Back to Meerut

Yesterday I flew from Mumbai to New Delhi and then I got a prepaid taxi at the airport to take me to Meerut, it was 1800 rupees ($36) which I thought was a good price for a three hour trip. But once we reached the edge of Meerut the driver stopped the car and asked for more money. He said his job was to take me 'to' meerut, not 'into' meerut. I told him that my cousin was going to pay once we got to the house so he kept driving. Once we arrived he wasn't happy when he didn't get any more money. I told him that I paid the agreed upon price and that if he kept insisting on more money then I would call the Delhi Traffic Police, he immediately left. Always an adventure.

Mumbai was great. I'll admit that if that visit was at the beginning of my trip then I wouldn't have seen much of India. I would have seen a lot more of Mumbai. I want to go back and rent a flat for a month. Rajiv (my cousin) and the family were great, the boys and I had a lot of fun. For three days I forgot I was three times their age

It's still very cold in Meerut. I need to go see a doctor this morning. I have an ear infection and my throat is feeling a bit odd. Then I'm off to Meerut College just to see it. Not sure what else I'll do today.

If I'm feeling better tomorrow I'll hire a car for two or three days and travel the countryside. The end of my three month trip is coming up soon so I have lots of packing to do. I'm headed to Delhi in a few days and will have a couple of days at the guest house before I see Rakesh (another cousin). While in New Delhi I'll do my souvineer and gift shopping, glad I didn't do it earlier in the trip. It would have been a pain to carry all that stuff throughout India. It's kinda sad that my trip is almost over. I could have done this for at least another year. I asked my cousins in Mumbai if they could steal my passport and hide it for a month... Rohan wanted $500!!

Well, gotta get up out of bed and start my day.

Some thoughts on Bombay (Mumbai)

I left Mumbai on January 11 and flew to Delhi, upon landing I took a cab three hours north to Meerut to spend my last remaining 10 days with relatives.

Mumbai, or Bombay as the locals still call it, was an amazing city the requires a lengthy return visit. While I'm not a fan of big cities there was too much to like there and I feel like I barely had time to scratch the surface. The architecture is absolutely amazing in Old Bombay with it's gothic looking buildings. All the taxis and auto rickshaws were metered so I never felt like I was being ripped off. Actually, unlike Delhi, I never felt like anyone was trying to befriend my wallet. The city was clean, the streets more organized, the vast selection of dining opportunities and the walks along the ocean just made Mumbai feel comfortable. The train system here is the best I've seen with options for first class and second class, it was cheap and I never had to wait more than five minutes for a ride. The people of Mumbai were very friendly, especially those living in the slums.


My highlights were riding the train every day, sitting on a Bollywood set watching a filming take place, eating and drinking at the infamous Leapold's, walking along marine drive, hiking in the mountains and stumbling onto a very remote and small village and of course spending time with my cousin Rajiv and his family.

What would I like to do on my next visit? Spend more time in old Bombay and see more of the architecture and learn more about the history of this amazing city. Explore the outskirts of the city and the smaller villages, return to Mohammad Ali Road for the best kabobs I've ever had. I would also like to see relatives that I didn't have time to visit with on this trip, and I would like to spend time exploring the numerous art galleries and museums.

My flight from Mumbai to Delhi was pretty uneventful. I flew business class as it was only $20 more than coach. I had to leave my cousin's house before 5am and I was surprised when everyone got up to see me to the taxi, it was of course a pleasant surprise.

Another day in Mumbai

Note: I'm now back in the United States but I still have numerous posts to make including this one from Mumbai and then some from Meerut and Delhi. Additional posts will be coming as I get back to my normal routine here. Many of these posts are actual emails that I sent to family members.

I had yet another outstanding day in Bombay. I bought a day pass on the extensive rail system and traveled here and there, getting off when I wanted just to explore. Then I met up with Rohan in south Bombay and had some great street food. Then we hopped a double decker bus for a mile and got off before we got caught not having a ticket. Walked through the area where all the museums and art galleries are, saw some really nice art that I would have liked to have bought. Then we went and saw the Bombay Stock Exchange. Finally we took the train to another station and walked back into the slums (really not the right word). Got some really good photos today, met three families, each giving us chai and sodas. I joked about having too much to drink and maybe having a to go to the bathroom and they all laughed, knowing it would be an adventure of it's own here in the slums. We also went back and visited the two families I met a few days ago. In all my travels in the past seven and a half years these are by far the most hospitable people I have ever met.

Had dinner with Rajiv and the family. The boys are sad to see me leave. They've enjoyed all my stories from the navy, from sailing and everything else that we could talk about. It was nice to see them take a genuine interest in who I am and what I've experienced. I think they probably know more about me than most people ever will. It'll be sad to leave them behind but I hope they take me up on my offer to come out to where ever I am for a visit. I'm already thinking of my next trip in which I'll have to spend at least a month in Bombay.

I'm headed to the airport at 5:30 in the morning, now only a few hours away. I'm taking a flight to Delhi and then a taxi for three hours to Meerut. When I booked my ticket I bought a first class ticket. I was given the option for a vegetarian or non-veg meal, I chose vegetarian. Then I was given a choice of one meal or two. So I chose two. Why not? I just wanted to see if they will actually serve me two meals on a two hour flight. Of course I'll be embarassed if they do!

The line to eat here went around the corner so we had to try it out
Outstanding food, located just outside the Mumbai train station

Men redoing the cotton stuffing in mattresses and pillows

Not all streets in Mumbai are busy and crowded

My cousin Rohan, the best tour guide I've ever had.
(email me if you need a good guide in Mumbai and I'll put you in contact with him!!)

Chai and butter bread, yum!

Bread slicing machine

The following photos are from my second visit to the slums in Mumbia. I really hate that word too, it has such a negative feel  and these warm, friendly and giving people deserve much better that that.

One of many narrow paths

This neighborhood is next to a coal distribution plant thus the black
coal dust on the boy's face

bathing a child

The boys that followed me all afternoon

A makeshift gambling table similar to roulette, I lost 4 cents but got a good photo

The slums of Mumbai, it's not what you think

My first day in Mumbia,

First I went with Rajiv to the Cancer Research Center where he works. At this facility they do treatment, experimental treatment, research and more. It was kinda sad to see the children in one of the buildings, but at least it's set up so that their families can stay with them. I saw the radiation treatment facilities and met two patients as they were being treated. Saw the plant nursery, water treatment facility, the hospital, the follow up clinic and so much more. Went to Rajiv's office, huge with a great view. Had a wonderful lunch of fried rice, chicken curry and some other side dishes. Then I went to the research center where I met all the people that do genetic research for cancer. After lunch we were riding around the facility on a golf cart when we saw a group of four people and some excitement. They just caught a five and a half foot king cobra. Got some goo photos, and wow, what a snake!!

Then I took the train in general class compartment (this is what you see on tv, very crowded) for one hour to south Bombay. Rohan, Rajiv's son, met me and took me on a tour from 1pm to 1am. First to his college campus, very nice. Then on a train ride to the slums. This was the highlight of the trip, more on that in a minute, then off to south Bombay to see the sights and eat lots of good food.

With the slums of Mumbai being the largest slums in all of Asia we had plenty of choices of where to go inside the slums. Nine months ago Rohan did some volunteer community service in the slums teaching English at a community center so we decided that this would be the best area for us to go explore. Now, I have to tell you, I didn't know what to expect but I was thinking that what I was going to see would be horrible, dirty, smelly and with lots of people begging for help. My trip was nothing of the sort, in fact it was the most pleasant tours I've taken in all my years of traveling, it was an eye opener and it was touching.

Rohan and I took the train for about 30 minutes and got off at a very small station, we continued on food down the road about one kilometer and then turned off onto a small road that led us into the slums, only about two blocks off the main road. Rohan was taking me into the neighborhood where he taught English, and soon we were walking among the small homes where everyone stared at me, but with smiles and nods of the head. They hadn't seen a foreigner in their neighborhood before and word got out quickly that I was there. I had an entourage of boys and girls following me, adults came out of their homes to say hi, shake my hand and ask a few questions. The community center was closed but we soon found some of Rohan's former students, one went on to finish top in her class and another is now in nursing school. Rohan was very moved to see the progress of his former students, and I was surprised to learn that almost all the kids here spoke some English. Though only a few children can go to the community center to learn those that do come home and teach their siblings. We were invited into one home and served cold sodas, chocolates and given a tour of the home. The home next door we were also invited and given more sodas and snacks, and yet another house we were served tea and snacks. At the fourth home when we were offered yet more soda I had to politely refuse, when I said that if I had another soda then I would have to go to the bathroom and the whole house started laughing hard. You see, here in the slums there may be only one toilet for a couple hundred people, they knew it wasn't something I wanted to experience.

A surprising note. The homes are very well kept, many of the families have all the amenities including television, refrigerator, dvd player, satellite tv and more, clean clothes and working family members. It's really not that bad. The only thing they really lack is a different place to live, but after visiting I'm not sure that is necessary. What they have is a very tight community that looks after each other with very warm hearts. The reason they live here is that housing is so expensive in Mumbai. Imagine that you are on your current salary and that the cheapest place to live per month is three times your annual salary. Then what do you do?

After the slums we took off for the dobi ghats (open air laundry facility). HUGE, pretty cool. Then to the mall so we could find a clean bathroom. HUGE mall, very nice, very busy. Then to the famous mosque on an island. Very nice! Then to Marine Drive which is a very long sea wall where people sit and talk and meet. It's one of the few places where you'll see young indian couples kissing in public. Then to the beach where we sat in the sand for an hour talking. Also had the corn on the cob with chaat masala and lime (Raymond, remember?) and it was outstanding. Then a cup of chai.

Then off to the Gateway of India and the Taj Hotel. Very cool, especially at night. Then to Leapolds where we had beer, peanuts and fish and chips. Talked for over an hour. It was so busy we had to share the four person table with two other Indian guys. It was fun. Leapolds is where the terrorists shot up the place not too long ago and there were numerous bullet holes as reminders of the tragedy.

Then off to ExtravganSEA for dinner. We had the grilled prawns, seafood soup and masala crab. Outstanding. And after another beer we made it back to the train station at midnight to catch the last train to Rajiv's home, an hour ride away.

The best part of the day? All of it, but Rohan was without a doubt the best tour guide I've ever had anywhere. His perfect english, complete knowledge of Mumbai including the history, Jewish community, the good, the bad, all of it, and his personality is what made the day come together. I told Rohan many times that he should consider being a part time tour guide. I would have easily paid $100 for the city tour, and equally as much for a tip. It was one of the best days in India.

Rohan showing me around

Outdoor kitchen, though most homes have indoor kitchens

Makeshift craddle

The crowd of young men that followed me

Barber shop

And the crowd of boys that followed me

The  first family to invite me into their house

Another family that invited us into their home

The dobi ghats (laundry baths)

When there isn't laundry to wash, there's bathing to be done