BackPacking...

Had way too many holidays before my practicals.
Needed a break or my head would explode.
Always wanted to go to Goa but plans would get postponed for some reason or the other.
This time I decided I would go no matter what...
Checked with a few of my pals..
Most had just come back from a vacation,so they coul'nt make it.
So decided to backpack by myself..I really needed to let off some steam.

Went to Mumbai first..would take a connecting bus to Panjim from there.
It costed a lot less...considering I had no sponsors for this trip :-)
Reached ChurchGate on a Sunday morning..found a place and freshened up.
Went to Church near VT and booked a ticket for Panjim...departure at 7 in the evening.
Would spend the rest of the day roaming around Mumbai..the city I most sincerely hated.

My last two trips to Mumbai were nothing short of misery.
The congestion...the humid weather.
and the need to hide your precious belongings in the most uncomfortable of places.
But the last two trips were with relatives and I was a kid then.
And since I was on my own now..I had a fresh pair of eyes to view they city with.

I must admit that I also have had my presumptions about Mumbai
as a city that is not very kind to outsiders and Hindi speakers(blame the news for that....)
So I kept in mind that I could end up being really frustrated in the next 10 hours..

Started with places that were close by...Marine Drive.
Walked it's length and found a good Vada Pav place.
Man this stuff should go global...will beat a McVeggie any day.

Took a Taxi to the GateWay and spent most of the morning there.
There was a concert in front of the Taj with DJs mixing Marathi with House.
Had a ball..firangs dont look very good trying to dance to local beats but it's fun watching them.
Stared at the Taj and pictured the smoking top floors of the hotel.
Made me sad to think that something so beautiful was at the receiveing end of a corrupted ideaology.

There's a lot more I have to put up.....gotta go for now...will be back soon.