With our bearings gathered as much as they can be for one of the busiest cities in the world. We set our sights on visiting the world heritage site, Elephanta Island. For me, an avid urbex enthusiast, the boat journey there was intriguing enough, the coast is a smattering of rusting cargo ships, some working while some have been abandoned, fishing boats, oil rigs and strange grey emerging island buildings that must have been a defence stations in the war.
The undulating trip took about 50 minutes, a choppy sea made the journey not one for the weak stomached. The island, like many things so far in India was one full of juxtaposition; while being a protected world heritage site and full of placards encouraging the cleaning up of rubbish, the beaches, I use the term loosely, where amassed in debris.
Before ascending the grey, smooth stone steps up to the caves we ate a quick lunch of thali and egg omelettes at a quaint little restaurant accompanied by an inquisitory baby monkey.
The pathway up was full of your usual boho hippy clothing stalls, stalls selling knifes, replica guns and my favourite of all some impressive geodes and crystals.
We had failed to be informed that the entrance to the caves is 500rs, after paying 140rs each for the boat and a 5rs island tax, we where slightly annoyed as as a indian national 100rs was the going rate.
Long story short, we scrambling through the jungle, hops a fence or two and had a quick wonder at the very impressive cave carvings before being ushered away by guards while we looked confused and for the first time in my life I pretended not to speak English.
After being enveloped by stray pupper dogs, fussing and feeding them corn we hopped on our peeling little tug boat back to the mainland, had a evening dinner with a new friend Mahesh at Cafe Universo, played cards a while on the rooftop and ended our day with a few episodes of a shitty English TV show.
The Manifest Monkeys 