shaunism

Saturday, 23 November 2013

My Mumbai

Mumbai was my first city in India, and the one that made the greatest impression on me, so I was quite excited to get back. As soon as I left the plane and felt the warm Mumbai air, and smelled its salty aroma, it felt like all the bad from this year was behind me, worlds away. It was relieving and comforting, an emotional homecoming.

Last time, when I travelled with Russ and his Mom, we went full Western style, staying at the posh Trident in South Mumbai. It was great, and the most pampered I've ever been. I wanted a more authentic (and cheaper) experience this time, so, other than my birthday stay in Chennai, I stayed in "local" hotels. In Mumbai, I stayed in the Bandra neighbourhood, which is a very popular with Mumbaikars for a night out on the town. It's a bit away from the city's heart in South Mumbai, which meant I got to go local and commute on Mumbai's famous trains; a 20-minute ride to Churchgate (the terminus in the South) costs 10p. (Cheap, until I learned a monthly pass is £1.30.)

Mumbai was originally an island city, but the gaps between islands were long ago filled in, creating a long, thin peninsula that the city is squeezed onto. Since I visited two years ago, Mumbai has grown by about two million people, but the city, constrained by its geography, has gotten no bigger. Though there are developments akin to Britain's new towns, such as Navi (New) Mumbai across the harbour, most of those people are jostling for space in old Mumbai. More than half of them find that space in slums. The result is a relentless crush of humanity; everywhere you go, any time of day or night, there are just so many people competing for space with you. I knew this from my first visit, but sequestered away in my citadel of a hotel, ferried from sight to sight in a private car, I didn't truly feel it.

Having done the Dharavi "slum tour" and main city sightseeing last time, this trip was more about random exploring, and drinks at The Dome, my favourite spot in the city. I took the "Mumbai by Night" tour, which was tame and overlapped with what I'd seen before, but it was nice to see the city through a different lens.

It was a great start to my holiday, and I will definitely keep it my port of entry when I go back; this city deserves more exploration.

Cheers,

Shaun

Late-night Mumbai.

Khar Road station, with a familiar design.

Me on a non-peak train. I was surprised by how wide they were after the tubes we squeeze through in London; they are even wider than New York's.

Even when cars aren't packed, people stand near/at/out the doorless portals, gaining a modicum of relief from the ceaseless heat.

In India, it's perfectly acceptable for same-sex friends to be physically affectionate. All over the city, you see guys walking holding hands, arms wrapped around each other, or, as above, sleeping on a shoulder.

Mumbaikers make the most of every inch of space. In this underground footpath, alongside the rivers of people, others are flogging goods from food to clothing on the tables they have set up as a casual marketplace.

I visited Haji Ali Dargah (readers of Shantaram will remember this as the mosque the protagonist lives near), and you cannot have an exposed head in the mosque, so I adorned this very fetching bandana.

Everywhere you go, there are hundreds and hundreds of people. This is the walk to Haji Ali Dargah.

At the rocky beach behind the mosque, families and friends looking for a place to enjoy the cooling effect of the polluted waters of the Arabian Sea.

The vast majority of Indians work in the informal economy, and people live, work and sleep anywhere they can.

Whole families live, and socialise, on the streets.

These are some of the slums that make up the homes of more than half the city's people.

And just down the road, is Antilia, the world's most expensive private residence.

Ancient walks side by side with modernity in Mumbai.

Stroking a street cow for good luck.

Tony residences and offices spread back from Marine Drive (aka, The Queen's Necklace), in South Mumbai.

And I enjoyed a snack and cold beer above it all at the Dome.

Girgaum Chowpatty, Mumbai's beach, is always crowded with people. Lovers sneak there for a kiss away from their crowded homes and nosey neighbours.

Me at Bandra Bandstand, Bollywood's own Walk of the Stars.

And in front of the Sealink, a rare piece of modern infrastructure in the city.

Thursday, 21 November 2013

[The Life of Shaun #485] Dubai

After the horrible start to 2013, I wanted to do something to end the year on a good note. I decided to go back to India, which had been calling me back ever since enamoring me two years ago. Again I had a superb time in Incredible India, and rather than sating my fascination with the subcontinent, this trip has only increased my desire to return and see more. I'll break down my picture posts, for those who are keen, to avoid an inbox flood.

I ended up flying via Dubai. Upon researching tickets, I discovered that Emirates was significantly cheaper than any other airline, and I've wanted to see Dubai - once - and go up the Burj Khalifa, so I decided to take the opportunity not to have to make a special trip and extended my layover for a day.

I have a bit of a morbid fascination with Dubai as I imagine it a sister city to Las Vegas, an improbable desert city built on hubris, hyperbole and tourist dollars. Indeed, take away the neon and replace it with oil reserves and the comparison isn't too awry. Some people might call it impressive, still more garish. Very few would say it's endearing. Layer on top of that legal homophobia, and it's certainly not a city for me. Once was definitely enough.

Looking towards the city from anywhere, the superlative Burj Khalifa is omnipresent. Almost every tower in Dubai is on or adjacent to Sheikh Zayed Road, creating a singularly highrise spine up the middle of the city.

Lowrise neighbourhoods with unfriendly wide roads, strip malls, apartment blocks and McMansions spread out East and West from Sheikh Zayed Road.

Like Vegas, Dubai gets wicked hot. Unlike Vegas, its bus stands are air-conditioned.

The Burj Al Arab, the world's only "seven star hotel" and Dubai's original icon, is still impressive and imposing. You can't enter the grounds without a room or dinner/drinks/tea reservation, and you can't get one of those without serious damage to your bank account, so I admired it from the outside only.

The Palm Jumeirah is a luxury development on landfill in the shape of a giant palm tree. I found it much less than chic in person; its monolithic, barren streets gave it more the feel of an Arab council estate than exclusive enclave.

The overground metro and clunky signage don't do anything to help.

As you get closer to the Burj Khalifa, its striking design and height really become apparent.

And it puts on a good shine in the sun!

However, once you are up on the observation deck on the 124th floor (39 floors below the highest occupied floor), you see how quickly the city gives way to the shifting sands of the desert (and the economy, one could add).

Another luxury development, The World, can be seen off the coast. The World will be a collection of private islands, reachable only by boat and helicopter.

This is what I look like after an overnight flight and 124 floors up.

I read an article while there where an expat who'd been in Dubai for four years said "I've never spoken to an Emirati. They pretty much keep to themselves." I don't know how genuine that is, but there certainly aren't a lot of obvious locals about town, though you do find occasional packs of them (keeping pretty much to themselves).

I preferred "old Dubai", a less refined and shiny area, with hardscrabble buildings, water taxis and souks, where many of the immigrant workers live.

A large portion of the immigrant workforce is South Asian, and like their countrymen back home, they use all available public space, giving the streets of the area a lively, colourful buzz.

Dubai has a small, two-line metro to help its cleaners, cooks, drivers and builders get to work.

Through it all, there were a few lovely sights to be seen!

__________________________________________________________________________

--
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "The Life of Shaun" group.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to The-Life-of-Shaun-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/The-Life-of-Shaun
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Life of Shaun" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to the-life-of-shaun+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.

Sunday, 3 November 2013

[The Life of Shaun #484] New²

I decided to turn my high school reunion trip into my big trip of the year, and that gave me three weekends in North America: one in Vegas, one in SF, and one to try out a new city. Somehow, despite growing up in the Southwest, living in San Francisco, visiting just about every other major Canadian city, and it being a gay hotspot, I never made it to Vancouver. So Russ and I decided to use that third weekend to finally see what this most liveable city is all about.

I am usually quite apprehensive about visiting "most liveable cities" as they tend to be really great on paper, but really dull in person. However, everyone raves about Vancouver. Turns out, it is a very pleasant, not-quite-dull-but-not-very-exciting-either city. It has the damp, verdant feel of the Pacific Northwest, which I love, and the setting is inspired: the city is nestled against water and mountains all around, and its downtown neatly occupies a peninsula at the heart of the city, giving it an island feel.

The city outside of downtown reminded me a lot of Portland, with grass-lined sidewalks and low-slung buildings that agree with their boreal setting. Downtown, however, is a dense forest of midrise, monolithic condominiums. This is the result of rapid development that started with an influx of Hong Kong immigrants and expat buyers into Vancouver as the handover of the territory from Britain to China in 1997, and was reinforced by the Winter Olympics in 2010. It's all very neat, orderly and agreeable. And that pretty much sums up Vancouver.

There is a respectable gay village, with about seven mainstay bars neatly, orderly and agreeably lining Davie Street, and frequented by a friendly, healthy-looking, cosmopolitan (well, Caucasian and Asian) mix of neat, orderly and agreeable patrons. We did wonders for the local swill economy, and had a good time barhopping from one end of the village to the other. One thing about geographically localised gay areas like this is you never have to worry that you are missing out on where's best to be, as every night, you will see everywhere again.

The second new thing in life is a new job - or at least a new employer. After six years at Morgan Stanley, I left the firm and made a lateral move to the same position at Barclays. Not a paradigm shift, and indeed it's even in the building right next door, but it's a good bump in pay, and potentially a dynamic environment in the next years, so I am pleased. My first day in the office was last Monday, and this coming Thursday I am taking my first holiday, to India. That? Is how to start off a new job.

Cheers,

Shaun

Davie Village, the Castro of Vancouver.

Wherever you are in Vancouver, you're never far away from water or mountains.

Downtown is very ecologically dense, like a good Pacific Northwest city should be.

Vancouver has a climate and geography that sucks in fog like San Francisco's - sunny blue skies in one part of the city, damp, misty fog a couple streets over.

Some of the samey towers from the 90s/00s boom.

Outside downtown, there's more of a local, PNW flavour.

Russ and me after brunch on Granville Island, a once-industrial estate turned into a bohemian artist and boutique (what else?) neighbourhood.

My friend Matt, from my UAF days, came up from Seattle to join us for the weekend. This is us on the ferry back to Vancouver.

__________________________________________________________________________

Wednesday, 16 October 2013

[The Life of Shaun #483] The old stomping grounds

I am two cities into my three-city West Coast trip. The impetus of this trip was my <muffled noises>th high school reunion, but I decided to extend it to see friends and family here in Vegas and San Francisco, and then to end with a new city, Vancouver.

The reunion weekend was badly organised, but came together overall. Through the three events (Friday drinks, Saturday dinner, Sunday picnic), I managed to see just about everyone I'd hoped to, which is the point. The most interesting thing to me at this reunion versus the last is that at the first I recognised who everyone was immediately. This time around, it took some work with a lot of people. This was partly due to a different pool of attendees (the first was largely "my group"), but a lot of it was certainly the march of Time, who has worn much heavier boots with some than others.

The internal politics and price points that led to the disorganisation were much discussed, and it was decided the next one will be managed differently. Everyone seems keen to switch to five-year reunions rather than ten, so my Vegas Returns could remain bidecadal, and considering all my ties here, I am OK with that. Especially since every trip to Las Vegas...

Vegas has long lacked any focus on non-tourist-oriented planning, especially the arts. The city is finally starting to change this, in a very Vegas way. When Vegas wanted a Chinatown, it built a big mall and called it Chinatown. Now they have deemed a much disused part of downtown the Arts District. Though far from organic, I applaud this effort as they are reusing rather than demolishing; this is a very foreign concept in Vegas. I think this area of town has (potential) character as it's one of the few commercial areas of the Valley that is made up of traditional store fronts rather than strip malls.

Similarly, for all the years I lived in Vegas, between downtown and the freeway (where the suburban sprawl began), lay an enormous (literally dozens of city-blocks) open area of dirt, er, I mean desert. The city has begun developing this, at first all-too-inevitably with a new mall, but now also a commercial centre, Gehry-designed museum and a new concert hall. Previously these civic buildings existed only on the campus of UNLV. While all this would be nothing of note in other cities, it is a seachange for my home town. It's got a long way to go before it's challenging even modest-sized cities in cultural relevance, but it's great to see a focus - any focus - on enriching the lives of locals.

Part of the revitalisation of the Arts District is "First Friday", when they close off the the streets around the new galleries, set up tents, bandstands and bars, and have a street party. We mostly just saw the set-up, but as we passed by after dinner, it was jammed. People socialising outdoors - again, previously unknown in Vegas.

Some friends and me at the reunion after 1/2 a pint each.

The Vegas Strip is growing up and North; the tall tower at the left used to both be much, much taller than anything else in town, and set all on its own. Now it's merely a climax to the city's expanding tourist heart.

My longest non-related friend, Jennifer Eno Louden, and me at the reunion dinner. I've known her since fourth grade, when we bonded over Smurfs and Inspector Gadget.

Vegas's version of nutrition and natural/organic.

Ma Petroni and me with Russ's business partner, Dima, at the entrance to Zumanity.

...means a trip to San Francisco! After a week in Vegas, Russ and I did our usual whirl around the City by the Bay. Always a delightful time, I left feeling especially enamoured with San Francisco this time around. I saw most of the people I wanted to, and the combination of them, the bar-hopping and dining (!) was perfect. That city really knows how to pull things together. It's still a bit too soft for my tastes, but I appreciate it more and more with each passing 24.

My old 'hood

Castro street art

Russ's uncle owns a restaurant in North Beach, and every year for the Columbus Day - sorry, Italian Heritage - Parade they set out tables outside the restaurant to enjoy the food and parade. Being family and a guest of family, we got pride of place at the centre table.

Downtown's icon

But of course...

Next stop, Vancouver!

Cheers,

Shaun

__________________________________________________________________________

Shaun H. Coley | At large in Las Vegas, NV | shaunism.blogspot.com