Gothic Raja train station, Mumbai

Gothic Raja train station, Mumbai
Originally uploaded by crisis-tour.

After a loooooong flight via London, we arrived in Mumbai to a typical Indian welcome. The 2 ATMs at the airport wouldn't spit-out any cash for either of our cards and the taxis were on strike. Despite all this, we found a nice hotel without too much fuss. The pollution and noise are horrendous but the people are incredibly warm and friendly. People, ox-carts, cars, buses, moto-rickshaws and street vendors share the streets in frenetic Mumbai.

We visited the famous India Gate and the Mumbai Zoo where crocodiles and deer share the same exhibit peacefully. They are evidently vegetarians.

CST (or Victoria Terminus) is a gothic monstrosity built by the English in the time of the Raj and comes complete with gargoyles and bats. We caught a 27 hour train from CST to Chennai (Madras) and had plenty of time to watch the countryside flow past, chat with other passengers, and eat some pretty decent Indian food. Interestingly enough in India, Indian food is just called "food".