Mumbai

It seems appropriate that the last place that I visited this summer was Mumbai, the biggest city/mass of humanity on the planet.

Mumbai was known as Bombay until the Indian naming movement around 5 years ago led to name changes across the country (Madras became Chennai, Calcutta became Kolkata, etc.) And its "vibrant community" of 19 million people encapsulates everything I have seen in India in one swarming mob.

Over 60% of the city lives in slums that are among the worst in the world. Heading in to town you can see countless children picking through awful smelling fields of garbage, trying to find scraps of food. Mobsters control huge swathes of the city, and many are elected into local government to protect their territories. Hindus and Muslims live side-by-side, despite numerous targeted bombings and religious riots over the last 15 years. Many people live literally on the sidewalk, and carving out a space to sleep at night on the sidewalk is a huge battle.

At the same time, Mumbai is home to the dabbawalla (the lunch deliverer), 5-star fusion restaurants, and South Asia's most expensive real estate. It was also the largest British stronghold during their occupation of India and remains home to Victoria Terminus, the Gateway to India arch, and countless Victorian buildings and roundabouts.

Mumbai is also the biggest commuter city in the world, with millions of people commuting from suburbs and villages 2-3 hours each way literally hanging off the sides of Mumbai's commuter trains. So naturally I started my stay here by taking one of these famous trains. The guidebook generally advises against this, and I was the only white person at the station or on the train. But it has been important to me throughout the summer to see how "real people" live day-to-day, so I was definitely going to take the train.

After I landed, I took a rickshaw from the airport to the nearest train station, though the confused driver asked me three times to make sure that was really where I wanted to go. My stay at the station started with a 45 minute wait to buy a ticket, under a corrugated tin hangar with about 2,000 people in 6 different "lines" and 7 slowly moving electric fans. Finally, I fought my way to the front, shoved my money at the ticket counter, and got a ticket to Victoria Terminus. Then, it took me about 15 minutes to find platform 6, which was conveniently placed down a side path from platform 1 instead of being next to platform 5. Since I missed my train, I had to wait about 25 minutes for the next one. Finally, I boarded my "first class" carriage. Even the first class car was the worst train car I have ever been on, by far. A few fans sat idle on the ceiling, despite the midday heat, and people stood side by side all the way to the few who were hanging literally out the "door" (which obviously does not close) as we rattled slowly into town. After the huge line, my ticket was never checked.

South Mumbai was a pleasant surprise however. Mumbai is a long skinny peninsula, so near the south tip it's possible to walk from one side (the bay) across the peninsula to the Arabian Sea side, and there are fairly pretty walks down both sides of the shore. The whole downtown area was very enjoyable to walk around, with lots of very nice buildings (for India), relatively quaint streets, a huge cricket green/park in the middle of town, a really nice University with lots of Victorian buildings, lots of cool shops and cafes, and a really fun and enjoyable vibe. Maybe India has just grown on me, but even the pushy street vendors seemed a little bit friendly. I walked all around, took photos, had some coffee and ice cream, ate some North Indian food, and all-in-all had a great time.

After leaving Bangalore, I had no real intention of returning to India unless I was re-incarnated on the sub-continent. But, after today in Mumbai, maybe I should say "never say never".