DAY 97 – LEAVING PARADISE
Thankfully it did. The 5am train to Mumbai was packed. You’ve heard of cattle class on airplanes well this was cattle class for trains. Each carriage is divided into small sections which in turn had ten beds. The number of beds didn’t seem to place a limit on the number of people in each section. Children especially were everywhere. As I climbed into bed to sleep the other passengers were just waking up. Slept most of the day fast asleep despite a non-stop procession of hawkers who walked past every few minutes loudly proclaiming what they had for sale.
As the train hurtled into Mumbai Central I was waiting in the open doorway of the train (they don’t have health and safety here yet) with my backpack on when a young local guy hurled himself through the open doorway. He was the first of several locals who threw themselves into the open door of the fast moving train to get a better chance of securing a seat for the next leg of the journey. If any of them made the slightest error it could easilly result in a fatal accident.
Tried to catch ABs v France. The very latest bar in town shut at 2am not the ideal time for a 1.30am kickoff. Gutted that is three missed tests in a row.
Walking the streets during the day is a riot of exciting colors, smells and sounds. At night it’s a different story. With all the road and pedestrian traffic gone and the stall holders incense long finished you are able to experience a different side of Mumbai. The smell is more like that of an open sewer and there are people sleeping everywhere on cold hard concrete. I was surrounded by India’s infamous untouchables, the cast that is so low that children sleep in nothing but their rag clothes on the pavement using a clenched fists for a pillow. And I’m staying in a nice part of town.
