MUMBAI STAR

Did not blog since last Thursday! My data card has been closed since Friday evening, I think. Only realised the access has been blocked on Monday due to some accounting problem...seems the credit limit for the card has exceeded. Was told the service will only be restored today ( anyway still no access this morning!) after the account has been restated yesterday.

As Mr Suparman and Dr Vanitha were returning on midnight flight on Sat, the 3 of us decided to maximise our time here. Friday night we went to an Indian restaurant at Inorbit for dinner after school. Thanks to Mr Suparman for the treat in appreciation for our contributions to SIS.

Oh, by the way, Friday morning was my first cricket match after easily 25 long years! We have a staff versus students game in the Oval (the huge open field). The staff team had a great start but we lost to the students eventually.

After dinner, we made arrangements to visit the Elephanta Caves (eh, no elephants here lah, only historic carvings on marble rocks) on Sat morning when we set off early at 6am with Siddarth as our escort. Arrived at Gateway of India, opposite Taj Hotel (7-star!). Booked for the one-hour ferry trip to the Caves. Had coffee at Taj Hotel coffee house...a real bomb...4 cups in-house coffee with refills for Rs1,200...that's S$48 ...yah, 7-star price!!! Anyway, the aromatic coffee was a great start for our ferry ride. On the island, had to climb a great number of steps to reach the Caves. The stoned passage was lined with vendors selling the usual wares for tourists. Poor Dr Vanitha! She didnt expect this climb. So we only visited the first huge caves after the exhaustive climb. There were tunnels to other caves from here. Once back on mainland, we hunted for Lings restaurant (recommended by SIA General Manager, Foo ChaiWoo when I first arrived but did not manage to locate it). This time we found Lings with ChaiWoo's specific directions (behind huge SINGAPORE AIRLINES signboard on back of Taj Hotel, opposite Apollo Hotel). Once there, I asked for Mr Nini, the owner who caters to S'pore tastebuds. However as ChaiWoo wrote later...I am not destined to eat at Lings as we found out that the cooks share a common kitchen although food is halal. So for Suparman's sake, we had to eat somewhere else but told Nini I will be back before leaving Mumbai, haha.. So we found an indian restaurant opposite Metro Plaza. We had bryani and it was superb, just like our Spore bryani, if not better!

After lunch, we had to return as both of them had to set off for the airport at 7.30pm. In Mumbai, one must give ample time allowance for travelling in the huge jams along the whole stretch of the still-under-construction highway. So Sat, was too exhausted to blog.

Sunday morning walk was great. Adventure took the better part of me! Walked to Dahisar Station as in previous walks. Stood at the railway platform to admire the happenings here. People were locked in train cabins. Many stood or sat on open doors, some were simply clinging on to the doors of the moving trains, and yet some were seen sitting on top of the carriages. What a way to travel! When a train came to a halt. I saw many people shoving baskets of goods out of the train cabin, rushing to clear out the baskets from the cabin before the train moves off again. I was aghast that the trains do not wait for people! You board and alight at your own risk! Phew!

Then, I decided to use the underpass and cross over to the other side of the tracks. I found myself in Dahisar (West). Walked through a slum area, passed street vendors and shops lining the road. Soon I come across a wet market, very much like our Sunday market ages ago. Fish, meat, fruits, vegetables and other wares were all sold on makeshift stalls. I chanced upon a stall selling big tempting yellow pineapples, I bought one for Rs40 (ya, expensive, la). I then lost my way and asked for directions to Check Naka, the area where my apartment is located. Soon I was back on familiar territory. It was a good 3-hour walk and it was the first time I had perspired so much... hmm...a great workout indeed!

Never did I realise the pains in cutting a pineapple especially with just my Victronix swiss knife (a real handy more-than-20 gadget tool I bought in Switzerland many years ago and has been with me wherever I travelled). The fruit was simply tasty and sweet. Early to bed, early to rise for school and that was when I discovered that my data card is being rendered useless....account closed...wth....and it's still locked..now 12pm, Wed 07 Nov 2007!