Words cannot describe how un-nerving the Bombay airport was. "A touch of craziness" is my best attempt. The locals think foreigners arriving at this airport have money, so people with too much time on their hands are inevitably drawn to this airport, looking for a chance to scam you. And it's not like there's any airport staff their to direct you. In fact, the staff I saw was just as oppurtunistic in fleecing foreigners. My impression is that begging has been somewhat of a national sport in India for the past 80 years. And they probably believe it's a crime to let a sucker keep his money. Going through the last security gate, I'd recommend tagging along side some other Americans if you can. The security guard gave a group of us a hard time (presumably fishing for a bribe), but because there was 5 of us (two females) he didn't press the issue. I don't know what happened to those other 4 American travelers. I lost sight of them after that point and headed for the exit directly.
And once you're out the front-door, there's a rather massive crowd there to greet you (even at 2am). And they just stare out you, sorting of smiling at you, sort of...just staring. There was a few young men in camouflage gear trying to look like tough guys, but considering their average height must have been about 5' 4", they were more comical then gangster. Either way, I was glad to finally find my driver with a sign that said "Gabe Halsmer". He couldn't speak English, but at least he understood the word "Hotel".
Ah yes, I was glad to be on my way to a bed. So exhausted from 22 hours of flying. But I couldn't help notice the scenery around me was...much worse then the poverty I had seen in Brown City, Mexico. The airport is located right in the middle of the poorest of the poor areas in Bombay. But I didn't know this at the time, and thought maybe it was par for the course. So as I'm looking at the crumbling sidewalks and exposed rebarb and lots and lots of people sleeping out on the street, or on carts, or under blue-tarp shanties, I'm beginning to wonder if I'll have running water at my hotel? The travel directory said it was a 4 star hotel, but this country looks like it has problems just keeping side-walks together. Everything looked so dirty. Laughing at myself, I couldn't believe I had been such an idiot WANTING to go here. But I was so exhausted at this point, I didn't really care and couldn't help but laugh. And to top if off my driver takes me on a roller-coaster ride, gunning it down the streets weaving in and out of traffic. Of course this was normal, and all the other drivers on the road were doing the same.
30 minutes later we're in sight of the 12-story Taj Land's End Hotel, and the neighborhood changes quite drastically. There are young people in polo tops and colorful outfits and jewelry, walking the streets, presumably on their way to a dance club. There were some expensive cars. But I think the most reassuring thing was that these cars had been WASHED recently.
Then we pull up to the front gate of the Taj Land's End Hotel, and I'm amazed. I had seen pictures of 4-star hotels before, but never one in real-life. There are movie-stars being escorted in (or at least girls with tons of jewelry on, I had to assume they were Bollywood stars). And fancy cars. So as the driver pulls me up to the curb and the bell hop gets my luggage, I know I'll have access to hot water and a clean bad. Time for sleep.
Of course, the sun wakes me up 4 hours latter. We're talking a BRIGHT sun here. Texas has nothing on the sunlight of India. Well, my internal clock was so screwed up I didn't feel like sleeping anyway. I wandered around the hotel to look for food and take some pictures.
Unfortunately, this was the only picture that my camera took without flaws (the tropical moisture was playing tricks with the sensor).
This hotel was just across the rode, and obviously vacant. I kind of got the impression that any large structure was prone to being taxed to death because its owner didn't know how to bribe the right people, and so you saw many bordered up buildings that must have been seized by the government. I hope India is changing their ways, but I still think they suffer some major issues with political corruption. The torn-up public roads are an example of how difficult it is for them to undertake any major civic engineering.
This is where the British first landed when they discovered Bombay. Too bad my camera was acting up so you can't see the engraving at the top of the arch. Its dedicated to "His Majesty, King George the VII" (or IV or something like that).
Without a doubt, the best part of my trip was the programmers I got a chance to work with. They were such a friendly group, who really delighted in showing off their city to me. Lots of great spicy food, lots of interesting night clubs. Though I have no idea while the whole group loved smoking so much. (seriously guys you need to cut-back)
So I wanted to publicly thank the whole gang. You guys were great hosts, and I'd love to return the favor and show you what Dallas is like if you ever get the chance to travel over here.