Mumbai

Cleaning up all my India stuff, here's some stuff from waaaaay back in Mumbai.

From the Jogeshwari caves on the outskirts of the city, although the actual people living next to them were far more interesting.


Banganga, a 1,000 year old tank fed by a natural spring in the corner. It's right in the middle of ultra-modern and rich Malabar hill, and feels very ancient and strange. According to legend, Rama's brother Laxmi fired an arrow into the ground and water sprung out.

Here's the queue for the Siddhivanayak temple on the day you're meant to go there - I can't remember which it is now. Although some people walk from their homes barefoot to go there, it felt like more of a social outing, like church on sunday.

Mumbai is an exciting city and has a lot going on. It has some of the most expensive property in the world, and also has the largest slum in Asia. It's like New York and L.A. rolled into one - loud, brassy and exciting. It exerts a pull on the rest of the population, who flock to the city to follow the Indian dream, most of whom end up in the slums. Even the dogs in Mumbai are more wired than in the rest of the country. Like the rest of India, you get back what you put in. If you come looking to find a job, you'll find it. If you come looking to be disgusted at the poverty, you'll find that too. I came to be vaguely entertained, and that's exactly what I got.

Here's two Mumbai friends I randomly drove past in a taxi. In a city of 20 million people.