2019 Asia Trip Report

When my friend of Indian origin invited me to his wedding in Mumbai (also known as Bombay), I jumped at the chance. I had never been to an Indian wedding but had heard many a rumor of their extravagance, so attending one in India seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Luckily, I was able to schedule some business-related meetings in Noida immediately afterwards which helped with the airfare. I then added a few more days in Singapore to my trip on a whim. I knew almost nothing about the country when I did so, but it turned out to be an excellent decision.

Mumbai

The Wedding

My first order of business after stepping off the plan and getting shaken down by airport taxi drivers was to purchase some traditional Indian wedding attire. I would have preferred to taken care of this beforehand, but friends advised me to purchase them in India to save money. However, the sherwani that I wanted at Manyavar started at around three hundred dollars. That seemed like a little too much for essentially a single-use purchase, so I settled for a patterned kurta of deep plum with shoes. I will say that I thought I looked pretty dashing in these garments, but I was still easily outclassed by everyone else at the event.

I'm told that the wedding itself was a type of Gujarati ceremony. A nighttime event called Sangeet featured an entertainer, buffet, and dancing. The morning after started with a procession called baraat where the groom was surrounded by drummers and a small brass section. Attendees danced with reckless abandon, tucking bills into the drummers' shirts to get a barrage of noise directed their way. At some point I was fitted with a silk headdress. This eventually transitioned to the marriage ceremony, which was comprised of a complicated sequence of rituals performed by the groom, bride, priest, and close family members. For a while, I was unaware that the marriage was actually taking place, because the chatter among the spectators never stopped, and waiters kept handing me drinks and appetizers. Every other wedding I've attended seemed very solemn in comparison. Finally, a reception wrapped things up that night, and everyone got their chance to greet the newlyweds and have photos taken. I was very surprised (and a little disappointed) to learn that alcohol was strictly forbidden at these events. The food was top notch though. I got to eat a sauce- and cheese-filled dosa that was fried right in front of me.

The City

With the wedding wrapped up, I took a couple of days to look around Mumbai. First, I had to figure out how to get around. I eventually mustered enough courage to step outside my hotel and brave the streets of Vidyavihar on foot. This is more difficult than it sounds, as the sidewalks are often mangled or missing entirely. Most of the time, people walk on the side of the street with rickshaws, cars, trucks, and buses whizzing by just inches away. Most intersections are missing signals or walkways (either that or drivers simply ignore them), so crossing one of those requires good timing and nerves of steel.

  The destination of this perilous trek was a nearby train station. This is where I could catch "the local", as the natives referred to it. Overall, I was pretty impressed by Mumbai's suburban rail system. Trains arrived every 7 or 8 minutes, and a first class section is available to those who want to avoid the dense throng in the rest of the train. The doors on the cars remain open at all times, both at the platform and while running at top speed. Some brave souls use the opportunity to lean outside to cool off in the wind.

The end of the line is Mumbai's rail hub which I refer to as CSMT; the full name I will not attempt to spell here. It is a cavernous station with endlessly surging crowds that brought back memories of Shinjuku Station in Tokyo. Just outside of the station are open-air markets filled with every conceivable good. Merchants chant their pitches to the endless droves of shoppers shoving their way through the stalls. Somewhere in this throng is Manish Market, a bastion of consumer electronics. I didn't find any circuit component shops, but I did walk past many cell phone repair stalls with mechanics expertly swapping out batteries, screens, and other parts from mobile devices. A store called the Choice Centre featured a tiny GSM feature phone from a company called Kechaoda that immediately sparked joy within me. I was irresistibly attracted to the minuscule buttons and OLED screen on the K10, and I immediately put down 2500 INR for the device. I'm no good at haggling, so that merchant probably scored big on me that day.

At the bidding of my Indian friends, I made my way to the Gate of India at the shore to take a ferry to Gharapuri, where the Elephanta Caves were carved out of the living rock over a thousand years ago. Despite their age, the sculptures retain many distinctive features, including head-dressings and arm-bands. The imposing idols were usually surrounded by swirls of many smaller figures; the scenery reminded me of Renaissance paintings.

Before one can witness these fantastic visions of Hindu deities, though, they must traverse a long, sloping path that runs through a gauntlet of souvenir shops and restaurants. At this point, I was used to ignoring the hagglers. However, this time, there were monkeys in the mix, waiting for the perfect chance to snatch away unsecured food. I was nearly assaulted by one diminutive specimen as I snacked on some cashew cookies. Visitors beware!

Singapore

After experiencing Mumbai, I spent at my company's office in Noida, and then it was time for some more fun in Singapore. It was about 8:00 PM on a Saturday when I arrived at Changi, the world's best airport. I breezed through immigration and immediately sampled a nearby McDonald's. It had automated kiosks! Truly an advanced civilization. Then I hopped on a subway after fumbling with the ticket machines, and eventually arrived in Chinatown. From there it was only a short walk to the hotel, but I was drenched with sweat by the time I made it to the lobby. I won't soon forget the heat and humidity of that visit.

Thankfully, there is plenty of refuge from the sweltering conditions outside. There are air conditioned malls practically on every other block, and the subway system is pretty comprehensive. Everything is spotless and the automated cars glide on the tracks with barely any bumps or swaying. My sole gripe is with the ticketing system. My credit and debit cards didn't work with the vending machines, so I had to mess around coins and bills whenever I needed to pay for a new ride. And as far as I could tell, when using standard tickets, you have to find a vending machine, select a trip, and pay for it every time you want to use the subway. The turnstiles deny you entry if they don't match the starting point for the trip that's currently loaded on your card. It's probably a lot easier if you have a daily pass or are a regular commuter, but I would have appreciated a better use model for standard tickets as well. It's still easier using the trains in Japan, which requires deciphering the sprawling Japanese train maps and surfing the terrifyingly fast crowds in the stations. In general,  Singapore seems a lot more accessible and welcoming to foreigners than Japan (judging from my earlier trip to Tokyo). English is the default language (plus three other languages widely used on maps and signs), and the diverse population also results in many more choices for dining and shopping.

Besides typical tourist activities like riding bikes on sidewalks, gawking at architecture, eating durian ice cream, and sipping Singapore Slings at the Marina Bay Sands, I spent a lot of time wandering around Singapore's electronic markets. This of course included Sim Lim Square, which is like six Fry's Electronics stores stacked on top of each other. Attractions there included self-serve inkjet cartridge refilling stations and some truly audacious PC gaming gear. I think we're fast approaching the point where more power is consumed by LEDs than the actual computing hardware. I also submerged myself in electronic components at Sim Lim Tower and Koba Electronics. The selection seemed to be mostly older industrial technology, but it was still the largest and most interesting collection of parts that I've seen (I still have not visited Shenzhen). There were huge cable connectors larger than my fist, buttons and switches in every conceivable shape and size, and LEDs for days. I've personally had enough experience with blinking lights, so I instead purchased a tiger voice synthesizer kit and a selection of tiny vibration motors. These should be useful for haptic effects my some electronic greeting cards.

After four sweaty days, it was finally time to return to reality in the clammy Bay Area. My interest in Asia, rather than being sated by this second trip, has only increased. I hope to come again soon.