Get it India

India - filthy, smelly and with some elements impoverished beyond belief - bears too many similarities to Dennis to be just coincidental. It is a place that has to be seen and experienced to be believed, and we've only been here three days!!! Amazing.

We flew into Mumbai (Bombay) on Sunday night. Around 10pm we began searching for a hotel on the seedy streets of Mumbai. We were not sure if we'd even be able to find a room, and we weren't too sure about this new environment. Our 45 minute taxi ride from the airport in a 1960's Premier taxi had taken us through the slums, markets and crowded streets that make up the city. Cows lay on the footpaths along with remarkable numbers of homeless families and junkies. We ended up getting a cheap room. This place looked wild. It smelt even wilder. We weren't about to be disappointed.

Our first day in India began with a knock at the door... Bollywood was a-calling. A scout was searching for Western-looking people to work as extras in a commercial shoot and we fitted the bill. After a two and a half hour hike to a beachside location (with 5 other suckers), we were set to begin our life as stars. After being supplied with our garish costumes of fluoro swimmers and boardies, we were given our stage directions and allowed to explore our artistic talents - not. A crazy director yelled, screamed and sang at us through the PA system for the duration of the three hour shoot. We were then fed and dropped home, slightly sunburnt, confused, but very happy to have had a taste of the frantic pace of Bollywood. So now we will be the wannabe stars of the next Indian McDonald's commercial!!!

Andrea's birthday (15/3) was celebrated in grand style. The country put on a public holiday to celebrate the occasion. They also celebrated a lesser known festival called Holi, which is the Spring festival of colour. In short, people take a day off work, get drunk and run around the streets smearing coloured powder on each other, the cows, the dogs, sleeping people, and the tourists of course. We got done over in a big way. We got covered in colours, hugged by strangers, our hands shaken by about half of the Indian population, and we wished everyone 'Happy Holi!' before going home to do about two hours of laundry.

Mumbai life has been very laid back and easy to settle into, which is why we have decided to leave before we get too comfortable. The food is great, the room is liveable, the people are fun, but tomorrow we move on to Pune, a few hours east of Mumbai.

Andrea: Thank you for all your comments and emails for my birthday. It is wonderful knowing that I am in your thoughts even though I am so far away. I had a great time celebrating my birthday across the world, but we both miss you all very dearly, and I am definitely feeling my rickety old bones starting to creak.