Oh my God, didn't think it could get any worse! Arrived in Mumbai approx 23.30, we pre-paid a taxi for Rs160 in the airport and walked outside to be mobbed by taxi drivers! They were trying to snatch our ticket and all gathering round shouting at each other and trying to get us to go with them, it was horrible! Eventually got in a taxi with a driver that couldn't speak English and who didn't have a bloody clue where he was going! He drove us into a massive slum and then had to stop every 5 minutes to ask someone where the hotel was. It was the middle of the night and people were everywhere so it was pretty scary! He FINALLY found the hotel and we pulled up (it was just on the outskirts of the slum to make matters worse!). He then told us we had to pay a 'parking charge', Simon glanced at the meter and thought it said Rs75 which he thought was a bit steep, he tried to give him the money and the driver kept saying 'no', he showed us the meter and it actually said Rs750 which he expected us to pay (approx £20)!! An argument ensued as you can imagine and the hotel owner came out, a few other people gathered around (they were on our side thankfully) and then I mentioned calling the police to sort it out. Simon offered him Rs150 as we didn't mind paying 'something' but what he was asking was ridiculous and we didn't mind telling him ha ha! After mentioning the police he took the Rs150 and left, funny that, what a ****!
Got up to our room and spent the next 3 hours on the laptop trying to find a cheaper hotel to spend the next 8 nights, easier said than done! Went to bed at 4a.m.
Spent the next day organising a cheaper place to stay for the next 7 nights as Mumbai is not as cheap as we thought and it's also quite a scary place to be when you're on a budget and can't afford a nice, safe 5 star hotel to hide in! We had a walk about the city and to be honest, I didn't really like the fact that the city was basically split into two halfs by a 'river' (I use the term loosely, more like a cess pool) and on one side you had all the tall, swanky office blocks with water features, banks, hotels also with water features, people dressed nicely riding around in their cars or being driven around, and on the other side of the river you have the slums which I have to say nearly brought me to tears with the absolute poverty that these people live in, tiny children running around in the filth, totally alone, slumdogs asking for money constantly, the stench and dirt and filth that these people live in is unbeliveable. All of this can be seen by the people on the other side of the river and I thought it was pretty disgusting that while they have their nice, pretty water features to look at, these children have to fight to find clean water to stay alive every day. Says it all if you ask me.