Day Two: Hotel and Day trip

Right! Now I'm awake, some writing!

As we were trundling through the airport towards the car I took a few quick snapshots to show the shanty town right next to the airport.

Is that blue tarpaulin I see?

A little bit more of a closer view.

As you can see Blue Tarpaulin is de-rigeur in the run up to monsoon season. According to J so far all we have had so far was just some light showers. I suppose you could describe them as light if a heavy shower was one that has been lifting weights for the sole intention of killing you.

When we finally got through processing at the airport we found our sign's on boards we jumped into our cars, aikr con and beverages included :D L and I in one, with N and A having a car each. I managed to grab a couple of quick shots on the way:

More Blue Tarp! Also loads of advertising for a certain cola flavoured beverage...

And some for the rival brand.

I''ll take you on a guided tour of the Hotel tomorrow but for now I'll show you a few shots of the HUGE room!

The main room.

The lovely desk

One of the most comfortable beds I've ever slept in.

Marble Bath, this is the life!

The shower is extremely powerful, best way to wake up in the morning.

Plenty of wardrobe space.

MINI-BAR!

You even get drops for your pillows. This is luxury!

My birthday card above the telly.

We went out on a little afternoon trip to the INOrbit Shopping Mall, we were considering getting a cab outside the hoel but J had another idea, TUK-TUK'S! N and I grabbed one and J and A grabbed the other.

J and A in their Tuk-Tuk.

The view from my side of the Tuk-Tuk.

The view from N's side.

The only quiet road in Mumbai.

Must set up a blue tarp business up...

The closesness of these two is actually quite a lot of room for vehicles in Mumbai.

Racing J and A.

After this our driver put his foot down and I put the camera away as I needed both hands to grip on. The tuk-Tuks go for gaps that no-one else would spot. If you think driving in brum city centre is busy imagine 4 lanes of traffic with about 7 vehicles spread across them, there is no lane discipline over here, if there's enough room for your vehicle you take it. A nearly fell out at one point. They should put these things as a ride in Disneyland. I nearly died of terror when the tuk-tuk forced a gap between a 4x4 and a bus.

The driver, though not speaking a word of English was incredibly friendly, he even offered N and I some chewing tobacco, which N thought was pot and we politely declined.

After we reached the shopping mall and I had recovered my breath I took a few shots whilst we waited for J and A's slowcoach tuk-tuk to catch us up.

The view across the street from the Mall.

We went into the thankfully air-conned Mall, there was a great range of shops, all your usuals Nike, Adidas, Levi's United Colours of Benetton. J and N got some shirts and a few other bits. I was astounded by how cheap the DVD's were, from 300 rupees a pop (about £3.50). The PC and xbox games were quite cheap too.

After a few hours we went to catch a taxi back to the hotel (Free Bar Time!). We had to cross the road which was fun, the nearside was OK as there was traffic lights just up the road. However, after we got to the central reservation things got a bit hairy, with traffic whizzing past. After about 5 mins of standing there and J having multiple attempts to try and get across, N decided he had waited long enough and just went out into the road. Cue screeching and honking. J, A and I were greatly impressed by his courage especially when he walked in front of a bus.

Thankfully we caught a cab on the way back. The cab was a bit tight and hot in the back. More pictures time!











The trip back was in a regular cab, lacking air con though so it got a bit sweaty. A, N and I were squashed in the back whilst J lounged in the front, a reasonable 175 rupees to the hotel though.


And to finish a picture of us all in after a few light refreshments in thr Bombay Hi bar.