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Bollywood
Bombay (Mumbai), India
January, 2005
Today I arrived in Mumbai (Bombay), India. As usual, I didn't have a Hotel reservation. No big deal. Travel is simple no matter where you are. The key is that you can never be in a hurry. Once you are in a hurry, everything will drive you crazy.
When I arrived at the airport at 2:00AM, I found the Hotel Counter while waiting for my backpack. You can do this anywhere, simple. But, this is not advisable in the west because the hotel counters only list pricey places.
I quickly secured a room in the center of town for $7.00 per night. Next I found the "Pre-Paid" taxi stand and got my ride to "Hotel India" for $5.00.
The drive took about an hour. The taxi driver was stoned and his brother rode shotgun. About half way, the cabby took something out of a piece of paper and started chewing on it. Then he started convulsing. He was driving erratically. Luckily, there wasn't any traffic. His brother, riding shotgun, looked worried and opened a different packet and drank it. It was insane, but from what I had been through in the last month, I really wasn't so worried.
We were stopped by the police 3 times on the way to the hotel. The last time the driver really got a warning. The cop checked his license and said something like (you can tell what cops are saying with out understanding the language), "You are lucky you are giving this tourist a ride. I know you are stoned and you better watch out. You brother is whacked too, he shouldn't be riding with you."
Finally they found my hotel and I went up. Craziest hotel I have ever been in called The Hotel India in Colaba. The rooms don't have ceilings, just walls. The walls are about 8 feet high and the ceiling is about 4 feet above that. You can basically hear people's conversations like they were in your room. Wacky!
It was 4:30AM when I arrived, so I put in my earplugs before I went to sleep. No privacy and I was sure I wouldn't be the first person to get up.
Bombay is a very interesting city. The architecture is kind of an east meets west. There are lots of stately, fancy, giant buildings that are in the same style of The Houses of Parliament or the National Gallery in London. These buildings are the train stations, police stations and other government offices. These buildings are surrounded by many four story shanties that are apartments for the population. A very strange mix.
There are lots of cafes that cater to tourists and they are not expensive. You can get a good breakfast for about $2 and lunch for $3. My favorite place is the Cafe Mondegar that is near the Regal Theater. The food is good, it has cool murals on the walls and is quite cheap.
Speaking of the Regal Theater, I went there and saw "Alexander" and the price was less than a dollar.
Walking the streets on Bombay is quite an experience. Insane traffic, but now after Sri Lanka I'm not so bothered by all the honking.
There are drug dealers, touts and beggars on every corner. I'm actually more annoyed by the dealers than the beggars and touts.
Here the typical experience of walking a block in Bombay.
On the corner Iim approached by an Indian teenager, usually around 16.
"Hello friend! What country you from?"
I don't answer.
"He continues, "Coffee shop? You want smoke, hashish?
"No, I don't smoke and I don't do drugs." I return.
He makes another attempt, "Friend, hashish, No?"
I look at him and shake my head. If that doesn't make him stop following, I tell him one more time that I don't do drugs, but much louder and that always stops the pursuit.
Within a few feet, a guy dressed like a swami approaches with flower pedals in his hand and offers you some.
"I'm holy man; please take some for good luck."
I could never fall for this old trick. If you do accept, they stop you and tie a lucky rope bracelet around you wrist and try to get whatever money they can from you.
This is more artful than the guys from the West Africa at the steps of Sacre Coeur in Paris. They just run up and tie a rope to wrist and demand money. But, it's the same trick never the less.
Next you are hit up by the beggars. The small children follow you down the street, "Sir, please, money."
I say "No."
This does not faze them. They continue, "Sir, please, money. Sir, please, money!"
Finally I lift my hand and say, "No, go away."
Some actually flinch when I raise my hand, a sign of abuse. That makes me sad, but it's the only way to get them to stop following.
The amount of homeless people in Bombay is quite depressing. They are everywhere. The only one's that don't seem to mind are the children. They seem cheerful and find toys from common objects in the street. I have seen them playing lots of odd objects. They use old bicycle tires for pogo sticks, strings with bottle caps on the end as strange yoyo's and plastic bottles for soccer balls.
Every once in a while, I give a mother with child 10Rs, but then I am swarmed by every other beggar in the area and almost have to yell to get them away.
On route you reach lots of street booths selling T-Shirts, Crafts, etc. "Friend, please look."
I ignore them and keep on walking. As I pass I hear one last, "Friend...."
Then you hit on by the next pusher. I must get asked to buy hash 50 times a day in this city.
Nighttime on the streets of Bombay is extra intense. Not only do you have all of the above, but the sidewalks are filled with the sleeping homeless, foot long rats and giant cockroaches.
My first night walking around I was wearing my flip flops. Now I wear my vans as not to get my toes nibbled on by all of those creatures of the night.
All the above may seem a bit too intense. At this point in my life, itis really not a big deal. You actually start to get used to all of the madness.
It's funny, after spending my last three months in the Asian third world, Bali, Thailand, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, then the Tsunami, now India, not even wild Bombay seems to faze me.
I walk down the street, pushers, beggars, touts, rats, giant cockroaches, life, me alone, the masses, all of everything else. No matter, normal, life.
Last night I went to see a concert at The Gate of India. The gate is at the port in front of the Taj Mahal Hotel and is one of the most famous landmarks in Bombay.
The place was packed with a crowd of over 1000 people. The band was very Bollywood, traditional Indian music with a swinging male singer and a high pitched female. The crowd danced, sang and swayed to the music. It was really cool. I finally got to see the people of the city in their true light. They are like everyone everywhere. Guys with girlfriends, families with children, groups of same sex teenagers, all brought together by the universal force of music.
Today I took a harbor cruise and that was cool too. The boat was filled with couples and families, Indian Tourists, and we all had a great time observing the boats, birds and sea forts.
Bombay is and amazing city. Quite intense. I'll see how it compares with then rest of India as my adventures continue.
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