Week 1 pt.2: The Eye of the Storm

Okay so my last entry was written right after my first day in downtown Mumbai, and I don't feel I did the city justice. I am writing again to tell you the good things Ryan and I have seen and experienced here as well.

First of all, Ryan so eloquently stated that when walking through the Oval Maidan (pics to come) where people play cricket outside the Court House, that it felt like the eye of the storm. It is so true. This place is where all people play and relax, in the middle of some of the busiest intersections in the world. You should see this place at rush hour...madness! When we left our hotel this morning to taxi it to our new downtown comfy place, we were literally surrounded from bumper to bumper by men, women, children, oxen, cows, dogs, you name it. We saw some extreme poverty contrasted against some absolutely stunning buildings.

We have been treated very well here and today we met a lovely woman when waiting to buy a train ticket to Goa for Sunday. We were given fresh Indian Chai too...yummm. Even on the train, which is insane, men moved out of the way for me to get a more prime spot. A side note: the trains here are packed like crazy. People literally jump on and off the train as it moves so they can beat the crowd. Ryan nearly lost an arm but I managed to squirm through very well.

I am amazed at how quickly Ryan and I have adapted to the city. We are getting quite adept at dodging cars and other vehicles, avoiding eye contact with market people, and turning away begging children. This makes me sad. It is hard to refuse a 6 year old girl begging for milk for her little sister, for 3 blocks. But you have to draw a line somewhere, and the begging is constant. Tragic. But on the bright side, I have decided to donate some of the extra clothing I brought with me to a children's charity in Goa. This will help people in need, and also clear some space for new clothes Ill buy.

Today we went to the beautiful Elephanta Island to see the cave sculptures of Shiva. We are staying in Mumbai a few more days so we plan to go see some movies (one called Gafla seems good), go see hundreds of people wash clothes at the laundry place, go to a paperie, and see the National Gallery of Modern Art. Ill try to post as often as possible so feel free to ignore some posts. I will be posting pics as soon as we get to a better net cafe.

Until next time, play safe!