It took us 5 hours for the journey of about 170 km. (However there is said to be a faster train which only takes 3 hours. We are still learning... )
After our arrival we got ripped-off by a taxi driver, who was so kind to bring us to our hostel for 4 times as much as we should have paid and even tried to get 20 rupees more than that when we arrived. Well, now we know... :)
This is Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Victoria Station Mumbai) where our train arrived.
I initially expected Mumbai to be more crowded and adventurous than Pune and was ready for another culture shock. But nope, I was wrong. Obviously we stayed in touristy areas during the two days and didn't go to see any poor parts of Mumbai. However I was nevertheless surprised that what we got to see was way more relaxed and less chaotic than in Pune. We enjoyed the international atmoshpere and noticed that people were more open and friendly.
Sometimes it was a strange and unreal feeling to see police men hidden behind walls of sandbags on the streets, or to come across an armor-plated police vehicle in front of a night club. Considering the history of terror that Mumbai has and the fact that many places that we saw once were targeted, it's probably better just not to think about it too much.
However last week I suddenly found myself sitting on the back of a colleague's motor-bike without having any choice or moment to think about it (and of course without a helmet), rushing through Pune's traffic to the registration office. That was probably way more dangerous than the small likelyhood to be close to any terror attack. :)
I think we saw a lot for the short amount of time that we had.
Some impressions of where we went and what we saw:
That's the Gateway of India
We learned that there are 70.ooo taxis in Mumbai, and that rikshaws are only allowed in the suburbs.
That's a private hospital (if our driver was right)
Jain Temple
The attempt to bring some colour into our apartment. Fortunately they did NOT buy the half-naked Sha Rukh Khan.
The famous Leopold Café where we had dinner on the first night.
Well, at least some of you know my attitude towards pigeons ...
Mumbai University
Anyone any idea what kind of birds they are?
Mahalakshmi dhobi ghats - the world's largest outdoor laundry.
The Hanging Gardens
It was a nice weekend. I'm sure we will be back in Mumbai some time soon ...
3 Kommentare:
Nice blog. But your header is really inappropriate!
And next time I WILL BUY the Sha Rukh Khan poster! Half-naked!!!
:P
Hehe. Buying things half naked is probably more entertaining than buying half naked things.
Your trip sounds just awesome so far ... and probably WAY too adventurous for ME. I HATE being lost. So it's particularly nice to see you all enjoy yourselves and have a great time ... YET! Have you started working already? ;-)
ok ok, the picture in the header is from Mumbai and not from Pune.. I ADMIT IT!!! (But I'm still not going to change it now ;-) )
And go ahead "anonym person". ... Buy the poster, buy it half-naked or naked, whatever makes you happy. You will give many Indians guys on the street a happy moment. ;-)
@ Daniel: I don't think it would be too adventurous for you. We never were REALLY lost. :) But I hope it stays that way.
And yes, we started to work full time right from the first day on. We had some introduction so far and are in our teams now. We are not actually working that much ourselves yet, but I think we are getting closer.
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