Bangalore

That is smog in the picture not fog!

Being my first Indian city I had a slight inclination that it was going to be crazy...but its beyond CRAZY! Its dubbed the 'silicon valley' of India, as this is where the IT boom took place. Which means there is money here, and in a very small part of the city its visible. The modern shopping malls, theatres, the growing pub culture, coffee shops etc. But the majority of the city still a mess and its those parts where the rhythm and the pulse exist in an undefined chaos that I can't even begin to describe. 6 million people and easily just as many, scooters, cars, buses, and tuk tuks (Adrienne, its worse then Saigon if you can believe it!) Hardly any traffic lights and accordingly, seemingly no laws, lanes or courtesy. No garbage cans, washrooms are any and everywhere and the smog seems to have a life of its own. Its unsettling, thick and heavy as a fog that suffocates your lungs every time you breathe in. Walking down the street (that have no sidewalks, just slabs of concrete placed casually in what resembles a line) you are fully aware of sensory overload. A battle ensues as your scent of smell fights between unknown food being cooked, burning incense from temples being worshipped, the scent of alcohol from tiny 'bars' hidden in back alleys, the urine, pollution, the sweat, the sweet smell of jasmine flowers and fresh fruit; all of it mingling together creating the air.

Your eyes struggle between watching the obscene amount of traffic which consists of everything from ox and cart to land rovers, the brilliant colored Saree's of the women, the disbelief of the tragic amount of poverty, the awe of witnessing the old merging with new, the east meeting the west.
Your are ears pulled by the unrelenting cry of horns, the unrecognizable words of many different languages and dialects being spoken passionately, the cellphones being used as boom boxes distorting the newest Hindi dance music, the struggle for life being lived.

You feel the heat of sun, the film of dirt on your skin, the relief of shade that a tree can provide, the reality that you are in a completely different world and the amount of energy it takes to absorb it all in....its another side of India and its definitely crazy!