An American in Asia

Think of the craziest, loudest, most-crowded dance concert you’ve attended, or a Black Friday sale you’ve pushed and elbowed your way through, or a deeply impassioned sporting event where you’ve cried, cheered and yelled. What’s the commonality between these three occasions? Every single sense assaulted with a dizzying array of noises, lights, smells and people. Now, take those experiences, multiply it by a factor of a billion and there’s Mumbai.

Mumbai, the Maximum city, is a place like no other. You are punched in the face by a mean right hook with culture and history, with restaurants and street food, with beauty and filth, with love and hate, with incessant horn-honking and solicitations, yet conversely with enlightening and peaceful temples and museums offering a small peaceful escape from the bedlam brimming outside their doors.

From the very second you step off the plane, you are pushed into the chaos of the 20 million people clamoring for a spot ahead of you in line, the onions in the vegetable cart, a table at a bar, or even the rickshaw that will take you to your destination. Mumbai is not a city for the faint of heart. Oh no. She is a tough old biddy that makes you work for her affection. Most can’t handle the mayhem, but if you take the time to get to know her, to explore her past and her people, she will offer you glimpses of serenity and beauty that rival any city.

One such breath of fresh air located in the city itself, is the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. What other insanely populated city like Mumbai boasts 40 square miles of national park within the city limits? When Mumbai does it, they go big. Nothing small about the Maximum City! Within this beautiful national park are the Kanheri Caves. 2400-year-old caves with a rich Buddhist history carved out of basaltic rocks. And there are not just one or two caves, try 109 you can explore. Big, remember? Big. In most of these caves you can see beds carved from the stones, the stupas for Buddha shrines and further up the hills you can walk through the cisterns and canals that channeled the rainwater to holding tanks for the ancient inhabitants.

The hilly terrain, sweeping views of the Maximum city, and ancient history provide a unique and tranquil place to escape the urban pandemonium, and embrace the harmony and stillness of the ancient Buddhist lifestyle, not to mention a nice glute-workout schlepping your gear up those steps!