Namaste! It's hard to believe it's been a month since I migrated to Mumbai - it feels longer! Am now living in our new apartment which is feeling rather homely with all our belongings in. My utmost priority now is to play the role of interior decorator i.e. spruce up the luxurious extra space we have compared to our previous home in Singapore. It has so far been rather testing due to my lack of familiarity with the good home decor shops, inability to find pieces that cater to my taste and the traffic.
For those who have not been to India or Mumbai might wonder what it is like. I'll be honest, my current perception of Mumbai is very different from when I'd first visited it August for recce. During my first trip to Mumbai, little did I realize then I was visiting it in it's worst possible light. It was smack in the middle of monsoon season and out of the 3 day trip I caught a cold and was plagued with the infamous Bombay belly!
I returned home feeling so upset at the prospect that this place was going to be my future home. After rationalizing things out internally and getting some reassurance from my partner, MC I decided to bite the bullet and give the city a chance. One of the perks that MC threw in is that I could go for a trip every 2 months back home!
I returned home feeling so upset at the prospect that this place was going to be my future home. After rationalizing things out internally and getting some reassurance from my partner, MC I decided to bite the bullet and give the city a chance. One of the perks that MC threw in is that I could go for a trip every 2 months back home!
So back to present day, lifestyle here is definitely very different from where we moved from. It's akin to opposite sides of the equator (figuratively speaking). Things are way, way unstructured here, traffic system is almost non-existent and many more.
During my first few days here I was very anal about cleanliness and stepping out onto the streets for fear of the dirt or stepping onto dead animals (rodents, cats) or poo. Now I'm still very watchful of where I step on but less grossed up. I also have this innate fear towards cats due to some untoward incident that happened when I was a child. As fate would have it, I have had my fair share of stumbling upon dead cats in the most grotesque manner too!!!
Labour here is very affordable. The per capita income is INR54, 000 (SGD1, 300). It's not uncommon for expatriates here to have 2 domestic helpers, a cook and a driver. I wanted to keep things simple for us and just hire a live-in maid but alas, I have been having trouble in that arena. Will save the maid stories for another entry.
All in all, Mumbai is proving to be an intriguing place for me. Am taking my time to slowly get acquainted with this city.
Labour here is very affordable. The per capita income is INR54, 000 (SGD1, 300). It's not uncommon for expatriates here to have 2 domestic helpers, a cook and a driver. I wanted to keep things simple for us and just hire a live-in maid but alas, I have been having trouble in that arena. Will save the maid stories for another entry.
All in all, Mumbai is proving to be an intriguing place for me. Am taking my time to slowly get acquainted with this city.
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