I love India!  I'm not a great writer so it's frustrating for me to try to communicate India's allure.  You're just going to have to see it for yourself.  I thought it would be a much more intimidating country but if you come you will see what a wonderful place this is to visit.  I was warned of the poverty and how dirty it would be.  While I won't argue about it being dirty, I haven't found either to affect my travels negatively.  Maybe because I was prepared for the worst.  But everyone seems genuinely happy here and eager to share with you their India. 

Jet lag was nil.  India does not allow for jet lag.  There is too much going on, too much activity, too many buildings, so many people, sights, sounds, smells.  Here is a sampling of photos from the first few days.

The view from our hotel.  Mumbai (formerly Bombay) has about 17 million people with more coming every day.

A typical street view.  All over India you will see the contrast of old and new - notice the skyscrapers in the background.

Cows, cars, motorcycles, scooters, and pedestrians co-exist in the same streets.  No road rage here.  Just honk when you are going to pass someone and cut them off and it's all good.  No one has the right of way.  there are no lanes.

Boys peeling onions to make them pretty for market.  Many jobs that are typical "womens' work" in the US are mens' jobs in India. We were able to visit an embroidery shop where a group of about 7 men were embroidering an amazing table cloth that had been commissioned for the price of $1,200 US dollars. To put that in perspective, my cup of tea this morning cost .11 cents.

We hired a guide to take us through the slums, Dharavi.  Yes, it's dirty.  Imagine a place where the garbage is hauled to.  The interesting thing is that the garbage provides a big source of income to Dharavi.  Plastic bottles are salvaged, shredded and made into mattress and pillow filling.  Cardboard is refurbished and made into new boxes.  Soap shavings are melted with added chemicals, cooled, and chopped into soap second quality bars.  There is no government assistance so if you need money and can't find a job, you create a job.  The majority of people are entrepreneurs.

People enjoying life in Dharavi with this man powered farris wheel.

The opposite end of the spectrum.  The owner of Kingfischer Airlines lives here.  What has really made an impression on me is the vast difference of wealth.  There are homes that makes Bill Gates home seem small.  3 floors for parking?  The discrepancy in wealth is interesting not just in the spectrum but how close one end is to the next physically.  Next to a modern office building you'll have tarp homes.

Labor is cheap in India so you might as well pay 3 people to do a job for one... that is what one of our guides told us.  Here is the laundry neighborhood.  Most people around the city only have water for a couple hours per day so they send their laundry out to be done.  this people from this neighborhood pick up your laundry and deliver it.  They have water all day.

A typical street view.  All over India you will see the contrast of old and new - notice the skyscrapers in the background.

And something I hope to be a recurring segment of the blog, "What's wrong with this picture?