NOTE: We’re having problems downloading some of the pictures for this post. Check back later for more photos.
Mumbai is a city of extremes. It is home to both the most expensive home in the world – a 27-story, 400,000 square foot monstrosity valued at between one and two BILLION dollars (6 stories, by the way, are just for cars) – and the world’s second largest slum. It is the wealthiest city in India with the highest number of millionaires and billionaires. At the same time 55 percent of its population (over 1 million people) live in slums and 25 percent live on less than $1.25/day. Those living in the slums are hard-working people; there are 5,000 business and 15,000 factories located within the slums.
Mumbai is also home to the Dabbawalas, a unique lunch deliver service that has been in operation for more than 130 years. Every day around 10:00 a.m. men riding bicycles and pushing carts collect tiffins (stackable metal tins filled with food) from homes as far as 30 miles away and deliver them to the nearest railway station. The tiffins contain no names or addresses – of the sender or the recipient. They are labeled using a system of symbols and colors indicating where the tiffin is picked up, which train station it is going to and the final address where it is to be delivered. The tiffins travel on the train and are met at the other end by another set of Dabbawalas who load them up and deliver them in time for lunch. In 130 years not one lunch has ever been late. This all started when a single banker decided he’d like to have home-cooked meals for lunch in his office. He hired a gentleman to pick lunch up from his wife and deliver it to him every day. Now 200,000 lunches are delivered every day. Pretty impressive!
World’s Most Expensive House 
Another view… 
Some Dabbawalas use bicycles… 
…some use carts. 
Traffic is no joke 
These cabs are everywhere 
More than a million people live in slums. 
These slums began as a local shipping village. 
Beautiful colonial buildings fill the city. 
The old train station as seen through the bus windows 
Clock tower of the train station 
Downtown apartments 
.City streets 
Sugar cane is a favorite treat. It is sold on local street corners 
There is a corner of the city where everyone stops to feed the bird every day. If you look closely you’ll see this tree is full of them – and this is just a small portion of those we saw there. 
A typical apartment building 
Parliament building (I think!)
JodockWorldTravel 
Pam,
These pics are amazing! I hope you and Ken are enjoying your incredible trip of a lifetime! I have to say retirement looks good on you!
Miss hearing your voice weekly, as we used to on our calls. Just got the HIMSS annual volunteer email and it’s just not the same without a revenue cycle group. Not sure what I’ll pick this time. May have to take break since there no “Pam’s group” to work with anymore-lol!
Well, take care! Wishing you all the best. Ironically, I’m headed to Seattle again this week. All those years I wanted to go there and you told me to come visit you and now I’ve been about 7 or 8 times in the last few months but no Pam to connect with there now-oh well, I’m sure your preferring exacting where you are right now to Seattle (at least until you arrive back home).
Safe travels! Super jealous of all these places you’re getting to visit but I am at least finishing the US states next month-hitting the final 50th-Hawaii! Another bucket list item to cross off. I’ll have to connect with you on your trip once your home and see if it’s something my husband and I could do if I ever retire-haha! Work is fun for me so not sure that will happen while I’m still able to physically do a trip like yours. I’m tired just thinking about it but it does seem incredible.
Take care,
Lisa Tonkinson
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