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Published: October 14th 2006
The Taj Hotel at Dawn
The gloreous hotel was a nice clean hideaway from the filth that is MUMBAI!wheeewwww. After a 30-something hour flight that just about sums it up!
I arrived in Mumbai yesterday morning and was pleasantly surprised that the airport was in better shape than I had imagined. No horrifying smells, no hords of people, it was rather pleasant. THEN CAME THE CAR RIDE! The first adventure of the trip was quite a thriller. I was crammed in the little AC car for about 2 hours as the driver rally car'd this fiat uno look-alike through the madness that is mumbai. Horns were blazing every few seconds as people merged into imaginary lanes and pedestrians played a horrifying game of dodge-the-car! In the northern stretches of the city the sidewalks had been converted into shanty-towns and thousands of people were strewn about.........some sweeping the lane nearest their house, others cooking, some were bathing where they have apparently dug up a water main and attached a spicket. At one point I was staring off in the distance when our taxi slammed into the side of another cab and scrapped down the entire side (just like the movies!). That led to a screaming match and then a most exciting car chase!!! We were blasting down the street
No Dengue Here!
It must be true if they've got a sign! at like 40km/hr, dodging cow-drawn water tankers and small children, until we finally lost the other guy!
Anyway, once we arrived in Calaba, we sported our bags and hiked around a bit until we found a hotel..........and promptly passed out. At about 9pm we headed out to grab some grub and found an awesome little place that served us 1/2 a chicken worth of tandoori, chicken biriyani, garlic naan, two sodas, and a giant bottle of water for 4 bucks. The meal was excellent and the waiter left me with a phrase that I'll use forever...........you want spicey? no spicey mean no good!
Well.......my sweat lines have reached my ankles, so it's time to wrap this thing up for the day. Stay tuned for the next blog.........I'll publish some pictures of the hotel bathroom (hint: 3x4 ft room with shower, sink, and toilet all included! Yee-haww.
Cheers
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Sue
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Imagainary Lanes
Aaaah. The memories of third world driving. Do they even bother to paint the lines on the road. Or do they give up after they wear off the first time? Stay safe. Wear a condom. A full body, anti mosquito condom. (No spicy mean no good!)