Couchsurfing in Mumbai

Kerala, in the very south of India, is quite different from the rest of the country. It has the highest literacy rate, is mostly cow/free and clean compared to other places I have been.
Kerala is famous for its Backwaters, kind of a river-channel-lake-system along the coast-line closely connected to the nearby sea.
I did a nice but tiring eight hours boat trip down from Allepey to Quillon. On the boat I met some exchange students from Europe who are studying in Mumbai. I stayed with them for the next days. After the Backwater cruise, we headed to the beach of Varkala. The beach is not as nice as the beaches in Goa and there is strong current in the water which makes it difficult to swim but the ambient is more relaxing and the sea food is deadly cheap and more than yummi. :)
After a few days in Verkala, I headed to the Periyar Tiger Reserve (You will not see any tiger but the name good marketing, isn't it?). The road brought me into a mountainous area, where a lot of spices, herbs and especially tea and coffee is grown. I visited one of the many spice farms and got introduced to a variety of interesting plants. Do you know how nutmeg grows? Now I do.

The park itself was a bit of a disappointment. It wasn't that impressive with one exception: I saw some wild elephants taking a bath. That was kind of cute.

In the evening and during the next day, I was hanging out with some Germans I met in the park which resulted in a hangover the day I had to leave and take a bus back to Cochi. After a terrible night in Cochi (not related to my hangover!!!) in probably the world's worst accommodation, I headed to the airport and took a flight to Mumbai. Mumbai, one of the busiest cities in the world - that's what I have been told - was, well... dead? It was very quiet around the airport. "Where is everyone?", I asked myself as I was looking for a taxi to bring me to my accommodation. I learned that taxis, rickshaws and most of the buses do not operate cos of some tension in the town due to an arrest of a politician. GREAT! How do I get to my accommodation now? I figured out that the buses to the suburbs are not affected and since the place I intended to stay was close to the airport, I could find the right bus after a while.

In Mumbai, I didn't stay in a Guesthouse or Hotel. I decided to do Couchsurfing for the first time. (I'm too lazy to explain what it is. For those not familiar with this service, may know how to use Google and inform themselves. thanks. :)) I know some people who did this before and all of them were amazed. So, I gave it a try. Nidhi was my host and invited me to stay at her apartment. When I arrived at her place, she was still at work. The guard however gave me her key and I could enter the apartment and relax for a while. After she came back, we went out with her friends and she showed me a bit of the city the day after. It was a great experience and I might do this again anytime soon.