Broken Things

Normal things can become difficult in a matter of seconds. For instance, a taxi ride back to your hotel can become a walk on an Indian freeway when your "tack-tack" breaks down. Such was the case today. I decided to go back into downtown Mumbai so I grabbed a tack-tack to the train station and hopped on the S train. The train was much busier than yesterday and as a result I found myself hanging out of the train doorway again, only this time I didn't have the option of coming back in. The train car was bursting with people and I was there hanging out of the doorway holding on with a kung-fu grip to the side of the train. Eventually we passed enough stops to thin the herd out a little and I was back to a comfortable hang rather than an "Oh shit!" hang out of the door.

Once in Mumbai I decided to do some shopping. I forgot my swimmy trunks in South Africa so I decided to make use of the strong dollar and find a bargain. I really can't get over how inexpensive things are here. I picked up a shirt, two pairs of shorts, and a pair of swimmy trunks all for about $18. All of the stuff was brand new and name brand, in fact the shorts I bought still had the U.S. price tag on them and they retail state side for $89.99. Satisfied with a successful bargain hunt I treated myself to a cup of Darjeeling tea.

I sipped my tea at a trendy little coffee shop on a busy street corner. Mumbai is an interesting city to observe. As the city hustles about it seems as if it could be New York or London, but then a guy on a bicycle that is loaded ten feet high with boxes passes by or a cow walks through the street. The little things that are unique to India always make me chuckle to myself.

I finished my tea and headed back to the rail station hoping that I wouldn't have as stressful a train ride back. No dice, it was just as packed, I had a little better position, though. I feel like I am getting better at the whole jockeying for position thing and I earned the respect from the locals by standing firm. Once of the train I flagged down a tack-tack and I was on my way. It is only about 4 miles from the rail station to my hotel, but my tack-tack didn't eat it's Wheaties and shut down. The driver looked at me and said, "broken," in his best English. My impulse got the best of me as I asked, "really?" as if that would magically fix the little tack-tack. No dice. So, there, literally in the middle of the highway, I helped push the busted tack-tack off the road, and began my walk back. I just laughed to myself. I felt a little bad for the guy, but as I walked back I passed about three other broken tack-tacks so I just figured that it was a normal occurrence and the guy could fix it.

My walk back was through a slum, which was a bit eye-opening. I don't really know what to say other than I just can't believe that places like this exist. It is unfortunate. I don't even know what to say, the conditions are absolutely horrifying. As I got to my hotel I have never felt so fortunate to have a bed. I really don't know what to say.

Just a quick aside, I started writing this entry at the Mumbai airport and I had finished but wasn't able to upload it and on the way to my hotel from the Delhi airport guess what happened? My taxi got a flat tire. I must be good luck. This time I could lend a hand, so the cab driver and I changed the flat. This one was pretty scary, though, because it was midnight and we were on a really busy road. Needless to say we fixed it and were back on the road. Maybe I should just walk from now on...