto a road at an intersection seconds before we'd have collided with the division: I'd thought that driving in Peru seemed more reckless than at home, but this made it seem like drivers in Peru all follow the Green Cross Code. After a few minutes I saw no point of worrying about becoming a road-accident statistic, our driver knew what he was doing. We drove through Mumbai on smaller roads toward the intersection - I briefly wondered if this was safe, but reasoned that since I'd seen and heard Oana speak to one of the college professors on the taxi driver's phone just after we set off as previously arranged, we were probably alright. It was dark so I didn't see much, but at this early hour did see women walking along the side of the road, children with school uniforms, people waiting at bus stops, people sleeping on the streets - I wondered if the people who slept by the highway had learned to block out the noise. At one point I woke up to find that we were pulling into what looked like a bus station: the driver said something about getting food and left us there for twenty minutes. Part of me wanted to get back to sleep, another part thought that since we were on our own in a car in a place we didn't know, I should probably stay awake just in case. That said, I wonder how much defence I could've put up in my tired state. When the driver came back I went to the loo - the first cubicle had a hole in the ground, the second had a Western toilet - then we continued on our journey.
Just after 9am I woke up as we arrived at the hotel in Pune. We checked in, the porter told us what time breakfast would be served until, then took us and our cases up to our rooms. I wondered briefly about getting breakfast, but decided that I'd take a short nap first and see how I felt. So I set my alarm for 12pm and dozed. Naturally I woke up at 3pm, having slept through both my alarm and (I later learned) the phone ringing. After a shower Oana phoned (she'd phoned earlier), asking if I wanted to join her on a walk. So we wandered around near the hotel (many children tried to sell us things on the way), until we reached a river with cows on its banks. I reached for my camera, to realise that I'd left the battery charging in the hotel... To get to the river we had to cross a few busy main roads, which isn't the easiest thing for someone not used to the driving style here. At one point Oana crossed over and I stayed stuck on the pavement, so she came back and pulled me across. We couldn't find anywhere to change money though (we were advised to change our money here since technically rupees can't be brought in or out of India): when we returned to the hotel we were told that it was a holiday and the banks were closed.
I went back to my room for a little, then changed a bit of money in the hotel (the rate isn't great, £1=80 rupees compared to the 86 rupees the internet suggests) for dinner. Oana and I ate in the hotel since we were too tired to go exploring - I had a bland shepherd's pie with a creamy tomato sauce since I often get a dodgy tummy while travelling, and would rather avoid foods that might make me feel unwell. Once we'd paid (the tax and service charge were added on top of the meal price in the final bill, but even then 240 rupees seems good for an evening meal) we wandered to the swimming pool: on seeing its cloudiness we decided against swimming, but stayed chatting on the terrace for a while. Then when we got tired we went to our rooms: I decided to have some herbal tea but the kettle didn't work, so reception sent someone up to fix that. Then I unpacked my things while Doctor Who played on the TV (I don't follow it, but I felt like having some background noise). Everything seemed to have arrived - except all but one pair of knickers. This presents two possibilities. One, I left them in Coventry/Bletchley/Gatwick. Two, a pervy luggage handler took them while leaving everything else. I'm not sure which option I'd rather, to be honest. So I know at least one thing that I'll buy when I go shopping!
When it got to about 10pm local time, I decided that I'd stayed up late enough so that I'd hopefully sleep through to a good time in the morning and wake up more adjusted to the time zone. The room has a double bed with four pillows - four! - so I was able to settle down to sleep.
I slept on-and-off for most of the journey. At the start I was wide awake wondering how anybody could drive and feel safe in doing so: if there was room to breathe, a car or motorcycle was through that gap, weaving in and out of lanes with beeping horns. At one point we turned onto a road at an intersection seconds before we'd have collided with the division: I'd thought that driving in Peru seemed more reckless than at home, but this made it seem like drivers in Peru all follow the Green Cross Code. After a few minutes I saw no point of worrying about becoming a road-accident statistic, our driver knew what he was doing. We drove through Mumbai on smaller roads toward the intersection - I briefly wondered if this was safe, but reasoned that since I'd seen and heard Oana speak to one of the college professors on the taxi driver's phone just after we set off as previously arranged, we were probably alright. It was dark so I didn't see much, but at this early hour did see women walking along the side of the road, children with school uniforms, people waiting at bus stops, people sleeping on the streets - I wondered if the people who slept by the highway had learned to block out the noise. At one point I woke up to find that we were pulling into what looked like a bus station: the driver said something about getting food and left us there for twenty minutes. Part of me wanted to get back to sleep, another part thought that since we were on our own in a car in a place we didn't know, I should probably stay awake just in case. That said, I wonder how much defence I could've put up in my tired state. When the driver came back I went to the loo - the first cubicle had a hole in the ground, the second had a Western toilet - then we continued on our journey.
Just after 9am I woke up as we arrived at the hotel in Pune. We checked in, the porter told us what time breakfast would be served until, then took us and our cases up to our rooms. I wondered briefly about getting breakfast, but decided that I'd take a short nap first and see how I felt. So I set my alarm for 12pm and dozed. Naturally I woke up at 3pm, having slept through both my alarm and (I later learned) the phone ringing. After a shower Oana phoned (she'd phoned earlier), asking if I wanted to join her on a walk. So we wandered around near the hotel (many children tried to sell us things on the way), until we reached a river with cows on its banks. I reached for my camera, to realise that I'd left the battery charging in the hotel... To get to the river we had to cross a few busy main roads, which isn't the easiest thing for someone not used to the driving style here. At one point Oana crossed over and I stayed stuck on the pavement, so she came back and pulled me across. We couldn't find anywhere to change money though (we were advised to change our money here since technically rupees can't be brought in or out of India): when we returned to the hotel we were told that it was a holiday and the banks were closed.
I went back to my room for a little, then changed a bit of money in the hotel (the rate isn't great, £1=80 rupees compared to the 86 rupees the internet suggests) for dinner. Oana and I ate in the hotel since we were too tired to go exploring - I had a bland shepherd's pie with a creamy tomato sauce since I often get a dodgy tummy while travelling, and would rather avoid foods that might make me feel unwell. Once we'd paid (the tax and service charge were added on top of the meal price in the final bill, but even then 240 rupees seems good for an evening meal) we wandered to the swimming pool: on seeing its cloudiness we decided against swimming, but stayed chatting on the terrace for a while. Then when we got tired we went to our rooms: I decided to have some herbal tea but the kettle didn't work, so reception sent someone up to fix that. Then I unpacked my things while Doctor Who played on the TV (I don't follow it, but I felt like having some background noise). Everything seemed to have arrived - except all but one pair of knickers. This presents two possibilities. One, I left them in Coventry/Bletchley/Gatwick. Two, a pervy luggage handler took them while leaving everything else. I'm not sure which option I'd rather, to be honest. So I know at least one thing that I'll buy when I go shopping!
When it got to about 10pm local time, I decided that I'd stayed up late enough so that I'd hopefully sleep through to a good time in the morning and wake up more adjusted to the time zone. The room has a double bed with four pillows - four! - so I was able to settle down to sleep.
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