Journey Through India: Mumbai | CNBC International

Next time. Well, now everyone really wants a piece. Hi, I'm Tom. I am traveling through one of the most colorful and vibrant countries in the world and, with the help of local knowledge, I will try to discover what makes this place so special. Join me on a

journey

through India. Our first stop is Mumbai. Located on the west coast of the country, it is home to 21 million people. Frenetic but functional, this is India's economic powerhouse and the home of Bollywood. From luxury skyscrapers to some of Asia's largest slums, everyone here lives on the fast lane. This is one of the most densely populated cities in the world.

Getting around on the roads can be quite slow, so we will take the train. This looks pretty busy. Good. Come on. Not bad. Mumbai's suburban railway is fast but overcrowded: 11 million people use the city's public transport every day. However, the side-by-side experience may be coming to an end. A new Mumbai Metro network more than 100 miles long is being built. Its goal is to increase the city's rail capacity and reduce traffic congestion. For your wife? Beautiful roses. I can smell? Perfect, it smells fresh. Well, that wasn't so bad, it wasn't worse than the Central line in London, and now we are in the center of Mumbai ready to explore the rest of the city.

To help me do that and understand where this city gets its energy, I'm meeting with a fellow journalist. Kevin? Hello how are you? Hello, everything is fine. Nice to meet you. Welcome to Bombay. Thank you so much. Kevin Lee is a reporter for CNBC TV18 and has lived and worked in the city for several years. Have you had the opportunity to tour the city a little? Yes, we arrived on the train. Did they pressure you a little? A little bit, a little bit. It is part of the charm of the city. Have you eaten something? Do you want to take a bite?

No, but I could eat. Let's offer you some Bombay delicacies. Mumbai's reputation for street food is legendary, but its famous food was actually born out of necessity. The city's initial prosperity came from its textile mills, and workers needed quick, cheap food as they traveled. Mills may be a thing of the past, but cheap food is not. And in this 24-hour megacity, the streets are still packed with thousands of street vendors serving their specialties late into the night. Khau Galli literally translates as food street. There are them all over Bombay, but it is not very sophisticated food.

It's just functional food that you can get in 10 or 15 minutes, you can have a complete meal. First let's try a little chat. Chaat is something famous in Mumbai. I don't know exactly how to define it. It's just a mix of many flavors, salty, sweet, spicy, etc., just mixed together. How spicy are we talking? Oh, this is not spicy. You don't have to worry so much. Well, we'll start from the bottom. We'll start easy, okay? And get a little bit of everything in one bite. Okay, that's a pretty big mouthful... Yeah, yeah. You can do it. There's a lot going on.

Good? A lot. You can't isolate a flavor. There are also many different textures. He has a little kitchen back there, like this little stall, and he manages to create something that even looks pretty and tastes good. Now we are going to try something called pav bhaji, which is another famous thing in Mumbai. This one involves quite a bit of cooking, unlike chaat. So it is this sauce that is spread with potatoes, tomatoes and a little pepper, a little onion. It's all mashed up and served with lots of butter and pav, which is basically bread. Absolutely dipped in butter.

Yes, I wasn't exaggerating. It's just a lot of butter. He used half a kilo! Good job. Really good. Kevin, thank you very much for showing me your Mumbai. I hope your stomach is okay tomorrow morning. Well, if not, I blame you. Thanks man. Health. Refueled, I head to my next stop in the heart of Mumbai. But with its limited public transportation, we took to the roads and this is a city famous for its traffic. You may not realize it, but there are actually traffic lights at this intersection. The guys who installed it must have laughed because there are no rules.

A little less noisy but no less crowded is Dharavi. Home to a million people, this is one of the largest slums in the world and, like the rest of the city, is full of energy and industry. I have enlisted the help of Naynish Salvi, a tour guide attached to the NGO Reality Gives. Money from slum tours is used to support families and help run educational programs for people who have not finished school, to increase their chances of finding employment. The word slum itself is surrounded by negativity. People always try to relate it to favelas and basically that kind of thing.

But when they come here, when they see the type of things, it's something different than what they expect. Because there are thriving businesses in Dharavi slum, right? In total, Dharavi has about 10,000 different businesses. Wow. And if we tell you, the annual amount of income generated in this poor neighborhood, just from the businesses, is approximately 665 million dollars a year. 665 million dollars? That is incredible. That money comes from industries such as ceramic production, which began in Dharavi in ​​the 1840s. The slum is also home to a thriving recycling industry, which the city has become increasingly reliant on to manage waste, especially the plastic.

Every day people recycle approximately 13 to 14 tons of plastic per day. Hard work? Yes, I work very hard sir. 15 hours of work here. However, leather production is what Dharavi is most renowned for, and it all started here, in the city's first leather factory. Apart from developing its own brand, the factory also supplies leather to fashion houses around the world, ensuring that Mumbai maintains its status as the epicenter of Indian fashion. The owner was the one who introduced leather production to the city. Basically, he started working when he was 12 years old. Because sometimes the skins are thinner, some are thicker, they need to be polished.

Okay, so it's at a level? And the entire surface softens the skin. There are many boys here. I mean, you have six types sorting... They should also be separated by size, size and thickness. They need to check which skins should be shaved or not. Even just walking down one of the side streets, you wouldn't imagine that there are 20 guys here working hour after hour producing some of these leathers. It's amazing that everything is hidden in these small corners of the slums. When they say, "I have been inside Dharavi," it means that they have actually entered, from the street.

They have not seen what you can see today. They just think, "Oh, I've seen Dharavi, it's a slum, that's all." But breaking that barrier, making them realize what they are really missing is the reason we are here. This city doesn't seem to stop, so neither do I. I have one last visit to the city before the day ends. A bit of retail therapy, but different than what I've experienced before. So I came to Crawford Market, possibly one of the craziest places I've ever been, but hopefully we'll find a little bargain, something to take home and have a little souvenir of our trip.

Crawford Market is the largest and most famous market in Mumbai. It started as a wholesale fruit and vegetable market back in 1869, and many of the city's great restaurants still come here to buy their food. But if you are looking for clothes and souvenirs, then you will find them in the surrounding streets. I love it. Can I give you 100 rupees for this? Not ₹100, ₹250 best price, only price. Well. Not sure about that, a little creepy. I'm buying a gift for my daughter. It's quite big. I don't think she can fit in my suitcase. Oh, I quite like that.

How much is that? Only INR 100. 100? Do you think it will look good on me? Yes, perfect size. Greetings guys, thank you. I was supposed to buy something for other people, but I ended up buying something for myself. About a one year old girl. Girl, girl, what do you want? Shoes? Something traditional Indian, maybe a small sari or something? Sweet. I don't think my wife would let my daughter wear that, but I think it's pretty fun. What do you think? How much is it? 175 INR. How many pieces do you want? I only buy one, I only have one child.

Okay, take it. I haven't actually said yes, that I'm going to buy it, but in a way he gave it to me as a gift. €175? 175 INR. How about 150 rupees? Well then. Yes, or how about ₹100? Just terrible at haggling. Greetings boss, thank you. Thanks, welcome. I want to buy a scarf. Come, come, please sir. Forcing me to sit down. What's up with this one here? Show me how long two meters is. Yes Yes. Maybe I should have bought a t-shirt. Thank you so much. Welcome again. Greetings thank you. Beautiful. It's charming. Not well. If I had to describe my overall impressions of Mumbai, I would say that it is fast-paced and busy.

It can be overwhelming at first, but meeting people who live and work here has helped me understand that everyone thrives off of that energy, and it's contagious. All the shopping is done and I think I have experienced enough of Mumbai until the next stop. Hello everyone, thank you for joining us on our trip to India. To see our next stop, be sure to click here. And let us know your favorite travel destinations in the comments below and don't forget to subscribe.