When I'm on my travels, I sometimes blog
On Sunday, October 18, I went for a morning walk around my hotel, mostly south and east of it. This area is close to what is called Chor Bazaar, or Thieves Market. I've been warned it can be dangerous. At least at night and in the small alleys. But now it was morning, and I walked the small streets. The alleys looked pretty miserable anyway; the smallest were mostly used as garbage dumps. I met a lot of nice people, many of whom asked if I would take pictures of them. I always oblige. A few asked me to send them the photo, so we connected on Instagram for easy communication. I think the business cards I got (after years of thinking about it) make this process easier. I had one conversation which was a little longer. I came upon what I quickly realised was a soup kitchen, where a charity organisation gave free food to the poor. I had a 10 minute chat with one of the guys from the charity about their work and the situation in this part of Mumbai. Severe poverty is easy to see here within two minutes of stepping out of the hotel, if you're in this area.
Around 3 pm, Adam came to my hotel again and led me to Grant Road station, where we took a commuter train north to Bandra. This is an area where many rich and famous people live. Mansions behind walls and barbed wire here and there. Luxury shopping and trendy cafés too. But still recognisable as India. We came to a nice seafront area where the ocean was at low tide. Lots of people were walking and snapping selfies all the way down by the water a couple of hundred meteres away from where it was at high tide. Some distance out to sea, a long bridge was under construction. As we neared the end of the seafront, we saw a large group of people gathered, looking at a building across the road. Evidently a Bollywood star lived there, and they were hoping to catch a glimpse. Adam said the star had moved out a year ago, but apparently those people hadn't got the newsletter... We got some drinks and sat down for a while, chatted and looked at the sea. As one does.
After that, we got in a rickshaw, which here in Mumbai is the same as a tuk-tuk, a three-wheeled motorcycle with a small car body on top. Adam wanted me to see a skate park he likes to snap photos in once in a while. Unfortunately, when we got close, the road was closed, and about a hundred police officers had gathered. Adam asked one of them, who said they expected some kind of protest. We couldn't see any protesters, though. I was starting to feel the walk and the heat, so I suggested we head back to the station. There, Adam was kind enough to go with me back to Grant Road station, even though it was the wrong direction for him.
All the photos in this blog are from the afternoon walk.
Take care, guys!
Niklas
