Hot and Sunny...with Smoke

This is the daily forecast in Mumbai. But the city seems unphased by it. With over 16 million people crammed into such a small space and 70,000 taxis alone, it is no wonder their is a cloud of smoke looming over the city.

So our few days spent in Mumbai was quite an experience. Having just arrived to India, this was quite the introduction. But we explored the city's main attractions on foot one day and by taxi with a guide the next. We were hoping to have some questions answered regarding the infrastructure, culture, etc but many of our questions were lost in translation. In any case, we enjoyed the day roaming the city and witnessed some incredible systems. The ghats is an outdoor laundry facility. And by facility, i mean concrete partitions and tables holding water where hundreds of people slung loads and loads of colorful clothing and linens delivered from around the city to be washed...by hand...in the hot hot heat.

Next, we visited a Jain Temple and one of the many Gandhi museums, which we all thoroughly enjoyed learning more of his philosophies and wisdom, and of course of his tragic, yet always humble end.

The later part of the day was spent taking a boat to Elephanta Island to visit the Shiva cave sculptures carved into basalt over the course of 100 years. That was a fascinating sight, and fairly well preserved considering the portuguese military used the carvings for target practice over the course of history.

Then it was back to our home, the Seashore Hotel housed on the 4th floor of a building near the ocean where each floor occupied a separate hotel. The staff was friendly and clean enough, except for the rat that lived in the trash.

And as of last night, after a train ride 4 hours east, we arrived in Pune to set off further south in the coming week.

Rats, Cats, Dogs, Cows...and Monkeys

The animals are many, and they coexist quite well. however, many of them are not necessarily well, nor are the resources available for them to be well...or fixed. the result is a large number of unwell and unclaimed cats and dogs. most are pretty calm, roaming around minding their own business, hunting for food. but we tend to attract some friends occasionally. yesterday morning, meg, tim, and i hit the fishmarket for a stoll. we strolled quickly as instructed because it is closely monitored due to the nearby military base. it is also apparently monitored by dogs. we immediately befriended "tripod", a 3-legged dog who led us through the market. he was a loyal pup since he caught up with us even after being cornered by a small gang of dogs. we eventually lost tripod, but in search of the nearby market, we took a turn through a neighborhood (which were open shacks along a walkway). it was an accidental, but invasive turn at the least, but we hadn't realized until the unfriendly guard dogs appeared. my heart about jumped out of my chest when it lunged and jumped on my leg barking and growling. in a frozen stance, all i could think was "rabies, rabies, rabies". I did not look back and hoped for the best. i escaped unharmed. it was a reminder to be more aware of people's privacy and making an effort to maintain it.

rats have also seemed to become local inhabitants. they hang out under food carts, in the streets, in the trash can of our shared hostel bathroom (witnessed twice by tim). i have unfortunately become a little paranoid and try to keep my legs elevated as much as possile. and i wondered why all of the cats around cannot keep them under control. perhaps the sheer size of them in comparison to the cats is a bit intimidating. or perhaps the cats are not up for the challenge. one cat in particular had problems walking as its legs collapsed beneath it when it tried. it can be quite heartbreaking watching the suffering animals, and even moreso witnessing the poverty (which is at least a separate blog entry).

the cows seem quite content roaming the streets and treated quite well by their respective owners. fresh blades of grass appear out of thin air and they contently munch the day away.

the monkeys on elephanta island that we witnessed today were cute, but because of human intervention (as is often the case with bears, squirrels, etc) have become quite a nuissance as we have forced them to depend on human food and drink. it was not unusual to see a monkey drinking out of a water bottle they had just stolen from a tourist.

as for the bed bugs...they are simply a nuissance!