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10 counties, 128 days and the last chapter of my blog. What a four months it has been.
Apart from leaving late, the flight to Mumbai was pretty painless, I slept a little and watched 90% of a film, annoyingly it was switched off just before it ended. I was surprised at just how many of the plane's passengers were just transiting through Mumbai, as there were literally only a handful of bags waiting for collection.
I got past customs, stopped at the ATM and met another girl who was also 'getting off' in Mumbai so we decided to share a cab to our accommodation. We got in (given my limited knowledge of cars) what I reckon was about a 1950's age and style car that wouldn't even fit our bags in the boot. Solution to this however was to tie the boot lid to the bumper to stop the bags rolling put. A good start but we headed on our way.
The girl I met (Alex) and I chatted the whole way to the airport and good job we got on as it took well over an hour to get to my hotel. We passed through different parts of Mumbai, and I saw varying sights along the way. We arrived at my hotel around 5pm and I got to my room which was quite nice. It was a suite so larger than the average hotel room and gave me a chance to spread out a bit. Unfortunately the flight hadn't done any favours to my legs and they had both swollen up again (I had no ankles!) so I just rested with my feet up for a bit before having dinner in the hotel.
The hotel restaurant (called the Gourmet) was actually very nice. It had 'proper' waiter service even to the extent of presenting my bottle of fanta like it was a bottle of wine, yes darling I hear the 2011 fanta is a fantastic year! I decided to try a curry so on the recommendation of the head waiter (for not too spicy) I tried a reshmi kebab buttermasala. It was delicious, but still at the limits of spiciness for me! After dinner I went on the Internet for a bit and then got some sleep.
I got up for breakfast in the hotel and then just relaxed in my room. Given my legs, I didn't want to over do it and wanted to try and recover before my next flight too. Alex had texted about meeting up later which gave me the day to myself. I decided to venture out in the afternoon to see Back bay which isn't far from the hotel and is the inside part of the Y shaped peninsula of Mumbai. I walked down there and a little along the waterfront but amid the heat, staring and my legs, I wasn't out for long.
Alex and I met at the gallery of modern art (I got a taxi there though it wasn't far), but that gallery was actually shut. On recommendation however was the Prince of Wales museum of Western India so we went there instead and it was just opposite. We spent about an hour and a half walking around the museum with all sorts of artefacts and displays in it and then once it shut at 6pm we went to find some food. Another recommendation given to Alex for a kebab restaurant which was lovely and reasonable.
Alex basically turned into my tour guide for the afternoon as I had no idea what to do so, next on the agenda was to go and see a Bollywood film at the cinema. Unfortunately, though the lonely planet said it did, the cinema we went to didn't have English subtitles plus, it started at 7.30 and had an intermission at 10 to 9! We got the gist of the story but decided to give up on the second half. I have since googled it and now know what happens :-). I got a taxi back to the hotel, used the internet and then bed.
Wednesday morning, my last day away and I got up for breakfast in the hotel again. My flight wasn't until 2.45 Thursday morning so I had arranged a late check out and planned to leave the hotel as late as possible. I again spent the morning resting (even the short time in the museum, with the heat as well had taken it's toll on my legs). I then decided to go and see the Gateway to India (monument built to commemorate the visit from king George V in 1911). I got a taxi there in the afternoon and wandered around a little before heading back to my room. I am well aware I haven't done Mumbai justice but a combination of my legs and the point in the trip it just wasn't going to happen. Another time perhaps.
I sorted myself out and finished packing my bag for the last time and then generally passed the time before checkout. I took my bags down to the lobby and had dinner in the hotel restaurant before I needed to start my final journey home. I had already decided that I would try the korma curry since a korma in India seemed something I needed to do but it didn't quite taste like home! After prolonging the journey as long as possible (to minimise the time at the airport as much as possible), I eventually got in my taxi and began my final journey as a traveller (on this trip anyway).
Unfortunately for me, the taxi I happened to get seemed to have an issue with it's clutch so every few minutes the engine cut out! Just my luck that we would break down on route!!! The problem with driving in Mumbai is that it is quite hard to tell if the bumpiness is from the roads or the car juddering!! Even though it was after 10 o'clock at night the traffic was still heavy and it took an hour to get to the airport but to be fair that was probably a good thing as it meant I had less time to just sit about.
I checked in, through more interesting security checks and headed to the gate. I had a good two and a half hours to kill before my flight so I treated myself to a back massage at the spa in the airport, it was lovely. I then settled down at the gate and watched a film on my iPad while waiting for the flight to be called. The flight was very quiet and I had three seats to myself so was able to rest my legs and lie down (of sorts) on the flight. We left on time and it was a decent flight. I managed to sleep and even watched the last 20 minutes of the film I hadn't seen the end of from my last flight!! We arrived to heathrow slightly early and circled a couple of times before finally arriving onto English soil. What a relief. I have made it home after an amazing adventure in time for Christmas and wow am I looking forward to seeing everyone!
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