India Travels- Mumbai, part 1

"soon after arrival. 'Travis, where did you bring me?!' "

Jan 13, 2010

1st email home:
" made it ti india. horrible internet connection. we will try to contact super soon.
love Briana"

- explanation: Travis brought a tiny computer along with him so he could upload his wonderful pictures (see his facebook profile for his favorites, he has a whole slew more of them, but the ones he put up there are examples of some really amazing photographs!). The first place we stayed at said they had wireless internet, but if it worked, it was like 10 mins. to hit send and have an email sent, if it didn't fail out first. But my family wanted to know we were ok, so shot them this email from his baby laptop.

Sweet responses:
'YEAH!!!!!!!!!! So glad. I was thinking about you since you left. -Kelly'
'Great !!!! BIG LOVES. -MOM'

1st journal entry in India:

"First real day in India. I broke down last night, cried and Travis comforted me. This morning, with a dripping shower of cold water and lack of sleep or food I was passed 'broken down' and into 'ornery'. 'I don't want to be here.' And Travis said last night that I could leave if I wanted. We'll see.
We went outside to find a camera store, about a 5 min. walk. Wow. This part of Mumbai is like some parts of Mexico or South America I've seen: dirty, choatic. I was stared at by everyone. More so than Travis; not only am I a foreigner who is really pasty, but a woman. Nikki warned us about being stared at, but I wasn't prepared. (a side note of preparedness: Angela sent me two books on India (thank you!): 'A Girl's Survival Guide to India', and 'Holy Cow'. Those scared me into maybe not wanting to go. haha Not really, but they prepared me, or so I thought. At least in what to bring, and some things/scams I would experience. Jan printed out a 'What to Expect' guide online while I was in Seattle last. And Travis and I scoured India books, and 'really prepared ourselves'. Everything we read said: 'India is a place unlike anything you've ever seen; chaos; cows; people; cars; noise; smells; sounds...etc. Needless to say, I wasn't prepared).
We met two Swiss ladies and a German couple that are staying at our 'hotel' so far. It seems almost strained to talk to them, but maybe that is part of traveling, reaching out, talking to 'strangers'. We got some good pictures to day at least.

Our first 'rickshaw' ride in India at midnight. After much haggling at the airport (one guy tried to charge us 600 rupees), and a really nice man we saw as our first of many guardian angels, we got a fair price (50 rupees) and one hell of a scary ride to our back alley 'Anjally Inn'. Travis tells a good story, saying his first night driving there, with random bonfires and the filth, abandoned buildings, our driver stopping to talk to someone where no business or hotels seemed to be, only potential kidnapping schemes (ok, we watch too many movies) etc. was what he imagined hell to be. Of course as we traveled more throughout the trip, these feelings seemed crazy, but something about that first night was scary.

The street our hotel was off of. This is a side-by-side picture. I didn't have a wide enough lense to capture the whole thing at once. Images like this filled our trip. Horrible poverty and beauty cohesively sharing the same space.