Even with my hours of research about Mumbai, India, I didn’t really know what to expect and wasn’t prepared for all of it. First of all, the people were incredibly nice. All we here on the news is that everyone hates Americans, but absolutely everyone I met was very nice.
My flight actually arrived to Mumbai early. It was only 12.5 hours instead of 13.5. The only problem with that is my coworkers were not waiting for me at the airport. Thankfully, I met a very nice lady on the flight and she waited with me until they arrived. We arrived about 10pm so it was very dark and there were lots of people. I made it through baggage claims, customs and immigration, before I got to the street where you meet your ride. There were lots and lots of people and I think I was at least a head taller than most of them. I felt like a fish out of water.
Since it was dark, I couldn’t see much on the way to the hotel, but when we arrived it was a beautiful as the pictures. The Sahara Star was very cool. (I know the name sounds like a strip joint.) So, after many, many hours of travel and a very crowded airplane, I got to my room. It had twin beds, hardwood floors and an amazing view of the atrium. In order to turn on the lights, you put the room key in a slot by the door and use a power panel by the bed to adjust everything. Well, after 15 minutes I couldn’t figure out how to turn on the bathroom lights and gave up. I tried to watch tv, but most of it was in Hindi. (I finally found American tv the next morning.) I had been warned that is would be hard to fall asleep, but I knew if I could relax I would be out. Well, that meant it was time to figure out that power panel some more. I got all of the lights turned out except for this one spot light directly above the bed and that light didn’t get turned off until about 4:30am when I woke up.
The next morning we met for breakfast about 10:30. We had fish and fruit for breakfast. It was actually very good! Then, the driver picked us up and we toured the city. It was actually a search for office space. I’m so glad it worked out of me to be a part of it, because I wouldn’t have seen near as much of the city with out it. It was amazing how many people lived in the city. Street vendors lined every street and every corner. You could tell the class of the area of the city by the type of building that housed the shops along the streets. The nicer areas looked like the shops we expect. Then, there were the nice buildings that opened to the front with a big bay door. Then, there were some that appeared to be open all the time. Each shop had one type of item and one street appeared to be a farmers market with all types of fruit and vegetables.
At lunch, we went to a coworker’s house where his wife made lamb curry and tortillas. She had a hindi name for them, but that tasted just like fresh homemade tortillas. It was wonderful!
At one point, we visited an area that we dubbed “The Woodlands of Mumbai.” It was a master planned community that was absolutely beautiful. The office buildings and apartment towers all looked similar and the air even felt cleaner. The view from one of these was spectacular...a lake, trees, and hills.
At one point, we were stopped in traffic and young girls banged on the car window to beg for food. That is heart wrenching.
After a long day of looking at office buildings, we headed to the mall. It was so much like any mall in the USA! There was Levis, Bose, Sony, Samsonite, Nike and even a Build-a-Bear. In amongst all of the American stuff, were stores with traditional Indian clothing for everyday wear and Formal wear. The food court had pizza, sandwiches, and ice cream in addition to the Indian food.
By the end of the day, I was absolutely exhausted. My brain was on complete overload and I was definitely having culture shock. When we walked back into the hotel, it felt like we walked back to the USA. All of the hustle bustle and horns stopped. I felt the peace and quiet in so many ways.
Trade Show
We went to set up for the trade show on India time - 7 pm instead of the scheduled start time of 9 am. I almost had a heart attack when we pulled up to the site. It was a tent, not a conference center and things were far from ready considering a trade show was scheduled to open in less than 14 hours. After I convinced myself to calm down, I met our neighbor, a guy from OK city. What a relief!
Thankfully, they had things all ready to go the next morning. It was a very successful event and we talked with thousands of people about our products. Some of them may have stopped to talk to the strange white people and a few stopped to take a picture with the “tall white woman.” The two craziest things were the HUGE mosquitoes and the plywood floor that creaked if you stepped wrong. The floor was not so good for my uncoordinated self in 3 inch heels...needless to say, I ditched the heels the second day.
After a great first international trip, now I can look forward next ones....Nicaragua, Kazakhstan, UAE, and Singapore.
