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Published: October 15th 2006
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I love Mumbai. I've been reading the paper for job postings because I could possibly live here. After being in the north of India, Mumbai has proven to be a welcome change in culture and surroundings. We've been staying in the touristy region, but the street vendors aren't quite as pushy and the beggars don't follow you for blocks on end (just one block). Mumbai is quite modern compared to the other cities we've been in and while it still feels like India it's western enough that I could live here. It's been a week and reflecting on it I'm not sure I've done a whole lot, but I've really enjoyed my time here.
Food Like Home
We've become quite fond of the variety of food here, notably the western food. Other cities it was a struggle to find some food that was "normal" and often a pizza wasn't even close to a pizza. In Mumbai we've gorged on our western food visiting the "Winston Churchill Cafe" for toasted sandwiches and cheesecake. Today we went for a fabulous all you can eat buffet filled with fresh salads and soups. The buffet even had roast beef sandwiches but I wasn't sure
Hindu God in the Sand
At a Hindu festival 2 weeks ago, they all bring statues of their Gods and release them into the ocean. Lots of debris how good Indians would be at cooking beef or what the turnover on it would be so I passed. Damn the Sacred Cow!
Coffee and Hookah
We've spent plenty of time in coffee shops akin to starbucks reading the paper, completing the suduko puzzles (Jarrod's new addiction) and chatting to other travellers. Popular amoung the teens and early twenties crowd is sipping coffee and smoking hookah. Of course we had to try hookah to fit in and look cool. Hookah is like a big bong filled with fruit flavored stuff (it wasn't tabacco or drugs but we couldn't get a good explaination of what it really was) that emits a sickly sweet smoke. You could choose from lemon, apple, cherry, peach, mint, etc... we chose a mix of apricot mint and sat back and puffed away while enjoying the evening breeze.
The Sights
We did visit the typical tourist spots such as the Gateway of India, browsing the local markets, Chowpatty Beach for sunset and Dhobi Ghats (where clothes are washed by hand). We enjoyed a trip to "the mall" for the food court and entertainment. We played a game of air hockey (which I won) and 10
pin bowling. The bowling lanes were a bit shorter than at home and not waxed very well. This really effected Jarrod's game, but I scored fine and it was fun all the same.
Bollywood
We didn't end up doing much with the Bollywood scene but on the street we were aproached many times to go as an extra in a movie and be paid for it. One night at 11:30pm a fellow knocked at our hotel room door and asked if we wanted to be an extra, when we declined how much he would pay almost doubled but we just weren't that interested.
Local Train Ride
We rode the local trains around town and that was an adventure in itself. We first ventured on the train on Sunday so it wouldn't be so busy; we got seats near the exit and everything was peachy. However on Monday around noon we rode the train again and it was a touch squishy with bodies pressed up against you and we really had to push to get on and off the train at our stops. Still, the train wasn't as full as some of the other trains we've seen with people
Washing Clothes
Beating the dirt out of clothes at Dhobi Ghats hanging off of the outside. There are carraiges for "women only" but we wanted to stay together and thankfully I didn't get groped. The train system is really effective and fast. Trains come every few minutes but you have to get on and off quick because they don't stop for more than about 30 seconds at each station. Definatly better than Vancouver's skytrain.
Carol's Thoughts
Mumbai is known for it's slums with millions of people living with a roof made of blue tarp and scrap sheet metal and no running water. We didn't see the big slums, just a few shacks set up on some of the side streets. After being in India for two months now, I've realized that I've become accustomed to the poverty and unfortuntaly it doesn't bother me much anymore. Mind you, if I still had a thin skin I'd likely be crying everyday. I think most of the people living in the slums are poor, but not destitute. When we walked past some "mini" slums the children outside were playing hop-scotch and women were washing dishes and they all smiled and said hello and didn't once ask for money.
India is a country
full of entrepreneurs looking to make a buck. A perfect example of poverty meets entrepreneur is an advertisement we saw for "Slum Tours" as if the slums are now a tourist attraction. We didn't sign up for the tour.
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Sandy
non-member comment
Hi Carol and Jarrod! Looks like you're having a great time!. Pretty adventuresome! Keep the journals coming. We LOVE to hear how you're both doing! Enjoy!...Sandy