Blogging from Bombay!

Hi everyone, this is my first post written in Mumbai (aka Bombay). I arrived this morning to begin a 12 day visit to learn semi-sectioning so that I can get better images and more accurate counts of degenerated photoreceptors for my experiments. The trip here was totally uneventful and really quick and easy. My first impressions of Mumbai (compared to Bangalore) are that it is actually much more orderly; the infrastructure seems to have been planned and executed much more sensibly than in B'lore and the roads and traffic are much better (based on my one hour taxi ride from the airport to TIFR). The airport seems nice, I honestly wasn't there long as my suitcase beat me to the terminal (maybe the first time ever for that). The downside to Mumbai is that is also seems much older and the buildings are typically much shabbier and dingier. In fact most of them literally seems to me moldering away, this is probably the result of a much stronger monsoon and much more rain but many of the buildings would make GREAT haunted houses ('tis the season after all). TIFR (the institute that I am visiting) is much older than NCBS but sits right on the Indian Ocean which mostly makes us for it. I have already settled in, I am staying in an air-conditioned guest house room which is okay looking but has satellite cable and unrestricted Wi-fi! Yahoo! I may never leave! I have already made it to the gym which is not air conditioned and I think that I may have lost about 5 pounds in water weight. It is hot and humid here so I will be sweating it out at the gym but thank goodness I have an A/C room to come back to. Hopefully I will get a chance to get out and see a bit of the city this weekend so I will keep you posted. The great news is that there are several resident dogs and cats at TIFR so hopefully I can make some animal friends while I am here (I miss my fuzzy Mira and Chaya already). Okay, I need to replenish some fluids and get some food into me so good night!