I had never been there before, except to go to and from the airport, so I really wanted to see the city and what it was like. And I wanted to compare it to the city I know: New York City. Honestly, it's not much different except for the fact that there are a lot more Indians (obviously :P). There are just as many people walking on the streets and just as much traffic. There are as many street vendors and dirty local trains. Yes, I rode the local train in Mumbai. My cousin said that it was something I had to experience at least once. It wasn't as bad as she made it sound. It wasn't any dirtier or more crowded than a NYC subway during peak time. But something I found interesting is that they have "ladies only" cars, some of which are that way 24 hours and some of which are that way during the night and early morning. I guess when it gets really crowded you don't really want creepy guys all up close to you (not that they're all creepy, but those who are).
One difference in public transportation that I did notice though, was that it is a lot easier to get a rickshaw or taxi in Mumbai than it is in NYC. They may not always agree to take you where you want to go, but they are willing to stop and even pay attention enough to pull over if they see you coming out of a store, assuming you're going to need a ride to your next destination. I'm shy and was never good at hailing a taxi in NYC, but in Mumbai it was like we didn't even have to try that hard.
Speaking of rickshaws, remember that the last zero on the meter is for paise and doesn't count...so your fare isn't Rs. 250, it's Rs. 25. Yeah, I made that mistake and the driver looked at me like, "why are you giving me so much money?" My friend then told me I was stupid and counted out the correct amount. Embarrassing much? You betcha.
So my first stop in Mumbai was Cafe Coffee Day, also known as a CCD. It is now my new favorite place...a cute, modern cafe with couches and TVs and yummy shakes (and more of course, but I only tried the strawberry milkshake) :). And it's not just a hangout for the college kids, there was even what my friend called a "kitty party" there.
Next stop in the blazing heat: Juhu Beach. We may have been better off in the air-conditioned cafe. But a beach day is never a bad day and I sure won't forget that day ;).
Day two in Mumbai led us to the Gateway of India and the Taj Hotel. You can no longer get up close to the gateway, but here's a picture I took from afar:
The Taj Hotel is also pretty much back to normal with only a few windows that are still boarded up and needing to be fixed. It is otherwise mostly back to normal and you can't tell that anything ever happened there. Unfortunately, you still can't enter or go close to the hotel as there are barricades all around it.
Our final destination that day was Marine Drive in Colaba. Water from the Arabian Sea splashes up onto the upside down bucket shaped rocks, which some are brave enough to climb down onto. A beautiful view of the Mumbai skyline can also be seen from here. Below is what my camera saw, but I must tell you, nothing is better than seeing it with your own eyes and feeling the air with your own skin.
Okay, enough of the touristy destinations, let's go shopping :). On my last day I had a return train to catch in the evening so I did a bit of walking around and shopping with my cousin. I can never resist a bookstore, so when we entered Crossword, I of course had to buy some books. And why not? Books are much cheaper in INR than in USD =D.Our next stop, was Globus, a department store. So what's so interesting about a department store? Well, unlike in the U.S., here the employees will help you find a size without you asking for help and take the hangers from you so it is easier for you to try on clothes. Now, some people might find that annoying and I definitely wasn't used to someone helping so much. I'm used to digging through racks of clothes myself for a size that doesn't exist, but at Globus, my new friend, according to his name tag, Yusuf, was pretty helpful. Unfortunately for him, while I was searching for my size I happened to knock most of the dresses off their hangers :(. We laughed it off and all was well...(other than the fact that he probably thought I was a crazy foreigner). Either way, I bought some clothes and enjoyed the hospitality.
Final stop before heading home: a quick walk along The Bandstand Promenade in Bandra. According to my cousin, mainly a couples hot spot, but worth checking out. It was way too hot to be outside so we didn't stay very long or walk the whole kilometer long walkway.
If I'm cool enough one day in the future, I would definitely love to live in Mumbai for some time and become a Mumbaikar :)
3 comments:
Wow, interesting perpective on your trip. You should write some more when you have the time. Mumbai sounds very interesting, I hope to visit eventually. What I'm curious about is do you think your were treated differently as an American? Even though you're of Indian decent did you feel out of place or any hostility?
Nicely narrated... I'm surprised that you remember all that names of the places. Preety good.
@Jake I don't think I was treated differently at all being an American. Although I was told by my cousin that the way I act, speak and dress makes me look as if I'm an Indian who just studied abroad and picked up a few pieces of being a foreigner. So that might have helped, but usually in India people can tell when you've come from abroad even if you are of Indian decent. And no one was hostile and I never felt out of place.
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