India - Mumbai - The first day
After procrastinating for six months after the memorable trip to India in November 2008, I have finally decided to write a few words about it. The dust has settled, the small incidental details have faded away, but many memories of this remarkable city still remain. Mumbai is truly an assault on the senses, especially for somebody who has gotten used to living in the quiet isolation of a German country town. Arriving in the wee hours of a warm Indian morning, we were taken to our hotel in a squeaky Tata-built taxi, with seat belts that had more slack than one's pants after a Jenny Craig weight loss program. We were greeted by trucks and autorickshaws on the highway that were strangely quiet - I was to never again experience traffic without constant tooting of horns again. We slept from 6 to 10 a.m., waking up for the last serving of breakfast. It was different to the usual fare of museli, fried eggs, or ham and Semmel (South German for bread rolls) - it was quiet authentic Indian. ...