Mumbai aka Bombay

I awoke to the buzz of thousands of people making their way through their lives. I decided to take a cab into the city – there are no words to describe this experience. There are 20,000 cabs alone in the city of Mumbai and they all seem to be driving in circles. Add to this the thousands of people crossing the road in the middle of this auto madness. Traffic signs and painted lines mean nothing, it is all about the honking, from above I would imagine that it looks like a swarm of bees trying to make their way around the hive – complete with the beeping and buzzing. A 20-kilometer drive took 90-minutes to complete.

After many stops to ask for directions to Leopold's Cafe I finally found it. This was one of the sites that was attacked by terrorists a few weeks after my visit. It felt somewhat surreal watching the news reports, having just been there enjoying some Chicken Tikka Masala. I visited nearly all of the locations that were targeted and consider

myself lucky that my schedule conflicted with that of the terrorists.

I covered a lot of ground my first day, the Gateway to India, Kanehri Caves, Naked Man Temple, Hanging Gardens, Laundry Colony, Parsi graveyard, Ghandi's House and a plethora of textile shops and craft shops (that's the kicker when you bargain with tour guides, you have to humour the shop owners and listen to their

pitch). Each spot was very unique but all had a long, and interesting history. I was particularly

moved by the visit to Ghandi's House, they had among other things, his sandals, robe, bed, writing stationary. I love it when you can see and touch history, I imagined him writing and meditating in his office area, wandering the halls contemplating the virtues of passive-resistance and sitting

by the window watching people walking by just as they were this day.

I watched the sun disappear over the water just as I was finishing my first marathon tourist route overlooking the Queen's Necklace on Marine Drive. With one great day under my belt, I was even more excited to explore Bombay's hidden treasures.