Mumbai update

Quick round-up so far

This ones just to let you briefly what I've been up to the last few days and there will be a more detailed entry later for the keen beans.

After leaving the internet cafe yesterday I strolled down to Marine Drive, met Deepak and then we walked and chatted for several more hours, discussing our plans for the next day and him trying to drill some Hindi and Marathi into me.

This morning I met him at CST, the main train station in Mumbai and we travelled twenty minutes up to Sion station. on the edge of the Daravhi, 'the largest slum in Asia'. My first impression of it was that it wasn't actually that different to the rest of Mumbai, shoddier buildings and more rubbish on the streets but with the same feel and vibe, and without the devastating poverty I'd been warned of. However excursions off the main drag revealed houses made of bamboo and plastic, kids squatting in the street and goats picking through the enormous rubbish heaps on every corner. It was poverty that I'd only seen a few times on Jangano and it was much more in your face as I was on foot and not flashing past in a Land Cruiser. 

That afternoon I took a trip up to Haji Ali, the mosque on an island, connected to the mainland by causeway and Dhobi Ghat, where the Dhobi caste wash the linen of hundreds of thousands of Mumbai dwellers (Mumbains?). I had been informed that it was very popular and with nothing else planned thought it worth a look. 

From there I walked the 6 or 7 kms back to CST, picked up my bags said my 'namastes' to Deepak and jumped on the train for Delhi. I was very relieved, that despite my ticket only costing 440 rupees (approximately 9 US dollars) I had a luxurious, air-conditioned sleeper berth and wasn't down in third class as I'd feared. After 26 hours spent reading, sleeping and hanging out the door I arrived in Delhi, then a quick cab to Louis and Frederique's lovely house where I watched the footie with Louis and headed for bed.

Will post pictures and a longer entry later today.

Cheers

Max