Mumbai Mumblings

Everyone I know thinks I've been to Mumbai. Hell, no!

I touched down for the first time in Mumbai yesterday. The first impression: wow, this view from the air looks like the scene from The Constant Gardener. From above, we saw stacks of cardboard/plywood houses ... yeah, that's what the slum was like. Little houses stacked on top of each other. Similar to the ones in Nigeria as captured in the film.

At eye level, little children watched the plane taxi to a stop. I wonder if they were bothered with thoughts like, "Will I ever get to board a big bird like that? Where are these people from? Will I be able to go where they came from? What's it like outside of Mumbai?" I know as a little girl, I sure as hell had those thoughts everytime i watched a plane flew by, far above in the sky. Again, for the umpteenth time, I am immensely grateful for this opportunity to travel the world and watch the different facets of life.

Our excursion in the afternoon was not very pleasurable at all. Funnily, I was more "jet-lagged" from this trip than the one to Sweden cuz I didn't manage to sleep a wink on the plane and I had only less that 3 hours worth of sleep the previous night. We rode in a non-air-conditioned cab for hours (thanks to the great jam of Mumbai) going from one place to another for our so-called trend-watching which was quite futile.

A place that our scout recommended, which also appears in Lonely Planet - Linking Road of Bandra - couldn't be more dead than a Ghost Town. Could it be that we were in the wrong part of the road? Or was it too early if this place was really supposed to be the new hub of Mumbai's nightlife?

However, the so-called high-end shopping seemed to be missing too. Apart from a small mall (the locals say it's a big mall - so note the difference in expectation - the mall culture is really not catching on here yet), a Swarovski, a Giordano selling over-priced pieces of a casual brand, one Escada and some upmarket timepieces including Cartier housed behind what looked like a mini-fortress, there's nothing to speak of organised shopping here at Linking Road. Yet, really, we can't be sure if this really is the place that's recommended by many.

We ended the day with a trip to Crawford Market. We walked and walked and unwittingly arrived at the Gateway of India that we had wanted to visit so badly! All around was colonial architecture ... very stately. However, sadly, the Gateway is now undergoing refurbishment so it was quite a mess there. Not a very pretty sight but stately nevertheless.

Just minutes from these grand architecture are slummy areas where the inhabitants of minute houses spill over onto the streets - sleeping, cooking, eating ... chores that most of us will do privately are all out in display to the public. The food contaminated by the hazardous exhaust fumes. Children breathing in carbon monoxide-enhanced air as their mouths hang open in deep sleep. Lines of clothing exposed to clouds of dust from passing vehicles, which are many, making one wonder if there is a point to washing them at all. Once more, I'm immensely thankful for the good life I've been blessed with.

I was dead tired so I had a really early night. Think it was barely 10 PM, and I woke up this morning at 9 AM. Hehe ... solid 12 hours! Had some really weird dreams but otherwise, I had plentiful rest. All ready for the Lakme Fashion Week!