Mumbai Madness

Hi everyone,

After a mammoth transit from Auckland – Christchurch – Kuala Lumpur – Mumbai we arrived in Mumbai at midday on Monday (about 5.30pm NZ time) – and it was so different…

We stayed at a hotel(ish place) in Chenbur, which the hotel website said was extremely central, but was actually a 25 minute train ride from the centre of town and far from the types of activities which are commonly attractive to tourists! It was a bit annoying when we were trying to see the tourist things, but actually turned out to be pretty cool overall as we were just off the main street of the Chenbur neighbourhood and it felt like we got a bit more of a genuine look at daily life in Mumbai. It is so so busy – the street is packed with people walking, running, sitting, selling, begging, lobbying, gesturing, arguing, loitering, as well as with an army of yellow and black cabs, tuk-tuks, motorbikes and the occasional BMW that generally keep left, but otherwise abide by no road rules. Indicating is unheard of and there are no road markings at all – the drivers avoid collision by honking incessantly to let everyone know exactly where they are. For any planning geeks out there, I’d call it a hyperactive street frontage.

It is a real mono-culture ethnically which was extremely strange to me at first (Dan saw it in Iran). Culturally it is a bit more diverse - the income gap is hugely apparent, plus the different religious groups dress, walk and eat differently. You also see heaps of people in western dress which I didn't really expect, but something in common that they all have is that everyone is covered to the ankles. Tops are a bit more lenient, as sleeveless is permissible but definitely no cleavage!

We both felt a bit culture-shocked the first couple of days. I thought that I was going to be too super-cool of a traveler to be so, but quickly found otherwise! Mumbai just challenged and overwhelmed all of my senses – the beggar women tugging at my sleeve, the cacophony of vehicle honking and people everywhere deafening my thoughts, the smells making me gag in revulsion (think human waste in 35 degree heat) as well as sending me to paradise with the variety of cooking foods and incense drifting down the street, visually trying to keep tabs on all the street activity, and the frequent thirst. That sounds quite negative, but there were so many positives – the incredible food, the colonial architecture, the visually enchanting sari’s that make even the poorest women look incredibly glamourous, the beautiful smiles of everyone who catches your eye and the friendliness and eagerness to help of everyone that we have encountered.

We got the hang of things a bit more after the first day or two, and have learnt to take life slowly and not expect to accomplish things quickly or efficiently - so now we're happy to stop and grab a dosa when the trains have people hanging out on either side and all over the roofs and we have not a chance of getting on for half an hour at least, and have learnt that you should definitely not breathe through your nose while you’re drinking from your bottled water just in case some particularly foul stench comes your way at that moment. The afternoon siesta is particularly important as the heat between 11.30 and 3.30 is unreal, although the Indian people seem to be oblivious of it (there are a suspiciously large number of deodorant ads on tv though….).

After four days in Mumbai we took a train south to Anjuna in Goa, arriving late last night. So far it is a tropical paradise with scooters, palm trees, markets galore, and orange sanded beaches bordered with shack restaurants where you can order fresh fish and feni while watching the sun set hooray!

     View from our room in Mumbai | "Deck surfing" the rocky boat to Elephanta Island

     Soph on the little train from the docks

     Cute little friends | Walkway to the temple

     Lacking a sense of scale here... my head reached about the bottom of the necklace in the first picture

     A relieved Sophie out of the hot sun | We had to pay for this one so it's going up...

     First class train carriage, a little different to what you expect... but much less crammed than the others.
     Well, outside of peak hours anyway. One day we tried to get on the train at about 9:30am and even first
     class was so packed that people trying to jam themselves through the door got pushed aside when the
     train started moving and were stuck waiting for the next one (us included), which is thankfully is only ever
     4 minutes away.

     Washed up trash on the beach, with the rich district in the distance

     Hanging out with an elephant at the hanging gardens | Temple ceiling

     From what we gathered, this is a temple for a small religion that is a fusion of Hindu & Buddhism

     Ghandi's base of operations in Mumbai, now a museum | Dhobi Ghat, where all the clothes are washed

     (not ours though, we are still surviving on what we packed... for now)