We are back in Mumbai to meet Teddy tomorrow and begin our journey to Goa. We made it Matheran two days ago getting onto the train at 4am in Jalgaon. Our teacher's uncle made it possible to finally slip out of that town- although we were well rested, we were ready for a new adventure. Matheran was pretty incredible. A moutain village with no cars or bicycles, we took a train to a minivan type vehicle which whipped us (literally) up a mountain to a spot where there were horses and man powered rickshaws waiting to take us up the rest of the way. We chose the cheap option- a teenage boy/porter carried my backpack up while we walked with him. The hike was stunning. A winding path crept along the side of the mountain and the view was of an enormous valley stretching forever to meet more strangely shaped peaks in the distance. Everything was wrapped in a fog-like mist which made it seem so magical. On our way up we started to get glimpses of the monkeys which would become almost too banal... We found our hotel at the top through a strange sort of carnival atmosphere like town- it is a holiday spot for many Indians and so there are different attractions like "chikki" (one of 
my favorites- a peanut candy) and tons of sandal makers bent over their work. And horses everywhere. I almost enjoy the female status in these situations because everyone approaches Gregg to sell him things and I am left alone. Nice. I will write about the monkeys and then it will be Gg's turn. Our first day we awoke in a huge pink room with tons of windows and sat on our little porch and started my dreads.. We were shocked when a monkey came up and sat about three feet from us. We started to back away when it got on our table and picked up our bottle of water, poured it out, and started drinking... Gregg finally picked up a chair and sort of waved it at the monkey and only then did it slowly leave. After that we were never without a stick of some sort- the monkeys are adorable but not shy and will take whatever you've got. One strange part about the hikes were the giant ramshackled mansions that were quietly tucked away in different parts of the forest. One man (with whom we were lost for a long time- he and his 50 students) told me that the British built them and then Kings hid in them... and 
I'm not sure, like any story I hear here, whether I am misunderstanding, it is a fabrication, or that is the solid truth- whichever it is, whomever built those mansions were long gone and the stray dogs, monkeys, and poor had taken over their crumbling fortresses... We are back in Mumbai now with the red dust of Matheran still sticking to our shoes. I feel so much more peaceful with that time in the mountains to breath clean air and hike around looking at beautiful vistas.
my favorites- a peanut candy) and tons of sandal makers bent over their work. And horses everywhere. I almost enjoy the female status in these situations because everyone approaches Gregg to sell him things and I am left alone. Nice. I will write about the monkeys and then it will be Gg's turn. Our first day we awoke in a huge pink room with tons of windows and sat on our little porch and started my dreads.. We were shocked when a monkey came up and sat about three feet from us. We started to back away when it got on our table and picked up our bottle of water, poured it out, and started drinking... Gregg finally picked up a chair and sort of waved it at the monkey and only then did it slowly leave. After that we were never without a stick of some sort- the monkeys are adorable but not shy and will take whatever you've got. One strange part about the hikes were the giant ramshackled mansions that were quietly tucked away in different parts of the forest. One man (with whom we were lost for a long time- he and his 50 students) told me that the British built them and then Kings hid in them... and I'm not sure, like any story I hear here, whether I am misunderstanding, it is a fabrication, or that is the solid truth- whichever it is, whomever built those mansions were long gone and the stray dogs, monkeys, and poor had taken over their crumbling fortresses... We are back in Mumbai now with the red dust of Matheran still sticking to our shoes. I feel so much more peaceful with that time in the mountains to breath clean air and hike around looking at beautiful vistas.
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