When you arrive at airports in India you have to show valid tickets, and passports in our case, at the
first door then you are allowed into the building. So even when you arrive only passengers (and staff) allowed into the building.
Off to security and as we got to through the scanners on if the security guys picked up Keith’s ukulele in its cover and asked Keith what it was. Then very jovially asked Keith to play it. Ha ha standing in security playing a ukulele provided everyone with a bit of light entertainment and sort of explained India. No matter where you are in any situation there is an adventure to be had.
Arriving in Mumbai and staying at yet another Taj hotel we were again treated to a garland and a magic during of something we never really sure of.
Nice room which was very modern overlooking the sea and a busy city. Really looking forward to meeting up with our dear friends George and Nisha also Meyer. Had dinner on the roof top with a spectacular view of Mumbai. Decided to play it quietly for a couple of days hanging out round a beautiful pool in our last bit of warmth before heading home to the cold.
Valentine’s Day was our last day and hotel was full. Lovely there were roses every where. Meet George and Nisha joined us in the bar after getting stuck in Mumbai traffic for quite a while.
So nice to be with these guys for our last night. Nisha tell us about her (and her daughters) forth coming trip to Everest going higher than base camp. Also about their new puppy who turns out is a little rogue 😉with many shoes disappearing !!!.
And so ended our 8 weeks visit to India.
What can I say about this place ???? Keith and I love the diversity of this huge country. There are so many gods that are worshipped in so many different ways with ceremonies full of colour, music, devotion, mystery and excitement. Weddings are a spectacular array of noise and people usually running over three days. Markets are wondrous with little shops and stalls packed with stock which you wonder if they every sell out. You can wander down alley ways for hrs filling your senses with the smell of spices. There is such diversity from ladies, in saris, cleaning the streets, village people sitting making clay pots and washing in streams to the other extreme of massive palaces of riches. The country is spectacular in its make up from sleepy back waters in southern Kerala, hectic chaotic towns and cities to spectacular mountains filled with forts and palaces in the north. Traffic like you have never seen with not one bit of so called “road rage”. It flows in way you could never imagine with rules of the road in the form of whites lines and junction totally ignored. The only thing that upsets this system is when a very unseeable police man, or lady, stands in the middle of chaos blowing a whistle!!! There are sacred cows every where right in the middle of everything just roaming around. How they ever find them to take their milk we never found out.
We have roamed around from south to north and never once have we have threatened but completely the opposite. We have been invited in homes, weddings, temple parades and had so many selfies we lost count. School children have asked us questions usually states with “which us your country”. We have climbed over rubbish, walked round villages, sat by camp fires, driven through chaos, woken up to spectacular views and lived in palaces.
Take India as you find it with all its diversities and fill your senses with adventure and you have a country you will return to again and again just like us. Already looking at a three year visa !!!!
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