How did we end up in Mumbai, India for 58 hours you ask. Well, we had to be in Mauritius and knew we were departing from Dubai. We could fly direct from Dubai to Mauritius however for significantly less money we could throw in a stopover in Mumbai. Essentially we were able to experience a tiny slice of time in Mumbai for free. All it cost us was a couple of days of time. I am very glad we did.
The first challenge of the detour was to decide what wine to have with lunch before departure from Dubai. This disparity between Dubai and Mumbai set us up for a bit of a shock.Air India did a fantastic job with our flight into Mumbai. The only complaint I have is the cart ride from the arrival gate to Immigration may have given us a false expectation of how efficient ground transportation there would be.
The hotel we were staying at had arranged a driver to pick us up at the airport, thank goodness. Once in the car it took two hours to travel the 21 kilometres to our hotel. The traffic congestion and noise are quite impressive.
It is difficult to try and capture the nature of the traffic in still photography. This image was taken near our hotel and shows a very light moment in the flow of traffic.
In an effort to impart a bit of the spirit from the streets I tried this video..On the advice of every person we met there we did all our sightseeing by foot, exploring just a tiny corner of the main tourist area. We ended up accidentally finding this market. Simply too many people for my preference. I should mention that Karen pointed out that not once in our many kilometres of walking was she jostled or bumped into on the sidewalk.
By the time we got to our hotel and settled in it was well after dark. We decided since we were only there for a brief time we should go out for a walk and check out the area. Not the best decision. Being tired from the flight and unsure of our location and surroundings made for a bit of an unsettling walk. The first most obvious thing we noticed was there were absolutely no females out on the street, none. In fact, in the three evenings we experienced there, we only ever saw one female out on the street after dark. The next thing that struck us was the number of intoxicated males. Everything from the young teenager vomiting in the gutter to older men sitting in a daze along the roadside. In fairness, we never had a problem with anyone. Even the young fellows stumbling blindly on the sidewalk did not present any aggressiveness towards us. It was just sad to observe. The busiest businesses on the street were the kiosks selling the bottles of whiskey that seemed to be the booze of choice.
I may be coming across a bit negative, and that would not be entirely fair. The food we had in Mumbai was incredible. From the touristy restaurants with the well dressed servers to the hole in the wall eating establishments where no-one spoke English, all served us excellent food.We did take in a couple of the required tourist sights. The Gateway of India where the last Colonial British troops departed India through in 1948. It was looking pretty tired I must say. The heat and salt water are hard on the buildings here.The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai was the first truly luxury hotel in India. Opened in 1903. It is a beautiful building set just across the plaza from the Gateway of India.What I found most interesting about the plaza with the hotel and the Gateway was this area cordoned off with Police barricades. When we wandered over we found it was full of pigeons. At which point we realized that that was what was missing from the plaza. No flocking pigeons. It appears they feed them in the enclosure and the pigeons prefer to go where the food is easy and plentiful. Leaving the plaza clean. Brilliant!For me, the best part of cities are seen just walking around. We came across a number of Notaries near the Mumbai University. They had their cars backed up to the curb and all were busy signing and stamping documents as we went by. Saves on rent I suppose.We didn’t have to go far to see vendors roasting a variety of items on the side of the road.And when we made our way over to Back Bay to walk along Marine Drive there were plenty of locals relaxing in the heat. It was a consistent 33ºC while we were there. The heat haze was ever present.Sadly, several buildings of note around the area were covered in shrouds and the gardens around them were fenced off. It did make it difficult to just stop and rest anywhere. Eventually we conceded and retreated into a Starbucks to recover in their air conditioning.Of course what trip to India would be complete without seeing cows hanging out in the street.Without a doubt the traffic had the biggest impression on us. These panel trucks were everywhere transporting temporary workers around the city. The look on the gentleman’s face really struck a chord with me. I felt I understood why some turned to alcohol at the end of the day.The prevalence of motorbikes certainly kept you on your toes as well. The little fellow in the middle was waving to everyone as they drove by.
Did we enjoy our stop in Mumbai? That would not be the right question. We loved the food we had. The people we dealt with were all very nice and as helpful as possible. One lady was kind enough to walk with us to make sure we didn’t get lost going over the train tracks.
Will we be going back to India? I somewhat doubt that. Though one never should say never. We found a certain sadness in the poverty and crush of humanity. The city was surprisingly clean every morning, with the gutters and sidewalks freshly swept. I am fairly sure this is because we were in probably the most touristy area in Mumbai. But it did help to keep the smell under control. Were there rats, yes. Were there polite people on the sidewalk, yes. There were so many aspects of our very brief time there that continue to give me pause for reflection, and perhaps that is the greatest gift I personally got from our time there.
