I'm here!
After 30 hours of travel I made it safely to Mumbai late last night. The strangest part of my entire journey had to be my Uber driver in Los Angeles. He did not say a word to me the entire drive despite me crying in the back seat. Certainly awkward to say the least, but made me laugh even though I was sad to say goodbye to Patrick.
My flight to Mumbai was full of genuinely nice people. I made friends with the guys behind me and they were kind enough to share their power outlets (I had to watch Better Call Saul!). I arrived at the airport around 10:00PM local time. Within one hour I had my bags and was connected with my transportation to the apartment.
The first thing I noticed when I walked outside of the airport was the wave of humidity that rolled over my body. The air in Mumbai is the heaviest and warmest that I have ever experienced. We walked to the car and then sped off into the bustling nightlife of Mumbai towards my hotel. I asked the driver how long it would take for us to get there and he said it depended on traffic. I joked that I lived in Los Angeles, so I had some experience with traffic. Boy, was I mistaken.
We buzzed around buses, bicycles, rickshaws, dogs, people, motorcycles, and other cars. There are essentially no traffic lights and no markings on the road. People walked into traffic without a care in the world. I decided to look around at my surrounds instead of to focus on the road because I am a nervous passenger even in the U.S. (I have a feeling this trip will change that). The streets were lined with shantytowns and small shops. People were selling street food and jewelry next to piles of garbage. Dogs roamed about the streets. Men gathered at different restaurants and shops. I began to notice the lack of women who were out and about in the evening.
All of a sudden my driver turned right and we wound around a bend. There, just above the chaos, is my apartment. It is mind boggling to me that such luxury can exist within a stone's throw of poverty.The economic disparity in India is already so apparent.
The apartment is lovely. It is very safe and I was able to unpack and get settled in. Around 2:00AM I fell asleep to the sounds of a street band drumming. This city is alive at all hours of the night. This morning, I was awoken by the sound of wild monkeys. Let the adventure begin!