First Post from India

I'm sorry that it has taken me this long to start posting from India. The trip was very long and tiring and I feel that I am just now starting to get to 100%. I left the house Tuesday at 3:30 PM EST and traveled to JFK via the LIRR and AirTrain. I was on the 6:20 British Airways flight to London Heathrow. We landed in Heathrow right on schedule at 6:30 London time. I did not get any sleep on the flight so I was feeling tired and disoriented in the airport. I had breakfast there and also bought a plug adaptor for India and British electric plugs. I found a padded bench and laid down for about an hour and dozed. Then I caught the 11:50 flight to Mumbai. I was one of three non-Indians on the flight. I have not seen any white people since then. So I stand out here.
I arrived at Mumbai airport on schedule at around 1:00 AM India time. There was a driver waiting for me and he drove me to the guest house where I got in to bed at around 2:30 AM Thursday morning, which was Wednesday 5:00 PM EST. So, the entire trip was 25.5 hours.
The Mumbai ariport was very nice. In fact it is one of the nicest airports I have ever been in. Very clean and well designed. The area where travelers get in to cars is better than JFK or LGA. But as soon as the car left the airport the real India began to appear. The trip from the airport to the guest house was during the night so I could not see much, but I could see enough to know that I was in a different world. The traffic basically had no rules and even in the early morning when there were not many cars it was a wild ride. The driver could speak very little english but he knew where I was going.
Everything here has the look of being run down. Even new buildings look old and weathered. I think it is because the climate is so harsh that no building material can stand up to it. Also, there is debris everywhere. It is like the whole country needs a good sweeping. Stray dogs are everywhere. They are all very thin and tired looking. At first it is scary to see so many dogs but after a while it is clear that they will not attack. I don't think many of them are healthy enough to do real damage. The other day I saw somebody with a small herd of goats walking down the middle of the busy street where my office is located. Two large and very healthy looking cows live under a highway overpass near where I am staying. So, India is an odd place in many ways.
They appear to have a difficult time finishing things here. There are brand new high rise buildings all over the place. But they all have piles of construction debris scattered around them. The building where I live is relatively new but the interior is already looking run down. The elevator is very run down and shabby, the halls are poorly lit and run down. Nothing is dirty, just shabby looking. The interior paint in every building is cheap and worn. The bathrooms all work fine but they are very old looking. It is as if they don't have any finish carpenters or painters who know what they are doing in this whole country.
These are my first impressions. I will post more.