Mumbai then people....

ok so pretty hard to take in after spending so long chilling in Goa and Hampi but my word still a great experience. To begin with lets talk traffic, its unreal, like a swarm of bumble bees these black and yellow rikshaws racing around the city with no sense of direction or any understanding of what "keeping a safe distance" means. you really do have no choice but to put all faith in these drivers, after all they do it for a living, on top of this you have all the lorries, cars and taxi drivers trying to make there way around the city with the locals foot darting betwwen the vehicals selling bits and bobs such as cloths, jewelery and towels, its insane.

Street stalls... found everywhere selling food with vegables laid out, middle class men having their shoes shined by the porpers who are either based at train station platforms or on the streets with their polish and brushes set up.

Now talking of train stations, in Mumbai they are so unsafe, firstly men and women are segregated in different carriages (which is actually not a bad idea) however the doors are constantly open so people hang out the sides, gets pretty dangerous when its rush hour and the carriage is jam packed a little scary to say the least. I am going to be a hypercrit now as i did get a little brave and spent most journeys hanging out the doors taking in the lifestyle of Mumbai. For instance, kids playing cards on the tracks, like its the normal done thing, risking business hey.

Fact... 2 thirds of Mumbai residents live in slums which can be quiet an upsetting sight and alot of the flats look dirty and tatty on the outside but don't be mislead as after my frequent 'hanging out the carriages' i did start to be a little nosey and was quite surprised when I looked into peoples homes to see a clean and tidy interior and sometimes i caught a glimse of a plasma TV. None the less it does give you an understanding of the city, life is hard for alot of people & you can see how hard they work to take care of their families.

One of the worst things about Mumbai was the smell, it was vile and quite upsetting when your at the food market and see a bunch of really young children playing in a heap of rubbish, rotting fruit and veg, covered with millions of flies, god it makes me worry!

Overall Mumbai was a experience but certainly not for the faint hearted.