MUMBAI (BOMBAY)

After a reasonable night on the very swanky coach we finally arrive on the outskirts of Mumbai in the early morning... we pass row upon row of slum houses where families are having their breakfasts, doing their washing or getting washed themselves on the pavement outside their huts (males only, females inside - this is India!) . It's fairly shocking to me even after a month in India, but I can't tear my eyes away from it. I just keep watching these people going about their business and marvel that the majority of them are smiling and laughing as I doubt that I would be if the roles were reversed. As we pass more and more I begin to wonder if Mumbai is just one big shanty town and wonder where the City is that we left just a few weeks earlier before we headed down to Goa. Was that a difference place that we had briefly glimpsed?

The bus stops and the guy trys his best to extract some tourist tax for the privelige of getting our rucksacs out of the boot - we are in no mood for this and it ain't happening - thankfully a taxi pulls up behind so we just get in it and do one. This may sound a little harsh but after a month of paying 20 rupees here, 50 rupees there for b*gger all it has worn a little thin and we won't part with money unless we actually want to now! The taxi turns into broad tree-lined roads and the Mumbai that we saw a few weeks ago returns to us, the red buses, the black and yellow cabs, the impressive Victorian architcture ('London on acid' the lonely planet describes
it as). We have the usual hassle at the hotel and end up somewhere which is quite near to the one we have made a booking at and apparently owned by the same people but we are not convinced... we are too tired to investigate further so we just take the room, go and dump our bags then freshen up for our whirlwhind tour of Mumbai.

We are staying in Colabo, the travellers area, right next door to Leopold's cafe (of Shantaram fame, THE book to read when in India/Mumbai) and it feels a million miles away from the people's lives we just saw when arriving in Mumbai. We manage to take in most of the major sites over a couple of days, including the house where Gandhi based himself whilst here, Chowpatti Beach (a bit like Blackpool) and the Gateway to India. We even have time to sink a few cold ones at Leopold's and Tendulkar's (owned by the cricketing legend).

Mumbai is a really vibrant amazing city and we are sorry that we only have a few days here. In many ways it is so different from every other place in India - there are skyscrapers, a distinct reduction in dirt and litter and general hassle/begging, however it is still very much an accurant reflection of India - from the cricket on the Oval, to the amazing colourful stalls and stall holders who shout 'yes madam, yes my friend, yes sir' whenever you walk past. What we
like best about Mumbai is that it seems to show some of the spirit of the modern India, which has seemed so missing in other parts of the Country. We have had a brilliant time here and will miss both Mumbai and India very much.

Time to move on though, bring on those Singapore Slings!