Mumbai (or Bombay as it’s more commonly known) is home to 15 million people, all of whom are packed into 7 islands on the west coast of India. And when I say packed, that’s exactly what I mean. I arrived in Bombay, not exactly sure what to expect, but it was clear that it is worlds away from the order and organization of Singapore! The airport was an interesting experience, although I did get my luggage quite quickly, but let’s just say the overall standards for cleanliness and hygiene are not exactly the same as in the west. For some reason, no one seems to actually throw garbage into a bin, but rather wherever they feel like dumping it. I’ve never seen so much garbage on the floor of a public place – it was crazy…
Since I arrived for work, my contacts in Bombay had sent a car and driver to pick me up, which was a good thing, since sorting out a taxi would have definitely been interesting. We headed to South Bombay, which is clear across town, probably only about 20 km as the crow flies, but in Bombay traffic, it’s another story and navigating the traffic takes another skill set altogether. In addition to the assortment of goats, bulls, cows and people in the streets, there are taxis, cars, autorickshaws, motor scooters, bicycles and buses all fighting for the right of way. It’s a bit of a miracle that there aren’t more accidents, but everyone seems to be able to manage the system and come out unharmed. There is no rhyme or reason to the driving though and everyone just speeds ahead, swerving madly and honking frantically. To the visiting tourist, it seems insanely chaotic, but it doesn’t seem to phase the locals one bit, so you kind of just have to go with it and trust your driver. I did!
I didn’t have much time in Bombay as I was flying out to Udaipur, in Rajasthan later that evening, but I did manage to observe part of a wedding procession (apparently it is not unusual for these to have upwards of 2000+ people in the middle of the street), see the great stone gateway to India on the harbourfront, and tour the Queen’s Necklace, the long stretch of beachfront that runs the length of the Bombay harbour (so named b/c at night the lights twinkle in a big semi-circle resembling the Queen’s Jewels – I guess a little left over sentiment from the days of the monarchy.
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