Mumbai - Big City Feeling

My stay in Mumbai, the biggest city in India is over. Three days went by quickly. I was rather impressed about the city. It definitely has much more western feeling than Delhi does. I do need to spend a bit more time in Delhi to confirm that, but that's my opinion based on what I've seen so far. The skyline to the city from the Marine drive, a promenade on the western edge of south Mumbai, looks very familiar to a western eye. I stayed in a cheap dorm in the Fort district, which is just north of Colaba, perhaps the most famous area of touristic Mumbai. I was also surprised about the cleanliness of the city. Of course I'm referring to the areas around my hotel and not the big slums a bit further away. I saw garbage trucks for the first time in India.

I decided against doing a guided slum tour. I know I probably missed an opportunity to see different kind of living and to shed some stereotypes about slum life. I simply couldn't get rid of the idea of going around other people's homes as if I were in a zoo. It made me feel sick, even when others told me it was not like that at all. Instead I washed around the city write a bit. Chowpatty beach, was a surprisingly clean beach in a huge metropole the size of Mumbai. Also the Gandhi museum was more than with the visit. You can find my Mumbai photos here.

The day before yesterday I visited the Elephanta island, about ten kilometers ferry ride east of the Gateway to India. The caves in the island date back to the 5th - 8th century and especially the first one is amazingly spacious and beautifully decorated. It's hard to imagine how the cave looked like in its full splendor, but even now I was very much impressed. It's even harder to imagine the amount of years of digging and carving it must have taken to get something that huge done with the tools of that time. You can find some pictures from the caves here.

My plan was to go to Pune after Mumbai, but due to extremely costly accommodation, I decided to skip the city and head straight to Goa. There I can spend over a week with the cost of one night in Pune. I know it's strange that I've gotten this stingy being a rich westerner, but after some time in this country you really tend to get that way. I've heard this from others as well. I can't explain it, but neither can I shake the new habit off. It's not just happening with hotels but restaurants as well. I hope to be cured of this as soon as possible when I get back home.

Tomorrow at noon, I'm reaching Goa, a place I originally didn't plan to visit. So many people have told me that it's really with a visit, even though its very touristy reputation. I'm looking forward to some relaxed hostel life, western people and delicious food - maybe even the beaches.