Oct. 13th we drove to Dayton, Ohio (500 miles) to spend a week with my daughter, Ciara. Great week, jammed with activity. Ciara's grandmother invited all of us over for dinner. Michele and I really enjoyed this and it had to be great for Ciara to see all of us get together (my ex Nichole, her boyfriend, Hersh, my ex father and mother in-law, Mike and Sue, Judy a close friend of the family, Ciara, Michele and I). Thank you to all for an amazing night.
Oct. 20th dropped Ciara off at school and said our last good-bye's for a while. Sad, but at the same time it has been a great year with Ciara (after Christmas in Colorado, Spring in Disney World with a bonus Space Shuttle launch, 7 weeks at Shambhala Mountain Center in the Summer and a week in Dayton, Ohio). We then drove to Chicago for our flight to India. The flight was great. We flew Edihad Airline out of Abu Dhabi, UAE voted the world's best airline in 2009. 3 full meals on the way over and I watched 5 full movies. They have on-demand movies, tv, even video games with your own 15" monitor. Food and service was excellent. Arrived in Mumbai, went outside to get a taxi and a man telling us that he worked for the airport and would help us get a taxi wanted 1,800 rupees (over $40), we knew not to pay more than $10. Michele suggested that we try the pre-paid taxis and the guy said oh yeah that will be a lot cheaper. You just can't believe what some of the people say.
The taxi ride to the hotel was crazy, even at 3:30 in the morning. Cars driving in all directions. Red lights don't mean anything, traffic cops would rather take a nap than direct traffic. We were pulled over (not sure what for, because this is what was going on: running a red light, nearly hitting 10 cars, just missing a bicycle, pedestrian or a 100 other things) and they quickly ushered us on once they saw Michele and I in the back. Looking out the window at all the slums, was a little shocking to say the least (14 million people live in slums in Mumbai, right next to billionaires in some area). The visual, smell and audio senses where fully overwhelmed. We where quite happy to make it to the hotel. Nice place, small by American standards, but we have a shower, and a real toilet in our room; even a fan to help with the 104 degree heat index.
Oct. 22nd - first day in Mumbai. Can you say overwhelmed! People lying on the street with no signs of life. Street kids, that break your heart. Beggars everywhere. Drunks and drug addicts. We took a boat to Elephanta Island, a world heritage site. I've never seen wild cows scavenging for food along with the dogs. Monkeys, hens, vultures, piles of crap been washed up on the beach. The caves were so so, but it was a nice break from the short few hours we were in the city. The city at night is mad, never slows down. The amount of stimuli just blows your mind.
Oct 23rd - day two. Quite a change of pace - we walked down Marine Drive. Quite and slow paced if you can say that for Mumbai. Back to the hotel early (5pm) to relax. Eat at a Muslim Restaurant next door to the hotel - we were invited in, but Michele was the only woman and felt a little uncomfortable to begin with. Lovely people and food (two soft bottled drinks and two dinners: $3). What does tomorrow have in store?
