First impressions

So aside from an argument with a customs official about my medical record, my flight to Mumbai was awesome;

As I was sitting in my enormous seats (I had an entire row to myself and was sprawled out), watching Lawrence of Arabia on my individual interactive LCD screen (I thought it was only fitting), and eating my Indian dinner it dawns on me that I'm the only white person on the plane... This I would come to realize was going to be a theme of my trip.

Mumbai in not like any City I've ever been to. For as large and industrious a city as it is, there are almost no tall buildings other than a few new apartment complexes. There are people sleeping in the streets and more beggars then you could imagine.

The area I'm staying in is called Colaba. It's one of the more trendy places to stay in Mumbai. There are a relatively large amount of Europeans who come for holiday and stay here. There are a number of historic land marks and within a short drive of almost everything one would want to see in the city. My hotel room is actually quite nice for $20 a night and aside from being rumored to be controlled by the India Mafia, it's pretty safe.

Coming here is certainly a culture shock and I could talk for hours about my experiences in just the short time I've been here, but here are 2 highlights;

DRIVING-
American's would not believe this. Street signs, signals, lane lines and even curbs are mere suggestions. You are constantly weaving in and out of traffic at high speeds, dodging pedestrians, blowing through busy intersections with no regard for oncoming and side traffic... It is almost beyond description. I'll post a video sometime in the next few days. to help you better get a feel for it.

BATHROOMS-
Indians do not know the meaning of the word toilet paper... some of the nicer establishments have hoses… many do not... I'll let you all stew on the solution to that one for a few days.

All in all, things are going really well. I'm having a great time. I'll be leaving Mumbai in a few days to head down south and experience "real India." I'll post again, hopefully with pictures and video in the coming days.