Despues de otro recorrido de tren de toda la noche llegamos
a Mumbai a las 7:00am. La estacion donde termino el recorrido del tren no era
la misma que nos habian dicho en el lugar donde compramos el pasaje de tren… una
no muy buena forma de empezar el dia en una de las ciudades mas populadas y
cofusas del mundo. Tomamos un taxi a la estacion principal que esta cerca a
todos los hoteles.
En la estacion todos los taxistas nos ofrecieron llevarnos a
hoteles que ellos nos recomendaban. Ignoramos a los taxistas y fuimos a buscar desayuno. En el lugar donde desayunamos conocimos
un señor con su familia que nos sugerio varias cosas, entre ellas, nos
recomendo el hotel de la estacion del tren, donde el habia pasado la ultima
noche… como ya nos muchos de los taxistas nos habian ofrecido sus servicios
cuando fuimos a preguntar por disponibilidad en el hotel de la estacion nos
dijeron que no habia nada disponible… muy dificil creerles porque todos
trabajan juntos. Uno de los
taxistas insistio en llevarnos a los hoteles que el recomendaba y como ultima
alternativa aceptamos. Nos
pregunto cuanto estabamos dispuestos a pagar y le dijimos cuanto estabamos
pagando en los otros lugares, asi que sugirio un par de lugares y nos
fuimos. El primer lugar donde nos
llevo estaba completamente lleno, pero a juzgar por el “lobby” y la entrada del
hotel no nos hubieramos quedado alli… el area alrededor del hotel no era la
mejor. Llegamos al segundo lugar,
me baje del taxi y fui a mirar un par de piezas que tenian disponibles… que
sorpresa! Una de las cosas que
todas las guias para viajeros dicen de la India es que los estandares de
limpieza son muy diferentes y creo que nos hemos ajustado muy bien, pero este
lugar sobrepasa todas las reglas y las excepciones de las reglas. Las sabanas tenian manchas de todos los
colores (frescar o viejas… no quiero ni saber!) pero no me atrevi ni a tocar el
colchon a ver si estaba de duro o blandito. El baño no lo habian lavado en años. El techo del hotel era super bajito y el
ventilador de techo lo sentia zumbandome en la cabeza. Sali del hotel diciendole a los de la
recepcion que tenia que discutirlo con mi esposa pero nunca volvi. Le pedimos al taxista que nos llevara a
un lugar un poco mas limpio, no tenia que ser un 5 estrellas pero limpio. Finalmente nos llevo a un lugar que nos
gusto, limpio y con una buena ducha.
Por la tarde fuimos a la isla elefanta, queda como a 40 minutos en barco desde Mumbai. Alli visitamos templos patrimonio de la UNESCO construidos en unas cuevas. Todas la esculturas son labradas en la piedra. Durante el regreso vimos el atardecer sobre Mumbai.
Por la tarde fuimos a la isla elefanta, queda como a 40 minutos en barco desde Mumbai. Alli visitamos templos patrimonio de la UNESCO construidos en unas cuevas. Todas la esculturas son labradas en la piedra. Durante el regreso vimos el atardecer sobre Mumbai.
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After a night train ride we arrived in Mumbai at
7:00am. The train dropped us off
at a different station than the one the travel agency that sold us the tickets
told us… not a good start in one of the most populated and confusing cities in
the planet. We took a taxi to the
main station close to where the hotels are.
At the station we were approached by lots of taxi drivers
offering us to take us to “their choice” guesthouse or hotel. We avoided most
of them and went to have breakfast.
While having breakfast we met a local gentlemen traveling with his
family who gave us a few tips… one of them was to stay at the government hotel
located inside the station… we had already been approached by so many taxi
drivers and when we went to ask for a room at the government hotel we were told
that there were no rooms available… hard to believe but they all work in
conjunction. One of the taxi
drivers insisted to take us to a guesthouse so we had to choice but to
accept. He asked us about our
budget so we told him how much we were paying so he suggested some places and
off we went. The first place was
full but by looking at the entrance and the “lobby” we would have never stayed
in this place… the surrounding area was not any better either. We went to the second place, I got off
the taxi an went to take a look at a couple of rooms they had available… what a
surprise! One of the things that
every guide tells you when you are coming to India is that cleaninless
standards are not the same and we had adjusted pretty well; however this place
was breaking every rule and the exceptions. The bedsheets were so dirty that I did not even touch the
bed to see how soft or hard it was… there were stains of every single colour
you can imagine. The washroom was
not clean at all. The ceiling was
very low around 7 feet, so the ceiling fan was very close to the top of my
head. I left telling them that I
needed to discuss it with my wife but never went back inside. We asked the taxi driver to take us to
a place that was cleaner, we did not want a 5 star hotel but something
clean. Finally we arrived at a
decent place we liked, it was clean and with good shower.
In the afternoon we took a 40 minutes boat ride to Elephanta island. Here we visited a few temples build inside caves that have been recognized as World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
In the afternoon we took a 40 minutes boat ride to Elephanta island. Here we visited a few temples build inside caves that have been recognized as World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
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| Tren nocturno, Palolem, India Overnight train, Palolem, India |
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| Tren nocturno (notese la limpieza de ventilador), Palolem, India Overnight train (look at the fans), Palolem, India |
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| Mumbai, India |
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| Mumbai, India |
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| Mumbai, India |
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| Mumbai, India |
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| Mumbai, India |
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| Mumbai, India |
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| Puerta de India y Hotel Taj Mahal, Mumbai, India Gate of India and Taj Mahal hotel, Mumbai, India |
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| Puerta de India y Hotel Taj Mahal, Mumbai, India Gate of India and Taj Mahal hotel, Mumbai, India |
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| Mumbai, India |
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| Puerto de la isla elefanta, Mumbai, India Port at elephanta island, Mumbai, India |
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| Cuevas elefanta, Mumbai, India Elephanta caves, Mumbai, India |
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| Cueva elefanta, Mumbai, India Elephanta caves, Mumbai, India |
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| Cuevas elefanta, Mumbai, India Elephanta caves, Mumbai, India |
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| Cuevas elefanta (Shiva), Mumbai, India Elephanta caves (Shiva), Mumbai, India |
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| Cuevas elefanta, Mumbai, India Elephanta caves, Mumbai, India |
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| Cuevas elefanta, Mumbai, India Elephanta caves, Mumbai, India |
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| Cuevas elefanta, Mumbai, India Elephanta caves, Mumbai, India |
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| Cuevas elefanta, Mumbai, India Elephanta caves, Mumbai, India |
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| Cuevas elefanta, Mumbai, India Elephanta caves, Mumbai, India |
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| Cuevas elefanta, Mumbai, India Elephanta caves, Mumbai, India |
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| Cuevas elefanta, Mumbai, India Elephanta caves, Mumbai, India |
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| Isla elefanta, Mumbai, India Elephanta island, Mumbai, India |
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| Puerta de India y Hotel Taj Mahal, Mumbai, India Gate of India and Taj Mahal hotel, Mumbai, India |
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| Atardecer, Mumbai, India Sunset, Mumbai, India |
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| Puerta de India, Mumbai, India Gate of India, Mumbai, India |
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| Hotel Taj Mahal, Mumbai, India Taj Mahal hotel, Mumbai, India |
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| Puerta de India, Mumbai, India Gate of India, Mumbai, India |
Que horror las primeras fotos, que mugrero y la descripción del hotel me dio escalofrió..... las otras fotos si están muy lindas, yo que toda la vida quise ir a Bombay, ya me "desinfle".
ReplyDeleteLa mama
jajajajaja Silvia me tenes muerta de la risa esto si es QUE MALUQUERAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!
ReplyDelete