1st day in India!!

India Day 1: we arrived early this morning at the airport, which was recently renovated and looks amazing. Of course, my bag was one of the last ones off the belt leading to an extra hour stay but it was not that bad. Next we found a pre-paid taxi to our hotel. I have read in several books India being described as "an assault on the senses", even though it was late at night, the smells emanating from this metropolis laid siege to my nostrils. These smells were not necessarily malodorous but rather overwhelming in their complexities.   Ben had neglected to mention our hotel was in ghetto-ish territory,

which made Miche and I nervous as we were dropped off in front of a group of "interesting" fellows and told that our hotel was "around the [sketchy] corner". Luckily, it WAS just around the corner and Ben was waiting in the lobby (a sight for sore eyes indeed)!! After a good night's rest we set out in the early morning, only to discover that Mumbai does not awaken until after 10am. After a brisk walk to unveil our surrounding area, we enjoyed a simple breakfast and then hopped into a taxi headed towards the center of town. Now I have traveled to many countries, and I have experienced impressive traffic before, but nothing could have prepared me for the shear sphincter puckering insanity that occurs on the streets on Mumbai. It is as if there is a Lord-of-the-Flies-mentality on the road, where cars will honk then accelerate towards their street-crossing prey, where fitting as many cars across as few lanes as possible is "sporting good fun", and  honking must be India's favorite pastime. After seeing our lives flash before our eyes (several times) we arrived at our destination the Arch of India, it was crowded and impressive. We walked around the city as the mercury rose until our thirst drove is to seek refuge in a nearby restaurant that just so happen to serve cold pitchers of Kingfisher beer. Ahhh! Heaven. 

Our exploration continued as we visited mosques, street vendors,

and hanging gardens. Finally, after several hours of walking we decided to get some grub and found ourselves at a quaint little cafe where we let our palates rummage through some of India's finest cuisine; red chicken, butter chicken, and chili chicken. Spicy and deliciously  fabulous!!

After this exquisite late lunch we made our way back to our hotel for a much deserved nap, which turned into a 14 snooze (jet lag is a bitch). This is were you find me. Stay tuned for more updates!!