Learn Something New Everyday

Finally a post from India! After sleeping nearly 24 of the first 36 hours upon reaching Mumbai, I finally awoke from my jet lag induced coma and am starting to sum up the things that I have learned since my arrival here. There a few lessons that I would like to expand on, but the first is that India is not as scary as people like to make it out to be. Yes, I have been relatively isolated in my flat overlooking the back cove of the sea since getting here; however, when I got to the airport, I was able to figure out exactly how to make my way out the door and find my cab driver. This might not seem like a big deal but from what I was told, I thought it would be near impossible. Subsequent experiences today reinforced the belief that India is not as aggressive and I am not as frightened as I was led to believe I would be. If anything, I am reminded of how much I love to travel internationally.

Anyways, moving on to some lessons I have learned:

(1) My toilet is not in fact broken --

When I first got to the flat (apartment) I am staying at in Mumbai, I was so tired that I failed to notice a bathroom inside my room. Once I realized it was there and went to use it, I became convinced the toilet did not flush after putting toilet paper in it, jiggling the handle, jiggling it some more, and getting no response. Under the circumstances, I figured walking away and trying again later would be the best option. There was a bucket of water with a pitcher next to the toilet but I didn't want to explore that option yet... So using my investigative skills throughout the afternoon, I listened to hear if other toilets were flushing in the flat, and they were, so I knew mine was meant to as well. Finally, I went back in determined to make it work. After many more jiggles of the handle and one last frustrating push down as far and hard as it could go, something like a tidal wave occurred in the toilet. I am going to try and video tape this because let me tell you, the flush of this toilet looks like geysers I saw in Yellowstone. It comes all the way up from the front of the bowl, curls back over the top, and at least 60% of the water falls outside the toilet (clean water not dirty in case you were wondering). Needless to say, I now look forward to going in there and watching it flush.

(2) Red lights are meaningless here --

I have noticed that most cab drivers throughout the world like to drive fast, and the one that picked me up at the airport was no exception. At first I was just looking at the view as we passed through the streets, but then I started to notice the fact that we never once stopped. I started to pay a bit more attention and realized that as the street lights turned from green to red, the cab sped up! Now, this is not the norm so I watched really closely and realized that it didn't matter the color of the light... my cab driver, all bus/truck drivers, and really anyone on the road... everyone just drives around with complete disregard to traffic symbols. This tendency increases when the sun is down. I know that around the world there is limited regard for pedestrians, but this observation takes it to a whole new level in India (especially when we are talking about the intersection of five different roads).

And most importantly...

(3) The Indian Multiplier Effect: If you think something will take a certain period of time, you should multiply that by four and then you will have the actual amount of time it will take you to accomplish your goal --

Today, my new friend Marcel came around to pick me up, show me around Mumbai, and purchase train tickets. The good news is that today I bought my train ticket to head south to Goa (the infamous beaches, once inhabited by the Portuguese). The bad news is that I was unable to purchase a return ticket due to random bureaucratic restrictions (foreigners may not use Indian currency to purchase tickets in advance of 4 days... only 5 foreigners a day may ride certain trains... etc).

The first place we went to was a travel agency that apparently did not sell train tickets so we moved onto their other branch that did. Unfortunately, foreigners can only buy train tickets at the train station so it was off to the historical Central Terminal for more waiting. Once there, I got into line behind six other foreigners thinking the process would be relatively quick. Two hours later, I had made friends with most people in the line and realized we were all trying to head to Goa. After many rounds of the other foreigners saying, "well this is India," it was finally my turn to discover that you can only use rupees for tickets intended for that very day or the next. As I said, at least I have a ticket to Goa but will now have to wait my turn in Goa to buy a return ticket!

Looking forward to new lessons to learn as I set forth on the beginning of the rest of this adventure. Things to look forward to tomorrow include Buddhist caves off the coast of Mumbai and an overnight train trip to Goa for some sun. I will stay there for a few days before starting the trek north to Delhi and Agra (the Taj Mahal). The news says there is a cold spell passing through Northern India but I am not convinced it will be so alarming for me... already it is about 80 degrees out and people complain of the cold (and I am afraid of sunburn).