I said earlier that India is supposed to be one of the hardeest places to travel.  In meeting up with Dina Mehta and her husband Hemant, it has been anything but hard.

I know Dina through the blog world - we've been reading each others blogs for a couple of years, but never really had much contact otherwise.  I contacted her when were started planning the trip and we feel very fortunate to spend our time here with such kind, interesting and fun  people here in Mumbai. Both Dina and Hemant have lived in Mumbai all their lives and the city is surely a different place with them as our guides. Their hospitality has been wonderful. This is our walk on the Bandra Bandstand - one of the upmarket places to be.

You almost never hear anyone describe Mumbai without the phrase "bursting at the seams".  It is one of the world's great cities with about 15 million people.  The city grew from 4 million to 15 million since 1947, after India acheived independence from England. The population is expected to grow to 28 million in 2020.  The reason it is bursting at the seams is it's geography and lack of infrastructure.

There isn't a lot for the tourist to do here, so we're exploring daily life with Dina and learning about all things Mumbai. It is an incredible places to be at this stage in the city's history. 

Here are a couple of scenes from everyday life...

 These kids were playing "gully cricket" outside of here flat.  They play every Sunday.  Cricket is national sport the most popular sport, but field hockey is the national sport.

 Both here and Sri Lanka, it is quite normal to see men holding hands or with their arms around one another. It is a sign of friendship and had no homosexual connotations whatsoever.  This guy happened to look back, just as I snapped the shot:

 Today it's off the see the crush at the train station, among other things.