मुंबई Part 1

It's been a while.
I was in Mysore, seeking living accomodations and decided that I didn't want to stay in that city for an extended period. Soon after arriving, I departed, heading for Goa with a new friend!
It was a long ride on a bus where i suspect bed bugs feasted on my legs, and then a train where I slept sitting up because not only were bunks all taken but also every inch of floor space! Stepping off the train in Madgaon, Goa my traveling buddy and I hauled our heavy bags to the road to wait for a local bus, when a very adament taxi driver stopped to talk to us. He was heading to where we wanted to go, Panaji - an hour away, and would take us there for Rs.300. After some haggling, literally us walking away several times and him circling around again and lowering the price, we got the ride for Rs.100.
Panajai AKA Panjim is the capitol of Goa, maintains a European flavour, or after taste, from the former Portuguese colonialists. It is quite lovely, and a place i would definitely return to for further exploration! I didn't make it to a beach which is a major highlight of the state, but what evs. I did go and see a World Heritage site though! The Basilica Bom Jesus where the relics (i think that means corpse) of Saint Francis Xavier are contained. His dedication to the spread of Christianity lead him all over the world. He also founded the college of Jesuits. yep.
Onward! next stop Mumbai, en route to Aurangabad!
Meeting awesome people always assures me that i am on the right track, and this train was full of them! a mother-daughter-father team were going to secure a Visa to the USA so the daughter could join her husband there. They were awesome because we had similar interests in Yoga and Meditation and spirituality in general. Mother was reading a book on Sufism, daughter was reading a book on Holistic lifestyle and father had attended several Goekna Vipassana retreats and was cracking jokes. All were genuinely smiling, shiny and bright.
I made another friend with whom I discussed the Indian teacher Osho, and some of his lessons on being authentic. A ride i thought was going to be slightly painful flew by without measure!
Mumbai! the most expensive place for accomodations in the country. Very crowded city, feels worse then NYC. My room at the city Palace (for 2 nights) was basically a shoebox, and no one had the decency to cut out any windows. Oh well, clean enough! With my Osho reading friend from the train I visited Elephanta Island where there is another world heritage site, a Cave temple devoted to Shiva. Very breath taking!
Part 2 is to come!