A life without plans...

I only had one plan when arriving in Mumbai - eat Friday night dinner at Chabad. That was enough for me - and it was the kinda plan that's foolproof. If I didn't meet anyone - at least I would've scored a free meal and heard kiddush in Mumbai. If I did - well, maybe I could score some travelling partners or someone to grab a beer with.

I was successful in both respects: I met an a fellow melbourne boy who I had met at the Belgian Beer Gardnes the previous saturday night, a dutch israel entrepeneur (my age, however) and we all went for a beer at the infamous pub Leopold's after dinner. I've read a lot about this pub from the book Shantaram - but I never visited it last year (overpriced drinks, bad timing). It was fun to be served Foster's beer in a massive cylindrical tube that fits a pitcher of beer. We were later joined by two of the dutch's indian friends (the dutchman's living in mumbai until july) and we all got on very well. After a couple pints we headed down to a shishah bar - we got an insight into Mumbai that would have never happened better a mere 'tourist'.

Today I headed down to the famed Crawford Market - the fruit/veg/spice/pet/whatever you wish market of Bombay. Much like any other market in foreign countries, the produce spills over into the street, insistent shopkeepers yelling their products, beckoning you with curled fingers - 'come here madam, look here'. I became a little bored by it all - the 'market keeper', an elderly man (who I suspected wanting to be paid for 'minding me' against beggars) followed me around from store to store - and so I walked off the beaten trail and stumbled into a maze of streets selling plastics, flashing neon lights, tacky handbags, until reaching the cloth market.

Man, Indian's have gorgeous fabrics. I was tempted to buy some, but those who know my track record for doing things to objects i purchase overseas realise that there's no point. It will be a waste of money and room in my backpack - I won't follow through.

I'm running outta steam. I'll publish more later....