bombay for dreamers

i made it to mumbai world!

this place is wayy better than i thought it would be, in fact, i don't particularly want to leave anytime soon, but in the afternoon tomorrow, i'm off to rajasthan {starting in udaipur [a.k.a the city of lakes] for those of you who are interested in a more specific travel itinerary!}

leaving bapatla was hard and i hate not being able to answer the questions "when are you coming back? coming for christmas?coming next year???" the truth is i don't know. i really didn't even know i would be fortunate enough to make it back there after two years. i am so happy to have had the chance to get back there. i felt truly at home there and it was well worth the long journeys and expense of getting down there.

my journey into mumbai wasn't ideal {it had me coming into this crazy city at 4:30 in the morning without a place to stay [after 24 hours on a train too!]} but everything worked out and the salvation army house thankfully let me sleep on the floor of the kitchen until check-in time at 7:30 {dear friends and fellow travelers, here's a tip for you - travel with a lightweight yoga mat. always. it has saved my life more than once on this trip}.

once i got showered, changed, i got to do one of my most favorite things in life - wander through a new city. i found mumbai {or at least the parts of what i have seen today} surprisingly charming. i haven't seen or experienced the pressures of shantaram's world. . . yet.

i met a group of sweet swedish nurses tonight at the gateway to india {sometimes being a tourist is quite fun. . . esp. when you are an instant celebrity. more photos were taken of me and the swedes than the "gateway" itself today.} . . . and now i'm off to a little dinner with them.

p.s. my sister is wonderful. please read her most recent post about the blog world. i don't have any real reasons for keeping this blog myself. i am no writer but i do love to share what inspires me throughout the day. . . most of the time i know i am writing to myself, but ultimately it is a ridiculously fun way to document time. one of these days i will actually get around to writing about meaningful stuff . . . but for now, i'm sticking to my travel agenda and what i am doing from day to day. . . read it or not. . .

p.p.s. it is absolutely killing me not being able to post photos. . . i have seen some amazing things in india this time around and i am afraid my limited vocabulary doesn't even begin to capture this place.

until next time world. . .