Negombo.

Negombo was my first stop in Sri Lanka. It is a short hop from the international airport which i arrived sweaty and uncomfortable. Already at Heathrow i felt bad-that something bad would happen. First when my cards really got scrutinized at check in, then at boarding when two big guys took me aside asking what i was up to. Never happened before. I was let onboard with no fuzz and the flight went on trouble free. Customs made me sweat again-what if my 6th sense had warned me my luggage was drugged? Nobody cared about me. I could get my warm clothing away, a taxi to Negombo, a room in a hotel almost right at the beach-and finally my first Lion beer!

Negombo is a fishing town along the coast north of the capital Colombo. Like most towns in these parts most of it isn't really pretty. It is the people life making it worthwhile. For some people the beach-even though that interests me zero.

My first meal of Rice and Curry. Good stuff.

Good stuff as well.

Fishing is the big thing in Negombo. After the catch is brought ashore, part of it is instantly spread out on bamboo matresses or plastic sheets or even directly on the sand to  expressdry in the baking sun.

Emptying the just arrived fishingnets. A rapidly performed job.

Many types of vessels are used in the fisheries. The most interesting one is the large sailing canoe with a solid outlier on its side. Here one of them is rapidly entering the inner harbour.

The sailing canoe-imprecisely often called a catamaran-seen from different angles. A catamaran is a vessel with two connected hulls, the outlier of this boattype is not at all a hull.

Packed down "catamarans" waiting for the next trip to the sea.

The small tidal canals is the home of the small motorboats. A smelly place at low tide! But at least a friendly one.

Near the canals and the market and the long beach-the fortress. Inaccessible for the average visitor: it is used as a prison. Prisoners are working on top of the wall.

Negombos most modern and long ranging fleet segment. Hundreds and hundreds of these vessels line the bigger waterways in the area.

Visiting the market. It is raining-seriously raining!

What should not have been there at all.

Right behind the drying beach there is a fishing village, partly very poor. It is a nice place to stroll fro a while and people are friendly, if sometimes shy.

Customer at a local shop.

A shrine. You find both Hindu and Buddhist temples in town, as well as many churches.

Mumbai.

I can't possibly say that i love Mumbay. Not at all. The days i spend there were the first in town. And most likely the last ones as well. It is hot-vibrating hot. Noisy. Dirty (no surprise in India)-chaotic and congested. Still the visit here was interesting for the sake of the people life. I just walked following general directions and crisscrossed lot of busy streets along the way. Busy obviously means lively-a lot going on.

Drinkingwater. The only access for many people. Supposedly safe-but i stick firmly to my bottled water anyway. Water is the only thing i never take chances with.

Another Mumbai trademark-the bike of one of the Dabbawalas. Men who carry lunchboxes from the central kitchens to recipients all over town. They take pride in their job-one of their prides is that despite more than a hundred million meals are delivered yearly trough this network-only a handfull of misdeliveries occurs.

A sugarcane juice vendor. For me a much loved energy booster.

With a battery of spices. A betelnut seller in one of the markets.

One of the Mumbai characters-the long man drawn carts zigzagging trough the traffic.

I've seen this many places-and it is provocative. To the left the sacral building-in this case a mosque. Lot of resources used on it. To the right the living peoples living places. Run down. Unappealing.  To me it seems there is always enough money to feed the gods in India-you should see with your own eyes when they empty donation boxes in the temples. I have literally seen cubic meters of money carried away on strong backs!But for their own people and welfare it is always drainage. Instead they come to me to get money for the poor ones-and their temples!

A modest shoe/sandal fixer. A living not to build castles from.

Another local trademark-the head born big baskets. Quite amazing sometimes to see how they maneuvers trough the crowds.

A streetside bakery. One of many. Fueled by wood.

Streetside writers. An occupation also alive in ancient Egypt.

There are still some great colonial buildings left in Bombay.

They mean business!

Mumbai is famous for its colourful laundry district. Enormous quantities of textiles-including from hospitals (the green textiles seeing drying in the foreground are used for surgery-that is not too good...) gets processed here every day.

Washing basins. And here i capture the most disgusting thing seen in town-the man washing himself and brushing his teeth in the spill water!!

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Suburban Mumbay-miserable!

Arriving at the Dharavi slum. Photo taken from a bridge across the railwayline. It is a more upmarket slum  than it used to be-actually it looks better then many other places i have been to. Actually there are white collars workers among its residents-white collars preferring to stay there. Dhavari is far away from where you would be likely to stay. Taking a guided trip is a good idea and i shared the car and guide with a Japanese.

One of Dhavaris bigger businesstreets.

And a narrow passage in a livingarea. Drying laundry hanging everywhere.

Not the most typical slum photo!

There are many cottage industries in Dharvari. A big quarter is occupied with pottery production.

Its burning. Everything combustible used. Including the local rubbish.

Again: A lavish temple in miserable surroundings.

You can not possibly get much further down in life. A home under a bridge. Below and beside busy roads.

A world apart from under the bridge. Shoes for sale.

And some jewellery. Not of the expensive stuff, but out of reach for some.

Some Mumbai skyline. To the right is the Gateway of India, constructed when King George V and Queen Mary visited the city. Today the surrounding area is a lively gathering spot in the evenings.

Outside town, one of India's aircraft carriers.