Sleep well my canine friends!
This is definitely my last missive of this trip! We have completed our journey home and now life must return to normal. No more curry for breakfast (well, not unless I cook it on the weekend!), no more walking with no purpose other than to enjoy the assault on the senses that India most certainly is. The sights, the sounds, the smells, the flavours all combine to make India the most wonderful country! I would challenge anyone who said they didn’t like India, there is something in India for everyone.
So, what of our last day? We arose relatively late in the certain knowledge that it was going to be our last day and a long one. Unfortunately, I was still a bit ‘Barry White’ but definitely on the improve. We went downstairs and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before returning to our room to begin packing. We had arranged a late check-out of 1.30pm which gave us a little more time to pack and think about what to do in the afternoon. In the end we checked out and left our bags with the concierge and then had a slow amble to Lower Parel station where we procured tickets to Grant Road.
Grant Road is a district of Mumbai, a little like Lower Parel is. About 1½ miles from the station (as we discovered) is the Chor Bazaar. Chor Bazaar literally means ‘Thieves Market’ in Hindi but is so called, not because it is full of thieves but, because it is said that the English couldn’t pronounce the original name of Shor Bazaar which means ‘Noisy Market’. That said, it is well known for its counterfeit goods and there is a very popular story that a violin and some other goods went missing after Queen Victoria’s ship docked on a visit to Bombay (as it was then called) and were later found for sale in Chor Bazaar!
We wandered from the station towards Chor Bazaar and pulled up the directions on the – not always very reliable – Apple Maps app. We debated getting a taxi but decided to walk instead. We always do do a lot of walking when on holiday and Monday was the least distance covered on any day we were in India at 7.7 miles! As we walked we passed lots of street stalls selling the usual clothes, shoes, food and, of course, pants! They are piled high with counterfeit names like Calvin Kline or Polo Rolf Lauren or Hugo Bass and seem to be very popular for some reason! Maybe they have only just entered the market in India!
As we walked we realised that the stalls were getting fewer and fewer and the roadsides were getting less and less salubrious – we were not in the best of areas of Mumbai. The looks were getting just a little less friendly so we decided to walk just a little bit faster. It wasn’t long before we entered Chor Bazaar. To be honest, there is no real ‘entrance’ as such. You just turn into a street and find it full of old furniture or car parts or metal or antiquities or food or clothes or cookware, in fact, just about anything and everything one might be able to think of is being sold in the Chor Bazaar. Some areas are a little cleaner than others – I did turn to Captain Clarke at one point as we were passing pile after pile of engines and other car parts and say “I’ve been in tidier scrap yards than this. In fact I work in one!”
We wandered around though, as ever enjoying the sights and sounds and just the sheer hustle and bustle of this huge flea market! We had already decided that we would get a taxi back to Grant Road rather than walk back through an area less than welcoming for us. As we wandered we started to think about getting a taxi. The traffic was horrendous though, so we continued to walk for a while. It was only then that I realised we were almost back at Grant Road! We had been walking in a much nicer part of the area and ended up back at Grant Road completely avoiding the dodgy area! Apple Maps? Hmm!
And so, our chauffeur picked us up on time at 7.00pm in a very nice 7 series BMW (I’ve only ever seen about two of these in India so clearly he had one of them!) and drove us on an uneventful but usual for India drive to the airport. When we were just 2km away he happily advised that we were just 20 minutes away and it did, indeed, take 20 minutes to get to the terminal building! On arrival we had our own dedicated entrance which took us straight to business class check-in. That was busy so we were checked in by first class instead. We dropped our bags off and headed off for immigration – it takes at least as long to get out of India as it does to get in. Our passports were stamped, our boarding passes were stamped (for the first time) and we proceeded to security. Our passports were scrutinised and our boarding passes were stamped before we proceeded to departures. Our passports were scrutinised, our boarding passes were … yet get the gist. It takes a while to get out of India!
Our flight from Mumbai to Dubai was uneventful. We had hoped to get an hour or so of sleep on that flight but it wasn’t to be. Before we departed we were asked what we would like to drink after departure and for our menu choices for dinner. Having given both of these we thought that we would see both very early after departure leaving us a couple of hours to sleep. Not a chance! The drinks arrived about half an hour after departure and the dinner about an hour before we landed. There was no time for sleep at all! On arrival in Dubai we were bussed from the aircraft in a dedicated ‘Business Class’ bus to our terminal. The journey was about 20 minutes – the airport is vast!
On arrival at Terminal A we passed through security with no problems. There were signs up everywhere saying that liquids must be under 100ml and must be presented separately in a clear plastic bag. Since I had my cough tincture from Mumbai, I asked where I could get a clear plastic bag – the security staff just told me to leave it in my bag, it would be fine – it was, nobody batted an eyelid and I had forgotten about the aftershave I had in there too! We made our way to the Emirates lounge and took advantage of the showers. There is nothing like walking around in 30℃ heat in Mumbai in jeans, socks and shoes … trust me, there is nothing like it!
After our showers we made our way to the bar. There was a choice of Dewars or Chivas Regal, we chose Dewars … wrong choice, it was like drinking sugar! Captain Clarke returned to the bar and procured the Chivas Regal … much better! I settled down to complete my missive and Captain Clarke perused the news. An airport lounge in the middle of the night is an interesting place. There are those who are crashed out trying to get some much needed sleep, those that can’t resist the free food and have plates piled high with food they’d never eat at home, those that take advantage of the free booze and those who are desperately trying to catch up on the work they should have done whilst they were away but haven’t done! I’m not quite sure where we fit but the free booze helps enormously!
And so it was that we boarded our final flight of this trip. Dubai to London on what would have been called the ‘red eye’ back in the day. Leaving Dubai at 3.00 am and arriving into Gatwick at 6.40am. Unfortunately, we didn’t leave Dubai on schedule – there was a medical emergency and a passenger had to be off loaded along with their luggage which had to be found in the hold. As a consequence we left about an hour and half late and then arrived at Gatwick at a very busy time so had to circle for a while before landing. We eventually emerged from the airport to be met by our chauffeur at just after 9.00 am. Our journey has come to an end. It has been great fun and we love every aspect of India … even the not so good bits! So, India, you have my word, we will be back! But now it is time for Rudy to return to his slumber … sweet dreams!
Recent Comments