Hello India

I always wanted to visit India but never really pursued that wish mostly I guess for lack of people to come along.
So the option of visiting our office in Mumbai was more than welcome when I started my new job about a year ago. My travels for March and August didn't happen but all of a sudden I had a week and a half to spend in Mumbai in December.
I didn't really have time to prepare, to look up things to do, to get an idea of what I shouldn't do.
Had to spend a couple of hours in the office on Saturday, headed over to my boyfriend's place for food and wine and left my house after only a few hours of sleep at 5am Sunday morning.

My boss picked me up at the office for the drive to Heathrow where we spent some time relaxing in one of the lounges. Since he's travelling a lot he's got some extras and I have to admit, sitting there away from the buzz, enjoying free coffee and food felt great!

Economy class extra or plus on the plane is certainly worth the money! The extra leg space was very welcome on my 9 hour flight and with the foot rest it almost felt like a proper tv chair, haha. Slept or dozed, got food, slept some more, watched two movies, dozed in between, more food, talk with my neighbour and before I knew it we landed in Mumbai. Wow.

Go to Asia: Check!

Nice new airport they have and immigration went smoothly. We waited for about an hour for our luggage though... at 1am local time.
Outside the airport our driver from the hotel waited for us along with like at least 100 others all lined up behind a metal railing and holding a sign with a passenger or hotel name. What a sight.  Had I turned on my phone before, I had certainly taken a photo of it.
While I was just as amused as I was overwhelmed my boss had spotted our driver within seconds.
The drive to our hotel wasn't long and we got some cool waterbottles for the road. What I could make out in the dark was pretty much the most rugged urban landscape I've ever seen. Dusty sand roads leading away from the main one that we were on, crumbling shacks and houses, lots of stray dogs, a person or two just sleeping on the pavement. Everything just looked like it had been neglected for decades.
We turned into a paved side road and all of a sudden we were like in another world. Palm trees lined the road fairy lights hanging in long strands down from them. Two security guards with a sniffer dog searched our vehicle before we pulled up in front of the hotel, our eyes fixed on a massive Christmas tree including huge wrapped presents underneath.

Our luggage was x-rayed and we passed a metal detector before we could check in. People were more than friendly and we even got a flower necklace. I unpacked in my room, happy to be on my own now, watched a bit tv as I wasn't really tired and turned off the lights around 3:30am.

I slept well, woke up a few times but had no trouble going back to sleep. When I looked at my watch it was 10:54am. AHHHHH!!! I was supposed to meet my boss for breakfast at 10:30. Our driver was due at 11:00. I had not heard my alarm clock. F%&*$!!! I don't know how, but I managed to get up, get dressed and 11:02 I was waiting for the elevator only to meet my boss there who was quite amused. 

Outside the company driver greeted us and we marvelled at the unreal picture of that Christmas tree with palm trees next to it while we were breathing warm humid air.

Nothing like Christmas in Mumbai

In daylight last night's shacks had turned into all kinds of shops. Half of them sold all kinds of street food from fresh fruit to curry and the other half was now selling or repairing pretty much anything. Traffic wasn't too bad as rush hour was over, but it was still very busy. Scooters and light motorbikes are very popular. Pretty much half of them are Enfields, which is one of my favourite manufacturers so I was marvelling at those nice bikes. A handful of riders wore helmets, but that was the only "proper" clothing I could spot. Most go with flip flops, jeans and a t-shirt.

Traffic seems to work on a first-come-first-serve basis. There are no road markings, hardly any road signs and just a few traffic lights. On the 20 minute drive to the office we only passed two. There's a lot of honking everywhere, but I figured that's how it works, since people just realize where everyone is. 

A colleague later explained, that just get your provisional license for a motorbike form an agent for £15. Then you come back half a year later and get your full license. Just that. No theory (what would they teach you anyway) and no practical test. You are then entitled to ride any motorbike.

With four wheels is almost the same. Only you have a practical test where you drive on a quiet road shut off form public traffic. Now the way Indians drive made a lot of sense all of a sudden. Give a few million people a vehicle of their choice and just release them to the outside world.

I met my colleagues from the IT department and a few others in the office and was shown around. Caught a bit up with work and before I knew it we went out for lunch. The company driver took us a short way to a nice business district where buildings pretty much belonged to one family which likes Italian architecture. So imagine good old Roman style in beige sandstone with a good Indian touch. I really liked it.

Had coffee and a double-meat sandwich at Starbucks. Had a hard time choosing food, since it's all bread. But at least my double-meat sandwich had enough on it to leave the toast and still have a bit of food left.

Nice area for lunch

Back in the office I just had too much to do to get bored. We left around 8pm, had some dinner at the hotel and checked out where the gym was. Looks quite nice, will check it out tomorrow morning, if I hear my alarm clock this time, haha.