… And I’m not a happy girl. In many ways it reminds me of London. It’s busy, no one really knows what’s going on, people aren’t friendly, they don’t tend to go out of their way to help you and prices shoot up.

Though I did manage to have a slight crisis with my bus to Mumbai and so maybe these words are just words of a girl who happens to not be in the best mood possible.

A conversation with the bus driver went a little something like this:

“Do you speak English?”

“Yes yes”

“How far till we reach the CENTRE of Mumbai?”

“Yes yes”

“No, How FAR till we reach the CENTRE of Mumbai?”

“Ah, yes yes. 10 Minutes”

(25 minutes later this same conversation is repeated.)

An extra 15 minutes later and the bus stops. The driver looks at me with a huge smile on his face and says, “Last stop. Off bus.”

My eyes beam open as I look outside the windows to a dual carriageway surrounded by nothingness, “What?! But WHERE is the CENTRE of Mumbai?”

“Off bus. Off bus. Last stop.”

“Do you understand? Do you speak English?”

“Ooooh English, no….. Last stop. Off bus.”

So, maybe this is an aggressive and bias first impression of Mumbai but I was left rather unhappy, refusing to move from the side of the road. Refusing to get into any taxi’s. Refusing to make conversation. I needed some me time and so I decided to sit by road filled with fast moving vehicles, listening to some music till I felt ready to move again.

Unfortunately, when I finally get into a taxi to take me to my hostel (which is many kilometres away) my opinion of Mumbai doesn’t seem to get much better.

My hostel in particular is what I would call ‘a bit of a hole’. For the price that I am paying, they don’t give you any sheets and they demand you make and pay for your own passport photocopies which THEY require. This might sound petty but in the last 7 cities which I have visited, if THEY want a copy, THEY get and pay for the copy. It doesn’t personally bother me whether they  have a copy or not. But I’m not willing to waste my time and money to do so.

So 30 minutes in Mumbai and I simply can’t wait to leave. I think I will have a quick nap and then find myself a nice cold Frappuccino. Only after this will I figure out what I wish to see in such little time so that I can leave ASAP.

Sorry Mumbai, but I’m not willing to spend 8 months here to grow and love it like I did London.

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