exotic india!

it has been a week since i came back from india but somehow, my mind is still floating between mumbai and aurangabad. india mesmerized me. apart from europe, india is the place i wanna explore so badly. the strong indian culture and heritage really strike my heart and soul. before the trip, i was quite concerned over hygienic and cleanliness issue. it all happened because of my colleagues and friends who scared me with so many stories. danny boyle is to be blamed as well! if i didnt watch slumdog millionaire, i might not have so many unwanted imagines in my brain. yes, the country isn’t very clean but I still able to stand it. anyway, i survived 6 days in india without any difficulty.

mumbai wasnt in my travel plan for 2010. it came by surprise, a happy surprise. free room at intercontinental mumbai which cost about 600 ringgit a night! thanks to priority club! hope such offer will come more often in the future.

mumbai, the heart of indian cinema and where the famous khan is staying. speaking of khan, his house is facing the beautiful arabian sea but at the shore where his house is facing is where many locals do their daily activities. it was actually quite shocking! i don’t think i can accept seeing people doing their laundry, bathing, peeing, shitting etc in front of my house. wondering how can he stands it?

what can mumbai offers? mumbai was once an important port for the british which is why you can easily mistaken yourself being in an european city rather than in india. the city is filled up with many beautiful european style (with a hint of indian touch) architectures. when i was walking along bhaurao patil marg, i felt more like a student in england rather than a tourist loitering in an indian city. mumbai is also the home to two world heritage sites – victoria terminus (a train station) and elephanta caves. both sites are pretty impressive and grandeur in their own way.

beside mumbai, i also explored aurangabad, a city about an hour from mumbai by flight. what is there? why i wanna waste 200++ ringgit to get there and 250 ringgit per night for lodging? the city is an important base to explore ajanta and ellora caves. the caves were the reason why i wanna go to the city. the trip was so damn worthy. both caves are very beautiful and unique. i will let the pictures do the talking.

ajanta caves

ellora caves

for me, india is both amazing and enchanting. this might not sound right to many of you especially those of you who have glued to discovery channel most of the times. apart from the cleanliness problem and culture shock moments a few times a day, india is a place worth exploring. i definitely will go to india again in the future. targeting delhi and agra in early 2012 for more gulab jammu and sweet lassi!