Tired Traveler

I made it to Mumbai but way too many hours in the air…SFO to Newark was no problem but a four year old in the middle seat made the 13.5 hour trip from Newark to Mumbai a nightmare.  After I collected my luggage, I looked for the sign with my name on it and waited 20 minutes but they never arrived.  Luckily the Courtyard had a representative meeting the flight and he arranged transportation to the hotel.  I was overwhelmed by the olfactory sensations from the minute I walked out of the terminal.  Too bad I can’t do a scratch and sniff of the scents of India because they are indescribable. 

It was after 9:00 PM and we passed by a teeming fruit, vegetable and fish market.  Also lots of street vendors with everything from prepared foods on their braziers, sweets, jewelry, clothes etc. and  a few American fast food places like Subway and Domino’s. 

I was amazed at the number of pedestrians walking in the streets, no sidewalks in this part of the city.  They shared the road with buses, cars, tuk tuks, and scooters; lots of traffic, diesel fumes and very aggressive drivers.  It reminded me of Egypt.  My driver was very knowledgeable and I heard all about the new airport construction and port expansion; I did not understand all of it because he spoke so fast.  He offered to be my driver tomorrow for 4000 rupees about $100 for an eight hour tour of Mumbai.   

When we arrived at the hotel (behind security gates) I counted ten guards.  The car was searched by men and dogs and I needed to go through security and secondary wanding before I could enter the lobby.  It is a beautiful modern hotel about a year old and the staff made up for the long day and hassles.  They could not do enough for me to make my trip enjoyable.

It’s about 10:30 PM Indian time and I have been up for over 24 hour hours so I will share more tomorrow from my tour of Mumbai and will include pics.