I’m in downtown New Delhi, having just arrived here a few hours ago via train from Mumbai. The whole experience has been a very dizzying one, to say the least. I’m in an Internet cafe and there are more Americans and Europeans than what I’ve seen all day.

My trip has be flawless, that is until I hit Mumbai. My Amtrak train was early! My plane took off early, so I arrived in Amsterdam early and arrived in Mumbai early. After going through customs, it was about 1am and there wasn’t a place to hangout until morning, so I got a pre-paid taxi and found a hotel Delhi India not far from Victoria Terminus Station.

The taxi ride, was…well, what a ride! I went through 15 miles of slums, a city still very much awake, no existing lanes, ignored traffic signals and to say the driving here is wild, is an understatement. At one point, when approaching a red light, my driver didn’t even let off the gas, he just laid on the horn instead. If anyone has watched the Youtube video on crossing the street in India, well, that’s exactly what it’s like! There is now no doubt in my mind that the most dangerous thing one can do in India is cross the road. The only saving grace is that no one can speed, too much traffic.

I don’t really know what to say about the 7 million people living in the slums of Mumbai. I suppose maybe the ‘seasoned’ traveler will think I’m too soft, uninitiated and innocent. I won’t describe it, word or photos can not capture just how bad the poverty is here, it’s worse than seeing your grandparents naked. Nothing, no guidebooks, or blogs will ever prepare you for what you’ll see, feel, hear and smell. So, I suppose I need to harden myself and hold back the tears. But, then I remember how Mother Teresa couldn’t hold back the tears, couldn’t harden herself. She let the full brunt of India smack her right in the heart to India and India poured itself into her.