hello mumbai

so it's my first day in mumbai and i have to say that i find it to be almost identical to cairo. it smells the same, of gasoline, heat, and smoke. it looks the same- typical british colonial template, and has those black and white block curbs and pepsi stands on the sidewalks. it has the same traffic, and the same method of crossing the street: walk straight ahead, and let the cars dodge you. but it feels sooo much like a big city and not too "indian" which is probably a good way to start off the trip, easy does it, not too much culture shock.

when i arrived, i stayed at a hotel near the airport that i found on hostelworld and chose since i got in after 1am. and good thinking, because the airport is about an hour from colaba, where all the action is. but the place was a dump, the sheets were stained, the bathroom stunk of moth balls, and i slept with a light on because i was afraid there would be any bugs. not a great way to spend my first night. but i awoke to the sound of bugs buzzing, all the kinds of birds that you'd imagine to hear in an exotic location, and the rickshaws and motorbikes that were buzzing by. i smiled, i'm in india.

i checked into cowie's hotel, a cheap place that got pretty decent reviews on tripadvisor, in colaba. except for the location, the place sucks. it is a total dump, and im debating checking into another hotel, but all the other hotels in this area are crazy expensive. they say mumbai is the most expensive city in india, and i'm glad im only here for a few more days. i haven't even been here for 24 hours, and i already bought 3 outfits and some souvenirs. the outfits though, are the finest silk embroided dresses--- exactly what i'd come to purchase in india. i found the shop by accident, when i couldnt find the spa i was actually looking for. but now i have to rationalize the dump hotel, because i just spent the hotel upgrade on silk embroidery.




i then took a walk over to the gateway to india, saw the taj hotel which was swarmed by beggars and street vendors, and ended up trekking out on foot to the churchgate train station, to discover that the ticket office is closed on sunday. i got some cool souveniers on colaba causeway and finally decided to have my first meal of the day when i stumbled upon this amazing place called cafe mondegar. it looked packed so i went in, and can only explain it with pictures. they were playing pink floyd, they made me the best tikka masala i ever had (i mean, i'm in india, it better be good!) and i just really enjoyed it, despite spending almost $20 on a simple lunch there. this is as bad as nyc! the weather is perfect though. it's about 80 degrees with no humidity. the sun is not too hot either. it is really perfect sightseeing/walking around weather.







tonight im gonna try to get some rest in my dumpy bed (if that will be possible) and wake up early to head out to alibag tomorrow. it's an hour long ferry to a beach and a fort. easy, nice day. yay!