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Left the hotel before sunrise and took a taxi to the train station, which is an interesting colonial-era building. The train ride to the outskirts of Mumbai gave view to some of its many slums. It’s disheartening that a major city like this has such a high poverty rate (approximately 55% live in slums). Its slums are nothing like I have seen before. If China is third world, Mumbai must be fifth. Also in contrast is the lack of infrastructure; while first tier Chinese cities are crowded and a little dirty, it’s nothing like the lack of infrastructure and state of poverty witnessed in Mumbai. Everything seems very old and rundown. Outside the city, India has other issues including frequent power cuts or scheduled outages, and water shortage.

The train however, introduced me to my new love: masala chai tea. On the train, “chai-wallahs” walk up and down the aisles basically non-stop chanting “chai garam garam chai” (hot chai) and sell it for 5 rupees a cup. I had at least four cups and now I’m hooked. It’s very milky and sweet, but has a very tasty spiciness to it that just makes me come back for more. These guys sell other goods too, including some delicious samosas (6 rupees each) and assorted snacks and drinks. We had chicken and vegetable thali for lunch which was also quite tasty.

After the 12 hour ride which really didn’t seem that long at all, we arrived outside Panaji, Goa, where we caught a rickshaw to the town centre. After grabbing a room from this very strict and down-to-business guest house owner who we refer to as “Uncle Vaz”, we walked around town and had a bite to eat at a nice vegetarian restaurant. The seaside capital of Goa with Portugese style architecture leftover from the colonial era still has a very strong Christian influence. Pictures and shrines to Jesus and Mary are everywhere, often alongside Hindu gods (and on one public bus, a crucifixion was side by side with Ganesh and some WWF wrestler). Panaji is very clean, and life moves at a much slower pace there than Mumbai, making it a nice transition for us before we headed to the beach.

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It’s very difficult to describe Paris. It’s a city I’ve seen pictures of all my life, but at the risk of sounding cliched, it’s nothing like being there. The beautiful buildings and ornate architecture aren’t limited to a certain square or street; they go on for miles. That said, the weather really sucked on the second day there, so much so that we couldn’t wait to leave.

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Arrived in London on Monday, and it was liberating to finally escape the harsh Canadian winter and arrive in… the most snow the UK has seen in 18 years.

So, we were stuck at Gatwick airport for 6 hours since all bus and train service was suspended. The airport was packed and people were sleeping on the floor as many had flight delays of up to 60 hours. As of Tuesday, there were still 2 million Londoners unable to go to work or students to school because of the weather.

But… maybe I’m from Canada and just used to horrific winters, but it’s almost unbelievable that a city like London can come to a standstill because of a little snow. It was literally just a few inches of snow. Even Toronto – the laughing stock of Canada for having called in the army during a snowstorm some years back – wouldn’t have blinked at such a ridiculously small amount.

Other than the weather, London is a beautiful city. I really like it here. The architecture is beautiful, the transit is great, there is a lot to see and do, but there is one thing: it is fucking expensive. And I don’t mean that in a “oh Hong Kong is nice but expensive” or “Tokyo is cool, but so expensive”. No, this city is prohibitively expensive. Prices are the same as Canada or often MORE but in pounds, so basically double. I know I just got here and haven’t been finding all the deals but to give an idea:

• Zone one trip on the tube (e.g. 3 metro stops): 4 pounds

• Regular coffee: 2 pounds

• Newspaper: ~ 1 pound

• Meal in a pub: 7-10 pounds

• Pint of beer in a pub: 3 pounds

• Laundromat washing machine (ONLY – not including dryer): 5 pounds

To be fair, after discovering the Oyster card transit is much cheaper, but still. If I stay here much longer I’ll be walking home. Now I know why Brits abroad always seem so jolly: it’s so bloody cheap.

Toronto is arguably the king of the roti, and for me there is no better roti in this city than at Island Foods at King and Dufferin. I used to eat there almost daily when I lived in TO back in 2002. Although it may not look like much, the channa + potato roti with hot sauce pictured here is unbelievable.