Most interesting cultural takeaways from Mumbai, India
1. The culture on supporting women is so strong & unbelievably more left than we make it out in the west
The streets are literally plastered with ads saying #menwillbemen & every security check (entering malls or thru airport etc) has a separate women only line where the officer checks you inside a curtained box
2. They don't drink iced cold water
The water served at restaurants was always uncomfortably room temperature, even when I asked for it iced they would put a single ice cube in it. I also didn't see a single local get anything iced and if it was an iced drink they would ask them to remove the ice
3. Way more people speak English than I would have expected (unlike Buenos Aires... lol)
Mostly lower blue collar workers could only speak Hindi (some small street side vendors, security guards, janitors, etc). The guys that owned small storefronts could all speak perfectly & were incredible salesmen too
4. Legal drinking age is 25
I didn't drink at all the entire trip & idk how strongly this is enforced but that's 4 yrs more than any other country I've ever been to (Dubai & Indonesia are both 21), and we out here complaining about 21 in the US
5. Sidewalks & crosswalks don't exist
There's no coordinated mechanism for when to cross, it's just playing crossy road every day and u gotta send it. Reminds me of Indonesia, the drivers are all trained to stop within 2 ft of distance so it's fine
Overall was very reminiscent of Bangkok, super busy streets & even worse traffic, lots of cute cafes & beautiful luxurious malls
This is how prasadam is served in ayodhya by using a specially designed track trolley system on a massive scale to devotees in uttar pradesh ๐ฅฐโจ๏ธ