India - weeks 1 and 2

 Mumbai and Goa

We flew with Turkish airlines and changed at Istanbul. At the gate there was no tannoy, just a large man with a clipboard and loud voice, bellowing out instructions. It worked extremely well.

We arrived into Mumbai at 5am on Easter Sunday. After the rigmarole of immigration and baggage reclaim, we found our taxi and headed to our hotel. Traffic lights appear to be just for indication, especially at that time of day. Our hotel overlooked the bay at Colaba and had a rooftop terrace and restaurant 

After a little rest, we went for a walk. The Gateway to India was only 800m away but unfortunately, it was covered with scaffold from the land side 

The big Taj Mahal Palace hotel was also nearby.

More walking and we discovered the history museum 

The old naval academy 

And a head :-)

After a good night's sleep, the next morning we walked along Marine Drive 

And saw a number of Art Deco buildings en route, here's one:

On the way back, we passed Flora Fountain 

The High Court of Bombay

The following day, we boarded a local ferry to Elephanta Island a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The caves are home to rock-cut temples that date back to the 6th century and are dedicated to the Hindu god Lord Shiva.

The main cave features sculptures like the giant Trimurti, a 20-foot-high statue depicting the three faces of Lord Shiva, and many others.

There were also lots of monkeys which stole food if you weren't watching it

On the ferry back, we got a good view of The Gateway to India and the Taj Mahal Palace hotel 

The next day saw us on a plane down to Goa. We had wanted to travel by train, but they are booked up so far in advance, we had no chance.

We are staying in Candolim in North Goa. The season ended on 30th April so many places are now closing down. We have had a great time here, trying a lot of the local cuisine, spending time on the beach and hoping to get a good sunset (still waiting for that one.

Tomorrow we say goodbye to Goa and head down to Kerala .