I haven’t yet been in Mumbai for holiday but there’s so much new about India. No wonder it’s such a popular destination.

They kept feeding us on the plane. Drinks, snacks, more food. I had tandoori chicken (quite spicy), ice cream and lots of wine (heehee). Got out of the airport quickly. The greeting area was crowded with lots of drivers holding names for their clients but it wasn’t a problem to find my driver and get to the car. I’d been warned about beggars and unauthorised drivers but that wasn’t a problem either. In India it’s not unusual to have a driver, and it’s recommended for those travelling on their own. Stayed at the Marriott, which took about an hour from the airport. Whenever we stopped at traffic lights women or children would be knocking on car windows to get them to buy balloons or flowers. I looked away.

The feel of the roads is like Kenya actually — concrete roads, then dirt and/or rubbish, then houses. Streetside stalls selling sweets, cigarettes and papers, just like Kenya.

Lots of tuktuks, like Bangkok. They’re called ricksaws here. Driving takes nerves of steel, lots of honking and cars just swerving out of the side road. Actually there’s no difference between main road and side road, there are no road markings.

<  

There is a big difference between the suburbs and downtown Mumbai. Downtown is just like any big city, may be busier and dirtier, but I felt fine walking around even in the dark. Outside was poorer and more “local”.

India is a land of contrasts — the poverty of the children sleeping on the streets vs the opulence of my hotel suite; the streetside stalls vs the modern shopping malls.

There was a cow outside our office building. Not in some suburbs or village … right outside the business district.