Bombay

Greetings all. Have finally managed to set aside some hours in a Bombay internet cafe for setting up the blog. While it's true that one of the first things I did when I arrived in India was to get set up with a local phone plan and Internet connection via the mobile phone, the connection is slow, similar to modems, and makes blog provider research, registration, etc. a rather painful process. I'll try and backdate posts to cover past experiences in more detail.

Few things to get started - this is an anonymous unsearchable blog, so if you have the URL you probably know me or someone closely familiar with me. Even so, I'm paranoid and not ready to open my identity up to the whole online world. So, if you want to post comments, you should feel welcome, and I will request that you not address me by name. I would even suggest that your own handle (name) for your comments be anonymous as well, but that's up to you. If you lapse, it's ok, but I'll have to remove the comment, so don't be offended. Also, I'll state that final editorial control over whether comments are kept or removed rests with yours truly. There's always email . . .Lastly, you should feel free to pass the URL to familiar interested folks. (Don't worry, the content will be commensurate!)

Mumbai and Bombay are the same thing, and locals use the words interchangeably. I've picked up this bad habit. I've been in Mumbai for a week and a half, after having spent a week in Malaysia. In a few days I'm headed to Pune, which is a three hour train trip away. Of travel interest I've seen the Gateway to India (see photo) and Elephanta Island, which contains 1500 year old carvings of Shiva. Elephanta is to mumbaikers (people from Mumbai) like Alcatraz is to San Franciscans -- locals have never been there. Also saw the Federal Reserve Bank of India's coin museum, which chronicles the history of money in India.

Meeting lots of backpackers and locals on the ground. Everyone has their own itinerary, so it's challenging to be in the same place as another for more than a few days. Been staying in a simple hostel. Cold showers and shared toilets are the norm. I'm keeping a running tally of the number of times I get sick from food ("Delhi Belly"), and the count is up to 1 for now. I'm taking the malaria antibiotics religiously now in the hope of getting a protective effect from the food borne illnesses. Doxycycline is so strong that I have to be careful when/how I take it, or I'll get sick from the medicine instead of the illness. They should sell pepto-bismol here. If any of you decide to up and fly out to meet me, go ahead and bring a few bottles or ten.

OK, I have to get ready to go - It is Friday night after all, and Bombay has a pretty serious night scene, which is one thing I'll miss about the city when I leave for other parts. This has been a fairly superficial post, but you have to start somewhere, right? I hope that future posts will have more depth and introspection. In the absence of said depth, I'll post a link to a funny past Slate article that has summed things up pretty well so far. It doesn't speak for me, but I do share some reactions with the author.

http://www.slate.com/id/2107063/entry/2107071/

For those among you of subcontinental origin, don't be offended that it's taking time for the place to grow on me. There is plenty to see still!

I'm not sure yet how often you ought to be able to expect updates, I'm still figuring out the rhythm of doing this. Maybe we'll even get a few images up too ;)

Hope that all are well!