We landed in Bombay on 12/30/10 (although here in India I should more correctly say 30/12/10). It has been a very quick two weeks. My husband has already started his job, and I will start my volunteer work very soon. Here are some quick details of the past two weeks:
The flight- I am just way too old and twitchy for such long flights. Despite the great food and movies (okay, I watched Twilight, but still, it was fun), I was still that person standing in the aisle while everyone else was asleep. It is just too boring to sit for that long.
We had a layover in Dubai. That airport is incredibly confusing. It managed to have two flights to Mumbai, at the same time, same gate, same flight numbers. Apparently, we went to the wrong terminal. So they were different flights...just in different terminals with everything else the same. I still don't understand it. So that was pleasantly annoying. We ended up going through security four different times. The airport also doesn't have a map on the wall to tell you where you are going. So take that as a lesson, and actually listen to the captain when they tell you to check The American Way Sky Magazine to see your terminal (or Etihad Way Sky Magazine, or whatever their particular air magazine is called).
We arrived at the Mumbai airport around four in the morning. Our bags, naturally, were the some of the last ones out of the shoot. But by that time, the line through customs wasn't too bad. A driver was waiting for us....he had no idea where to take us! Isn't that hilarious? Fortunately, a la the Indian way, I had written the address on a huge piece of paper and duct taped it to each of our suitcases. So we found the guest house just fine.
The guest house is located in Chowpatty, one of the neighborhoods of Mumbai. It is right on the biggest beach, and along Marine Drive, which is absolutely gorgeous. Just miles and miles of of skyline and the Arabian Sea. Unfortunately, it is also coated in a thick layer of smog, which you notice instantly. So that was a bit of a downer. Especially today (1/11/10) where the smog was so bad you couldn't SEE the buildings across the bay, and you thought your house was on fire from the terrible smell...but that is a digression...
Anyhow, the place in Chowpatty is great- beautiful marble floors in the guest room, and great cooks to make the food. Plenty of ice cream shops nearby. But we only stayed there for a few days, and are now (temporarily) in an apartment recently vacated by Sandeep's co-worker.
The new place is in Churchgate, again, another neighborhood of Mumbai. It is just a mile or so down the road from the place in Chowpatty. It is big and spacious, but ugly as anything. I'm quite glad to be leaving it this weekend! The walls are bubbling off in multiple places, the ceilings have mold, and your feet turn black from dirt faster than they do walking outside in the yard barefoot. I did, in the apartment, find a pair of new slippers, with the year 2000 emblazoned on them, so they have cut down a bit on the disgust. But it does have a washer and dryer, so that is the extent of my complaining about the physical appearance of the apartment. Dryers are quite the luxury here.
The flight- I am just way too old and twitchy for such long flights. Despite the great food and movies (okay, I watched Twilight, but still, it was fun), I was still that person standing in the aisle while everyone else was asleep. It is just too boring to sit for that long.
We had a layover in Dubai. That airport is incredibly confusing. It managed to have two flights to Mumbai, at the same time, same gate, same flight numbers. Apparently, we went to the wrong terminal. So they were different flights...just in different terminals with everything else the same. I still don't understand it. So that was pleasantly annoying. We ended up going through security four different times. The airport also doesn't have a map on the wall to tell you where you are going. So take that as a lesson, and actually listen to the captain when they tell you to check The American Way Sky Magazine to see your terminal (or Etihad Way Sky Magazine, or whatever their particular air magazine is called).
We arrived at the Mumbai airport around four in the morning. Our bags, naturally, were the some of the last ones out of the shoot. But by that time, the line through customs wasn't too bad. A driver was waiting for us....he had no idea where to take us! Isn't that hilarious? Fortunately, a la the Indian way, I had written the address on a huge piece of paper and duct taped it to each of our suitcases. So we found the guest house just fine.
The guest house is located in Chowpatty, one of the neighborhoods of Mumbai. It is right on the biggest beach, and along Marine Drive, which is absolutely gorgeous. Just miles and miles of of skyline and the Arabian Sea. Unfortunately, it is also coated in a thick layer of smog, which you notice instantly. So that was a bit of a downer. Especially today (1/11/10) where the smog was so bad you couldn't SEE the buildings across the bay, and you thought your house was on fire from the terrible smell...but that is a digression...
Anyhow, the place in Chowpatty is great- beautiful marble floors in the guest room, and great cooks to make the food. Plenty of ice cream shops nearby. But we only stayed there for a few days, and are now (temporarily) in an apartment recently vacated by Sandeep's co-worker.
The new place is in Churchgate, again, another neighborhood of Mumbai. It is just a mile or so down the road from the place in Chowpatty. It is big and spacious, but ugly as anything. I'm quite glad to be leaving it this weekend! The walls are bubbling off in multiple places, the ceilings have mold, and your feet turn black from dirt faster than they do walking outside in the yard barefoot. I did, in the apartment, find a pair of new slippers, with the year 2000 emblazoned on them, so they have cut down a bit on the disgust. But it does have a washer and dryer, so that is the extent of my complaining about the physical appearance of the apartment. Dryers are quite the luxury here.
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