Mumbai, Bumbai...: 29.december.2004

The antipod of Japan. India is merely the opposite of what I have lived the last 3 month. Clean Japan, dirty India. Organization versus Chaos. Modern versus ruins. There are so much difference that it could be a choc to land here. But I m alive after my CX plane...and whatever happen now, its just welcome.So.

Finaly in Mumbay. As I arrived its 1 oclock in the night. I can already feel the Chaos that dominate in all India. The airport seems more to be a post office without any organization, with luggage coming out where the space allow it. The people arriving from any organized country get mad here...and that is just the beginning of their journey. To much fly came at the same time, and for the 3 luggages carpet its just to much. 3 luggages gates for an International airport ??? Well I found my stuff, run out, escape the tousend Autorickshaw driver that wants to take me and take one Prepaid Taxi. Then I make my way inside the nighty Bumbay. My old mustache driver don t speak, he don t look on the side, he just seems not to be disturb by anything.


The light dive the city in a orange mood. On the street not so much traffic. Its dirty all arround, stinky to, a kind of mixture parfum between old trash, urine and donkey setlement. The kind of smell Shrek will love...In this crowded city the slums invaded all the empty spaces and the humans laying on the floor like old bags show the powerty unhided. Sometimes a bed here and there where people sleep in the dusty and poluate atmosphere, in midle of the noise. It give a surealistic atmosphere. Can you imagine people putting their beds in midle of a Paris avenue ? I m in the reality of the city. The squatters sometimes have one arm out of their dirty blanket laying open on the street. A car could easely smatch it.

I arrive at the hotel where Ludovic should be. But I verified the guest list and he is not there. Would we ever meet ? I asked for a room but the price is expensive and the room are full. Welldone! I m making my way in the unknow streets and found an other place to stay. I will look for my best friend tomorow. Now its time to sleep. 2.00 am.
I wake up. Run to find an internet Cafee and write to Ludovic. I get an email telling me where he landed. I take my stuff and go to his hotel. Unlikywise he just left few minutes ago. So I wait for him. 20-30 minutes later....I m sitting on the steps outside and he just appear. Greaaatt...the Indian adventure can beginn. Ludovic is my oldest friend and my best one. We grew up together, spend school time together in the same class, even share the same answer in the German exams. We made a lot of bullshit together...and still continue. This guy was the first ever to get involved in all kind of technical stuff, computer, hifi, soundsystem, lightsystem, and I pass...until I was involved in examinating and apprivoising wild animals. What my mother forbit me he was allowed to do. We have still one thing in common, our sincerity. And by friend its a big value!

We will spend the rest of the day walking all arround the city, discovering the "nicest neighbourrought and the allways dusty, polluated, crowded, noisy street of Bumbay, and speaking about all what happened this year. We walked arround with a certain pleasure, even in the dusty street and the slym, actualy we liked it here. Visualy its very interesting. The only things that ray out of the crowd are the saris...they just look like pink, green, orange, yellow flowers in a big trash of cars, rickshaws and buses, dogs, slums, then they disappear in the rest of the population in the nowhere. There is nothing hided and that s kind of thing I realy appreciate. Of course its not a place to leave, or if, then something has to be done...but in India as we will see, to change something can be the hardest thing. Where to beginn ? How ?

We escape the city atmosphere by entering in a Criket park. We get the chance to exchange few words some players. Even get the opportunity to play with them. But we just refused nicely and chill out on the grass.
Tomorow we get a plane to Goa.