What's made of one piece will hardly come apart

I had to wait about half an hour at the table before breakfast was finally served, but that wouldn't stop me from being the first on the ferry to Elephanta Island. I had noticed I didn't feel quite 100%... There was a rumble in my stomach and my poo had started to get rather liquid (pardon me being so graphic). In addition to starting my diarrhea medication I got myself a Coke in order to help my digestion. Maybe it's true what they say!

There wasn't an excessive amount of tourists, the lower deck of the ferry filled just about up with a number of Swiss couples and plenty of other Europeans. An older Swiss guy was saving his money by fighting off a postcard seller. Obviously he was also saving on a hairdresser and razor blades. An Austrian tourist was delivering his travel adventures with a nasal voice to his fellow passengers. Someone applied sunscreen, head to toe.

The ship started its journey to the East. Eventually it would slow down and drop local people onto other ferries in the harbor. I was sitting the head of the ship, looking for photo opportunities. Ships big and small would make their appearance in the hazy smog stretching over the surface of the water. A seagull was picking on a dead fish. Every now and then a shoe floated by in the murky water. - A shoe? Finally something much bigger distilled on the horizon: Elephanta Island, home to Hindu temple caves, some 1400 years old.

We climbed ashore on a quai wall that protruded out from the coast for about 200 meters. A miniature train stood ready for the tourist to bring them to the island. Almost everyone else got on, so I thought it's part of the ferry ticket. It turned out it cost 10 Rupees, which I hastily paid, and it moved at walking speed. Well, maybe still a tiny bit faster than I would have walked with my injury. The engine of the train had the old fashioned steam barrel bonnet but contained a tiny combustion engine that ripped the silence of the surroundings with a hammering rattle. We passed some food sellers, followed by a gate for 5 Rupee of tax fee of some sort, followed by a handicraft bazaar that would lead up along the steps all the way to the temple site. Me and my fellow tourists didn't get harassed once. - That would follow on the way down.

The notion that an entire columned hall including all ornaments could be chiseled out of a mountain was mind-boggling. A sacred but open minded atmosphere filled the cave. There were several niches with religious scenes depicting Shiva, about 3 to 4 times life size. All the (mostly quite well preserved) statues were wonderfully dynamic and elegant. Their faces showed subtle but very readable expressions, having their eyes closed at all times. It was as though they tried to be expressionless but couldn't help showing their emotions. In the center of the back wall there stood the majestic three-headed portrait sculpture of Shiva, as creator, preserver (with the curious attribute of a lime) and as destroyer. - I had prepared myself with some basic knowledge about the mythology and decided to encounter the artwork only visually at first before eavesdropping in on one or the other guided tour.

Along a generous path around the mountain followed a handful of other caves, but each was less and less elaborate, the final one being a mere crack in the mountain. "Cannon Hill" read a sign. An older couple was selling fairly cold beverages and trying to make a buck by having the woman's picture taken. "What's on Cannon Hill?" I asked. "Cannon!" Oh, silly me. I went on, walking the now narrow path through the woodland carefully slow. I was wearing the fake Nike sandal on my left foot, and the much hated, even cheaper toe-worn flip flop on my right foot since this was the only shoe that would accommodate the foot in bandage. The strap was starting a blister on the back of the foot.

It turned out there weren't just two 30 foot cannons mounted on huge carousels on the hill, but also an excessive amount of tourist litter, mainly water bottles. Simply careless. - An an artificial elevation on the very top of the hill must have been the lookout. Climbing down from that bump I got some pebbles in my fake Nike sandal. When I tried to shake them out the sole came off. Not just partly, but the entire piece of plastic, without warning. The hot midday sun must have molten the glue. Rats, I had just bought it two days ago! So much for shoes being thrown in the ocean. I would dispose of this one properly though. - I was just at the very beginning of my descent, but it turned out that walking without that sole wasn't too hard as long as I avoided the pointy pebbles.

The path led out of the wood onto what I discovered was the top of the second cave. The sun was burning down and close to a dozen of eagles were circling the hot air above. It was amazing! I dropped my bag and took my camera, shooting like a WWI air defense until I was dizzy. Further along the way, in fact back at the top of the stairs some monkeys were occupying a tree, being at war with birds and dogs. The latter didn't care much about the primates though. Eventually the monkeys would take a break from the fighting for a little coitus.

Back in Mumbai I got myself some anti-diarrhea antibiotic, just in case (a steal at 100 Rupees anyway). Travellers diarrhea is defined as "3 watery bowel movements within 24 hours in addition with one of the other symptoms such as fever, vomit etc." I didn't have shivers earlier in the day, but short "drop outs" in my hearing. Although... is that maybe related to the cool AC at night? Am I not infected just adapting to the new diet? In any case I would drink all I could in order to keep things going. I noticed that the climate this time of year was very dry. Things dried quickly, which was of course convenient when it came wet bathroom floors and laundry that laundry that I washed in the shower.

A pair of Bata sandals were horrendously expensive at 750 Rupees (25 Francs), but would hopefully last until the end of the trip. Most of all I could almost walk normally in them, what a great feeling of rebirth!