Mumbai a city of dreams and a city of contrast.The 18th FSKA World Karate Championships-India 2016

Mumbai is a stunning paradox of hope, chaos, magic and madness.

Mumbai – a city of dreams and a city of contrasts.  A city of rich and poor, inspiration and desperation, modern and traditional, glamour and squalor, old and new. 

Not surprisingly for such a vibrant city there are so many things to do in Mumbai. There are more than 18 million people living in Mumbai and it almost feels like the city is going to explode!

Have a reason to visit to Mumbai.​ Me and 16 of my preselected students decided to compete in the 18th FSKA World Karate Championships in India. Our journey began at London’s Heathrow airport where it turned out most of us hadn’t printed our visas. I was one of those individuals. One of the nearby hotels was kind enough to allow us to download and print our visas. Once we arrived in India we were hit with reality. The taxi was packed to the brim, our baggage was on the roof. Lots of traffic and cars. The constant sound of car horns. We arrived at the hotel and delegated work to people. Some had to find us a place to train. Others had to find a restaurant for us to eat in. Both of which were not easy tasks. The only place available for us to train was a piece of pavement surrounded by sleepy taxi drivers and locals. The first restaurant we went to didn’t fit our hygiene standards so we left in search for a new one. Apart from the attraction of Mumbai we had the chance to understand the meaning of a monsoon season. We walked the streets with water up to our ankles in search of raincoats. The locals constantly tried to persuade us to buy their items and we were continuously asked to be taken pictures with. This became a daily occurrence. After a couple of days we started to understand the beautiful place called Mumbai. We found the best restaurants with mouth watering food. We met lots of kind hearted individuals who helped us if we needed any directions.

We spent 5 days exploring Mumbai and 3 days in the a sports hall with no windows or air conditioning in 35°C heat. In my sporting career I have never seen so many spectators.

To conclude, we achieved our sports goals. 16 gold medals, 5 silver medals and 6 bronze medals.

EWELINA MCMANUS; gold medal kumite individual, gold medal kumite team,

silver medal kata individual.

JACEK LIPINSKI; gold medal kumite individual, gold medal kumite team.

EWA LIPINSKA; gold medal kumite individual, gold medal kumite team.

KAMIL HEJMANOWSKI; 2 gold medals; kumite individual

HANNAH MCMANUS; gold medal kumite individual, gold medal kata individual.

SHANNON MCMANUS; gold medal kumite individual, gold medal kata individual.

KAMIL DRECZKOWSKI; gold medal kumite individual, bronze medal kumite individual, bronze medal kumite team.

IWONA NOWAK; gold medal kumite team, silver medal kumite individual,

bronze medal kata individual,

ALEXANDRA KISTER; gold medal kumite team, silver medal kumite individual,

bronze medal kata individual,

NATALIA NOWAK; gold medal kumite team, silver medal kumite individual.

CONNOR MCMANUS; gold medal kumite individual, silver medal kata individual,

TAMARA LIPINSKA; gold medal kumite team, bronze medal kumite individual.

ZUZANNA WOJTASZEWSKA; gold medal kumite individual.

DAVID SZNICER; gold medal kata individual.

LUKASZ PIEJKO; bronze medal kumite team.

PIOTR SZNICER; bronze medal kumite team.

It was worthwhile to spend time with friends as there is so many memories to recall.

Crossing the streets in Mumbai is an adventure! There are hardly any crosswalks here and street lights are not always obeyed by the cars. During the first taxi ride we took in Mumbai, from the airport to our hotel, our driver literally ran every single red light. He had a lot of close calls with other cars and people crossing the street. Road markings suggested 3 lanes but the drivers made 8 lanes. It was insane.

We took a tour of Dharavi, Mumbai’s and India’s largest slum, which was fascinating
The Dhobi Ghat is Mumbai’s largest open air laundry. Interestingly, it is men only who wash loads of laundry all day at this open laundromat. Hotels send their guests’ laundry here to be cleaned.  We were in dire need of clean clothes while in Mumbai, but being too afraid that our clothes would end up here.

This is Chowpatty, Mumbai’s beach, and a local hang out spot in the evenings. The street food tour was excellent, my favourite thing we did in Mumbai. We got to try many foods we never would have eaten, and most of it was very good.

Be Sure To Visit The Gateway Of India
This is Mumbai's most famous tourist attraction, and you simply can’t afford to miss it. When you're visiting the Gateway Of India, it’s impossible to miss the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. It is located right next to it and is by far Mumbai’s most luxurious and inspiring hotel.
 
An ideal place for street shopping in Mumbai, Colaba Causeway Market has on offer cheap clothes, fashionable boutiques, British era buildings and of course good food. Everything that you can name can be found in this old market in Mumbai.
 
A tour of Mani Bhavan, Mahatma Gandhi's house and museum in downtown Mumbai, was one of the highlights of our trip to Mumbai.