Mumbai (Bombay)

Mumbai is not at all like we expected. We thought we would be crushed by people, that it would be unbearably hot and humid, and that it would be dirty and hectic. It's actually pretty relaxed, the heat/humidity isn't that bad, and no one's hassling us at all. Maybe we're just jaded after being in Tanzania, where touts were very aggressive and we couldn't walk more than 5 feet without someone trying to sell us a safari or a painting of giraffes. There's beautiful architecture here (lots of European/gothic style buildings with grand facades), good shopping, and nice people. Plus the food is great: today we had thalis (an all you can eat lunch for two -- all vegetarian -- with several different dishes, breads, rice, etc.) in a nice, air conditioned restaurant for about $11. I was so stuffed we had to wait a few hours before getting our gelatto next door. In the meantime, I got my hair cut -- for $1.50 ($2.25 with a nice tip). Oh yeah -- we also went to court today. (Stop laughing -- it's a beautiful building. Though this does mean I've been to court in Kenya, Tanzania, and India (oh, and Ireland, too, just not on this trip).)

It's pretty expensive here by India standards, though -- about $26 for our air conditioned hotel room -- and we still have not been "discovered" by Bollywood scouts (even though we're trying to look as pretty as possible -- hence, the haircut), so we will probably be moving on at the end of the week.