Seventeen inches of rain in one day?

Our 1AM approach into Mumbai airport found us at number 13 in line for landing, according to our German pilot friend. That was just what I wanted to hear after a nine hour flight sitting within close proximity to someone having gas that could only be compared to that of a Bolivian sulfur mine. Needless to say, our arrival was a bit delayed. We started a descent from 12,000 feet at around 500 feet per 20 minutes, or so I estimated, while circling the city at least eight times. Why are there 13 airplanes landing in Mumbai at one o’ clock in the morning?

As I walked down the jetway and through the terminal, my nostrils were blindsided by a different scent every 100 feet or so - everything from the smell of what I thought to be incense, to the stench of something actually quite indescribable, really. I also quickly learned to walk upwind of certain locals.

After waiting in a mile-long line through customs I finally got my bag and headed out to the street, hoping to find a ride to the hotel. As I passed through the exit doors I was abruptly met with the balmy 110% humidity, of which only a third-world country, having just had 17 inches of rainfall in a single day, could produce. Whoa. It’s no wonder they breed mosquitoes with customized Dengue fever DNA around this place. I also couldn’t help but notice at least 500 taxi and shuttle drivers in a mob standing on the sidewalk, leaving barely enough room to walk. Many of them were holding signs with people’s names on them. Presumably the names of persons they were to pick up. After finding a friendly man holding a sign that read “Mr. Rusty”, I made my way through a sea of cars to the vehicle that would be my E-ticket ride through the city and to the hotel. Complete vehicular chaos is the best way to describe a ride in this city. I quickly realized that anything goes while driving here, as long as you honk your horn while you’re doing it. No one told me to pack a helmet on this trip! I did notice while driving through the city that a person could do quite well here selling blue tarps, as most “dwellings” used them in place of a roof due to all of the rain. But then I remembered that when I applied for my Visa I signed a paper stating that I would not stay in the country and start a business. Oh well.