Hello Mumbai Bandra West, India

Bandra West, India

Finished off our packing and had breakfast at Eve’s Resort. Very pleasant sitting out on the terrace and watching the cows walk down the road past the gates! Our taxi arrived at 10 and we were soon on our way….. fond farewells to Marion and Clive – and watching the Chai Shop, the School, the Temple and the lane down to Salida drift past. Being a Saturday, the traffic was quite busy and it took us a good hour and twenty minutes to get to Dabolim airport.We had a porter to help with the luggage and he organised us through all the hoops. Jet Airways were just as wonderful as on the way out and charged us for 6kg overweight. Thank heavens they did not weigh our hand luggage which was probably another 20 kg. groan. It only cost £7 though. Flight was pretty much on time and we landed in Mumbai at 220pm. Bags arrived quickly and we went to the prepaid taxi office in the terminal and got a taxi to our Airbnb. It was about a fiver. We had good directions to it. Which you need because none of the taxis have gps and they all operate on a sort of system where they get you in the vague vicinity and then stop and ask people. This guy was a bit on the grumpy side and not too smart. He asked people like a squatting beggar etc. In the end we found it. A very upmarket neighbourhood is Bandra. Very plush houses and apartment buildings and lots of good looking shops. Not tat shops. Our apartment building is behind gates with a security guy. He took us up in the lift to the flat which was on the 3rd floor. There are about 5 floors I would say. The owner and her husband live in a separate apartment on the other side of the roof garden. Lovely people. They have the dearest pug dog. It is very fat and wriggly and with a wrinkled squashed face and it snuffles. I love it — its friendly. Bob not so much but it has taken a fancy to him and follows him around 🙂 Adorable. Tonight we went to a sushi restaurant nearby. We walked to it – took about 20 minutes and we were quite impressed that we found it. Fantastic sushi and teppanyaki selections. You could eat as much as you wanted for a tenner. I think it fair to say we had our money’s worth…. Lots of different rolls and sashimi to try and all freshly made. The fresh octopus sashimi was particularly delicious. Feel a bit stuffed now. By the time we came out it was Saturday night madness in Bandra. Everyone on the street. Shopping and eating. There is loads of street food here. Lots of young people out, eating and shopping. The traffic was gridlocked and honking was nonstop! There were so many clothes shops and then we hit a market area where there were just loads and loads of shoes, sandals and soft shoes. Then clothes… then bags. We browsed along, not really in the mood to buy but enjoying the buzz an the atmosphere. Felt quite safe. In the end we got a rickshaw and he took us back to the apartment. It’s a funny thing. The beer in the restaurant was nearly 3 times the price it was in Patnem, but the rickshaw was only 20 rupees for a distance that would have been 100 rupees there. Go figure that one! Bit tired so having an earlyish night. The street we are on is in the Roman Catholic historic area of Mumbai, clearly with Portuguese history. It’s called Convent Road. Very quiet and peaceful in comparison to the mayhem of maybe half a mile away. Reminds me a bit of parts of Clapham! There are churches and convents and lots of Portuguese names. Bit like Goa. And so to bed!