Bombay, Mumbai, and a fool

Once upon a time there was a city known as Bombay.   Once upon a later time it became known as Mumbai.  In this time no one knows what to call it the city hasn't noticed at all.

In Goa local people call it Bombay, usually, in Mumbai many people call it Mumbai, and I have not figured out what is up.  Iti s possible it has to do with different factions of the people, those in power like names that reflect them, not the last dynasty, but after that I am just guessing...

Here is the story....  At the Arombol beach I had heard there was a lake of fresh water, just around the cliffs at the end of the beach.  I had a train ticket for the night train but still time to go to the lake.  I headed there and it was beautiful! The best part of Goa that I had seen!  And there were trails heading to the mountains...  There is also the ocean 100m from the lake and this beach was even quieter than Arombol's...  i immediately wanted to stay but I had my train ticket so after a dip in the ocean and the lake I headed back to gather my bags... On the way I stopped at an internet cafe to get some money as I was down to my last rupees!

The trip from the beach to the city is a 10 hour train ride which I elected to do at night...  I had met a French couple on the platform who suggested a guesthouse in the city and that is where I decided to go when I arrived.  So I entrained for the 10 hour journey and found my bed.  (Have you ever heard of the word entrain?  I like it, it is in books written in English by Indian authors but I had never heard it before)  Here is a funny thing I had heard about trains...  There are gay Indian men in saris, the wraparound body sarongs that women wear... and what they do on the train is a great business model...  Almost zero output and they get paid not to perform.  Rumor has it that they come up to you and if you don't pay them then they lift up their skirt and show you that third leg of man, the hindu Lingam, the snake on the train!!
Well one of these men came up to the compartment I was sharing with a family and the father jsut stood up and let him have it for a bit until he walked away, keeping all epidermis that was covered still covered.

While detraining I met a group of Germans, who asked me if I had an idea for a guest house and then we went off together to find the one the french coupe spoke of....

Two of the four Germans were acting as guinea pigs for a company making a patch to keep away that dreadful de-solidifier.... the muddy backwaters of the underpants, diarrhea.  For trying a new preventative drug they received something over $2000 Canadian each for their trip, and a little red dot on the arm...

While getting our rooms I realized that my passport had not made the trip to Mumbai with me!  The last time I remembered using it was when I took out money in Arombol and I hadn't needed it since.  I had given it to the guy to take my info and then used a computer and then left...

My first instinct was to be excited as I really wanted some more time at the beach!  I settled into Mumbai with the Germans and tried to figure out a way to make sure my passport was still at the cafe....
I remembered I had run into a girl I knew form Montreal at the beach and found her on Facebook, but she was already gone.  My next idea was to call random guest houses on the beach until I found an English speaker which I did on my second try.  His name is Babu, and I gave him rough directions to the internet cafe and he told me to call him back in 10 minutes...
I did and he sad that he didn't have it, then he said "just kidding, I got it"...not only did he have my passport but also my sense of humor!  So I was able to rest easy, enjoy 2 days in Mumbai and plan my return to the beach!

One of the Germans, Aga, they all have names but it is easier to refer to them collectively, had a local friend and they invited me to join them for the day....We went to an animal market, not my favorite place it was like a mini zoo.  As all the cages were mini and filled with cats or dogs or birds... It was sad but there were some neat species.... we walked and cabbed around and ended at the beach were on Sundays (and it was Sunday) thousands of people turn out for the sunset...  it was crowded with a fun festive atmosphere, and we made friends with some kids who wouldn't leave us alone... never give a kid some popcorn when you have a  full bag of it that he can see!!!

As it was the first night of passover I tried to get to a seder, and called the chabbad Rabbi...  He asked me to e-mail him and he would send me the details... This he failed to do and I didn't get to go to a seder.  I did get to have time to say goodbye to the friends form the train I had been rooming with and planned to take the 10 hour ride back to Goa the next morning...