Days 1-3: Meet Mumbai

I'm here! After a day or so of flying I've made it to Mumbai and have already had a great few days. The flights were long and a little uncomfortable, but it's expected. On the way to London I actually got to fly in the new UAE airplane... I think it was an 8380? That might be wrong, but it was brand new and had 2 floors and a lot of space.

Flying over Mumbai on our descent immediately lent some context to the city and its environment. I could see the busy building stacked side by side, one on top of another in a blanket covering the landscape. In between the clusters of buildings you can see vast patches of slums which are manufactured from bits of debris and roofed with tin and fibre glass. It's almost hard to imagine that people live in such close quarters, but I suppose that's the evolutionary strength of humans - the ability to adapt to a variety of environments.

A couple of my uncles picked me and my cousin up from the airport and we were soon exposed to the busy roads and lack of formal traffic rules. It's hard to describe the traffic flow in the congested city streets. Maybe a fitting analogy would be that it's like a pool table where all of the balls are cars and rickshaws and traffic flow is similar to when you break the balls except none of the balls ever touch each other - you have many vehicles going in every direction, but they always manage to escape disaster. That being said, traffic accidents account for a large portion of injuries and deaths and driving is probably the most dangerous thing you can do in India, statistically.

We soon reached our house in Bandra and I met a lot of family that I haven't seen in over 14 years. Everyone's much older but always kind and welcoming. I met my nephew Shawn (in picture above) for the first time. He's 2 and 1/2 and walks and talks a bit. However, his nickname is Denice the Menace because he's becoming quite a trouble maker. It's been really great though to connect back with this side of the family and strengthen some of those connections that didn't really exist while isolated in my western world. It really makes you appreciate the value in relationships and the strength of family. Definitely one of life's key components.

Future Travels:
- Terrorist attack spot
- Pune
- Goa

Key Lessons:
- Driving in India is not for everyone
- Smokers don't need cigarettes, the pollution is enough to kill your lungs
- Family Matters (que theme song)

On the Mind:
- Environments
- Sustainability
- Relationships