i enjoy peering from the airplane window at cities i've never been to. the snowcapped mountains outside christchurch, new zealand. the sunburnt desert in victoria, australia. the sprawling skyline in tokyo. today i'm adding one more to the list of images i'll never forget. through the orange haze all i could see were slums. makeshift homes, that from 20,000 feet up, looked like tiny sheets of tin foil stacked on top of each other. 55% of the population of 13 million lives in these slums.
this place is madness...people everywhere. cab drivers opening their doors in traffic to spit. more honking then there is silence. goats, cows roaming the streets. random parades. silver plated, technicolored horse and buggies. people selling things...cleaning ears...telling fortunes. hanging out. spitting. singing. cooking dinner. eating dinner. sleeping ... and this is all on the sidewalks. rats i mistook for rabbits share the gutters with babies going #1 and #2....and as thuy and i would say it...#3 as well. this is the mumbai i experienced in my first hour here. i can see why people take the next flight home after seeing India.
now i understand what people mean when they say it's a shock to all your senses. ive been having stomach issues since i landed. AND i haven't even eaten anything yet. must be from the smells.
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