Ask the butler …

Lily the cat wasn’t all that interested in goodbyes!

Today has been a travelling day, so not too much to report. We rose relatively early (don’t we always on this holiday!) and packed ready to depart Kochi. It was sad to leave Kochi but new adventures were ahead. We said goodbye to Lily the cat but she wasn’t really interested in goodbyes! Our driver and guide to the airport were very informative and chatty and it was a really pleasant drive … albeit taking quite a long time in rush hour. It transpired that our guide had met our neighbours in the airport when they arrived a few weeks ago, although he wasn’t their guide, he remembered them well and had been their guide when they were here a couple of years ago with other friends from the village. So, after an hour and a half we arrived in Kochi airport. The journey had been fine, except for the fact that Captain Clarke and I remain on the India Weight Loss Programme. We both believe we are finally on an improving trajectory but it has been quite a journey!

The domestic terminal at Kochi airport. 100% arm chairs for passengers! Sorry for the slight blur, it was difficult to get a clear shot!

The airport for domestic flights in Kochi is ‘quaint’. Never before have I sat in an airport that has solely had arm chair for traveller to sit in! It really was very comfortable. In need of the facilities again, I did discover that the gents toilet must be the busiest in the world. I watched, hoping for an opening, as men just went in and out in one long chain of people. In the end I decided I would have to join it and, having done so, discovered some remarkably clean and tidy facilities. Well done Kochi airport! We boarded our flight from Kochi to Mumbai which was an old Boeing 737-800. The plane was fine but looked so dated because, instead of a sign saying no mobiles/laptops etc., it had a no smoking sign! The seats were all leather, but a bit old and worn. Is this a sign of how Jet Airways is being taken over by newcomers like Vistara (a joint venture between Tata Airways and Singapore Airlines that we flew down to Kochi with). The food was OK, but not memorable and, to my horror, we were seated in row 37. I tried to explain to Captain Clarke that it is basic laws of physics that if the plane is being pulled through the air by engines mounted on the wings and it hits turbulence, the tail will whip as well as experiencing the turbulence. He didn’t understand. We hit turbulence, he does now! Anyway, arrival in Mumbai was uneventful. As we had parked on an air bridge we simply sat there and waited in the certain knowledge that there were 34 rows of passengers who would want to disembark before us. Why 34 rows and not 36? There was no row 32 or 33, I have no idea why!

A view of our hotel taken from the Gateway to India which we will officially visit tomorrow but we couldn’t resist a nighttime view!

We missed our guide who was apparently standing by the luggage belt where we collected our cases, but I don’t know how. We walked out of the airport and found our driver standing there with a card with our names on it and he called the guide who came out apologising and saying that he had been at the luggage belt. We all walked to the car, loaded the boot and started the drive through the Mumbai traffic (which makes Delhi look positively quiet) towards our hotel. We are staying at the Taj Mahal Palace in the ‘heritage wing’. The hotel is stunning in every way. We were made exceedingly welcome and nothing seemed to be too much trouble. We were offered a variety of welcome drinks and snacks but we declined on the basis that we really wanted to get to the room (facilities required!). We were shown to our room which is a sea view room which is what we (I) really wanted and discovered that we are in a very plush room indeed. We have a voucher for free drinks this evening (what a shame!) and have already been on the hotel tour which we found very interesting.

The Gateway to India!

Unsurprisingly, I have a range of pictures of the hotel and our room and I will add these in a gallery tomorrow. In the morning we have a sight seeing tour of Mumbai which we are looking forward to and we then have a free afternoon for which we already have plans! As we arrived back from our sneaky view of the Gateway to India we were met outside our room by our butler – yes, I did say butler! He is dedicated to ensuring that our every need is met. He will get us drinks if we want drinks. He will arrange cars, laundry, probably calling girls (unlikely to be required) and pretty much anything else we want! He is a very nice chap who has friends in London who give him daily updates on events and the weather at home. He feels it helps to keep his guests informed. We asked him about a famous market that we had read about but didn’t know its name. He knew instantly, disappeared, re-appeared with a map and instructions on how to find it, where we might have lunch, a place to buy good quality souvenirs at reasonable prices (although if we didn’t want to go there, if we told him what we wanted, he would go for us!) and basically a full itinerary for a visit there. I think we’re going to like this hotel but this is going to have to be a short update because free drinks are calling me! A quick shower and we’re off to take advantage! It is, after all, RudyMenTerry!