Somewhere along the way on this India adventure, I've picked up the Indian head bob. This is a very characteristic nod that they do, usually to indicate yes, but it kind of looks like they're shaking their head no, so it's very confusing at first. And its never accompanied by a verbal yes or no, not even in Hindi. Much like I picked up the New Zealand accent after a few weeks, I have now started doing the head bob. But honestly, I'm not sure I'm using it at the right moments. I kind of use it as a maybe or an I'm not sure. Anyway, it's a very peculiar development.
Indians do have cell phones and Ipads and the like, but they're not addicted to them, not yet. They're still very into reading the newspaper. All the nice hotels I've stayed in delivered the newspaper under my door at 5 am. They read it everywhere. At work. At the airport. In the middle of an intersection. They are lying around in cafes and restaurants and people will grab different sections. It's so 20 years ago. But in such a great way. A good sign of a population that is literate and wants to be informed. They publish in a few different languages. Obviously not everyone is reading because there are definite portions of the population that are not literate, but even so, it strikes me as a sign of a healthy democracy.
I'm staying at a homestay near the airport in Mumbai, which is a kind of low budget guesthouse. This one was again difficult to find- all the low budget options are. But once I arrived it seemed fine. People were still sleeping in the dorm's at 11:30 am so I expect this is a late night town.
An Egyptian guy, Ahmet, is running the place in the absence of Raj, the owner, who had to go to Rajasthan to manage a place he has there. Ahmet has dreads and a beard and speaks slowly giving me the impression he's perhaps Rastafarian, but he's very nice, although not amazingly helpful since he's not from Mumbai. He explained at least how to get downtown on the train and to use the ladies car on the train. I think he's the first Egyptian I've ever met.
The train was pretty straightforward. I paid 10 rupees for a 45 minute ride. I had some trouble reading the signs so I went to the platform that had the slow train instead of the express. But it was okay. It was a mosh pit to get on the ladies 2nd class car of the train, but once inside the seats were not that crowded and after two stops almost everyone got off and I got a seat. I imagine the seats in the first class car are perhaps assigned? But the second class car was general population, no poverty stricken ladies here. I expect really poor people can't afford to take the train, even at 10 rupees. This seems so insane because 10 rupees is like 17 cents. Imagine not being able to come up with two dimes.
There were trinket sellers again on the train, mostly ladies selling barrettes and hair ties and such, but also a young boy selling plastic folders like you might use at school, and near the end of the ride, a man in drag, wearing a sari, got on and did this weird clapping thing and held out his hand for change. I think he was the most successful at getting money out of the women riders. I couldn't say why though. It was incredibly bizarre.
Mumbai has proven to be an amazing metropolis. Nothing like the rest of India. In the downtown area, it doesn't really feel like India at all. No dogs, cows, bicycles, and hardly any trash. Busy roads and people everywhere. And big beautiful buildings.
I went downtown because I signed up for a walking tour. The tour was run by Sita, a college age girl of Nepali origin. Very sweet and funny.
It started at the Gateway of India. This is a beautiful giant gate built right at harbors edge where the boats used to dock. With a big plaza leading up to it. A big tourist draw. And the Taj Mahal hotel is just nearby. This hotel was built 1850s and all the tourists (first class) who came off the cruise ships would step across the street into the hotel. They would even lay down a red carpet and everything for them.
We wandered down the nearby streets and visited the famous buildings of Mumbai history, all built around mid 1800s. Some were run down and others were still good as new. Polo club, Jewish library, attorneys apartments, kings apartments, high court building, university buildings. The city exploded in mid century.
We also walked in front of a famous art gallery. Artists that haven't made it into the gallery yet set up out front with their existing art pieces and work on new ones, looking for buyers. Some pretty beautiful art.
Then we visited a park where they were practicing cricket. Ladies have their own parks to practice in so this was all men. Separate but equal right. I didn't even know women played cricket. I'm so ignorant.
Then we got on a local bus. This was my first in India. We scrunched on and eventually got seats. Much like the train, it was really crowded at first, but after two stops it cleared out. Since 2006 or so, they have designated ladies seats on the bus. The first six rows. Again, to make it safer for women to travel on their own.
To pay, there is a guy with a receipt machine, much like we saw in Russia. You tell him where you want to go and he tells you how much it is. They charge based on the amount of stops you go.
Getting off the bus, we visited Swati Snacks, a busy restaurant where you can eat street food without worrying about how sanitary it is. Because it's a restaurant, it should be clean. We tried pani puri, bhel puri, a type of pancake, juices and finally frozen ice in syrup- a local favorite.
Pani puri is a small round hollow crunchy shell the size of a golf ball made from wheat. You poke a whole in the top of the shell And fill it with little bits that they give you. Spicy potatoes, cilantro and onions, at the end you add cilantro sauce and tamarind sauce. The sauces are what make it pani, which means water.
Bhel puri comes preassembled with its veg and crunch all in a layered pile- no sauces. I liked pani better.
The pancake was yellow like saffron and was steamed in banana leaves. You peel it off the leaves, roll it up and top it with some onions and sauces. Oh so tasty! Just wish I could remember what it was made from.
I also had a lime juice with sugar cane, something that I thought was fabulous. And surprisingly not too sweet. They have this drink everywhere on the street but I hadn't dared try it.
And at the end we had this local beachside favorite. Italian ice frozen on a stick like a popsicle and dunked in a cup of syrup. They have lots of flavors. It was sickeningly sweet. Not my favorite dessert.
After snacks we headed to the train station. We all piled on a regular car, or an all men's car since we were a group and only going two stops.
We got off and walked to a nearby bridge to see a laundry. Much of the city's hotels send out laundry to a few sites in town. This being one of them. Only men work here, mostly from villages. They come to the city to work. Their wives and families stay behind and they can save money to send it back home. If hotel charges you 19 rupees for an item, these men will only get 5 rupees. Most can not read or write. They have a symbol to mark their items so they don't get lost or separated. When I had my laundry done in Jaipur, all the pieces came back with a red thread sewn on somewhere. I'm still finding them more than a week later. Now I know why.
The city owns the property and then men team up and rent out spaces for 2000 rupees per month. Also the city provides free water. If it's raining or very humid, they will dry the clothes inside so maybe it takes longer on those days.
It was incredibly fascinating to see this. This is kind of equivalent of cutting lawns in Houston. Very low paying job and hard dirty work, but still probably enough to send money back to wife and family back home. Not the most awesome job, but a job and enough to send your kids to school.
Finally, we took a taxi to the central train station. I note the modes of transport because that was part of the tour- learning how locals travel by taking local transport.
The train station was amazing. An ornate 18th century building, maybe gothic style. It was beautiful.
And that was the end of the tour.
Afterwards I hung out with Mona and Alex who were on the tour with me. They invited me to spend the evening walking around the town with them.
They were old college buddies and Alex was in town from Beijing, he's from San Francisco, visiting Mona, who is Indian and now lives in Mumbai, but is originally from Kolkata.
We went shopping for jewelry- Alex was looking for a present for his wife. We ended up finding Fab India, a store I had heard about from some girls in Agra. This store had been around since the 60s and supports local village made crafts and its a place you can shop for clothes without a hassle. All fixed prices and no one following you around the store. It was a lot of fun. Very beautiful stuff. I managed to escape without buying anything! I'm so cheap.
Then we went to a former jazz restaurant turned Italian pizza place. This was Expensive, but a nice change from Indian food and I didn't have to feel guilty since locals were taking me there.
Afterwards we went next door for Baskin and Robbins. Can you believe it? B&R. Same 31 flavors.
Since Agra they've had this. Ice cream is popular with the locals and the tourists. And they have it everywhere. Little ice cream carts that sell packaged ice cream are everywhere and so helpful in a pinch to get a bite on the road.
With our ice creams, we crossed over to the beach side. A long wide sidewalk adjacent to the seawall that makes a curve shape. Probably 4 to 6 miles. At night it's lit by streetlights and they call it the queens necklace because that's what it looks like. Really beautiful. And the people of the city hang out there - families, lovers, friends, young and old. Just chilling out. Another great city space in India!
On Sunday, I chilled at the guesthouse. Then went to a nearby restaurant and ate a meal for three hours. Sounds like a lot but that was my only meal for the day. I started with a pani puri and it was pretty good but not as nice as the ones day before. You can see in the picture what puri looks like- this one came assembled but usually you stuff the puri yourself. In rear of the pic you can see the restaurant- empty, with lots of tv's. Apparently it was more of a sports bar and would be packed in the evening when the big cricket match was on.
While I didn't bother to do anything more in Mumbai, I thought I got a good sense of the city and what it was all about. Frankly, I was impressed! This is a place you could visit and enjoy, like New York, if you like NYC and can appreciate the big cities of the world. Definitely a welcome surprise!
One more place to go in this country, thankfully, and then a rest stop. I need it! India is tough.
