Mumbai (Bombay)

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"...a stint in India will beat the restlessness out of any living creature;" - Author's Note, Life of Pi

It almost beat the restlessness out of me (until I went to Pench National Park). India, in the words of my friend Roberto, is intense. More specifically, Bombay ("Mumbai" since 1995) and Delhi are intense.

By the end of my stay in Bombay, I was questioning how much I wanted to travel in the future. I was reading "The Art of Travel" and it mentions how the dreams of travel don't equal the realities of it. And the realities hit me well in India.

But later in the trip in Pench National Park I was remembered how much I love nature and adventures; cities are enjoyable for short periods and can be exhausting; and most of my time in India was spent in Bombay -- the most populated city in the world. The pace of life in Bombay is fast and it is busy at all hours. Everything seems to be happening at once.

The contrasts between the wonderful and the not so wonderful are readily and quite apparent. Bombay is rich, exotic, beautiful, and in a strange way addictive. The people are very cheerful.

However, Bombay also has so much poverty and half of Bombay's 13 million people in shanty towns or worse. Bombay is heavily polluted (smog, trash, and noise). The traffic is worse than Los Angeles and cars compete with pedestrians, cows, and bicycles (even on major roads). And, while cheerful people are abundant, so are sad people... and it shows on their faces and bodies.

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The flight over was relatively uneventful... long flight... four hour layover in Brussels. From Brussels to Mumbai (they changed the name from Bombay to Mumbai in 1995) I flew on Jet Airways, which is a privately owned Indian airline; great airline. One thing I've had to get used to is how close Indians will stand when in line... anytime an Indian was behind me in line they were usually pushing up against my back, even when there was no reason for it. That impatience was ever present in Mumbai, where cars honk often for no reason and in traffic jams where nobody is going anywhere... where the cars are a foot apart and there are fives lines of cars and only three lanes on the road.

In the international airport in Mumbai, the first thing I noticed was the humid heat, then the mosquitoes (ubiquitous in Mumbai), and that the airport looked like it hadn't been updated since the early '80s. The baggage carousel squeaked very loudly as it brought the bags around. The flourescent lighting was bad.

At the carousel, almost everyone huddled up on the side closest to where the bags came out... so I went to other side where a few other westerners joined me; this was interesting... why crowd like crazy on one side with all of their baggage carts, three or four deep, and leave the other side relatively open? At any rate, I waited for my bag without being in the middle of the crowd.

I then went through customs, took a quick ride to the hotel (Intercontinental - The Grand Mumbai), slept, and then got up the next day and had a morning chill-out by the pool. The pool area is very pleasant and beautiful (I actually saw it in a Bollywood film), but it is more interesting when viewed from the hotel rooms above it. Just on the other side of the wall on one side of the pool area is a little shanty village. India is full of contrasts.

In my daily commute, it is easy to observe such poverty at a distance (physically and emotionally) in the air-conditioned car with my driver negotiating the crazy and clogged streets of Mumbai.

To watch families live among farm animals (pigs, goats chickens), trash infested waters, in tents and shanty towns, sleeping on curbs and in the middle of the streets while traffic is all around, and so much else that it is hard to put into words without seeing, it is tough to consider... I want easy answers and I didn't find any.

I was so well taken care of in India. When I needed to go somewhere, we had a driver to take us there. People (staff, security guards, the drivers, etc.) opened doors for me whenever they could get there before me. My lunch was brought to me and someone else washed the dishes. I got to dine at some of the best restaurants. The hotel was wonderful and the staff great. The maids scrubbed the room down completely every day.

However, every day, I passed by the worst poverty I've seen in my life. I know there is worse poverty in the world. But it is in such abundance there... mile after mile of shanty towns, half-naked (the wrong half) children running around beside busy cars and around so much trash.

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Back to the details of the trip. On Saturday morning, the first full day there, I was lounging by the pool, reading, and thinking I probably wouldn't get out into the city until Monday.

However, when I got back to my room there was a message from someone at work. He had arranged for me to be picked up in a few hours by a co-worker and shown around. And in a few hours off we went.

Of course, the first things I noticed were the crazy traffic, abundant poverty, and the overwhelming mass of people everywhere.

The first stop was Juhu Beach (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juhu), which is apparently the most well-known beach in Mumbai. It had lots of vendors selling food, trinkets, and candy. It was crowded but people were mainly standing around in groups and walking around. Not a beach to swim at with the pollution.

We walked around awhile and then headed on to the Bandstand Promenade (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandstand_Promenade) in Bandra.

Bandra is one of the wealthier neighborhoods and some of the Bollywood stars live there; Bollywood, I am told, is not a place or city like Hollywood, but more dispersed within Mumbai.

The Bandstand Promenade is a great place to walk around, especially at low tide (when we were there). We walked along the promenade and out into the rocky terrain there were hundreds of little puddles, interesting rocks, and great views of Bandra, the surrounding area, and the ocean. It is also a place where lots of young couples go to get away (ahem, from everyone else) and they were scattered around in relatively secluded spots.

We then headed out to and Indian restaurant for dinner... good food except for a strange yogurt drink.

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The next day I got in a good workout at the gym, a haircut, and more pool time. There were more plans for me that day, as well. Another co-worker picked me up and took me to the Gateway of India (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_of_India), where we took a boat out to Elephanta Island (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephanta_Island).

The ride out took about an hour and has great views of the city. Many of the boats are colorfully painted and have tires lining their edges to protect them when they dock side-by-side to eachother... the passengers go from boat-to-boat to board and exit.

Elephanta Island has the Elephanta Caves. The Elephanta Caves are amazing large rooms carved in solid rock and contain carvings of Hindu gods, altars, columns, and more. The most amazing thing is the size of the rooms and how they are carved into the island There is also a large room/cave which is filled with water (spring-fed) where the people who lived there used to get fresh water.

Along the way to the caves are lots of stairs and vendors selling stuff. There are lots of monkeys and other animals. The area where the caves are also has a great overlook view of the surrounding terrain and the ocean.

After walking around a bit we headed back. This ride was a little rougher with water spraying in on one side every now and then. It was very windy, as well.

We then walked around the Gateway of India, took pictures, and headed to dinner. More great Indian food... India does vegetarian very well. And, for anyone traveling here, I would recommend sticking to the vegetarian food as it's what they do best (I think I may have gotten sick on some of the meat here); 50% of India is vegetarian as Hindus typically do not eat meat... although the poor often will, such as fish, since food doesn't come as easily for them.

Afterwards we went to buy some natural ice cream, which was very good, and then it was back to the hotel.

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Then it was a week of work. We had a few great dinners and lunches. Lots of car time in the heavy Mumbai traffic, as it took an average of 45 minutes each way to work. Overall, the work was great and it was a terrific experience to work with them.

Note: Click on "Next" below to see more photos (about 70 in total).

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Photos

Boat
We rode a boat just like this out to Elephant Island

Tree
On Elephanta Island

Comments

[Augusta]

Mumbai
Wah-waaaaaaahhhhhh--Debbie Downer. We do take so much for granted in America. Our poverty doesn't even compare to poverty in other countries. It just makes it that much more apparent to me while people would even be willing to go to Bahrain to work for almost nothing just to get away from such bad circumstances. The Elephanta caves look really fascinating; if I ever go to Mumbai, I'll have to check them out. Can't wait to hear about the Taj Mahal and your adventures with J-Man.

[Girija]

Interesting perspective of Mumbai
For a Mumbaite who has grown up in Mumbai seeing it from your eyes is weird. I am in CA now, and understand that there is poverty and riches side by side in Mumbai but I realize all Mumbaites take it in their stride. It is a city of survival, so amidst all the poverty that you mention there is life, joy, hope and a will to be better. That is what makes Bombay the pulsating city that it is today. Comforts like airconditioning, clean roads, less traffic is possible in cities that have very less population, but the most amazing part of Mumbai is its ability to be so efficient despite the problems. I think Mumbai is a city of dreams and I hope you can see it that way too.