Mumbai Arrival: Sweet Tea, Noisy Rickshaws and New Friends
Posted on December 8, 2009, by Hanna Ingber Win, under International.
I arrived safe and sound in Mumbai last week. Here’s my first piece. It’s a “reporter’s notebook” column for GlobalPost about my first impressions and the people I have met so far.
I walk out of my new apartment in Pali Hill, Mumbai, and I ask a man near the elevator how to get to a cafe that has free WiFi. He explains that if I don’t have an account with an Internet company set up, I cannot simply use WiFi. I will need all sorts of proof of residence and identity to set up an account, he says.
It turns out that he is wrong about the WiFi. Nonetheless, rather than refer me to an Internet shop or wish me luck in my futile attempts, his solution is to have me borrow his laptop. He gives me his computer, his Internet card and a cup of tea before knowing my name.
I arrived in Mumbai five days ago to work for GlobalPost as their correspondent and marketing consultant here. I must say, I chose well. Indians – or at least the ones I have met – are strikingly generous, warm and hospitable.
Continue reading here.
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