I arrived in Mumbai not knowing what to expect. Would I find myself in a slum or a billionaire's playground? Would the people be as friendly as I had found throughout the North of India?

My immediate first impressions were positive, given the more pleasant temperature and air quality following my time in Delhi and Rajasthan. As I stepped out on the street opposite Mumbai's world famous Taj Hotel, I wanted to check out the Gateway of India given it's historical ties to my British ancestors.

As I made my way through the district of Southern Mumbai I met my first ear cleaner and decided to give it a go once I had seen some of the locals leave with their eardrums intact. Having built up the courage, the procedure didn't seem to be a scam, but the ear cleaning did prove to be painful, so I had to ask the guy to back off a couple of times so that I could take a breather.

It was quite an experience, and after a glass of fresh sugar cane juice I was back on the road. I spotted a nice Indian cricket home jersey and haggled with the street seller to negotiate the best price.

Wearing my new shirt, I headed towards Chowpatty Beach to meet more of the locals and get a better feel for what life is really like in modern Mumbai. The place was much cleaner than I expected, but as I made my way towards the sand for a kulfi ice cream at Kapoor's Punjabi Kulfi on the sand, I then saw the challenges that the city faces with water pollution from crude oil and plastic.

Nonetheless, I was encouraged to learn just how far Mumbai has come in its recent efforts to clean up, following a huge drive around the recent G20 summit. As such, I was able to see beyond this and appreciate the modernity of the city and it's friendly people to end the day on a positive.

#India #mumbai #chowpatty #travelvlog

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📖 C H A P T E R S

00:00 Intro from Gateway of India
03:49 Taj Hotel Mumbai
06:10 First Impressions of Mumbai
07:25 My First Indian Sugar Cane Juice
10:35 Painful Indian Ear Cleaning
17:05 Haggling for India Cricket Jersey
20:33 Exploring Modern Mumbai
23:55 Chowpatty Beach Walk
41:08 Kapoor Famous Rabdi Kulfi
42:23 Foreigner Tries Kulfi Ice Cream
44:37 Walking on the Beach
44:58 Mumbai's Pollution

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🔗 K E Y L I N K S

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