My trip to India - part I

At the begining of 2012 I went to India for the first time. It was my first time in Asia as well. I've been interested in this region of the world since high school. Since then I've been reading countless amounts of books and watching numerous documentaries about countries like India, Nepal, China and Thailand which are my core interests. Finally, on January 15th I was on the plane aiming to India and was going to spend a long time there. I felt excited and calm in the same time. I knew that it was the best thing that could happen to me at that period of my life. My trip began in Mumbai - a huge, overcrowded, fast and fascinating city. My flight arrived in the middle of the night, so I wasn't left with anything else but knocking on the Salvation Army hostel and begging them to put me up for the night. I succeeded. They opened the door and let me in.
Next day, when I woke up, I went straight on to the street to see how everything looked. I just couldn't wait, so I went down to the street in my pyjamas. It seemed that it didn't make any difference - In India every white person is always the centre of attention, but not that much in cities like Mumbai. At first I felt quite invisible. The Sun was shining and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky, just a little wind. Thick, heavy, dusty and hot air was hitting my nostrils. It was a mixture I've never smelled before - Jasmine flowers, deep fried pastry, exotic fruits, dirt, sweat, petrol fumes and other smells that I couldn't even name, all at once and all quite different. I went for a short walk to find an internet cafe to send an e-mail to my parents, just to let them know that I had arrived safely. The streets were busy - constantly honking shaggy cab drivers, nasty street vendors, women in colourful saris, men just standing around and smoking tobacco, food stands with steaming food made on the street, children playing everywhere. Everything seemed to be unreal, a weird dream which was going to end any moment.
When I came back to the hostel, another surprise was waiting for me - Indian bathrooms. I really didn't know how to take a shower using just a tap with cold water which was placed on the wall somewhere around the height of my waist. Just a tap, nothing else. Water was just streaming down to the floor creating a puddle. After, I didn't feel clean at all. However, I decided that it wouldn't be a problem in India and with time I'll get used to it.