Well, I've arrived! I am sitting safely in my apartment, relieved to finally be here. Landing in Mumbai international airport was an interesting combination of modern and decrepit. The carpeting in the hallway outside my gate was faded, torn, and dirty - while the walls on the jet bridge advertised for HSBC that the future is full of opportunity. I'm not sure if I would call that irony, but it certainly is quite the juxtaposition.
My driver was waiting for me outside customs - thankfully. The drive from the airport to my apartment was fascinating. There are shantytowns directly next to gleaming luxury car dealerships. I'd be looking at skyscrapers and neon signs one minute, and then extreme poverty the next. I'm looking forward to exploring this city more and trying to understand how the extreme ends of the economic spectrum seem to coexist right next to one another.
My apartment is nice by Mumbai standards, from what I can tell at least. I have an ensuite bathroom connected to my room. I was startled to see that the shower comes equipped with a bucket and small pouring cup - reminiscent of my time in Tanzania without running water. Thankfully the shower does work, so I doubt I'll have much use for the bucket. My room is on the 21st floor of the building, so I expect I'll have some great views. I suspect my bedroom even has a view of the water - though which body of water it is remains to be determined.
The most exciting event of the day was when I was downstairs in the lobby, waiting for the security guard to figure out what to do with me. As I'm waiting, a man walks through with a dog on a leash - AND IT'S A PUG!!!!!!! A beautiful fawn boy pug whose name sounded something like "muglu" though I'm going to have to confirm that next time. I of course freaked out and started petting the beautiful puppy on my knees, who obliged me by licking my hands. I'm pretty sure the security guard and owner were not expecting this type of reaction from me, so they looked a bit bewildered and exchanged a comment or two in Hindi, which I'm guessing meant something like "crazy white lady.". Oh well - I now have a pug nearby who I can see when I'm missing Tiki a lot. Clearly this is the right place for me to be.
I'm off to unpack now. Will try to upload some photos of my apartment if I can figure out how.
My driver was waiting for me outside customs - thankfully. The drive from the airport to my apartment was fascinating. There are shantytowns directly next to gleaming luxury car dealerships. I'd be looking at skyscrapers and neon signs one minute, and then extreme poverty the next. I'm looking forward to exploring this city more and trying to understand how the extreme ends of the economic spectrum seem to coexist right next to one another.
My apartment is nice by Mumbai standards, from what I can tell at least. I have an ensuite bathroom connected to my room. I was startled to see that the shower comes equipped with a bucket and small pouring cup - reminiscent of my time in Tanzania without running water. Thankfully the shower does work, so I doubt I'll have much use for the bucket. My room is on the 21st floor of the building, so I expect I'll have some great views. I suspect my bedroom even has a view of the water - though which body of water it is remains to be determined.
The most exciting event of the day was when I was downstairs in the lobby, waiting for the security guard to figure out what to do with me. As I'm waiting, a man walks through with a dog on a leash - AND IT'S A PUG!!!!!!! A beautiful fawn boy pug whose name sounded something like "muglu" though I'm going to have to confirm that next time. I of course freaked out and started petting the beautiful puppy on my knees, who obliged me by licking my hands. I'm pretty sure the security guard and owner were not expecting this type of reaction from me, so they looked a bit bewildered and exchanged a comment or two in Hindi, which I'm guessing meant something like "crazy white lady.". Oh well - I now have a pug nearby who I can see when I'm missing Tiki a lot. Clearly this is the right place for me to be.
I'm off to unpack now. Will try to upload some photos of my apartment if I can figure out how.
Tiki requests another blog post please!
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