Our First time to the Far East

Image: Flickr KIM RABORN One of the most memorable parts of this trip to India will be the visit to Mumbai's Dharavi slum.  Here in an area of just slightly over 2.1 square KM some 700,000 people call home.  Making it one of the most densely populated areas in the entire world.  There are barely any government services available to the people here who are poor beyond most of our comprehensions.  This however does not mean that they have nothing.  Most of the residents work harder than the average person.  Dhavari is said to be a city within a city. "Dharavi has an active informal economy in which numerous household enterprises employs 100% of its residents. whether it be in leather, textiles and pottery products are among the goods made inside Dharavi, there is some kind of job and contribution to the community for everyone The total annual turnover has been estimated at over US$1 billion." - Wikipedia Our entry to this wild place was made possible by walking

I was not accustomed to how clean, sterile and quiet the aircraft was, I don’t recall any announcements interrupting the peace until well past lift off.  EVA airlines does things different. Cynthia and I had the pleasure of using real silverware to eat both, not one but two in flight meals. Everything about the flight felt clinical. Sleeping through most of the twelve hour flight gave the illusion that we arrived from Vancouver to Taipei in a flash a short turnaround and another short EVA flight on an equally pristine Jet made passage to Singapore a very smooth ordeal. SIN airport is vast, our next connection would be an India Air flight.  Confusion about which gate it was departing from led us back and forth between terminal two and three several times, by bus, by skytrain, and by foot we became thoroughly acquainted with the process of transiting terminals.  Eventually we stowed our carry-on in a secure locker, and ventured into Shanghai by taxi bound for the Shanghai Zoo

Horns sound, pulses of hearts beating, the rhythm of life in absolute constant melody that dare i say could even be described as peaceful.  This is after all my first taste of India, and I have not been here long enough to say whether road rage is in fact a thing, for the most part these horns are not sounded in anger the tones are as much an expression of existence required for those who take to the road.  It might in fact be a challenge, if not impossible for the deaf to drive a vehicle here. Myself, with all five senses intact, together with a former confidence of ability to drive abroad in chaotic places where rules of the road are mere suggestion would find no pleasure in attempting to drive in this land.  Speed is partially limited by traffic density and volume, but the moment road becomes available speed escalates, inches are maximized by all vehicles, pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles headed fast in every direction. In this land a U turn, is more of an ‘I’ Turn as deci