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Off to Mumbai, India

March 5th, 2009
posted by Ryan Rowe

Hi there guys,

Am off to Mumbai (Bombay), India for the weekend.  Flying out of AUH (Abu Dhabi International Airport) in about three hours and get in very early tomorrow morning, around 5am local time.  Time difference is about 90 minutes ahead of us here.

This is kind of a last-minute trip, another one of those holiday getaways planned around a Muslim holiday that has been announced by the UAE Central Bank at the last minute.  The UAE CB governs banking holidays - I work for a financial institution.  The holiday is the Prophet’s Birthday.

Agenda for the weekend - meet up with my old friend Marino Francispillai, with whom I go way way back, around the days of IBM (c. 1999) although I knew him for a few years before that through his brother Steve, also a very good friend, and with whom I studied in high school / CEGEP. Marino will be in town on business - am looking forward to catching up over the very familiar dark rum and Coke. :)

Will also hang out with my friend Freya, who is a local but now transplanted to Abu Dhabi.  She’s got a great crew of pals in the city and I have gone out with them before - should be good fun.  Am also planning to meet up with a few NGOs in the city that are working in the famed “Asia’s largest slum” Dharavi (now made even more famous after featuring so prominently in the movie Slumdog Millionaire - a great film - if you haven’t seen it, go, now!).  I want to become more familiar with the poverty and development problems affecting this city of approximately 20 million people.

No other plans beside that - except maybe get a tattoo.  Probably not - but you never know - my last trip to Mumbai in May 2008 was for the specific purpose of finding myself a tattoo parlour.  That adventure didn’t quite work out. 

This will be my fourth trip to India and my third trip to Mumbai.  Am looking forward to it - I love this country!

By the way - great book I recommend - Shantaram.  It’s a novel about an Australian convict who escapes from prison and flees to India.  He spends eight years on the lam, becoming involved with the criminal element of the city, working as a doctor in the slums, and even going on to fight in Afghanistan.  An amazing story - if slightly embellished.

My review - from Facebook:

“A real traveller’s book. Great for hanging out by the beach and just chilling out, this book will make a great companion for anyone looking to relax and enjoy a good read. This is one of the most fascinating and compelling books I have read in a long time. The writer is able to stoke the imagination and stir up emotions in a way I’ve never seen before. He has an amazing descriptive capability and a sense for keeping the reader glued to the story, page after page.

I find myself wondering if all of these things really did happen, but I am sure like many writers, there is a certain element of embellishment and exaggeration used to illustrate points and keep the reader entertained.

This book helped re-stoke my muse and at the same time, taught me a few interesting things about India while I was travelling through the country!

Good job, Shantaram!”

My book for this weekend is `Rediscovering Dharavi`.

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One Response to “Off to Mumbai, India”

  1. Reading - simple yet so complicated Says:
    July 19th, 2009 at 7:40 pm

    [...] months ago I read the book ‘Shantaram’, (my notes on it are here) and it reminded me of how fulfilling I had always found reading.  Food for the mind!  I realised [...]

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