Leaving for Thailand

In a few hours, I'm checking out of our hotel and waiting for Matt down in the lobby so that we can make our way to the airport, fly to Bangkok (4.25 hr flight) and then immediately fly to Phuket (1.5 hr flight). We are scheduled to arrive there on March 18 @ 9 AM local time (Thailand = NY time + 11 hrs). From the Phuket airport, we will need to catch a ferry and then a smaller boat (you can tell this is where my understanding of the process falls apart) which will take us most of the way to shore where we will then hike up our pants, take off our shoes and trek the rest of the way through the water and eventually to our hotel. The harder it is to get there, the better I imagine it will be -- so bring it on. That is all I will say about that until I get there and have something concrete to report.

As far as Mumbai goes... Holy shit. Glad I came, GLAD I'm LEAVING. Not that I want to go down this road right now but briefly -- the thought of Matt possibly taking a job here (not going to happen... Jesus effing Christ....) (Sidenote: I officially decided not to share this blog with my family hah) makes me want to drink the water directly from the bay and let bacteria feast on my innards until I'm in my final resting place. A tad dramatic? I'm still me!

So, Mumbai. Here are a few other facts (a top 10 list, perhaps?!) that I don't think made their way into the last couple of entries that are noteworthy:

1. Doctors are required by law not to share the sex of a baby during an ultrasound because it is far too frequent that couples inquire only to terminate the pregnancy if it is a girl.
2. 1 tuk tuk pollutes the air equivalent to 50 cars EACH DAY... And there are a TON of tuk tuks
3. On Tuesday, there was a gas shortage and about 95% of tuk tuks were off the road. Normally in Mumbai there is a haze / smokiness / cloudiness in the air making it hard to look into the distance and see buildings clearly, etc. On Wednesday, the atmosphere was clearer here than I'd seen it during my entire stay. I'm convinced it is related to the respite in tuk tuk use for just that one day alone.
4. Many of the people who live in the slums around here wouldn't ever dream of wanting to move out of them. There are "industries" within the slum compounds... Like different little specialized markets and trades.
5. The slums can sometimes reach 3 or 4 stories of "brick and mortar" structures. I have NO idea how they are built sturdy enough to hold as many people as they do and look weaker than something made out of Baked Lays.
6. They don't sell tampons here. Only diaper-like pads.
7. The Indian currency is the Rupee (Rs). The way to quickly calculate the exchange rate here these days is Rs 50 = US $1. So something Rs 1500 would equal about $30.
8. Mowing the lawn here means hiring labor to cut the grass with scissors. Labor is so cheap here that it costs less than buying the actual machine to do the job… Plus, it is viewed as a way to preserve jobs in India.
9. Cars not made in India but bought here are marked up 200% to promote purchase of cars domestically made.
10. Hmm last one…. Indian food is delicious – especially when it’s from India. Channa Masala and garlic naan is my absolute favorite! YUM!