This is the daily forecast in Mumbai. But the city seems unphased by it. With over 16 million people crammed into such a small space and 70,000 taxis alone, it is no wonder their is a cloud of smoke looming over the city.
So our few days spent in Mumbai was quite an experience. Having just arrived to India, this was quite the introduction. But we explored the city's main attractions on foot one day and by taxi with a guide the next. We were hoping to have some questions answered regarding the infrastructure, culture, etc but many of our questions were lost in translation. In any case, we enjoyed the day roaming the city and witnessed some incredible systems. The ghats is an outdoor laundry facility. And by facility, i mean concrete partitions and tables holding water where hundreds of people slung loads and loads of colorful clothing and linens delivered from around the city to be washed...by hand...in the hot hot heat.
Next, we visited a Jain Temple and one of the many Gandhi museums, which we all thoroughly enjoyed learning more of his philosophies and wisdom, and of course of his tragic, yet always humble end.
The later part of the day was spent taking a boat to Elephanta Island to visit the Shiva cave sculptures carved into basalt over the course of 100 years. That was a fascinating sight, and fairly well preserved considering the portuguese military used the carvings for target practice over the course of history.
Then it was back to our home, the Seashore Hotel housed on the 4th floor of a building near the ocean where each floor occupied a separate hotel. The staff was friendly and clean enough, except for the rat that lived in the trash.
And as of last night, after a train ride 4 hours east, we arrived in Pune to set off further south in the coming week.
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