We arrived in Mumbai, India on the 26th of April. Most planes arrive at night or early morning. Entering the city during the dark feigns fresh air and normalcy. But light quickly reveals that this place is over crowded and ruled by poverty. But the people are gracious and humble. We will get to more of this later.
We did the usual trek from the airport to the hotel which was the Trident hotel. The hotel, as usual, was gorgeous and the service was impecable. One thing I have noticed as we travel west is the fancy attire. Grant it, we are on vacation/holiday and most people that stay in these hotels are on business; the dress is fancy to say the least.
After breakfast the next morning, our first task was to check out the "ladies special" at the Chhatrapati Shivaj Terminous. The train station @10:00 A.M was a jailbreak to say the least. There were people everywhere going the same direction. We looked like trout swimming up stream. After asking some questions we found that the ladies special was @ 5:45 P.M and the special let only women ride the train during that time. Next, we found a book store and purchased a guide book of Mumbai. We then made our way to High Court to sit in on a session or 100. After our passports were examined and cameras confiscated we made our way to the courtrooms. Unlike trials in the U.S., the Indian government only has trial by judge and he doesn't arrive until he is ready and all the lawyers in an orderly fashion present arguments and so forth. We were required to spend an hour in the courtroom and did so, but we only witnessed 30 minutes of actul trial. But during that 30 minutes Natasha chatted up an attorney in the courtroom. He explained the process and his monthly wages which did not add up to much by U.S. standards. After retrieving our cameras we found some local students to translate a phrase in the local dialect and moved on. It was HOT. So we caught a cab to the Taj Palace Hotel for "lunch." As most of you know hair, or what's left of mine, is very important. So I got a haricut in the hotel. The guy cut my hair with scissors and it wasn't that bad, but I can't wait to see Rita next week. After my haircut we made our way up to an English style restraunt for lunch. We had pizzas and salad and beers of course trying to avoid going back outside for a while. We ended up sitting the hotel so long that it was time for high tea, which was one of the scavenges in our book. As most of you remember the Taj Palace was one of the hotels attacked by a group of terroists in 2008.
Moving on, we then found a guy who owned a tour company. It was late in the afternoon and they had already stopped doing tours. The guy offered to take us on a private tour himself. IT WAS LIFE CHANGING. To begin, we took a train to the slums and that was an adventure in itself. According to our tour guide, about 17 people per day die as a result of these trains. Keep in mind that we are in one of the most crowded places in the world and the trains play a key factor in tranportation. I sat on a bench with three other guys but the bench was clearly made for three people. Within 25 seconds at each stop an average of 100 people get on and off the train.
Finally, we arrived at the Dharian slums for a fast reality check. It is hard to put into words this sort of poverty.
Earlier in this blog, I expressed the dire situations of the orphans in Manila and compared to these children those children are rich. We witnessed the process of recycling plastics and the employment oppurtunity it provides. We saw two workers who worked and lived in a small room without air conditioning. In fact, no one has air conditioning and it is HOT. Imagine living through the Houston summer without ever getting relief - there is no air conditioning in your home, work, school, etc. They live in the "work place" due to the fact they do not have to pay rent, which in the scheme of things makes sense. Next we saw the same similar processes of recycling cardboard boxes and baking bread. The bread makers work around the clock so as to not let the fire go out. And as you guessed it: " IT WAS HOT" We then walked through the little alleys and between homes to find kids playing cricket on top of a dump site. I stopped of course and the one pitch I threw went "yard."
The guide then showed us a bayou that makes Buffalo Bayou look like a natural spring. It not only smelled of human waste but looked like something out of a horror show. The guide explained to us that the children tied weights to themselves to go to the bottom to search for metal to bring to recycling facilities. And to think I used to whine and cry about taking out the trash. Finally, we went into a locals home for a spell. The entire house was smaller than most of our master bedroom closets. The downstairs consisted of a stove which was a hot plate, a spice shelf, a small shower which doubled as a sink. I assume clothes were kept upstairs, which we did not see at all. Toilets were comunal and the fact that the government recently installed a few hydrants has helped keep the place a little cleaner.
After this three hour experience, I could not take anymore. We then went to our hotel and called it a night. I can't stop thinking of this place. Now that we are not in that local, I made some key observations. I compare these humans to dogs. It sounds strange, but dogs just deal with it. Pain, the dog still contiues with it's day, nothing to eat the dog looks for food. In a way these humans are just the same the will to survive is evident in every aspect of their lives. Never have I ever seen a will to simply survive than in this place. The only thing the children asked for was a smile and reply. Not one person ask for a hand-out nor did I think to offfer one to anyone. You could see the pride in peoples' eyes and the fact that they know things are going to get better. Once we got back to the hotel I broke down in the shower. This was truly an amazing experience.
We did the usual trek from the airport to the hotel which was the Trident hotel. The hotel, as usual, was gorgeous and the service was impecable. One thing I have noticed as we travel west is the fancy attire. Grant it, we are on vacation/holiday and most people that stay in these hotels are on business; the dress is fancy to say the least.
After breakfast the next morning, our first task was to check out the "ladies special" at the Chhatrapati Shivaj Terminous. The train station @10:00 A.M was a jailbreak to say the least. There were people everywhere going the same direction. We looked like trout swimming up stream. After asking some questions we found that the ladies special was @ 5:45 P.M and the special let only women ride the train during that time. Next, we found a book store and purchased a guide book of Mumbai. We then made our way to High Court to sit in on a session or 100. After our passports were examined and cameras confiscated we made our way to the courtrooms. Unlike trials in the U.S., the Indian government only has trial by judge and he doesn't arrive until he is ready and all the lawyers in an orderly fashion present arguments and so forth. We were required to spend an hour in the courtroom and did so, but we only witnessed 30 minutes of actul trial. But during that 30 minutes Natasha chatted up an attorney in the courtroom. He explained the process and his monthly wages which did not add up to much by U.S. standards. After retrieving our cameras we found some local students to translate a phrase in the local dialect and moved on. It was HOT. So we caught a cab to the Taj Palace Hotel for "lunch." As most of you know hair, or what's left of mine, is very important. So I got a haricut in the hotel. The guy cut my hair with scissors and it wasn't that bad, but I can't wait to see Rita next week. After my haircut we made our way up to an English style restraunt for lunch. We had pizzas and salad and beers of course trying to avoid going back outside for a while. We ended up sitting the hotel so long that it was time for high tea, which was one of the scavenges in our book. As most of you remember the Taj Palace was one of the hotels attacked by a group of terroists in 2008.
Moving on, we then found a guy who owned a tour company. It was late in the afternoon and they had already stopped doing tours. The guy offered to take us on a private tour himself. IT WAS LIFE CHANGING. To begin, we took a train to the slums and that was an adventure in itself. According to our tour guide, about 17 people per day die as a result of these trains. Keep in mind that we are in one of the most crowded places in the world and the trains play a key factor in tranportation. I sat on a bench with three other guys but the bench was clearly made for three people. Within 25 seconds at each stop an average of 100 people get on and off the train.
Finally, we arrived at the Dharian slums for a fast reality check. It is hard to put into words this sort of poverty.
Earlier in this blog, I expressed the dire situations of the orphans in Manila and compared to these children those children are rich. We witnessed the process of recycling plastics and the employment oppurtunity it provides. We saw two workers who worked and lived in a small room without air conditioning. In fact, no one has air conditioning and it is HOT. Imagine living through the Houston summer without ever getting relief - there is no air conditioning in your home, work, school, etc. They live in the "work place" due to the fact they do not have to pay rent, which in the scheme of things makes sense. Next we saw the same similar processes of recycling cardboard boxes and baking bread. The bread makers work around the clock so as to not let the fire go out. And as you guessed it: " IT WAS HOT" We then walked through the little alleys and between homes to find kids playing cricket on top of a dump site. I stopped of course and the one pitch I threw went "yard."
The guide then showed us a bayou that makes Buffalo Bayou look like a natural spring. It not only smelled of human waste but looked like something out of a horror show. The guide explained to us that the children tied weights to themselves to go to the bottom to search for metal to bring to recycling facilities. And to think I used to whine and cry about taking out the trash. Finally, we went into a locals home for a spell. The entire house was smaller than most of our master bedroom closets. The downstairs consisted of a stove which was a hot plate, a spice shelf, a small shower which doubled as a sink. I assume clothes were kept upstairs, which we did not see at all. Toilets were comunal and the fact that the government recently installed a few hydrants has helped keep the place a little cleaner.
After this three hour experience, I could not take anymore. We then went to our hotel and called it a night. I can't stop thinking of this place. Now that we are not in that local, I made some key observations. I compare these humans to dogs. It sounds strange, but dogs just deal with it. Pain, the dog still contiues with it's day, nothing to eat the dog looks for food. In a way these humans are just the same the will to survive is evident in every aspect of their lives. Never have I ever seen a will to simply survive than in this place. The only thing the children asked for was a smile and reply. Not one person ask for a hand-out nor did I think to offfer one to anyone. You could see the pride in peoples' eyes and the fact that they know things are going to get better. Once we got back to the hotel I broke down in the shower. This was truly an amazing experience.
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