So we've managed to survive a week in India. Hooray! I won't be so bold as to say it has been easy since that might come back to haunt me in the upcoming weeks. HOWEVER, we are learning that if you psyche yourself up for something to be terrible, pleasant surprises await.

We arrived in Mumbai late at night to find an airport full of chaos. It took us an hour to get our bags, and between our three "taxi drivers", the women begging through the window and the hair-raising ride from the airport while our taxi driver was putting on the hard sell, we arrived at our hotel feeling overwhelmed and anxious. Yes, we have traveled lots before and been to challenging places. But we seem to have gotten soft in our old age and we had a bit of a sleepless night wondering how we'd handle the next 2 months.

The next morning, however, we stepped out to find a FASCINATING and exciting city. I will confidently state that so far, India is really fun! Just walking down the street we have found so much to see and do. For example, trying to cross the road, an exercise that requires carefully timed precision. Or fending off the man who wanted to sell us a 2 metre long balloon - I had to break it to him gently that I didn't think it would fit in my backpack. Connon seems to be a walking target for men who want to clean his ears, maybe they know something we don't??? The colours of the women's saris are amazing, in the middle of a Mumbai business day they were far outnumbered by the moustaches, but they stood out a mile away.

In Mumbai we wandered around the historical buildings, caught a cricket match in the park and later on checked out the seafront area. Along the way there were continual reminders of the terrorist attacks - repairs to the Taj hotel, security, posters advertising the need to keep "eyes and ears open". When a fire engine went past you could sense that the masses of people, in a city that probably never stops, stood still just for a moment with an air of apprehension. Later that everning we ate dinner at Leopold's Cafe where I found myself sitting next to a bullet hole in the plaster...egad. These events have hugely affected the city and the country (and the tourist industry), but we have actually felt really safe here. People are incredibly friendly and have gone out of their way to help us. And/or sell us stuff, of course :)

One of the more helpful people we met was a friendly man called Amjad who approached us on the street. All it took was his business card which stated "Bollystars - Casting Models Co-ordinator (Specially Western People)" and we were signed up for a Bollywood adventure the next day. They sent a busload of 30 dirty travelers (I wondered what sort of extras we would make!) off to Filmistan studio where a medium-budget suspense film was being made. We went into a room labelled "Forigners" and came out looking like we had citizenship from the land of the early 90s. Connon chanelled Zoolander in a black snake-skin jacket and my dress was worthy of the set of Dynasty. They even straightened my hair, a definite highlight since I hadn't even really brushed it for 3 weeks. We spent the rest of the day pretending to dance in the Blue Elephant Nightclub, a fake London club (but with a large lit up blue elephant head, pole dancers and a leather-clad dominatrix Bollywood dancer???) responding to commands like, "Foreigners upstairs! Indians downstairs! Jive! Look like you're having fun!" Connon briefly got a screen test (we think) but the director shook his head and turned him away after seeing him through the camera. Ha ha. I spent my time getting pushed around (all part of the scene, don't worry) by the spunky star, an Indian Keanu Reeves who I have since learnt is THE Mr. India! So all in all we got glammed up, fed, and brushed shoulders with Bollywood royalty - all for only 500 Rupees! That's them paying us, not the other way around! (Okay, so it worked out to like, $1 an hour but still).

And now we are kicking it with the hippies in Goa. Or the Russians. I can't quite figure out which group there is more of. Or maybe they're Russian hippies? Either way the stares I thought we'd get on the beaches were not nearly such an issue since the g-strings and topless ladies stole the show. I gave in to the peer pressure and bought a pair of fisherman pants, but I'm retiring them early since they're not really as comfortable as their prevalence here would suggest. We're now in Panaji, the capital of Goa staying in a lovely area with lots of Portugese-style buildings. Yesterday we went to Old Goa, a collection of huge cathedrals leftover from a town that used to be bigger than London. Here I discovered that we have become popular props in photos with Indian tourists. Turns out I don't need to feel guilty about taking pictures of locals - they're all taking pictures of us! (sometimes on the sly, where they just walk by without us knowing...that's a little more creepy). Today we went to an old mansion where we met the Goan Miss. Havisham looking after her family's colonial past - amazing.

Overall Goa has been fantastic - great beaches, yummy food (so much for my traveling diet plan!) and very friendly people. There have been moments of stress and frustration, such as the other day when we spent 2 hours searching for a bed. I know this place is Catholic, but I was starting to think the "no room at the inn" thing was getting a little ridiculous. But even that worked itself out! We do have the sinking suspicion that this may have been "India Light" but it was a good warm-up and it we're sticking to the low expectations = less disappointment approach :) We're off to Delhi tomorrow to face the fun and challenges (and hopefully cooler climate) of the north!