Mumbai,
India
Friday, February 9, 2007
Jet lag wakes Tim at 4am and it seems like a good day to check out the early morning activity at Sassoon Dock where they bring in the daily catch. We head out on foot into the dark morning. Sleeping bodies are strewn everywhere - drivers in taxis, security guards in chairs, vendors on their stools, the homeless on the footpath and even one guy asleep on his bike! In an attempt to avoid the slums we take a bad route and end up in a dark dead end street. We are encouraged to turn back by a fierce pack of growling dogs. We tried to stay calm and not run as we turned back up the street. Phew! We later noticed that morning walkers invariably carry a good strong stick with them. We decide that the only way through the docks is through the slums that seem to surround it. There is a lot more life down here, though about half the population still lay asleep on the ground in the narrow laneways, somehow oblivious to the early morning noises. Stepping over flattened rats and numerous other unspeakable filth, we wind our way into the maze of lanes. They are lined with ramshackle buildings and more temporary dwellings made of plastic,cardboard and scrap wood. Families are lined up in rows along the ground outside sharing blankets. women speed past with metal tins on their heads collection the days ration of water from the crowded wells. Nobody pays us too much attention - no hassle, no begging. These people are too busy going about their business. We don't find the docks, and end up cutting through a tiny alleyway only about 1m wide. The slum is slowly coming to life with people doing their morning ablutions. The nearby beach is thick with the smell of shit and all kinds of rubbish.
Not what we set out to do this morning, but a very humbling experience.
No photos with this entry as we felt it inappropriate to intrude with a camera.
PS: Thanks John for the much appreciated sponsorship. Cheers mate! We didn't think anyone would do it!
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Comments
Agreement
Humbling indeed. Thats the best way to see the world....by not really meaning to hey?
lost ?
are you sure you're not just in moe ?
SCARY
Hmmm... Moe a much scarier place than anywhere we'll be going...