Candy Cane and Gingerbread

No, we have not become strippers, but this is a description o our skin tones after today's unusual hit of sun. Can you guess which one of us is candy cane? That's right...Mel! Alex is a lovely shade of light golden brown. Oh well, I should have reapplied my 50+ sunblock more than 3 times! Yesterday afternoon and today have both been spectacular days. Despite the monsoon yesterday, Al and I completed a walking tour of Mumbai, which took over 3 hours and yes, it was pouring. We started at the Gateway of India and went the length of Mahatma Gandhi Road passing a yacht club, a cinema, a lovely library and reading room that only patrons/members a re allowed in (which Lonely Planet did not tell you about) and turned the corner to a baby blue synagogue down a very unassuming street. We were allowed inside after going through a security check and signing in. Pictures of Madonna's visit to that very synagogue littered the bulletin board above the guest book. We were followed around to ensure that we did not take any photos without paying 100 rupee, but I managed to sneakily shoot a few. It was gorgeous and very interesting to visit one of only 2 synagogue's in the area due to the dwindling Jewish community. We continued walking and came to the Mumbai High Court and this was quite a treat of pandemonium with barristers and police and defendants and advocates racing around from court room to court room. Al and I sat inside an actual court room listening to some case, but we weren't sure what was going on. Alex was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of legal bundles and paperwork piled throughout this magnificent 3 story building...random papers piled up high is truly her kryptonite. When we were ready to leave, the monsoon had really picked up and there was a puddle/tidal wave that we had to wade through to escape. My flip flop got swept away in the flood and Alex required support from a tiny little Indian man and this is another form of kryptonite to Alex so she was very happy! We also went to a church (to balance the religious visits of the day) and toured around The University of Mumbai's campus, though you aren't actually allowed to walk through the buildings...only the circumference. It is a gorgeous series of French Gothic architecture (yes, I read that in my Lonely Planet book, as I have no idea about architecture), but it was gorgeous! We circled around and viewed some fountains and statues and a Botanical Garden, but the pavement was so slippery and we were drenched, so we walked home and waited patently until 9:01pm for our pastry run. Today, we woke up early and walked for 6 and a half hours from our hostel to a beach called Chowpatty Beach, but it is so derelict and disgusting, that it should be called Cow Patty beach. What was lovely, was the walk along the water up to the beach, as the coast is lined with huge rocks in the shape of Jacks (like the the game when you were a kid with a ball and some jacks). After that, we walked the entire length of Mumbai and to a the largest laundry facility in the country. It is a series of outdoor pools where mostly men wash the majority of the laundry in Mumbai by hand and hang dry it on the roofs of surrounding buildings. It was such a site and we took some amazing pictures. Here is when I should have reapplied my sunscreen. Then we tried to take another route home in order to see the other side of the city, and this is always where my navigational skills fail me. I should always back track the way we came, but noooooo, I have to get bold. This bravery took us down a street in which the first half was a bazaar with random shops and booths selling odds and sods and the other half of the street was what is considered a slum and this was very tough to see. Kids with no clothing and distended bellies from malnourishment and the hustle and bustle of life just passing them by as if it is normal and acceptable to live this way. We were met with a lot of smiles and stares today, but this is common place now, but what is new are young men pretending to take photos of the water or a tree, but really taking photos of me and Alex as we walk by. That got very annoying so I started to say no and make rude faces to them...didn't really do much though, as they continued to snap away. We did eventually double back on ourselves and made it back to a little Indian cafeteria type place (they are littered around the city and offer cheap food to working people) and ate some yummy vegetarian curry and a chai. I also got an ice cream called anjeer badam which is fig and almond and it was delicious. Now we are sitting in this internet cafe again awaiting out 9:01pm pastry obsession. Tomorrow we will ride a boat to Elephanta Island if the monsoon will allow it and then on an overnight train to Goa. We have heard some amazing things about Goa so I hope it lives up to the hype. The beaches are supposed to be pristine and you can actually swim in the water, as it is not described as toxic like Cow Patty Beach. Stay tuned...