We fly to Mumbai and arrive there in the morning. The airport looks nice and transportation to downtown, down the peninsula, is easy to get: we take an autorikshaw and a slow commuter train to the place where our couchsurfing host lives. The man is a captain and the place where he lives is an enclosed community for port personnel. We make it to his door and he lets us into his large apartment. We are offered dinner and shown our own room, with comfortable mattresses on the ground. There is a number of servants assisting us on a wink.
Now Captain Arvind is not a character of a Bollywood movie. He doesn’t talk too much, and we can’t imagine him dancing. Actually, he does not really interact with us and shows no interest in our project. The atmosphere is quite weird and we start wondering why this man signed up for couchsurfing in the first place? Meeting Western people to underline his status, because his career couldn’t really provide that?
Anyway, we have a good night’s sleep and a warm shower. We will be able to stay another night at the Captain’s place, before he throws us out…