The Sights and Sounds of DOWNTOWN Mumbai

I’ve left the comforts of Yasmin’s home and am now in downtown Mumbai staying a wonderful boutique hotel directly off Marine Drive (first pic is the view from our room!). I took a 1.5 hour air conditioned taxi during crazy rush hour traffic to a total bill of 291 rupees (little over $5). I didn’t have change so I contributed to the local economy and made the driver’s day by giving him a 500 rupee note. I still can’t get over how cheap labor is here.

My father has been in Mumbai on many occasions so he travels well here. Marine Drive is very well known and we went for a walk both in the evening and the morning on the expansive, well paved sidewalk. Some “street families” live on the drive (families who beg and live on the streets) however also many locals take walks on this pathway. I am still dumbfounded at how many people live here- even at 6:30am the place was bustling with people engaging in their morning exercise. I’ve mentioned before how expensive the cost of real estate is here. Many of the Marine Drive front properties could command top dollar, however a law states that tenants have rights to maintain their leases as long as they are alive, so many of the buildings remain dilapidated due to being occupied by lower income families.

For the past week I have seen Mumbai mainly from a window from a car, so today was the first day of actually walking the streets on foot. Crossing the bustling streets here is an art form in and of itself- requires timing, skill, trust and blind faith. The cars honk a lot and rely on honking to negotiate the traffic- in fact someone mentioned that your brakes could go and you would survive but if your honk is broken you are in big trouble! My current technique to crossing the streets is to hold on to my dad’s shirt, and take deep cleansing breathes (much like riding in a taxi!).

I am surprised by the downtown area and how clean it is and how comfortable I feel here. Of course you see street families and trash, however the streets are paved and the people are respectful. My father keeps mentioning how much the “begging” in Mumbai has reduced therefore making it much more pleasant to walk around. Vendors encourage you to visit their shops, however unlike some places in Mexico, they leave you alone if you say no.

We visited the Taj Hotel today, an old top notch hotel directly across from the Gateway of India monument. This monument was built for Queen Victoria’s arrival to Mumbai back in the days of British colonization of India. Both buildings are beautiful, however I did include a picture of the Taj hotel directly in front of the water way filled with trash. Juxtaposition at it’s finest.

After a few sweaty hours of walking and seeing sites we are back in our comfortable AC’d room for a nap before our next adventure. I must admit, I have no complaints of India so far; perhaps because I’m traveling in style.

PS Yes, we found the Angels payoff game 4 this morning on ESPN and I watched them lose. My heart broke for a few hours- but alas, there is always next year. Maybe we’ll take Zaleeya to a playoff game in 2009!

PPS Zaleeya's passport was completed today, so technically we can pick her up! However we will continue our travels as planned with an extimated pick up date of Oct 20th.