Before returning home from Europe I flew to India to travel around for a couple of weeks and enjoy my exchange rate superiority. While I was in Germany I was lucky enough to become friends with an Indian girl who I was able to stay with when I arrived in Bombay. This allowed me to smooth the transition from travelling in the clean, ordered, safe and predictable cities of Europe to the dirty, vibrant, sometimes dicey and always chaotic India.

Immediately upon alighting from the plane at Bombay airport, I was struck by the very distinct aroma of curry. My theory is that they spray the airport down with curry powder, so as to induce a nostalgia in the hearts of departing locals and create an exotic impression on foreigners arriving in India for the first time. However, it could just be an attempt to mask the smell of dirt and pollution that permeates the surrounding streets of Bombay.

Upon leaving the airport building, an extremely skinny Indian man dressed all in white asked to carry my bag, "I am here to help with your bags. I am Amish, what is your good name sir?" I thanked Amish for his willing assistance but informed him that I could manage quite well on my own. "Oh sir, but I insist, it is my job." ...

I succumbed to Amish's persistence and allowed him to hold my bag while I bought a ticket at the government taxi office. Although trolleys were available, Amish insisted on carrying my heavy pack to the taxi. I guess he hoped that I would reward him with a tip, the size of which would be directly proportional to the intensity of his physical exertions.

I jumped into the back seat of the taxi, Amish stood at my window with sheepish eyes, "will you give me some good luck sir? A ten pound note for good luck?!"

Luckily, I had been to India before or I might have fallen for this cunning ploy. To illustrate the absurdity of Amish's request, it should be borne in mind that the median annual salary of a web designer in Bombay in 2006 was around £1,820 (Pay Scale). For those of you who are mathematically challenged, that works out to around £7.50 per day.

I was amused to learn later that the Indian name Amish means 'honest', his parents had obviously had a healthy sense of irony.