Burglary in my "Home" (Mumbai / Bombay and Delhi, India)
My "vacation" is over. 2 weeks was about right although I certainly wouldn't have minded a few more dive days - alas, getting sick threw off my plans a bit.
A brief 1 night stopover in Hong Kong reminded me quickly that I was no longer on a sparsely populated island. A former co-worker stationed in Hong Kong helped make my step back into a world of mass people a bit easier. It helped that I had been to Hong Kong a couple of years ago. Quickly reflecting on all the places I've been, I believe the population density in Hong Kong is the most I have ever been in. Though the modernity of the place certainly makes it easier to navigate. There must be a stat on the Internet somewhere...
India "Pleasantries"
I'm plesantly surprised that Mumbai is not as dirty as Chennai. Nor does it seem quite as chaotic. There are plenty of slum areas in Mumbai but at least I was able to explore some decent areas. I'm thinking either I didn't explore Chennai enough or that Chennai really is a crappier city all around - environmentally, cleanliness, and appearance speaking. At this point Chennai is below Mumbai on the hardship list. In fact, based on what little I have seen of Delhi today, it is lower than Delhi - 124 out of 130. One hint is simply the drive from the airport. In Chennai one is immediately thrown into the chaos. In Delhi the airport is in a little more of a rural area so leaving the airport area is quite pleasant.
Looking for a Friend
India is one of those countries where I wish I was traveling with a friend. If not for someone to help keep a lookout for safety/security but more importantly for the moral support. Getting around the big cities is draining and more challenging than just about any other country I can think of...save for Indonesia - Java.
Which is a different kind of challenge. While I ended up touring the city area with a German traveler that I met on a boat for a day in Mumbai, I did something for the first time on this whole trip - I bought a book to read.
I don't read many books these days except for guidebooks. For one - because I read so much before traveling but also because reading my guidebooks, newspapers, magazines, Internet, encyclopedia is enough.
At a local bookstore when buying a couple of guidebooks I came across a book titled "Holy Cow" by Sarah MacDonald. Published in 2002 at 320 pages...I finished it in 1 day. That's how bad I needed a friend. It is about an Australian woman's experience living in India with her Australian boyfriend then husband - a correspondent for ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corp) in South Asia. The extensiveness of her travels and experience in India has helped me to come to grips and understand some of what I have been witness to. Another voice when the only "voice" I have right now so to speak is my own. Highly recommended.
The Burglary
As for the burglary...well I've been living out of a couple backpacks for the last 5+ months so I consider that part of my home. When I opened my main backpack in Hong Kong I discovered that my DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive had been stolen!!! By the airport luggage personnel! I believe it happened in Manila, Philippines. Even though I have a lock on it, I may not have relatched it after passing through security. They knew exactly what to take...they didn't take the leather case or power adapter. The reason I believe it happened in Manila is because the person who was transferring my bag between Continental and Cathay Pacific overheard me mention to security that I had a CD Player in there.
Hopefully Cathay Pacific will come through and reimburse me for the theft. In the meantime I'll have to be content that this theft is also a coincidence. The only other item of any significant value (Or any value possibly) that I can recall being stolen from me is a portable CD Player I had in a cabinet above my cubicle at a place I worked in 1998/99. Go figure. As for other coincidences, here and there...but nothing that is worth mentioning at the moment.
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Due to the lack of proper facilities I probably won't be updating any other part of the website except for this weblog for the next couple of weeks. I can't even upload the story of diving in Palau that I finished earlier. I'll be in Nepal from Mar.13th until Mar.27th, I'll be trekking in the mountains for 1 week or so too so I will definitely be out of touch. I'll need to pay attention while trekking too so I can pay the 1000 Nepal Rupees / US$15 "entrance" fee to the Maoist rebels in Nepal!
www.trekinfo.com has more information on this for those curious.
If I haven't returned an email you have sent me that is why. Next site update is probably in Dubai in early April. 5 lessons of Arabic completed so far. Not easy learning another language in India. It's demanding enough as it is on my mind.
A brief 1 night stopover in Hong Kong reminded me quickly that I was no longer on a sparsely populated island. A former co-worker stationed in Hong Kong helped make my step back into a world of mass people a bit easier. It helped that I had been to Hong Kong a couple of years ago. Quickly reflecting on all the places I've been, I believe the population density in Hong Kong is the most I have ever been in. Though the modernity of the place certainly makes it easier to navigate. There must be a stat on the Internet somewhere...
India "Pleasantries"
I'm plesantly surprised that Mumbai is not as dirty as Chennai. Nor does it seem quite as chaotic. There are plenty of slum areas in Mumbai but at least I was able to explore some decent areas. I'm thinking either I didn't explore Chennai enough or that Chennai really is a crappier city all around - environmentally, cleanliness, and appearance speaking. At this point Chennai is below Mumbai on the hardship list. In fact, based on what little I have seen of Delhi today, it is lower than Delhi - 124 out of 130. One hint is simply the drive from the airport. In Chennai one is immediately thrown into the chaos. In Delhi the airport is in a little more of a rural area so leaving the airport area is quite pleasant.
Looking for a Friend
India is one of those countries where I wish I was traveling with a friend. If not for someone to help keep a lookout for safety/security but more importantly for the moral support. Getting around the big cities is draining and more challenging than just about any other country I can think of...save for Indonesia - Java.
Which is a different kind of challenge. While I ended up touring the city area with a German traveler that I met on a boat for a day in Mumbai, I did something for the first time on this whole trip - I bought a book to read.
I don't read many books these days except for guidebooks. For one - because I read so much before traveling but also because reading my guidebooks, newspapers, magazines, Internet, encyclopedia is enough.
At a local bookstore when buying a couple of guidebooks I came across a book titled "Holy Cow" by Sarah MacDonald. Published in 2002 at 320 pages...I finished it in 1 day. That's how bad I needed a friend. It is about an Australian woman's experience living in India with her Australian boyfriend then husband - a correspondent for ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corp) in South Asia. The extensiveness of her travels and experience in India has helped me to come to grips and understand some of what I have been witness to. Another voice when the only "voice" I have right now so to speak is my own. Highly recommended.
The Burglary
As for the burglary...well I've been living out of a couple backpacks for the last 5+ months so I consider that part of my home. When I opened my main backpack in Hong Kong I discovered that my DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive had been stolen!!! By the airport luggage personnel! I believe it happened in Manila, Philippines. Even though I have a lock on it, I may not have relatched it after passing through security. They knew exactly what to take...they didn't take the leather case or power adapter. The reason I believe it happened in Manila is because the person who was transferring my bag between Continental and Cathay Pacific overheard me mention to security that I had a CD Player in there.
Hopefully Cathay Pacific will come through and reimburse me for the theft. In the meantime I'll have to be content that this theft is also a coincidence. The only other item of any significant value (Or any value possibly) that I can recall being stolen from me is a portable CD Player I had in a cabinet above my cubicle at a place I worked in 1998/99. Go figure. As for other coincidences, here and there...but nothing that is worth mentioning at the moment.
---
Due to the lack of proper facilities I probably won't be updating any other part of the website except for this weblog for the next couple of weeks. I can't even upload the story of diving in Palau that I finished earlier. I'll be in Nepal from Mar.13th until Mar.27th, I'll be trekking in the mountains for 1 week or so too so I will definitely be out of touch. I'll need to pay attention while trekking too so I can pay the 1000 Nepal Rupees / US$15 "entrance" fee to the Maoist rebels in Nepal!
www.trekinfo.com has more information on this for those curious.
If I haven't returned an email you have sent me that is why. Next site update is probably in Dubai in early April. 5 lessons of Arabic completed so far. Not easy learning another language in India. It's demanding enough as it is on my mind.
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