Bollywood, here we come!

Mumbai (or Bombay, as it previously was known and to which many bus companies still refer to it, much to our confusion) was our last stop in India. Unfortunately our time was compressed and so we only got a few days to see the city.

Jami strolling down a waterfront

Our ride in was rough. We were waitlisted on our train tickets, despite buying them many weeks in advance. Therefore, on the last day, we had no choice but to go the bus route. And since we had experienced no problems with the cheep overnight trains, we decided to save some cash and take the cheap night bus. Not our best choice. We were assigned a bed smaller than a single bed for both of us, hot and stuffy with no fan other than open windows. Curtains, which didn’t stay in place, were all that separated us from the aisle. A small vertical bar was all that was stopping us from rolling into the aisle on the many curves and turns along the road. And all of this was before the bumps started. Of course, it could have been worse. Across from us, sharing the same size space we were, were two male strangers. They were not happy.

This is the room for two people

While not getting much sleep, I enjoyed the view outside the window as we drove up the country. We were only on a two lane road for much of the way, with houses, shops, and combinations of the two fronting the road. As we drove into the encroaching darkness, the homes and stores lit up with fires, lights, and candles; families sat down for dinner; kids played in the street; and old men shot the shit with each other over now-familiar dishes of chapati, curries, and rice. It was interesting and comforting to see the slice of Indian life away from the tourist areas we were mainly confined to on this trip, and to see that even in houses and on streets far different from ours, the universal beats and rhythms of boring, ordinary life were familiar.

Relaxing views out the window

Our arrival in Mumbai was jarring. We were let off far from where we were told we would be, already tired and hungry. But once we got our bearings, I came to like the area in the South of the city in which we were staying (either Fort, Churchgate, or Colaba – I couldn’t figure out the boundaries).  It was busy and somewhat filled with traffic and people, but there were still quiet side streets away from the hustle. Stately buildings lined the streets, a huge park was in the middle, and in either side were the bay and the Arabian Sea.

Looking out over the bay

There were tourist attractions as well, but we weren’t all that impressed. Jami was reminded of Manhattan, if only because the prices were significantly higher than elsewhere in India.

Stately streets

The Gateway of India

Our first stop in Mumbai was actually McDonalds. We had been planning to visit Mickey D’s at least once in India because we were told that their local options (given that beef is a no-no) were different and good. Our verdict: meh. Not only was the food expensive, but the “McSpicy Chicken” and “Maharaja Mac” were nowhere near as good as authentic Indian food. It was cool seeing all the different options and the Indian versions of American classics, though.

But we did venture out beyond American conglomerate food chains. In fact, one if my favorite aspects of Mumbai was the amazing street food. It seemed at every corner there was a food cart with yummy samosas, rice dishes, and my favorite – sugarcane juice.

Making sugarcane juice

Verdict: yum!

We took several trips up north to see the “real” Mumbai. And wow, what a stark difference. Much more crowded, with more cars, motorbikes, people – everything. Tall apartment buildings were next to run-down slums. What struck me as different from the slums I had seen in the past was that while there were slum areas, the housing was less built on land they had, and more just wherever there was room. If there was a gap between buildings, open land by railroad tracks, or space between highways, there were usually some shacks there.

Stark differences in wealth were often right next to each other.

But we also saw some large slums, where the individual living spaces appeared to combine into one huge massive building, 3, 4, even 5 stories tall, going the length of the road. At night, you could see the lights of the people living there, with Tvs, lights hanging from ceilings, and everyday trappings of life. It was heartbreaking I see the conditions, even more so to see the children in those conditions. We considered taking a tour if the biggest slum, but decided that we wouldn’t feel comfortable being tourists to someone’s living condition. It was hard enough just driving past.

One slum we did visit was the famous Dhobi Ghat area, where streets have been turned into wash bins, and where millions of articles of clothing are washed everyday. We took one of the commuter trains up from CST (an experience in itself, but not so bad because we didn’t go during rush hour), and soon we were at Dhobi Ghat.

On a commuter train

The trains, to my utter amazement, never closed their doors. Travelers just hung out of them as they went.

Once we arrived, the scale of the operations was amazing.  Even on a off hour, many clothes were being washed, dried, and folded.

Washing clothes

Tons of washing bins down streets, with color-organized clothes drying.

Up near central Mumbai was an interesting mosque, set out in the middle of the bay , connected to the mainland by just a small causeway. Supposedly an imam died while on pilgrimage to Mecca and his body floated back to the exact spot of the mosque. A very cool location, but other than that the mosque didn’t seem like it was anything special (perhaps India’s spectacular mosques have made us mosque snobs!). We were told (and saw pictures) that the causeway covers up with water during high tide, but given the vast number of people and vendors lining the pathway we couldn’t see how that was possible.

Mosque in the middle of the sea

Touts were ready to sell you anything, even your weight.

Just north of Mumbai’s huge train station (CST) is a massive shopping district. At least it seemed massive, but it is so crowded with people that it took us forever just to walk down a single street so we didn’t have a chance to explore the entire district. But what we saw was crazy. Shops were arranged by type on streets, with very specific specialties. One group of shops just dealt with light bulbs; another dealt only with automotive belts. Between the sidewalks and street were sidewalk stands selling related items. And trying to push through all of this were hundreds of people, along with the odd motorcycle and car. Cars! Complete madness. The thing that kept occurring to me is that this can’t be the ideal shopping experience. We were there just for the experience and it was pushing our nerves – I couldn’t imagine having to battle those crowds anytime I wanted electronics or new clothes.

Struggling through the crowds

And if course, being in the home of Bollywood, we couldn’t leave without seeing a film. We choose “Boss”, a movie that was just released and for which we had seen countless advertisements throughout our time in India. Not to mention the two music video tie-ins. The movie was fun, despite neither or us understanding a word of Hindi. Lots of bright colors, cheesy action sequences, and breaks for musical numbers. No kissing, but I thought the two minute “implied relationship” scene that took the place of a kissing scene was just as sexual, if not more so, than lips locking. There were shouts and cheers from the crowd when the main character first made an appearance, and wild applause when the bad guy was killed. But we were shocked when the audience left as soon as the bad guy’s death happened – no waiting for the sappy conclusion, just like sports fans leaving early when their team is up big. I also liked how the main character’s catchphrase was “The Boss is always right!” (in English) – much like Schwazenagger’s “Hasta la vista, baby!” in the terminator movies. Finally some words I understood!

Boss.

It was a fun few days in Mumbai, and a suitable ending to our time in India – off to Myanmar!

On our way to the airport… bye India!