Week 8 – Mumbai

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We left Goa for Mumbai on an over night train, due to arrive at Mumbai CST at 6am the next day.

Around midnight a number of people were talking on their mobile phones, saying there had been a bomb attack at Mumbai CST. The train stopped at the next station and didn't move for quite some time Some people got off but Tracy and I saw no point in leaving the train. We would still have to get to Mumbai somehow and getting off at a random station would not help.

Without wanting to sound callous, I remember thinking that the delay suited me fine, it meant I would get more sleep. Of course at this time no one on the train had any idea how bad things were in Mumbai.

I woke as the train was slowly making its way through the outer suburbs of Mumbai and was informed by other passengers that the train would stop a few stations before its final destination. We had planned to stay in a hotel close to CST station but that no longer seemed like an option. The train actually stopped at Dadar , 5km from Mumbai CST, because gunshots were reported at the next station.

We were both blurry eyed from sleep, with no real idea what we were going to do, so simply checked into the nearest hotel, had a shower and turned on the TV. That was when we realized exactly what had happened. Mumbai CST had been attacked by armed gunman and 3 buildings in the surrounding area were controlled by an unknown number of terrorists.

After sending SMS to advise family we were safe, Tracy made contact with a friends brother, Woody, who lives in Mumbai and he kindly offered us a place to stay. We went over to his flat and watched the days events unfold of TV.

That evening Woody took us out for food and even though we didn't know the city, it was obvious that the streets were very quite.

The next day things didn't seem to have changed much. There was still a hostage situation going on in South Mumbia. So while Woody took Tracy to watch him play flute, I stayed in and watched the 24 hour news coverage on TV. Occasional helicopters flew over head but otherwise we seemed quite isolated from events taking place a few miles south. Around mid-day reports of new gunfire at Mumbai CST and a few hospitals flashed on screen but were quickly dismissed as rumors.

Having spent 2 days waiting for things to clam down, by the 3rd we were itching to see Mumbai for real, rather than on TV. Even though terrorists were still at large, we hit the ground running. We went for a walk along Chowpatty beach, got henna tattoos, brought ice-cream for street kids, watched a Bollywood movie and joined in the chanting at a Harri Krinsna temple.

On our final day in Mumbai we went down to check out the damaged Taj hotel and had a few beers at Leopold's cafe and bar. The waiters at Leopold's all had chilling tales of near misses, whist the bullet scarred walls showed how fierce the gunfire had been. One can only imagine the terror felt by all the unfortunate victims.

To lift our somber mood we went to watch Woody play his saxophone at a very cool bar, had a few more beers and left Mumbai on an early morning train feeling a little drunk.

Thank you Woody for the fantastic hospitality you showed Tracy and I

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