Mumbai... the introduction

To fully understand Mumbai, you have to know that the senses are absolutely assailed with amazing and sad sights, sounds and smells. I frequently cannot believe what I’m looking at, how bad things smell which when combined with the textures, makes me want to run away… and all of this is just at the Breakfast Buffet. Today, I actually asked Susan to sit at another table if she insisted on sampling the local fare.



Anyway, the first week in Mumbai has been a real challenge. Adjusting to the climate, the people, the workplace, etc. has been tiring so I’m happy it’s finally the weekend. Kind of weird, to be here, knowing we have only three weekends and then will leave. The commute is very interesting as is the dining so here goes the story.

We are staying at a very nice hotel on Marine Drive where we have a two mile stretch of walking/jogging path which is 15 yards wide. We actually moved from our first hotel to a different one a couple blocks away on the same street due to lack of services in the first. There are two other hotels nearby plus a couple of Western restaurants close by and many more 10 minutes walk away.

Here a video clip on the view from our room (pretty funny, I think)



The things that attack you first are the way of life, the combination of Hindi and English which is spoken here, the congestion whether walking or riding and the noise. Let me explain some of these to put future blogs in context.
The way of life is very difficult to grasp and understand. There are people and cars everywhere. There are many, many poor people, many, many vehicles and a lot of disabled or deformed people. The poverty is inescapable. You are approached by beggars when walking the streets, riding in a cab, eating in a restaurant, anywhere. And, of course, because Westerners are softer touches for the downtrodden and less steeled to dismiss it, we are all targets for them. Some of the people are really sad and have little or nothing to live on. It’s not like in the U.S. big cities where you’d expect pan handlers to drink or drug their way to escape. The people here strike me as having such meager possessions that they would use anything they get to provide for the basic needs. It is hard to constantly look away but we’ve been warned that showing money and paying one person will garner immediate attention from those on the sidelines watching. Leaving a restaurant, you are immediately approached for your doggy bag. In one somewhat amusing scene on Sunday, a child approached our car, saw Westerners and began singing “Jingle Bells”. After the intro, he moved on to made up words but it was a cute moment.
From there, let’s talk mobility. While in China, walking and riding the Metro was my favorite pastime, here, I mostly ride in cabs to get around. I have taken more cab rides in one week than I did in six months in China. The taxis are not expensive. It costs around $1.50 to go from my hotel to the office which is a 15-20 minute ride. There are 40,000 black taxi cabs in Mumbai so it is very easy to find one. Of course, it hasn’t rained yet so the taxis aren’t hiding. I’m sure when it does; you won’t be able to locate one. There are lots of motorbikes here, just like in Shanghai. While the ones here do not drive in the wrong direction like they do in Shanghai, causing total chaos, the drive just as crazy weaving in and out of traffic and filling every little gap in traffic. Couple this with roads that are severely inadequate and you have a traffic nightmare. Now take all of that and tell everyone to honk their horn at approximately, but not quite, the same moment. Look up the word, “cacophony” and that’s what we’ve got. The noise is never ending and you can’t get away from it.

Some photos from my commute...




The food is another story. I do not have a death wish so I’m not eating the local food, at all, period, end of story. I know some would say this is short sighted and I won’t get to “experience” India and enjoy it as much as others. Well, as Archie Bunker use to say whenever he was one-upped, “Goodie for you.” The food here is unidentifiable, very spicy, eaten with hands (mostly) and neither looks nor smells appetizing. Susan can try all of this she wants but I only have one set of intestines and I’m not prepared to give them up yet. There are enough Continental (Western) restaurants around to keep me satisfied. The scary thought is, my father would never try anything that wasn’t meat and potatoes, no Chinese, Italian, Mexican, etc. ever. I really don’t want to be that narrow minded, but so far, I’m standing my ground.

The last thing to cover is communications. While people here they claim to speak English, it is an interesting variation from what we’re all used to and it takes a little while to get acclimated to the sounds and accents on different syllables. The advantage is almost every cabbie has some understanding where in China; it was a small number who did. If you’re not familiar with this accent, check out Jerry Seinfeld’s old buddy, Babu Bhat. Now, I understand that Babu was a Pakistani, but the English accents are pretty close. Babu was famous for wagging his finger at Jerry and saying, “You a very bad man.”




Still to follow in the next few days are blogs on our first weekend in Mumbai and a special invitation to a Hindu wedding we attended today. It was kind of like the reverse Seinfeld Indian Wedding episode (think Peach Schnapps)