Elephanta Island

Ok, so I should make this clear, this blog isn't going to be in perfect chronological order. Yes, I could lie to you and pretend that all these events occurred in the same sequence that they appear on the page. Would you know any better? Probably not. But I'm an honest guy, and I will endeavor to make this an honest blog.

So my friends, right now we're about to leave the deserts of Rajasthan and take a trip back in time. All the way back to last Monday...



So, here we are, standing at the Gateway of Inida on the western side of Mumbai's peninsular. From here we'll board a rickety old boat and take a rather unscenic 10km ride across the polluted waters of the busy harbour, finally docking an hour later at Elephanta Island.

The only reason to visit Elephanta Island is to see Elepthanta Caves. Well, that and the food, which despite the remote location, was about half the price of meals in Mumbai. Anyway, for the caves alone it's well worth the inconvenience of the boat trip.

The place is pretty spectacular. Actually, it's very spectacular. There are literally dozens of intricately carved Hindu sculptures inside these caves, some dating as far back as 600A.D. And the grand entrance to the caves looks like it was imported straight from from Petra.



About 250 years ago, the Portuguese went on a rampage and vandalised a lot of the sculptures by using them for target practice. Indians now believe that Oporto is something of an official apology from the Portuguese, an attempt to right the wrongs of the 17th century through culinary compensation.

Despite having been defaced by the flat-chicken kings, the sculptures still look amazing.

I wish I could post more photos, but uploading is a painfully slow process. So I'm afraid you'll just have to suffer with having only the odd pic here and there. I'll try and make up for it with additional ramblings.