For some years, India has been by far the biggest gap in my travel CV. Now I'm finally setting that right. And in my most recent contract (yes, I do actually work from time to time) I was part of a team split between the UK and Hyderabad, so allow me to begin with a warm namaste to my former colleagues Haritha & Sinduja.
On arrival I was pleased to achieve the hat-trick of a) getting me and my E-Visa through immigration, b) withdrawing my rupees (you can't buy them in the UK), and c) sorting out an Indian SIM card. It all works out OK, provided you do your homework in advance, which you definitely need to do.
I walked straight from the airport to my hotel, checked in and unpacked, and then headed out on foot. (Perhaps in search of an English corner shop, ha ha.) I normally avoid American chain eateries when I'm travelling, but I was a bit wary of 'Delhi belly' - and after a sleepless red-eye flight, I wanted to spend my first night here in bed, not on the porcelain throne. Hence my Indian gastronomic experience began with a McDonalds and a Subway. But on the second night I went for a proper curry, for which see Edd vs Food below.
I'm now in an apartment in an area called Bandra West, which is quite fashionable but still largely devoid of foreigners. Most of the tourists stay in South Mumbai, because that's where you find most of the famed sights and colonial architecture. I've had a walk around South Mumbai and it's OK, but I prefer mixing with the locals, and also as always I'm on a budget. Prices in South Mumbai can reach London levels and beyond.
The journey between Bandra West and South Mumbai is not walkable. Mumbai is huge. So I've had my introduction to the Indian railways. There's none of your politically corrrect "stand clear of the doors please" nonsense here. The train doors don't ever close. People start getting off the train long before it stops moving, and they continue boarding the train long after it starts moving. In Mumbai alone, there are over 2,000 railway deaths every single year - about six a day on average - partly as a result of ill-judged train-hopping manouevres, and partly as a result of ill-judged track-crossing manouevres. I myself am playing it safe, of course, and I haven't climbed up on the roof even once.
Incidentally these trains, like those I've used in Mexico City and Tokyo, have 'ladies only' carriages. It's good that they exist, and it's bad that they're needed. I haven't felt any kind of danger even in the sketchiest parts of town, but of course it's easier to feel safe if you're a man.
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| Heavily polluted sunset by the beach in Bandra West |
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| View from the back of the train station |
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| Beach nightlife |
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| Gateway Of India in South Mumbai |
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| Mumbai's beaches. The Spanish tourism ministry is probably not panicking just yet. |
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| Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus railway station |
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| Mumbai is hugely multi-racial, multi-lingual, and multi-faith. But that tolerance is nowhere better exemplified than here. Dogs & pigeons! Maybe Paul McCartney could write a song called "Pedigree And Aviary". |
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| Edd vs Food #149 My first ever Indian curry in actual India. Another life achievement unlocked. Chicken Madras with lemon rice. Creamier than I was expecting. At the Tanjore Tiffin Room near my apartment in Bandra West. When it's your first visit, they give you a free tasting platter for the entire menu. Gets my vote. |
