Today we got a small taste of the life of a Mumbai commuter. Our host wanted us to experience more of India so he asked us if we would like to try public transportation â?? and we all were delighted. Actually this is not the real commute since most people are struggling on overfull trains to get into Mumbai while we were going out. In addition to this we were traveling first class (which means we did not have bare wooden seats). The best view was hanging out of the door so I struggled to maintain this position. It was a very nice experience.
We started by taking the buss to the station, then we seemed to be moving upstream against an almost constant flow of people â?? this was even worse than London rush hour. Buying the tickets and finding the platform was easy (because we had a guide).
The trains are full â?? in particular the way into Mumbai. People ride in overfull carriages, hanging out of the doors and even on the roof of the trains.
The ride to Mankhurd was a pleasant one with lots of new impressions. In particular we noticed on the walk from the station that people are less use to tourists and more interested and curious about strangers.
