First Impressions

Let me start this by saying that I think I have already experienced more than anyone should experience in India, and I barely left the airport!  Since my second flight from Abu Dhabi was delayed for three and a half hours, I missed my connecting flight in Mumbai.  But I tried my darndest to try to make it.  That's where this adventure begins...

As we were landing in Mumbai (most people here call it Bombay, as it used to be called), I could already see all the dirt lingering in the air and the moment I stepped out of the plane the smells took over.  It's not a super pungent odor, more like a gentle scent that never goes away.  I can imagine that living here will make your clothes always smell that way, no matter how many times you wash them.  I bet it's similar to how smokers' clothes have that smoky smell all the time. 

Anyway, since the flight came in so much later, I had to rush to get my bag (which I waited over 15 minutes for) then go from the international terminal to the domestic terminal, which is 20 minutes away!  So I paid for a cab at the cab stand and was walked to the cab by a man, he wasn't the driver, just a guy who walks you to the cab which he could have easily pointed to.  Once in the cab, that man demands a tip (I probably shouldn't have told him it was my first time in India).  "I'll tip the driver, all you did was walk me to the cab, I could have done that by myself", I said.  He wasn't budging, so I gave him 10 Rupees (which is around $0.20).  Then I closed the door so the driver could finally leave.  "My flight leaves in 45 minutes and I still have to check in," I told him. 

Sure, lets take a pit stop where the driver can get out and walk 30 feet (very slowly, I might add) to have a ticket over and then walk (very slowly) back to the car thingy.  I was too rushed to even think about taking any pictures, but it was more like a covered 3-wheel motor bike with doors.  In the end, I didn't make it to the airport on time and missed the connecting flight.  So here I sit, writing this long, boring post with no pictures.  I have to wait another five and half hours until my new flight departs.

Just before I sat down to begin writing this, I brushed my teeth using a bottle of water, which was very weird.  I didn't want to risk getting any of that tap water in my mouth.  It was an odd experience.  Now, I'm drinking a Kingfisher beer out of a glass that was probably washed in the "dehli-belly" water.  I just thought about this now actually, when the beer is almost gone.  Oops, hopefully I'm OK.  I see others around me doing the same thing so I'm not too worried.

So my first impressions are about what I expected, the people are friendly, but they like to take their time.  Everything is smelly and dirty, but not to the extent that I previously thought.  It's been quite an experience so far and I've been here for just over 5 hours.