India – Our Last Day in Mumbai

This post is co-written by Chantal and Chris.

Once we had woken up on Thursday, we got changed and went downstairs to the “café” where breakfast was served. We didn’t order eggs but instead had spiced rice, French toast (which they called wheat crepes) and an Indian bread for which neither of us can recall the name of. We also took two glasses of juice together but after sniffing it (the juice spelt like sewage) we decided that it probably wasn’t a good idea to drink it. The breakfast was filling and great.

We decided that we should book another night just in case we couldn’t get the next flight out of Mumbai. So we took a taxi from the Ritz to the hotel Chris had booked the day earlier (and consequently had to forfeit). The driver didn’t know where we were talking about and we had to stop the taxi ourselves. We landed in a bustling street market full of vendors and people smoking. We walked two blocks through the market place where people hassled us to buy things (especially Chris) and where we had to walk in faeces past a public “toilet” (i.e. a gap between two buildings).

We got to the hotel only to discover that they were full until check in at 2pm (it was 10.45am) so then we decided that we will have to risk it and tried to find another taxi (a block away) to take us back to the Astoria Hotel. When we arrived, Chantal announced her arrival to the mooting team – for which she was received with a scolding for not informing the team coach where she went (even though Chantal was under the impression they had already knew because they said goodbye to her).

It was planned that Chantal will sit the researchers exam (and win) and then go straight to the airport on the next flight to Singapore. Meanwhile, Chris remained in the lobby of the Astoria (hacked into the WiFi) and planned the next two days. Things were finally looking up.

After Chantal had lunch and met with the organisers of the moot competition and had quite an enjoyable time (and enjoyed the food), she then sat the researchers exam and “smashed it”. She then requested that she be escorted back (around the block) to the Astoria Hotel. There Chantal and Chris talked for a bit about whether to go to the police in light of what had happened to Chris or to just leave it. Chris emailed his travel insurance and Chantal waited patiently. We then decided that we should go for a walk and find a nice restaurant before we go to the Airport.

The hustle and bustle of Mumbai at 4pm in the afternoon is an experience! Far from what danger Chris had experienced, we walked through plumes of incense and cigarette smoke, passed many (literally thousands) of on-street market vendors and took in the sights. We have uploaded as many photos as possible (these are not all!).

The best way to describe Mumbai is like a time vortex you would see as a set of Dr Who. There are buildings from all ages – post-modern, modern, post-colonial, 19^th century and even Gothic! People in all kinds of traditional wears, mobile phones attached to their ears. Businessmen receiving help from locals to park their BMWs, where there are poorly clad beggars on the street. At this time in the afternoon, there were few women. After dark, however, the numbers of women soon matched (and at times outnumbered) the men. The atmosphere of Mumbai gave off this trans-existential energy and energised and bewildered. We mourned our departure from this city, although we knew that we had to leave.

We looked at any street that seemed safe enough to walk down, luggage in hand. We finally came across a “vegrestaurant” that was almost full of patrons. The host ushered us in, showing us in hand gestures that our luggage was also welcomed. We looked at each other and silently agreed that we should eat. It was coming on 7pm. We were shown seats in a booth close to the door and were promptly given menus – of which there were no pictures just the worded descriptions. Chantal recognised the word “Korma” and went straight for it. Not knowing what to order (or what any of them meant), Chris ordered the same. The waiter, in surprise, repeated “you want the same?” and we both nodded politely. Chantal explained to Chris afterwards that it is usual for even friends to share two different dishes. Chantal ordered pan bread for both of us and we enjoyed the meal until we were almost bursting.

We then proceeded to find a taxi. Almost walking into a giant cultural festival celebration full of people (known as Kala Ghoda or Black Horse) it looked amazing. We mourned again. After running into a well dressed man who told us that it would be difficult to find a taxi here with all the people and pointed up the street. We followed his directions, got lost but found a taxi.

On our way to the airport (it’s a very long drive) we saw the many festivals that were occurring all over Mumbai. In the distance we could see a palace on a small island in the harbour (we can’t remember the name of it) that was lit up with multi-coloured lights. It looked amazing.

As the traffic was very congested (due to the fact that they don’t use lanes at all), we stopped outside a small lane and saw a goat scratching it’s head on the tyre of a motorbike. For some reason we were quite amused by this, and Chris is still upset that he didn’t take a photo. Talk about small things and small minds?

The airport was absolutely crazy! To enter the airport, you have to provide a printed receipt of the booking. Unfortunately as Chris booked online at the Astoria Hotel that day, we had no printout and were hoping they would accept the receipt shown on the iPad. This was not the case and we were directed to a desk (still outside the airport) to get our names checked off a list. This was all done by the military (the ones with guns). Our names were not on the list and this caused a lot of issues (and was causing Chris to get worried, Chantal to get pissed off). We were told by one officer to enter the airport, go to the check-in counter and receive a printout of the booking. Only Chris was allowed to enter and Chantal had to stay outside with the luggage. Chris entered and after 30 minutes of waiting, he was able to retrieve a staff member who informed the military that they had the wrong list!!!! We were not amused!

Security took forever! But we managed to get on the plane in time where we did what we had wanted to do for some time. SLEEP! The plane trip was nice with very little interruption and was a very short flight too. We had nice meals and Chris had a glass of red wine to relax (turns out he didn’t really need it).

We then landed in Singapore where our new adventure begins…