Hello and thank you for having your attention again. For me it went from Dubai via Muscat to Mumbai (India). I only had a short stay of 5 hours in Muscat at night and therefore only stayed at the airport. Anyone who knows Dubai knows that it is already very clean there, but what the Muscat airport presented to me was even better. I could have eaten off the floor here, everything was so elegant and some of it had designer furniture.
But Muscat wasn't my destination, Mumbai was, and the contrast couldn't have been greater. I get off the plane and there's this strange smell in my nose. I don't really know how to describe it, but it was very uncomfortable. But well, I knew beforehand that Mumbai wasn't like Dubai or Muscat and that's exactly why I chose this place.
A strange feeling and questioning thoughts came to me: “Is it the right thing for me?” But anyone who knows me knows that when I start something, I finish it.
So first I went out of the terminal to see which bus I had to take. It's not that easy here, there are so many people running around wildly, almost like in an ants' nest, but there doesn't seem to be any chaos. So, like in Dubai, I asked a local if he could help me and asked for the bus. He looked at me in a friendly and smiling manner and just said, “no bus, only taxi, I help you.” I gave him the address of the hotel and he used Uber to ask for a taxi. I was surprised because he immediately told me the price and then told me not to pay any more. I said ok and asked for the taxi rank, but just said, “no no, I’ll bring you there” again this friendly help in a foreign country.
When I arrived at the taxi stand I immediately knew why he had accompanied me, “I wouldn't have found my taxi on my own” there were over 100 vehicles driving around wildly, again like in an ant nest? He took me to my taxi and gave me his WhatsApp number with the note “If you have a problem, please call me.” I was surprised again and asked him what I could give him for his help. To this he simply replied that he didn't want anything and that I should just remember him fondly for that. WOW that was so touching, I didn't even know what to say. But read on, it gets even better.
On the way to the hotel I got a little scared, the sight that greeted me outside was frightening and I didn't expect anything like that. Should my hotel be in the slums? I first went to reception and asked. The staff there were very friendly and understood my concerns. They gave me the freedom to look for a new hotel and gave me access to their internet. There it was, that moment where you think "did he know where my hotel was at the airport and that's exactly why he gave me his number? I hesitated for a moment and then wrote to him, the answer was amazing, you only expect something like that from your best friend (where you have a maximum of 1-2 of them) "wait there, I come to you" was his answer.
20 minutes later he was already at the hotel, and no, he doesn't have a car, he took a taxi like me, and even though it's very cheap in Mumbai, the people there have very little but are still all very friendly, more on that later. So together we are looking for a new hotel that is in a safe area and yet close to the people. A short time later I took a taxi that he got for me to the new hotel, again for a fixed price that he had agreed on. He himself drove home in his taxi. And if you're wondering whether I paid for his taxi, no, he didn't want to. I should please contact you when I get to the hotel and say if everything is okay.
When we arrived at the second hotel it was fine, of course you can't expect a standard like ours in Mumbai, I didn't have that either, but the staff was again very friendly and the hotel was very clean for Mumbai standards. I thanked him again via WhatsApp and he asked me again “if you have a problem, send me a message”
It was time for me to have my experiences here, I wanted to know what the other people are like here and see the city. What could be better than asking him if he would like to be my tour guide the next day and show me Mumbai through his eyes, of course for a fee. He was happy and agreed, but only to part of my question, because he didn't want payment again and it made me a little uncomfortable. Before I could think about it, another message came from him: “I come tomorrow at 12 a clock to your hotel.” I agreed and thought to myself, I will find a way to give him something in return.
In the evening I went out for a quick bite to eat, rice with chicken and it was very tasty. But far too much for one person and for just 320 INR (approx. 4 euros). It's shocking that families have to sit and beg in front of the restaurant. In any case, the tourists, almost all of whom couldn't finish their food, had the leftovers packed up and given to people on the street. It makes you sad to see something like that, from now on it was clear to me that whatever food and drink you buy here, I'll get twice as much so that I can give it to people once. So one bottle of water for me and one for the children on the street. Now it was time to return to the hotel.
My next day in Mumbai started with a local tour guide, where I could be sure that he would show me exactly what was important.
We took a taxi from the hotel towards the city center, our first stop was “Dhobigat”, where the locals wash people’s things from hotels and other people. Actually nothing unusual, but you've never seen anything like it. Everything is done by hand and on a huge open-air area. I have a few pictures for you, but you have to see it yourself to see what's going on.
From here it was a 5-minute walk to the surrounding train station and quickly bought 2 tickets for 10 INR. Don't think about how much it is, it's just 12 cents, so 6 cents per person. This shows you how poor these people must be, because over half of the locals drive black because it is too expensive for them. Even taking the train was an experience, because that's not how you travel in Germany, open doors, big cars and the warm wind in your face, just great. I asked myself the questions, if people have so little, why are everyone so friendly, you always get a smile from them. Does “being happy” really have nothing to do with money?
My impressions are definitely very emotional, there are families sitting on a large blanket on the side of the road and living there as if it were their apartment. But you don't see any sad people there and everyone has something to do. The impression appears that what one person throws away, another uses and is happy with. The traffic on the street seems to me like a disorganized hustle and bustle, there are cars driving in three lanes on a street where two lanes go in one direction, everyone is honking and everyone is driving bumper to bumper. People, even animals, are running around in between, and nothing happens, I haven't seen an accident in 3 days.
If you travel by taxi in Mumbai as much as I do, you have time to observe everything a little, the people are not the least bit aggressive, they are considerate of everyone else and by honking they show the car in front or next to you that hey, I'm here, please be careful. I'm sure I wouldn't be able to drive a kilometer there without having an accident, either I wouldn't be able to move forward at all or there would be a crash. It should be said that I am accident-free in Europe?
There seems to be only one rule there: “pay attention to others”. There are 15 people traveling with the taxi driver in a small Suzuki 7-seater, unimaginable in Europe. It felt like I drove 500 km by taxi on the first day, but in the evening I didn't pay 15 euros for the ride. The people here help themselves, as if there was no government or laws to support them or regulate anything, and yet all taxi drivers had a license and also had a taxi clock running in the car, and billed accordingly.
Then I remember something amazing: once when we were waiting for a taxi, local people who were walking past us came up to me and asked if they could take a selfie with me. I agreed to this because it's not a problem for me. Suddenly more and more people came to take a picture with me until my guide finally freed me. For Indians it is probably a good thing to have a picture with white people, people in India still live in a caste system.
My tour guide definitely impressed me with the enthusiasm with which he showed me his city, and everything with his modesty that is rarely seen anymore. When I stopped to get water I tried to offer him something again, how about a cigarette, do you smoke? He was happy and said yes, then he happily ordered a cigarette and got it. I immediately said, no, please take the box. Without the salesperson in the store he would never have taken it. I paid for the box quickly and he took it with a little restraint. Oh well, the price should be said, the equivalent of around 1.50 euros.
The day went by far too quickly for me, all these impressions of people who seem to be feeling bad and yet don't complain and know how to help. People who live with their families on the streets or in buildings that were never finished. Now it has to be said that my tour guide is one of the few people in Mumbai who has a job, he is a seafarer and can therefore support his family and also has accommodation.
Finally, he wanted to show me his favorite place and I agreed on the condition that we go out for something to eat together afterwards and that I could invite him. He agreed and so we went to a large square with lots of people, all taking photos of themselves in front of a building. Of course, whatever we did there.
So I think that's a lot for 2 days. On the last day it was all about my travel guide. His business clearly has to be on Airbnb and with that I was able to give him something back. So we met in a cafe with internet and created his profile on Airbnb. Of course you should also have the opportunity to book my tour guide when you visit Mumbai. I will definitely stay in touch with him and find out how his business is going. He definitely enjoys this work.
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