Arrival
We flew into Mumbai (Bombay) around 11:30 p.m. and proceeded to go through security and H1N1 screening. I followed Rohinee like a little kid afraid of getting lost or being in the wrong line. I remember once as a tot being at the K-Mart on University in Fargo and I lost my mom. I was crying my little eyes out until my mom showed up at the courtesy counter to claim her daughter. And I know I'm all grown up now, at least most of the time, but being in a foreign country like India felt a little daunting.

Rohinee's sister, Nalinee was there waiting for us with a car & driver. We also had to track down my tour agent so I could get my tour information. You are probably wondering how I was going to find my agent. The tour agent would be standing outside of the airport terminal holding a sign with my name on it. I didn't know what to expect so I was surprised by the number of tour agents holding signs. It was also very warm and humid outside. By the time we got in the car to drive to Pune, I was soaking wet from sweating.

Our drive out from the airport took us through a slum. Even though I watched the movie Slumdog Millionaire, I don't think sitting in a theatre, having pop & popcorn, and watching a movie about India could prepare you for India. After being home for several months, I still have not been able to find the right words to describe what I saw. I suspect I never will; you really have to see it for yourself. I wanted to get photos of the slum but it was late at night both times we drove through. The photo to the right was found on the internet.

It was late at night and there were LOTS of people roaming around the streets of Mumbai. I thought they should be home in bed but then most of these people probably did not have a bed. I saw people sleeping on benches, sidewalks, and in abandoned buildings.

The roads out of Mumbai were very bumpy to say the least. The drive over the mountains seemed endless and many of the trucks on the highway didn't have any tail lights. And even though I was extremely tired, I stayed awake. If we were going to crash or get smooshed I wanted to be awake. I was also watching to make sure our driver wasn't nodding off. We arrived at Rohinee's mother's home around 3:30 a.m. safe and sound. We were all one tired bunch of travelers.

Dharavi District
The Dharavi district is the largest slum in India, home to between 600,000 and one million people crammed into one square mile of urban poverty. It is also the largest slum in Asia. Half of Mumbai's population (approx. 18 million) live in a slum.