Follow Dom: Mumbai

Week 1 of travel in India brings me to Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay. This densely populated city has definitely garnered some unwanted attention recently. In November Pakistani nationals stormed the Taj Mahal hotel and a few other hotels/bar in Colaba district and opened fire, killing American, Canadian, Japanese, Australians and British tourists. Many Indians were also killed near Chhatrapati Shivaji Central Train Station. A fellow traveler asked me in Addis Ababa if I’d be carrying my passport with me at all times during my stay in Mumbai. I was curious why he asked. Turns out the shooters were asking tourists to pull out their Passports. If they were British or American nationals, the terrorists shot them on site.

As with any disaster, once you visit the affected area you feel as if the roll of the dice has left you in the clear, but the shadow still remains in the psyche of most travelers I met. Most are happy about the drop in tourist levels; however, I couldn’t find a room anywhere when I first arrived. Seems people are still flocking to this city.

I ventured into Leopold’s, a local bar made infamous by Gregory David Roberts book “Shantaram”. Having just read the novel before arriving, it was eerie seeing all these landmarks in the book devastated by bullets and fire. Some glass windows are still covered up and I’m sure they haven’t fully cleaned all the stains (the bar reopened 3 days later). A portion of the Taj’s hotel façade is still under repair and the police presence on the street is very noticeable. Sandbag bunkers are strategically deployed on street corners with 3 soldiers apiece, and many plain clothed officers roaming the alleys have brought relative safety to the city.

Mahatma Ghandi Road

The Police is so active here and trying to look busy that they’ve even turned their sights on one of their own. An officer was just arrested yesterday for possession of 12 Kilos of Heroine. I’m sure the cops knew that something was up long before this arrest. I hung out with some French tourists for a few rounds of kingfisher. One of them was telling me about the procurement situation

« Alors l’année dernière c’étais facile de se procurer du désastre mais cette année Ill sons partout ! Ill faut être discret ».
« Last year was easy to pick up some good stuff but this year the cops are everywhere! One must be discreet»