Tailors, travelling and turkish delight (actually it was Indian ice-cream but that doesn't start with a 'T')

This is my friend and I a few years later, I'm
wearing the dress which was made in India

After the late night/early morning we were reluctant to get up. However it was a necessity we had lots planned for today. We had a breakfast of India crackers and tea, jumped in the shower and washed away the cobwebs. Piling into the car with my laptop we zoomed off to the tailors. After showing him my designs and discussing practicalities and material length we raced back to Vs.

Lunch was a quick mix of humus sandwiches and leftovers, with some dates for desert and we were off. My first Indian train journey. Actually today was another day of my firsts, as even before the train ride we got on a rickshaw. It was rather scary, all three of us crammed in the back, the man in front taking up pretty much the whole front seat, so get an idea od the interior size of this small, three-wheeled vehicle. Each bump felt like a bounce on a trampampoline, exciting all the same.

At the train station the usual no queue means you have to queue rule was applied, lucky for us as V just went right on up to the front to get out tickets. The trains are kind of what I expected and kind of not. There are special compartments for women, the good thing is these are signposted on the platform, making it easy to find. I cannot imagine having to walk up and down a platform to try find out which carriage women had decided to monopolise that day. The seats were basic and although there were windows I felt sorry for the woman across the aisle who could not pull the window down when the monsoon really started to pelt – needless to say she got soaked. Like with many trains in large cities there were people trying to make money, boys with earrings and bracelets, women selling handkerchiefs and hair clips. It was rather different however when V found herself holding the boys earrings for a fair few minutes whilst he did whatever further up the carriage. In Britain I cannot imagine leaving your ‘wares’ with a potential ‘customer’ and walking away.

The main city of Mumbai is so busy and noisy and I am so happy not to be staying there, four hours or so was enough. First we met up with the glasses man, who led us through the labyrinth of streets, part by cab and part on foot to the shop. The streets were so dirty, I think the rain really didn’t help. The smell was also pretty bad, V and I were already dreaming of a shower.

After spending a while choosing a pair of glasses and trying yet another kind of juice – sweet lime juice (scrumptious!!) we headed to Mangaldas market to look for cloth. Each vendor has a small section in the market, every inch of wall is used to house cloth, the floor of each section is raised and covered in cloth (some more elegant shops had marble flooring). You were allowed to enter the section/shop but had to first remove your shoes and clean your feet on a provided off-cut rug as the cloth was light and the mud would have really spoilt the ambiance. It was like an Aladdin’s cave, so many colours and textures all in such a small space. The first guy was really helpful but unfortunately we were offered a better deal at a stall further into the market and so got the cloth there.

Next we tried to find a Kurti, either material to get one stitched, one needing to be stitched or one which was ready made, it just depended on price and design. After looking here and trying there I finally found a lovely sleeveless green and pink design. So now I have something smart to wear to all my very important meetings (once I set them up with the professors out here).

By that time we were all exhausted and I even ended up falling asleep on the train ride home, after a nice snack of dry bhel puri which was a mixture of puffed rice, nuts, spices, lemon, onion, tomato, and various other Indian snacks.

After tea and biscuits (I was honored to be given the last M&S chocolate spritz) we had leisurely showers and enjoyed the fact we were out of the pouring rain. Dinner was dahl and rice, one of my favourite dishes so far, probably because of its simplicity and if you want to make it more adventurous the addition of lemon juice does just that. For desert Mr C brought V and I to Natural Icecreams. They had so many flavors it was hard to choose but I had Almond and it was spectacular. All of the flavours were exquisite; custard apple, anjeer (fig), etc. The coffee and walnut was really a testament to the greatness of the ice-cream, I have never tasted a better coffee ice-cream and I used to eat it all the time. On the drive home we saw yet more dogs, one was even standing to attention watching the traffic pass by, this really is a place of many faces, and hopefully I will keep exploring more and more.