Time is flying. I am in Bangkok now, having flown over night from Mumbai. The weather is hardly different (when I landed at 5am, it was 82 degrees Fahrenheit already) though the parts of Bangkok Ive seen thus far are splendidly clean and quite lacking in people compared to Mumbai. The crowds and general mayhem I found in Mumbai really changed my concept of a busy, densely-populated city. For a sheer overwhelming of the senses, Mumbai is going to be very hard to beat.

I dont miss Mumbai very much honestly, except for maybe one thing: only the coolest and most Indian of gestures, the side-to-side head shaking. Maybe you know what Im talking about, but if not, its a subtle head bobble (side-to-side, no turning, mind you) that I saw repeatedly in Mumbai. At first, it was completely confusing. When paying an auto-rickshaw driver, Id ask if he was okay with the rupees Id handed him and he would do the head bobble. I wasnt sure if this was a gesture representing agreement, dissatisfaction, give me more rupees, or what. From what Ive pieced together with other travelers, its usually used as a form of agreement, and maybe even a greeting. Whatever it is, its awesome and I regret not giving it a go with the many Indians I met there. Next time, maybe?