Goodby Mumbai, Hello Africa

This is my last India blog. We have 36 hours to go before we depart Mumbai at 2 AM on Saturday, heading for a 6 days in Capetown, South Africa. We have a beautiful B&B near the beach outside of town and everyone tells us what a great place Capetown is to visit. Soon you’ll be seeing Jackass Penguins on these pages and, no, I’m not making that name up.
Departing Mumbai will be a little bittersweet for us. The Staples people have extended themselves beyond what we could ask for making the life and work experience easier to take. The work has been very interesting and I think I have made some valuable suggestions and adjustments to their business that will result in some needed changes. We have enjoyed our month and the lifestyle we have been able to experience here. Most people you meet at random are nice and helpful. The streets are not as clean as you would hope and we’re told it is much better than it was. Finding acceptable food hasn’t been a big issue except at lunch on work days but somehow I manage.
So before we get to the photo journal part of this blog, let me tell you about some things I don’t care for.
1. The lack of social support for very needy people. Every Westerner is inundated with beggars, invalids, sick people, poor people, children, cripples, families, etc. There is a guy who waves his leg stump at me every day asking for money. People have some never seen before maladies like bones, finger, legs and hands missing. If you don’t pause for a minute and thank whoever you believe in that you and yours are much luckier, well, you have to be pretty callous. The local people tell me they are so used to seeing these things that mostly it goes right past them.
2. The insanity of Cars and drivers. While I thought Shanghai’s big issue is too many scooters, motorbikes, mopeds and cars all trying to go the same way creating a lot of honking and chaos, it was really only preparation for a much more difficult situation here. Two wheeled vehicles are not issues but cars do whatever they want regardless of the color of the stoplight. Couple this with the businesses that have extended their selling area to the sidewalk forcing you to walk in the streets and you have lots of opportunity for chaos at the next level. There are 40,000 taxicabs in Mumbai and no one gives anyone an inch. The taxis are inexpensive, most have no side mirrors because they would get clipped off if they were there and they are typically old, rusted, not air conditioned and uncomfortable.
3. The lack of sanity conditions. In a place like this, where people are fighting for the very basics of life, sanitary bathroom conditions and clean drinking water are not at the top of the list. Everything is dirty and you have to use Purel or wash your hands constantly. Even with that, it is still a battle to keep germs and disease away.
4. Weather – To all of this add muggy, monsoon conditions and you would have a real mess. Fortunately, I had a month free from rain or high temperatures which combined with a hotel near the ocean affording nice breezes all day, the weather was very easy to take. I’m told that it is difficult to come to work in July and August during monsoon season without having your pants soaked up to the calf.
5. Odors - I have poor vision but an excellent sense of hearing and smell, so I may be more attuned to some of these things than the average person. Certainly, every region of the world has scents unique unto itself. In France or Italy, you might hear people speak about fragrant air. In the Western U.S. there is the distinctive mountain air. Well in India, it's certainly fragrant and distinctive, but at times it can be hard to take. On the train, jammed in with far more people than anyone would say is safe, it was a raw, ugly body odor. In the back of my mind, I hear someone making fun of Nelson Rockefeller referring to these people "the great unwashed". In the office, it's the food odors that bring a gag reflex to my throat. In the taxis, there is frequently the captivating incense smell. (Of course, I always think of the Archie Bunker malaprop, "Are you burning incest?")

So let’s take a final look at some people, places and things I encountered during this month…

A macaque having meal



A few Buddhist women in a sacred cave area





We all wear our saris to the beach…



Through a natural viewing spot…



A beach vendor…



Finally, as every man knows life ends if you don’t have a remote in your hands so who cares if you live in a slum along a highway, you’ve got to have satellite TV. These people have their priorities right…