Flight VS354 from LHR to BOM…

Uber in Mumbai, at least at the airport, seems to work differently. Instead of the app assigning me a car, I had to go to a human sitting at a small make shift desk, who assigned me to a driver. Then I had to give my drive the “rider PIN” which he keys in, before receiving the route. Interesting. My driver had his entire car still wrapped in plastic, which I assume is a “him” thing, rather than a common thing, in India. It made me chuckle, because this seems like extreme manifestation of some of family’s antics – keeping things wrapped up in plastic (original wrapping or added on) to keep them pristine.

I got to my hotel quite quickly and tried to get a super early check in. The reception wanted me to pay a half-day rate. Given I was exhausted from having only slept ~3 hours on the flight, despite taking melatonin, and I needed to race the next day, I was actually considering it. But I asked if they could also extend my check out the next day to ~5pm, so I could freshen up after my race. They said they could extend my stay only until 3pm, which literally does nothing for me, because I will be mid race then, which means I would need to check out before the race anyway…

Because of that, I didn’t take the half-day rate. Instead, I dropped my wheelie bag off with the concierge, and pushed on to do some sightseeing nearby in Goregaon, where my hotel was. As with virtually all developing countries, malls were on the list of ‘Top 25 things to see” in Goregaon on TripAdvisor. Happily, the first one – Oberoi Mall – was right in front of my hotel. I wanted to get a carb-rich breakfast / snack to carb load, and some coffee to keep me standing.

There were security posts at the entrances, and I had to scan my bag before entering. It was the same for my hotel, which I was already slightly nonplussed with. But the mall security made me chuckle a bit. I’m sure I’ve been to some countries with mall security. But very few countries have it, and I couldn’t remember which off the top of my head – maybe the ‘Stans?

After my maple butter waffle and Starbucks coffee frappucino elevenses, during which I identified and mapped out my next steps, I headed off. My first stop was the Krishna Vatika Mandir. It was only an 11 minute walk from Oberoi Mall, but it felt much further, because it was hot, and I was walking on the edge a busy road which looked almost like a highway. But it was a good opportunity to really be immersed in the sights, smells, and sounds of local life, and take snapshots of Goregaon streetscapes and slices of local life.

I removed my shoes and went into Krishna Vatika Mandir and visited every temple for at least a brief prayer / greeting, and even emulated the worshippers and circled some of the temples. I only rang the bell at the main temple (devotees routinely ring the bell when they first visit each shrine) because I didn’t really know what it was for, and didn’t want to cause offence somehow. I only took photos once I left the Mandir, as I didn’t want to be disrespectful.

After that, I embarked on another 13 minute hike to the Aarey Bhasker Garden. It was an oasis of calm and shaded greenery, whose main visitors seemed to be workers – gardeners and cleaners – working or resting. Although there were two local men on phones.

I debated visiting either Chotta Kashmir, or Aarey Colony, but it have been a ~1 hour walk at high noon, and I didn’t have the appetite for that, especially since I was keen on heading to Goregaon West (although I didn’t realise it then, I had stayed in Goregaon East up until then) to visit the Amba Bai Mata Mandir, a temple to Amba / Ambika, the supreme HIndu warrior-mother-godddess. The walk from Aarey Bhasker Garden to Amba Bai Mata Mandir was almost an hour as it is, without a further detour.

As with all my walks in the morning, I was the only foreigner walking. Some of the locals looked at me slightly questioningly, puzzled as to why I was walking, but no one really bothered me, so I largely felt safe enough. Mumbai’s heat, noise, and chaos reminded me of home, and so I was happy, and felt comfortable enough, even though I was very anxious about visiting India before arriving. Only two people bothered me – a guy at the Aarey Bhasker Garden, who seemed to be asking me not to take pictures in the garden – but I didn’t understand what he was saying, so I just left; and another old man who spoke loudly, gesticulated angrily and seemed to be offended and / or asking for money, maybe because I had just taken pictures of some cows on the roadside (were they his cows??) – but again, I didn’t understand what he was saying, so just blanked him and walked on.

I prayed at the Amba Bai Mata Mandir, then walked back to Goregaon East, crossing the Goregaon East-Western pedestrian subway, to head back to my hotel. From what I’ve seen, it seems like Goregaon West looks somehow calmer and less frenetic than Goregaon East, at least for the streets and street market / roadside shops, that I’ve seen. Enroute back to the hotel, I walked on a narrow sidewalk along the highway, and it’s crazy how, within one minute, I could go from walking along the highway, and then cross a street with slummy looking shops within sight of Morgan Stanley, and then cross another street and be within the cool, leafy compound of Morgan Stanley, which was right in front of my hotel.

Had Italian (“Prego”) at my hotel for lunch, for its carb loading and convenience value. Finally checked in, and took an afternoon nap as I was dead on my feet with a massive headache and eyesight that was starting to blur. Room is nice, with a view over Goregaon. Shame I won’t be using the nice bath.

Then woke up for a shower, and dinner, before tucking in again.

Pre-race nutrition…