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Arriving at our hotel meant the (now usual) debacle of finding out whether or not our hotel had been paid for, which I'm sure you have guessed the outcome of?
Thinking that enough was enough, we headed to the local police station to log an official complaint. It is always very hard in these unfamiliar situations as nothing is really explained to you; things just happen around you very quickly and in a foreign language so it's all a bit of a whirlwind of scepticism and angst. I also felt vaguely foolish as a few smiles/smirks were sent our way: clearly tourists being made to look foolish was nothing new here.
Eventually, we had a written, stamped and signed statement. Before leaving we were lead to the Chief Super Intendant's office. He was classically unsmiling and kept his comments minimal. On hearing our situation he and a colleague said that, as a gift from the Mumbai police, they could pay our hotel bill and arrange a place for us to eat for free until we leave. Feeling incredibly fortunate but with a peppering of suspicion we gratefully accepted and returned to our hotel.
His colleague was more open and friendly and spoke to us about our countries, interested in what they were like. He also told us about his son who was moving to Chicago and some friends he has in London. As an aside I think it is worth mentioning how proud the Indian population is of their own as well as their family and and friends' achievements. This is meant in a patronising way at all, but it is humbling that things we often take for granted are absolutely marvelled at here and considered very impressive. Their faces literally light up and swell with pride when they talk about their children and how they are getting them a Western education or how their friend in London has invited them over next year - it is lovely to see and you feel genuinely captivated by their sincerity and happiness.
Now we are back in our hotel we are mildly surprised and taken aback by the police's generosity here when the Goan and Delhi police were very unhelpful and dismissive of us. We are just hoping that we have been fortunate and met some more people that sympathise with our situation and the situation of all tourists and Indians alike! Here is to hoping... though, you may not hear from me again as I have been ushered into a police cell with several enormous, hard-hearted criminals.
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