Goodbye Udaipur…
Leaving Udaipur required getting up really, really early to catch a morning flight to Mumabi via Jet Airways.
Landing in Mumbai, India
Hello Mumbai (formerly Bombay)
After landing at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, we boarded a new coach with a new set of local city guides. Immediately, we set off from the airport towards the western express highway to see the sites.
The growing skyline of Mumbai set against the dying fishing villages of the western coast
The Sea Link
One sobering thing became apparent: Mumbai was not the sweet little slice of paradise that I just left behind in Rajasthan. No, Mumbai was a big, dirty, hard metropolis that doesn’t care about you or anybody else.
With 19 million people, Mumbai is the most populous city in India, and the ninth most populous in the world. It has more millionaires and billionaires then the rest of India combined. It is the home of Bollywood, yes, but make no mistake – it exists only for business.
The infamous Dhobi Ghat (largest outdoor laundry center in the world)
The Back Bay promenade (also had the biggest rats I’d ever seen!)
Back Bay at night from at top the Trident Nariman Point
The Gateway of India
What’s inside the Gateway of India? A tea cart of course!
The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (UNESCO World Heritage Site)
So this was a little hard to photograph…
The Oval Maiden, Mantralaya
It may hold the seats of Government, but there are more important things happening here. Like Cricket!
Bombay High Court
The Rajabai Clock Tower
The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel
The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel (site of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks)
Mani Bhavan, The National Gandhi Museum
Gandhi’s Apartment (now museum)
Gandhi’s Balcony
Museum display depicting Gandhi’s assasination
Museum display depicting Gandhi’s cremation
True then. True now.
Letter from Gandhi to Hitler (1939)
ISKCON Temple, Mumabi (also known as Sri Sri Radha Rasabihari ji Temple) [Hare Krishna]
Chowpatty Beach
Apparently, the Hulk is a fan of Chowpatty Beach, Mumbai – and is now teaching a fitness class
A Mumbai sunset, just like I imagined
Final Thoughts on Mumbai:
Mumbai was not my favorite place in India. Not that was all Mumbai’s fault. The food was damn great. The city? Traffic was horrid, the city noticeably polluted and it did not feel safe or welcoming for walking around. People were not forthcoming on information if they knew they could make money from it.
Case in point:
I was staying at the notable Trident Nariman Point hotel, and had a lengthy conversation with a the hotel concierge who assured me that the tiger sanctuary and Kenheri Caves were not to be missed. I took him up on his recommendation and, after a one hour sweltering pollution-ridden slog across the city, I paid the taxi driver $10, walked to the entrance gates and was immediately told at the entrance, “Sorry, we’re closed on Mondays”.
I wandered back to the taxi driver, and he was like, “Oh yeah, they are closed on Mondays, I can take you back for another $10”. Great. I got back to the Trident and went straight to the concierge and told him he neglected to tell me it was closed on Mondays. His response? “[laughingly] Oh yeah, it is closed on Mondays. Want me to find you something else?”. After the wasted time and money? That would be a resounding “no” from me.
I expect these types of scams when I travel every now and then, but I didn’t run into them in Rajasthan – and I didn’t expect I’d run into them at the Trident. But like I said, Mumbai is a big hard city.
The bottom line? Mumbai is a place for business – not for a relaxing vacation.
Leaving Mumbai, Leaving India
Interior design of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport
And just like that, my first trip to India had come to an end. I’ll admit I was at first hesitant to come here. I was wary of the pollution, the potential for sickness, the overcrowding, the crushing poverty. Before I left, I’d tell people where I was going and the first thing they’d say is “why?”.
But, I’m forever grateful that I did go and got to see so many great places, meet so many great people, try so much amazing food, and have so many meaningful life experiences – at once challenging and confirming my world view. I learned why so many people that have traveled there have a longing in their heart to go back. Its really quite unexplainable. Its also really quite obvious.
Logistically, I learned that India is so big and varied that it would really require several trips in a lifetime to see it. Aside from Rajasthan and the “Golden Triangle”, there is the northwestern state of Punjab, the Himalayas, the far eastern regions of Kolkata, Bengal, Assam and Nagaland, the western coast from Goa to Kerala, and the southeastern Chennai cost – not to mention the vast interior.
Like the others, I too now long to return to India one day.
Cheers!
