incredible india

mumbai is amazing. it is like moscow and mexico city smashed together. i really like it, but i seem to be one of the few holding this opinion.
the temperature is my absolute ideal. it is sunny (but not too sunny) and warm, but not blistering hot as i thought it would be.
it also seems to be a lot safer than i imagined it would be. aaron, who lives here, claims that muggings are really rare, and i certainly have never felt in danger. people do come up to you to try to sell you things, but the generally go away when you tell them to.
it is a dynamic city. there are poor poeple everywhere and 6 million shit out in th open since they dont have access to toilets. one slum alone holds between 2 and 3 million. but i knew this when i bought my ticket. i am more struck by the dynamicism. people are moving everywhere all the time. driving around in taxis is great, you see something interesting on every street corner.
and leopolds cafe really exists and the guy who wrote shantarum actually still goes there practically every day for lunch and sits for a few hours watching colaba go by. leopold's is more or less as i imagined it: high ceilings, open air, and imperial. the food is good and the people watching is entertaining. the food at delhi darbar accross the street is decent as well, and at the taj it is fantastic. in the evening we go to the Dome, overlooking marine drive for cocktails and a view of the city. mumbai looks gorgeous from that height, even if the trance music doesnt completely drown out the honking of the cars on the street below.