Mumbai is a city of extremes.
On one hand it feels very cosmopolitan with wide highways that lead into the city set on a tropical coast. It's hip, trendy and modern. It has the best nightlife scene (excluding Goa) and arguably the best food scene with both extensive amounts of street food as well as an international food scene. I still dream about eating pav bhaji.
And on the other hand, it feels overwhelming. With 22 million people living in the city, you feel it's growing pains. You see huge skyscrapers in the skyline, followed by one of the world’s largest slums, Dharavi. With Bollywood and India’s main financial hub, it’s no wonder that Mumbai is India’s wealthiest city, and yet around 40% of the people still live in slums.
Something that completely shocked us is when we learned that everyday 7-10 people die on the local trains mostly due to overcrowding as the doors are never used and people hang outside the train doorways. I felt like statistics like this were just a part of life in Mumbai. None of my friends or the people we asked about it were surprised; it’s just how it is.
And while I love the city for it's vibrance, energy and contrast, I can't help but wonder what will happen as the population continues to grow.
