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We had an easy start - 9:00 taxi to the station to catch the train to Mumbai. We arrived at the station and checked the status of our tickets. Despite booking 3 months ago, we still only had 2 confirmed seats and 2 wait-listed seats. We all got on the train and found an empty 1st class carriage. The ticket man found us and informed us that the train was full but we could have 4 seats in the compartment meant for 2. It was a bit of a squash for 4, so we spent the first 4 hours of the journey switching seats whilst other people joined the train. The next 7 hours was spent with one of us in the top bunk and 3 below - not too bad.
We arrived in Mumbai almost on time, piled into a taxi and arrived at our 5 star hotel feeling a little bit bedraggled and decidedly underdressed. Excitement as the next morning breakfast was fantastic, there was even cheese on the buffet much to Ken and Judi's delight. We set off to explore Mumbai on foot. The city was a lot cleaner than I remembered it - we were in an upmarket area though. We spent the day admiring all the magnificent buildings and also had a quick tour of the high court. It was a little odd to see the female barristers in saris with a black gown and collar on top. The girls then decided some retail therapy was in order - they found some of the best shopping of the trip and moaned about lack of space in cases.
After this, we rounded off the day with high tea at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel. This was probably the best afternoon tea I have ever had with the normal cakes, sandwiches and scones but with little Indian snacks and other sweets thrown in. All of this was in a room overlooking the Gateway to India and the Arabian Sea. I got into trouble for not checking the price but we were all relieved to find it under £15 per head - amazing value. You can tell we had all had enough of eating curry!!
When we arrived back at our hotel, we had a grizzly reminder of the past - a plaque to commemorate the attack on our hotel by Pakistani militants in 2008. Then we realised we had visited the sites of all 3 attacks - We had had a drink at Leopolds as well as tea at the Taj.
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