I'm living my dream everyday.
Good morning, Mumbai | Friday, June 8, 2012 @ 10:51 AM
"We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which
no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made."
Albert Einstein
Sometime last week, I found myself squeezing my way through throngs of people in a noisy marketplace under the sweltering sun in Mumbai. All thanks to our fearless rickshaw driver who brought us safely to a few destinations, otherwise I doubt we would have made it out of the maddening traffic alive.
The rickshaw meter
As our rickshaw weaved its way perilously through the fast-paced traffic, I was on a constant lookout for hazardous drivers, who might collide into our rickshaw. Y'know, there is something so amazing about this tiny vehicle that is the bread and butter of many Mumbai men. It appears to be rather flimsy and slow-moving but it can actually get you to your destination in the blink of an eye - no thanks to the gung-ho spirit of its driver. Haha initially, I was very worried but the collected demeanour of our rickshaw driver helped to ease my fear a little :/
A photo with our rickshaw driver!
May God keep him safe on the roads...
Look, this entire street was congested with rickshaws!
I discovered that India is famous for its homegrown mangoes...Tried 'em during my breakfast buffet in the hotel and they tasted quite nice. I guess it's hard to go wrong with mangoes!
Glad to have Zaki (my batch boy) as a travelling companion.
Zaki & I at Juhu beach, with the Indian Ocean behind us.
I don't wanna go into details about the happy yet heart-wrenching experience with this young Mumbai native again. It's on my IG, if anyone is interested to know more :(
Singaporean kids are really a blessed and protected bunch. I'm so thankful for my carefree childhood days, even though I was under my mom's constant watch, which I'd think of it as a privilege now that I'm all grown up.
I felt a wave of relief when we finally made it back to the hotel after
our little exploration trip. It was good to be away from the heat and
noise.
The hotel that we put up at was lovely too.
Although Mumbai is known to be the economic powerhouse of India, poverty is real and rampant on the streets. It was an eye-opening experience to observe how the locals went about their daily chores to earn their livelihoods in such a noisy environment (the horns from the rickshaws and cars were blarred at 2384729879 decibels and at a frequency of well, every other second).
All in all, I am glad to have visited the rural areas rather than the popular urban spots because it has enlightened me in many ways...and made me more aware about how lucky I am to be raised in such a sheltered and safe environment back home.
May God bless Mumbai, and especially the people living in poverty and ruins...
Love, Serene
Labels: Pensive Mood, Travels