My car is counting down the days to my departure for India. It thinks it’s due for an inspection on that day, but I’ve contacted the dealership and someone must have forgotten to reset the timer after the last service appointment. The next one is due in June, so I can sit back and experience this happy oincidence and those delightful butterflies at the thought of my return to Asia without the burden of car maintenance hanging over my head.
I’m flying into Mumbai this time – my first time in the city which I grew to know and love while reading the novel Shantaram. My guest house is in Colaba, the protagonist’s favourite haunt, and I intend to visit Leopold’s where he met and fell in love with Karla. With any luck and some basic common-sense precautions, I should be able to avoid encountering the thugs and war lords who beat him to within an inch of his life on several occasions. Won’t be touring the slum where he lived; the book was sufficiently descriptive so that I feel no need to witness it first hand.
I’ll be doing things a little differently this trip, trying out Air BnB for the first time and also incorporating a small-group tour in the form of a Ganges River cruise. It will be interesting to see if these modes of travel resonate…still can’t imagine they can be better than staying in dirt-cheap guest houses and hanging out with 20 and 30 somethings.
I’ll also be visiting Kolkata. It’s been challenging to shake the visuals I grew up with about that city, yet knowing what I know about India, it’s hard to believe the poverty can be worse. And India has shown me time and time again that squalor and great beauty travel hand-in-hand.
Can’t wait to here everything your doing! So excited for you! Have a blast and be safe.
Your book will be wonderful. The one you should write.