Blogs from Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Asia - page 13

When you've visited somewhere quite often, it becomes difficult to find anything very new to say about it, doesn't it? I've been to the hot and humid city of Mumbai (Bombay) four or five times, most recently in 2009 () when it was a convenient place to meet my young Rajasthani friend on our way south to Kerala. This time, it was a convenient place to start a tour to the north with my travelling companions, the , neither of whom had been here before. They like peaceful, wide open spaces and don't normally do cities, so I think they were a bit overwhelmed by it all. Well, this is one of the most heavily-populated metropolitan areas in the world with over 20.5 Million people crammed into it. To put this into perspective, that's ... read more

Do Bombaju sme dorazili o 8/00. Na zaciatku mesta bolo vidiet kopa chatrc a chudoby,cim sme isli viac do centra chudoba ustupovala ale bordel nie. Bus ma vyhodil 3km od casti Colaba a 4km od hlavnej zel.stanici. Vybral som sa pesibusom do casti colaba. Na chodnikoch sa prave umyvali indovia,ovsem nie vsetci,niektory uz ranajkovali resp este spali vo svojich pribytkoch. Na hlavnej ulici o murovane oplotenie uchytena plachta,z bokov drevenne desky a to bol ich domov. Uplna hroza. Niektory spali len tak na ulici ,len zabaleny do oblecenia. Fakt takyto bordel a chudobu som este nevidel. Nachadza sa tu aj jeden z najvacsich slumov na svete,kde robia cestovky vylety,veru tam sa nechystam kuknut. Len tak zo srandy som behol zisiti ubytko v hoteli,cena 3200rup,potom uz nasledovali jednoduhsie ubytka 800rup,dorm 250 rup ale bol full,dasli opat za ... read more

We made it to India! After a four hour flight, we touched down in Mumbai at around 5:00 p.m. on January 24th. Getting through customs was hassle free, although we found out that India requires you to provide a significantly greater amount of detail about your stay than the other countries we’ve visited. Baggage claim was a rather chaotic introduction to the “every man for himself” attitude that many Indians possess when it comes to waiting in lines. Even before there were any bags on the conveyor belt, everyone was pushing and shoving to get a good spot. When our bags finally came around, we had to fight our way to the inside just to grab them! When we had our things and were ready to go, we hired a prepaid taxi, which we’d been recommended ... read more

Couples desperate for a few unsupervised moments alone line up like linked sausages to neck on the beach. All India STD refers not to a rampant venereal disease, but rather a place to make phone calls. Fights are fought with pointed fingers, not closed fists. The unmistakable whistle that signals a dance party… Tweeeeeeeet! Tweettweettweettweet! Tweeeeeeet! That all parties are dance parties. This is there also, hnnnh? Salwar kameez worn with tennis shoes for an evening walk. Shiny polyester pants, ironed with a sharp crease down the center, worn as casual daywear. Handkerchiefs wrapped around shirt collars to protect them from sweat stains. Fabric billowing around bodies that have jumped fully-clothed into the sea. Mullets have not yet passed out of style. A cow, a dog, and a rat sharing dinner out of the same garbage ... read more

People often ask me, “What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned in all your travels?” My answer has always been, “To let go.” With each delayed bus, traffic jam, and unexpected detour; with each new language, new cuisine, new religious custom, I’ve learned to let go a little more. Be it a stolen truck, a broken heart, or a cozy comfort zone, I’ve let them all go (some with more tears than others). But, until I started dancing salsa, I didn’t realize that I’ve never fully let go of my control. Although I’ve never technically learned even the basic salsa step, following the beat has never been a problem for me. It’s following the lead that gives me issue. If I haven’t said it enough already, I like to do things my own way. And dancing ... read more