MUMBAI STAR

Day 2 of Diwali holidays....and a fruitful day!
My wife sent me on a mission - she wants a pair of Pandrina slippers, some flat beaded Indian slippers...so a good excuse to have to take the train to the city...what with no SIS to attend and no Sukriti to call for the SIS car, I was ready for some adventure!
At 10am, I set out for the city. Just outside my Timber Green Homes apartment security guardpost, I waved for an auto rekshaw (no mistake here - it's spelt such), told driver "Dahisar Station" and was glad he understood me - my very first experience on a rekshaw! - have been getting there on foot the previous few Sunday afternoons. The ride took less than 10mins and cost Rs12 (less than 50cts!). I walked to station ticket counter and there were only two people ahead of me - was happy to hear the ticket-seller said 'OK' as I enquired about a tourist-pass which I had read about when I first arrived in Mumbai but dared not try till now. Bought a 5-day pass with unlimited rides on Western Railways (the railsystem serving Mumbai). Paid Rs390 for 'FirstClass' as I thought it would be less crowded.... thought that was a great deal ....(sigh).. should have bought the better deal, a SecondClass ticket is only for Rs105!

..well, first disappointment of the day - the 1stClass cabin was just as crowded as the 2ndClass cabin! Packed like sardines, my guess that the Mumbaikars ride on 1stClass with 2ndClass tickets held true when a ticket inspector caught a man with two kids who were just standin next to me. When questioned, believe me, the inspector simply let him off at the word "Diwali" .. .hahaha... no wonder 1st Class cabin does not look any different from the 2ndClass except for the red colour of the cabins. Blue indicates 2ndClass. Nevertheles, the ride was an eye-opener. I was just like any other Mumbiakars, clinging onto the door of the moving train ...but no danger lah, it's safe.... all the doors are similarly packed with people clinging onto them - they remain open throughout the journey (so unlike our world-class MRT trains ... I proudly remind all who read this). All the way, I could see the slums and its poverty-stricken people going about their lives. At times, I could even smell the 'aroma'… you got the drift, ya?

An hour later, reached Churchgate, a huge terminal station. I emerged out onto the main road and walked along the road lined with street vendors. Then turned right into Marin Place and saw a familiar sight, the sea !..recalled having been driven past this beach before. Then my second disappointment - when I asked for the direction to the Gateway of India where I hope to get slippers for my wife and perhaps lunch at Lings(which we missed the last time with Mr Suparman and Dr Vanitha), to my surprise, was told that it could not be reached by train! Alamak! my effort wasted lah. Continued to walk along the beach and realised I was walking the wrong direction when I saw a train and then the names of the stations I had passed earlier on my way to Churchgate station…sigh....

After 2 hours of walking with no 'city shopping' in sight except the street malls, I hopped back onto the train and headed backward. Alighted at Grant Rd station to check but just as disappointed. Next stop was 'Mumbai Central', another main station but similarly no city shopping belt though plenty of street malls. Walked around a little and back to the station where I stopped at MacDonald’s. Lunch was chicken burger combo meal….and such is the comfort with MacDonald’s. Wherever... be it London, Paris or America (eh, LPA lah!! Haha..) or Australia, Singapore or I'm sure Timbuktoo if there’s one, the Mac'meal always tastes the same, ..world yummy goodness !! So guys, when travelling and you don’t like the local food, go for Mac meals!!! guess most of you would already know lah...haha. Finally, it was straight back to Dahisar..and believe you me that the rush in and out of the train cabins was real pandemonium. The pushing and shoving reminded me of the time I was queuing for the Malaysia Cup match outside our National Stadium many years ago, at the height of football fever when hell broke loose rushing for tickets to (if I recall correctly) the Spore-Penang semi final.
Anyway, mission still not accomplished, I decided to make one final stop at Borivali station and surprise! saw the slippers!!... but I suspect it's not genuine leather as it's selling too cheap for Rs160 by the side of a street. The other pair, "sure leather!" the vendor swore was for Rs275. Not taking any chances, I decided not to buy any. Better to try the city shops the next day. Once more, took the auto rekshaw home and this time meter showed Rs15.

Now for the sickening part of the day or should I say night….residents were firing crackers like there's no tomorrow. They would fire loud crackers the whole night long and it's almost midnight liao! The only consolation is that the night sky has been beautifully illuminated by the showers of fireworks......alamak! yet another loud burst which gave me another shock..…now I can hear a chain of crackers firing from back of my room…aiyah how to get to sleep lah………sigh... wonder how long will this last tonight... anyway…Happy Diwali lah…