An elderly couple I sat beside on my way to Mumbai were Indian born in Madagascar but immigrated to Marseilles France. So I spoke French the whole 8 hour flight. I am not sure what made them think I was some kind of expert on India but they kept asking me all kinds of questions, like "is there a shuttle to take us to terminal 2" Ummm...I've never been to Mumbai. I was worried enough about how I was going to get out of the airport, but I was playing it pretty cool. It was nice they thought I was well traveled enough to count on me for answers. They told me more than once how much courage I had.
I am not sure what I was expecting when I landed in Mumbai, because I read that the airport would be crazy. But it was pretty tame ad I got through immigration smoothly and picked up my luggage without any hassle (although it was practically the last bag to come out). I was even starting to panic a little bit.
I walked out of the airport, and there it was. People. And heat. So many people, and the air was thick as a wool blanket. The smell was distinctly Asian and didn't bother me too much. It was about 2:30 in the morning and there were hundreds of people lined up outside the airport. I have no idea what they were even doing.
I bought my prepaid taxi ticket (a one hour ride cost me $8) and I found my cab. It was a small little car with a bucket seat in the back and no air conditioning. The driver was short man with very few words, but he took my ticket and started driving.
And this is when the experience started.
In Korea I always said that the red lights were stoptional. In India apparently the lines that separate the traffic are optional as well and my driver straddled it the whole drive. I never heard so many horns and thought I was going to crash so many times. But the funny thing is, I was pretty calm, and I was actually giggling in the backseat. I was in India. I couldn't believe it. Plus I had dealt with this stuff in south East Asia as well.
The drive opened my eyes to the poverty of India. Everywhere I looked I saw people, young and old, female and male sleeping on the streets. I know it may not sound peculiar, since we have homeless people in Canada. But they were everywhere, hndreds of them, families lying on dirty matts on the road, some were even sleeping on the top of their cars, legs twisted around each other for comfort.
Luckily I was just too tired to cry, because I wanted to.
Once I checked into my room, a small little guesthouse in Coloba (the backpacker district in Mumbai). I pretty fell into a dreamless sleep. Thankfully the malaria pills haven't kicked in yet to give me the vivid dreams.
The guesthouse is clean, with warm-ish water for showers, toast and tea for breakfast and surrounded by a gorgeous garden with palm trees. Also the delicious air conditioning is a luxury to most here in India, but worth the splurge.
Joseph showed up around 11:30am and it was like 2 years hadn't gone by since we'd seen each other. It was so nice to see him. We immediately started planning out our itinerary. Looks like we are going south for a week, then we'll head up to Goa and chill out on the beach before heading up north for the camel trek.
We set out in a cab to take us to the train station to book our train. Goa is a very popular destination, so we weren't sure we'd get a ticket. And we didn't. On Sundays most things are closed so we now have to go to plan B which is taking a cheap domestic flight. We plan to go to the travel agent tomorrow to set up the flight and train to Goa.
All we do know is we want to get out of Mumbai as soon as possible. It's crowded and the traffic is crazy, and we just want to get going on experiencing the real India. So we'll re-group tomorrow.
As for today Joseph and I did some exploring. We did a walking tour through old-colonial British India where the architecture is gorgeous. Old Gothic like churches and buildings surround the downtown of Mumbai. We even managed to stop and enjoy a few games of cricket that were going on in the park across the street.
We also stopped and ate an amazing vegetarian lunch. We ordered Thali which is a mixture of different things. We had a selection of mini-samosas and delicious chutney sauces to dip it in. Aloo Ghobi which is cauliflower and potato, a bean dish, dhal which is lentils in a curry sauce, and some sweet rice cakes for dessert.
We had some delicious chapati bread to serve up this amazing food. So healthy and you just feel satisfied after eating it.
In India you eat your food with your hands, but only your right hand because you left hand is used to rinse your backside in the washroom. I'm sorry if that is graphic, but this is a cultural blog and my experiences here are going to be honest and educational :)
I had no problem breaking the bread with my right hand and using it to scoop up my delicious curries. I think our meal cost us about $8 total, for the two of us. Which is actually expensive in India, but we were hungry and didn't want to scuttle around all over the place.
Afterwards Joseph and I bought some traditional Indian clothes. I am so hot here, it's ridiculous. Today the weather was 35 but felt like 42 with the humidity. Add smog and pollution to that mix and you get a nasty mess. So I bought a gorgeous Salwaar Kameez. The top is a nice bright pink that goes to about the knees, and so thin and airy, and the pants are gold and baggy, and comfortable. It comes with a gold scarf which I have to wear to finish off the outfit. I love it, and it will be so comfortable in this heat. I'll take pics and add them as soon as I find an Internet with a USB port.
So far I don't feel like the culture has kicked my ass. I am not overwhelmed or weirded out by anything. Yes, some things are different and the constant starring and pushy touts after us can get annoying, but after having already been around Asia, I'm not too shocked. It's only my first day, so I am sure I will have more to report about the culture soon. But I feel safe, and comfortable here so far. I love it, it's like nothing I have ever experienced before, and I know this adventure is going to change the way I see things.
Now I just want to get my butt out of Mumbai, and to a beach somewhere. We are hoping to get to Kerela and do a backwater tour. If you look at the first post I put up on the map Kerala is the city furthest south west.
Well, Joseph and I are going to go and get snacks and drink Chai. The jet lag is sinking in, but so far I've been ok. I avoid jet lag by not drinking any caffeine or alcohol on the flight. It usually works. Plus I plan my sleeping according the next destination.
We have an early morning tomorrow trying to book flights. I know, I have a rough life. It's a tough job being a world traveler.
Here are some pics of Mumbai, just come city shots. it takes a while to get pictures on here so I can only do a few at a time.
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