Leaving Mumbai - Finally

Mumbai got the best of us in just 2 days. We can hardly walk upright, our lungs hurt from the smog our heads from the constant honking and our train leaves at 23:30. That is very tough as we have no hotel anymore so we have to hang out in cafes. At every place in Mumbai it is either extremly hot or freezing cold from the airconditioning.

We have been to the markets today and immediately got picked up by a guide that showed us around. The Vienna Naschmarkt is a tiny cornerstore compared to here. The selection of fruit and vegetables is visually breathtaking and the displays of living animals (birds, rabbits, cats and dogs, I don't know which are to eat and which as pets) is literally so. We also got suckered into buying some clothes but this time for me. Karin was told that the clothes she bought yesterday are crap, by the nice tailor that sewed on the much too small sleeves of one of the pieces. Don't buy anything from the street, not just meat!

Tailor

Gandhi's room

Nursing cat

We did some sightseeing but we are too beaten up to really enjoy it much. We are really looking forward to being in the countryside. The extreme poverty of the people living in the streets is getting to us much more than yesterday. We were approached by some of the children and as much as we know that we cant help them it is still a terrible feeling.
As bad as it is here Mumbai is actually one of the most prosperous regions in India so we probably have to find a way to deal with it.

It is dark outside now and the streets empty. The funny thing is that in Mumbai you feel very alone on the street if you see less than 20 people at a time. During the day there are usually hundreds in sight. Yesterday night we had a nice companion though. As soon as we left the internet cafe we were approached by a dog that looked at us like - you know - a dog. It followed us for many blocks and every time we thought it was gone it was appearing behind a car. When we finally got in a taxi it waited behind it looking accusingly in our direction. Something died inside of me that moment.

Our doggy

Leaving Mumbai - Finally

Mumbai, India