Day 6: Off To Mumbai!

By Tisha Jain

Hello Mumbai! It’s your friends from SWE!

Compared to Walchandagar, Mumbai was a whole different world. With its fast-paced life, tall skyscrapers, and people in business suits, Mumbai is very reminiscent of New York.

It is also a place full of contrasts, with old Victorian-style buildings co-existing with commercial places, green gardens and forests next to factories, brick and street merchants selling stuff outside brick-and-mortar shops.

On our first day in Mumbai, we saw the Gateway of India. It was such a beautiful monument, and alongside the sea, the shore made it all the more majestic looking! I was in love!

We couldn't stop taking pictures, and even brought out our Michigan Flag to proudly shout “Go Blue!”.

Next was shopping time! We went to Fashion street, the most popular street market in the city, with some 350 shops over a 5 km distance. We quickly learned that haggling, or “bargaining”, as they call it here, is a must when shopping at Indian street markets. I quickly emerged as the “official bargainer of the group”! I made a street vendor bring down the price for a Pashmina shawl from 3500 INR to 1500 INR, less than half the original price!

Guess Mumbai made me discover a hidden talent for bargaining, in myself :D