We arrived in Mumbai yesterday around noon. Immediately upon disembarking, there was a very strong odor of humid rain & pollution. We went through customs, located our driver and were on our way.

Let’s just say the words “culture shock” don’t adequately describe what I felt driving through Mumbai. I took a lot of pictures, but after looking at them, they don’t do justice to what I saw. What the pictures don’t show is the stench, filth & poverty is non-stop for miles.

There are a lot of old apartment buildings that are a wreck, a lot of buildings that look like they’re under a perpetual state of construction, a lot of shacks people live in and/or work out of, a lot of trash heaps – big ones right on the road – and people walking everywhere.

After we began to ascend up into the hills it became green and lush with lots of waterfalls. It’s a cross between Tijuana and Hawaii. Seriously.

Then there’s the trash heap in paradise …

Considering there aren’t any “rules” to the road, except the occasional sign that says “Please Drive Safe”, our driver was pretty good. I suppose that driving with one hand on the horn & the other on the gear shifter is safe, and since the car we were in was bigger than a lot of the other cars on the road (except the trucks), he was able to honk, go around, squeeze in & cut off other drivers safely and with ease.

I was surprised, amazed and horrified while maneuvering through intersections. Vehicles come to an intersection (a LOT of them) and without stopping or slowing down, proceed to “weave” their way through the intersection.

Where there was a traffic signal, there’d be vehicles squeezed in at the front of the line, and our driver would go around & pull right in front of them. He was very good. Everyone’s honking begins before the light turns green. I suppose that’s to warn cross traffic they would be proceeding the minute the light turns green. Nice tactic. I think I’ll try that when I get back to SD.

If you’re a pedestrian, forget it. I’m not kidding. Vehicles do not stop. If a person begins to walk across the street, the driver will honk & keep going. It’s crazy.

Needless to say, we made it to Pune in one piece. Pune is like Mumbai, but it’s nicer, cooler & doesn’t smell as bad.

There were other adventures, like the rickshaw ride to go shopping to buy Indian clothes so I’d fit in & dress respectfully (& of course I bought some some stuff for Maya – they didn’t have baby boy clothes, but I’ll find something), and the rickshaw ride back in the pouring rain.

Then, last night, while walking (cautiously) to dinner, there was a huge pig with its head buried in a trash bag. When I stopped to take a picture, it lifted its head & grunted. I jumped back, and there was this Indian man watching, laughing & told me it wouldn’t hurt me & then offered to take my picture with it. I declined … but I did manage to get a really bad picture.

I woke up this morning to the sound of a big truck driving down the street honking its horn. Is it really necessary when you’re the only vehicle on the road at 3am?? But it got better when the birds started singing around 4am (it’s like being at the zoo). Right now I’m sitting in the (covered) outdoor lobby with a cup of hot chai & toast listening to all the birds, and it just started pouring rain. Very tropical.