Some Thoughts on India

I promised a post on our India trip, so here it is.  Just by way of background, this was our second time to India - 7 years ago we traveled in northern India (New Delhi and Rajasthan), so this time we decided to go to south India (Bombay and Kerala).  We have several good friends in India which is why we keep going back - not only do we get to travel to a fascinating place, we also have plenty of help navigating a potentially difficult country for Westerners and get to spend time with our lovely friends to boot.  A winning combo.

We landed in Bombay (now Mumbai) to start, and spent a few days there wandering the streets with our friends.  Compared to Delhi, Bombay is more modern (less cows and camels walking down the streets), architecturally interesting (lots of Art Deco and Gothic buildings, albeit mostly in a decrepit state), and has more of a tropical feeling (palm trees, views of the sea).  It is also, like most of India, chaotic, dirty, vibrant and full of life.  Wandering the streets was downright dangerous sometimes, due to a serious shortage of crosswalks and driver etiquette.  Drivers do not slow down for pedestrians - if anything, they speed up and hope to mow you down.  I found it stressful, if not terrifying, getting across the street most of the time.

But walking around really gave you a sense of street life, so it was worth it, even if it was challenging at times.  I'll pause here for some pictures, because as they say a picture is worth a thousand words:

Bombay street life.

Two stray dogs (which were everywhere in Bombay) taking an afternoon snooze.

An indoor market, selling nice-looking fruit.  Unfortunately we accidentally walked past the meat market as well (which we were told to avoid at all costs) and that was absolutely FOUL.  

An example of the type of streets we had to cross while walking around Bombay.

A view off Marine Drive, fronting the sea.  

Victoria railway station, one of the nicer examples of Gothic architecture.

This was one of the most remarkable sights in our whole trip.  This is the world's most expensive PRIVATE residence, owned by the Ambani family.  It is estimated to be worth $2bn, has 27 stories, 400,000 of living space, 9 elevators, 3 heli pads, an ice-skating rink, and a 600 person staff to take care of it.  You have to see it to believe it!

I just realized that I'm going to have to do multiple posts on our trip or this will be the post that never ends.  Next post will be on Kerala - you guys are going to be sick of hearing about this trip by the time I am done!