OK, so most of this day was in Goa, but I eventually made my way to Mumbai.

Keeping with the theme from previous days, I woke up at around 6:30 and was getting geared up to leave Goa and head to Mumbai.

I did the morning Y&M, and made my way to the breakfast. Tried to keep things smart and relatively light as I made my way through the buffet. I just stuck to eggs and the pancakes and the fruit. No Indian dishes because they had me feeling SO FULL the day before. I think it is also because they are prepared with a lot of oil which I feel sit on/in me.

Ok, so came back to the room and quickly got everything packed and together. Check out was at 11:00AM and I needed to leave at 3:00PM for the airport. Athai had suggested I speak to the front desk and see if they would arrange a taxi for me that would take me around, especially to the older portions of town.

I spoke to them, and they worked it out such that I could see 3 things, then head to the airport for a very fair price. I said let’s do it!

Fortunately it was my same driver who brought me from the airport, so we already had a bit of rapport.

We got going on our journey, and our first stop was the Portuguese colonial era frozen in time…for tourism. Our first stop was the Portuguese colonial house.

It was poppin’green, and really bright. From the outside it did not appear too big, however, upon moving around inside, it was huge!

You walked in, and the arrows directed you to the right. There were various religious cabinets and rooms, one of which had so many pictures that I was like “OK”, religion.

Made the way around the house to see where they kept the garden tools, and the ‘bathroom’. The dining room was MASSIVE, and one thing was clear. These colonizers were living.

Made my way out and the next stop was ‘bigfoot’. It was not cool and worthless, not even worth posting pictures. Made my in and around in about 15 minutes and made my way back to the car. Just in time as it was beginning to rain!

Our next stop was a temple, Sri Shantadurga Temple. This temple was really breautiufl. As you walked up there was a large body of water where they would prbalby bring the diety out on special occasions. You walked up the ramp and I procured some flowers to offer the Gods as I made my way in.

This temple was built and destroyed by the Portuguese in 1566. The goddess, Shantadurga, is the goddess who mediates between Vishnu and Shiva. The goddess Parvati was asked by Bhrama to intervene in the battle between Shiva and Vishnu. Thus, the deity in this temple is holding two serpents representing these battling gods.

I walked in, made my offering, said my blessings, and then made my way out the door back to the car to head to our next stop.

Our next temple was Shri Mangueshi Temple. This temple was built in 1560 after having to be moved from invading Portuguese. While embroiled in allegations of abuse from a priest in June of this year, the temple was still quite beautiful.

There was a bit of a walk to get to this temple, and there was a sudden downpour. No worries, as I popped underneath an empty store front to shield myself from the rain. I was joined by two dogs also seeking shelter, and a small calf walked by, perturbed by the rain and shaking its head so as to rid the water.

Made my way up into the temple, of course with my offering in hand, and followed a similar routine. Made my offering, said my prayers, and continued on my way.

Our last stop was a super famous church housing the body of St. Francis Xavier, and the Portuguese museum. These two items were across the street from one another. My man dropped me off and I popped inside the church. The church was very old, and quite beautiful.

Apparently this Xavier was visiting an island where he got a fever and subsequently passed away. Gotta love modern medicine!

I went into a different portion f the church where there were clear signs so as to not take photos. That didn’t stop most people from wyling out and taking photos. Oh well.

Left the church and went to the museum. Now, while the museum looks MASSIVE, it isn’t. Two of the buildings are additional churches.

Most of the items in here were old carvings from around the 16^thcentury, and a lot of old paintings of previous viceroys. There was some Indo-Portuguese currency as well that was cool to see.

Nothing to write home about, though. Additionally, all of these places didn’t have AC and had sunlight falling directly on the works. So I don’t know how much they are into preservation, but they aren’t doing themselves any favors.

So then it was time to head to the airport. Got dropped off, and made my way in after saying my many thanks to my driver. We had some interesting conversations, one about a man who came back from Dubai with 26 lakhs worth of gold and was found out. Had the gold stripped and then went to jail.

Wanted to scan my bag (Indian airports vary in how they check your checked bag), but they weren’t beginning that process yet. Sat and chilled, then they opened.

Completed that process and checked in. At check in the attendant said that iw as nice to see me, as an American, getting the red dot placed on my forehead and keeping with tradition.

Then it dawned on me. Here, even though I feel completely out of place, I probably look like I belong more than I do in the states. Interesting paradox. Though my clothes are probably a dead give away, I could maybe pull it off!

Had a bite to eat before getting on the plane involving some dal, chapati, and samosas.

Chatted with Saroja at the airport, got on the plane, and headed to Mumbai.

Landed after a 2.5 hour flight. Got my bag, made an arrangement for a taxi, and then went to Hotel Dolphin Fortafter sitting in traffic forever as the ride took about 90 minutes.

So, this hotel was…not for me. It was straight up filthy. Walked into the room, and I don’t need much. It was fairly clean. Opened the bathroom door and it WREAKED of urine. The toilet seat had urine allllll over it. Clearly cleaning wasn’t on their agenda. The WiFi was strong in certain areas but would constantly go out. That was also getting to me.

Made a stink to management. They said that there were no other rooms available and that they bathroom would be cleaned in the morning. Whatever, I thought, let’s see what happens.

So I was so put off by all of this that I didn’t do an evening Y&M, I just made sure the bed was clean, and got in. It was comfortable, and the AC was good, so I was able to get to sleep after looking at various hotels in the area and seeing where I could move. I said that I’d make a decision in the morning, nothing hasty. I then proceeded to sleep.