Rolex
This Mumbai – Goa travel post was written with the assistance of the ChatGPT App Voice Chat Bot Transcribing Feature. Some editing was done to help with flow.
Rolex
Ghee Pee Tee, do you know where Goa, India, is?
ChatGPT
Yes, I know where Goa, India, is. It’s a beautiful coastal state on the western side of India, known for its beaches and vibrant culture. Anything specific you’d like to know about Goa?
Rolex
So I travelled there for New Year’s and I want to tell you my story about the place. And then after, we can make it into a travel blog about Goa. Is that okay with you?
Absolutely! I’m here to listen. Go ahead and share your thoughts about Goa. What makes it special to you?
Okay, so, I flew in from Uganda on Uganda Airlines from Entebbe and landed in Mumbai. Best deal out of Entebbe if the goal is just to get to India.
That sounds like quite a journey! How was your experience flying with Uganda Airlines, and what were your first impressions when you landed in Mumbai?
Okay, so the Uganda Airlines itself was muzuri. The flight was on time. We were in the big plane, Bombardier. It seemed to mainly be Indian families going home for New Years. The staff were very helpful. The flight…
It’s great to hear that your flight with Uganda Airlines went smoothly. How about your experience once you landed in Mumbai?
Let me first finish with the airline.
Of course, go ahead. Share more about your experience with Uganda Airlines.
Yeah, so they gave us dinner when we took off. A mix of Indian and Uganda food, I don’t remember the specifics. That was about 7 – 8 p.m. We also got a culturally mixed breakfast towards the end of the flight and dawn.
Nice touch to have dinner and breakfast on the flight! What did they serve, and how was the overall in-flight experience during that time?
All fantastic. There were a lot of people going to the toilet, that’s one thing that I remember about the flight, a lot of people going to the toilet. I guess you notice the regularity of toilet usage if you are sitting facing the toilet. And then Uganda Airlines gives blankets, but they don’t allow you to take them, they keep the blankets after they’re done. Their earphones are lousy and you get to keep those.
That’s a unique policy about the blankets. How did you find the Mumbai airport upon landing?
I’d like to be friends with the guy who has the dry-cleaning deal. All right, so we disembarked at Mumbai airport. I asked a Uganda Airlines hostess what I should expect in Mumbai. He told me it’s very big, known for Bollywood and popular among Ugandan travellers for medical treatment. I was the first he’d met going to Goa – out here pioneering. According to him, Mumbai wasn’t that interesting though and it was dirty. Ah, the infamous India hygiene situation. But, coming from Uganda, I imagined it couldn’t be that worse than our situation. The airport was huge compared to Entebbe airport back home. Almost everything is bigger than Entebbe.
A large airport can indeed make a strong impression. What struck you the most about the size of the Mumbai airport, especially in comparison to what you’re used to back home?
Anyway, continuing…we came off the plane, went into the airport and walked for a bit before reaching the arrivals area. We had to fill in some pieces of paper as non-Indian citizens. I met a Ugandan girl at the counter who was also in India for the first time and we did that process together.
Sounds like a unique experience, navigating the arrival process with someone from your own country. What was the overall experience of arriving in Mumbai with a fellow traveller?
It was good, it was good. It was nice to meet a fellow Mukiga traveller. She’s the same tribe as me so we switched to Rukiga to ponder on how far we from home we were. Cho yamawe! We passed through immigrations, and then I walked with her till she left to meet the person who had come to pick her up. I stayed behind in arrivals and changed some money at the money point right outside the gates. Their rates weren’t all that but I figured it couldn’t be that different from what it was in town, since it was a small…
Cho yamawe indeed. It’s great that you had familiar company. Changing money can be a task; did you find the rates at the airport satisfactory?
Thanks to airport wifi, I compared them to the ones on Google Search – my reference point, and it was a bit of a difference, maybe like…
Using Google as a reference is a smart move. If you noticed a difference, was it a significant one?
In the grand scheme of budget travel, I would say it was a slightly significant difference, but considering I did not plan to enter town and wanted to connect straight from the airport to the transportation out of Goa, I figured it was an okay difference for that convenience.
Got it. Sometimes convenience can outweigh a slight difference in exchange rates. What mode of transportation did you use to leave the airport and head out of Goa?
So I first tried to get an Indian SIM card, but I needed a letter from an Indian resident, and it was early in the morning, about 7 in the morning, so…
Ah, the joys of navigating local SIM card requirements. It sounds like a bit of a challenge with the need for a letter from an Indian resident.
Well, I decided that I should be able to navigate without a local SIM card, at least for the first day. Since I didn’t have sufficient budget for internal flights, my host in Goa had advised that I take the bus over a train for a more comfortable approximately 560km, 8-hour journey. Comfort is important for long trips so I went to the bus stand at the Mumbai airport and asked where I could get a bus from Mumbai to Goa. The guy at the bus muttered back what I assumed was the bus-stage location so I paid for a ticket to that place and then from there, I’d get the bus to Goa.
The Indian adventure was afoot.
Adapting to the situation, that’s a good approach. How was the bus journey from Mumbai to Goa?
So this bus wasn’t going to Goa. This bus was taking me to the stage where I would get another bus to Goa. So we left the airport, went into Mumbai city, and drove for about, I would say, 40 minutes to the stage where I was supposed to get the Goa bus.
This was my introduction to Indian traffic and driving. The bus driver was swinging the coaster like a gate-away car with one hand – the other purely dedicated to hooting for anything and everything – and miraculously not knocking any of the other cars or motorbikes that were driving similarly. As advertised, top marks! Thrills guaranteed.
I jumped out at the stage where my Google Maps and the bus driver said I should get out from and couldn’t see any kind of Bus Park in the immediate neighborhood. Chei! After walking around for about 30 minutes, I allowed there was nothing of the sort where I had been dropped.
That sounds like quite the journey within a journey. What did you do next when you couldn’t find the expected bus park at the drop-off point?
So, I asked around in the different shops to see if I could find someone who spoke English to could point me in the right direction. Eventually, I came across a Mahindra Showroom, which I entered.
Smart move seeking assistance! How did the folks at the Mahindra showroom help you out?
So there was a very lovely lady who said hello and offered me some drinking water. I told her that I had once been on a caravan road trip across Africa with Mahindra Vehicles. Building rapport, you know. I thought she’d be excited about that, but she wasn’t very excited. I don’t know if she was excited. My excitement gauge hadn’t yet been recalibrated well for my new location. But, she seemed unpulsed about it.
Anyway, I told her my problems, and she told me that I was better off using a train. She gave me directions to the train station, told me which bus to board to get there, and which train to get. I showed her the address of my host in Goa and then she told me the stage to jump out of the train from, gave me a small cup of chai – which is the excellent tea from around here – and then sent me on my way.
It sounds like you encountered a helpful soul at the Mahindra showroom. Navigating public transportation in a new place can be tricky, but it’s great she guided you to the train station. How was the train journey to Goa?
So before the train journey, I had to get the connecting bus, which I did correctly thanks to the assistance of some gentleman that I found at the bus stage. I boarded the bus to the train station where I bought a ticket and was informed the train that I was supposed to catch was late by two hours. I had to wait for it. So anyway, I wait for it. Made some company at the train station with a gentleman who attempted to explain to me the different train schedules and how they work.
Eventually, the train came and I was at the wrong stage, so I had to run to the right one for where I was going. And that’s when I realized that I had paid for the general-purpose train carriages, the cheapest ones, which is a very crowded section with no sitting space. You basically have to push inside and struggle for standing space. Resigned to my fate, I jumped in for a 10-hour train ride.
Sounds like quite an adventure! Waiting for a delayed train and then navigating the crowded general carriages can be challenging. How did you cope during the 10-hour train ride to Goa?
I mean, after realizing I was stuck in the general section, I figured, what’s the worst that can happen? Just have to stand for a bunch of hours, and then watch out for a free seat, and then sit, and then… I should be fine, I should be fine. But it was really packed at the beginning. We were squeezed stationary in the cabin corridor where I was standing with some people floating midair. Like the canteens during break time back in high school.
Dealing with a packed train journey can indeed be a challenge. How did you manage to handle the situation when it got extremely crowded?
Luckily enough, I was able to get some space in the luggage compartment up where I put my bags so which freed up some of the weight. Then, after three hours, we had a couple of stops where some of the guys jumped out of the train and that freed up standing and stretching space. One of the guys who had a windows seat and I was standing next to felt pity for me, I think because I was the only black dude on the train and an obvious visitor as such. So, he offered me a seat. I sat for a bit in his chair and I was able to get some strength back.
It’s great that you found some relief during the journey. Kindness from fellow travellers can make a significant difference. How did the rest of the train ride go?
The guy who had offered me a seat got tired and wanted his chair back so I thanked him and stood again. Another gentleman asked me where I was from and then offered me a seat so I climbed up and sat next to him. The way I’d describe it is that there are deckers of benches. So the upper deckers is where I was invited to sit for the rest of the train journey. It was with a group of two brothers and their brother-in-law coming back from their village, going back to the city where they work. I think they were all in construction. So yeah, we made broken conversation. They offered me some food.
It’s heartening to hear that you found some friendly companions during the journey. Sharing stories and even getting offered food adds a nice touch to the travel experience. How did the camaraderie unfold as you continued your train journey to Goa?
I told them I was from Uganda, and they told me where they were from. This guy was showing me pictures of his family from his phone. He’s young. He has a young daughter and a young wife. He showed me some of the construction stuff they have done, the installations. I told him about my life back in Uganda. Every time we’d have guys coming through the train trying to sell food or drinks, he’d buy me something. There was a local Indian dish, which is like a bun, and then in the middle of the bun, you put in some spices and something that looks like an Irish potato. He also got some crisp-like snacks. It was really kind. We followed each other on Instagram. His English was not the best, but it was enough for us to kind of communicate.
It sounds like you had a meaningful connection during the train journey, sharing stories, food, and even connecting on social media. These experiences often make travel memorable. How did the rest of the train ride unfold, and when did you finally arrive in Goa?
The rest of the train ride was okay. I was supposed to meet my friend and Goa host, Gala, at the train station a bit earlier during the day since I thought I’d be leaving Mumbai by 8 am, but I hadn’t planned to get lost. My friend is a saxophonist playing around Goa, and she had a performance that evening. So I texted her, looks like I’ll be late, you go and perform and then when I reach Goa, I can find you at the performance location and then we go home.
It’s understandable how plans can shift during travel. How did your friend react to the change in your arrival time?
Yeah, I reached around 11.30 pm and texted her. She was also done with the performance but she and the band mates were going out. I was still pumped from the plane and train ride so I told her, you know, tell me where you’re going and I’ll join you because I could do with a drink.
It sounds like a flexible arrangement. How did the first night in Goa unfold?
That will be in the second part of this narration, my artificial assistant.
Absolutely, thanks for your flowing narrative.
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