From Goa I started to a long journey towards the north of India. My first stop was Mumbai; a mega city and the Arabian Sea. Mumbai called Bombay before but was renamed like several other Indian cities in 1996 which probably made some million people busy with work (Benares came to Varanasi, Madras to Chennai, etc…) I didn’t really planned to visit this big cities on my trip but there were two reason to drive to Mumbai. First: I met three months before in the north of India in the Kaziranga National Park an elderly Indian couple which invited me to their house in Mumbai. Second: I was going to celebrate my birthday and I had some travel mates who also stayed in Mumbai at this time. So the city seemed to be a pleasant place to stay for a couple of days. I enjoyed once again the incredible hospitality of the Indian family. Place to sleep, parking, food, drinks, sightseeing tour and an amazing company was provided to me with great joy. Surprisingly I really liked it in Mumbai. It was cleaner and more organized than in other Indian cities. But it was also impossible to not see the bale. 500 people from whole over India are migrating every day to Mumbai to try their luck finding work. The economy is strong; 30% of India’s taxes are paid in Mumbai. But many of them are facing the harsh reality quite soon and end up in one of the many slums in Mumbai. The people of the slums are 50% of Mumbai’s population and they live on 6% of the city area. Wealth needs more space than poverty. I for my part had in Mumbai the most expensive beer I’ve every ordered (In an Irish pub. It was Guinness Happy Hour but I didn’t ask for the price which I eventually saw later on the bill: 20€). I also had a really nice birthday in the Hard Rock Café and I loved it to ride the local trains, standing in the open door and get the fresh wind into my face.
молодец, Матиас!!! Удачи на дорогах России!)