Mumbai

I am going to write about Mumbai (Bombay) before I totally forget about it.

As I previously said, the first day we arrived I went to Agra and the Taj Mahal, so I really didn't get to see Mumbai until after we left the ship. That always is a bit bittersweet, for I love the ship and her staff. But proceeding onward, we debarked and were taken to one of the finest hotels in Asia, the Taj Mahal Palace and Towers, or simply, the Taj.

From out balcony in the Towers, we could see the Serenity.

We arranged for a car and had the most delightful driver, Arvind, show us all the highlights of Mumbai--the Hanging Gardens

Ghandi's house

and the Dhobi Ghats, where all of Mumbai's laundry is washed by dhobi wallas--and everyone gets the correct items back--it's amazing.

We returned back to the room, which overlooked the Gateway to India, and watched, a little sadly, as the Serenity sailed off toward Egypt. I found out I REALLY don't like watching her sail away without me.......

We then went down to drown our sorrows in India's finest restaurant, the Zodiac Grill. It was so good we ate there two nights in a row. The Camembert Souffle is the best thing I have ever tasted (and I am still trying to wrangle the recipe from the chef...stay tuned..) and the sorbet was presented in such a charming manner, chilled with dry ice, that we had to take pictures.

The next day,we toured the Prince of Wales' museum

and did some last minute shopping in the Cottage Crafts of India store.

After another delicious dinner at Zodiac, we headed for the airport for a flight that left at 2am. Because of time differences and connecting flights, most international flights leave India in the wee hours of the morning. The Lufthansa flight was nice- not quite as nice as Singapore Air, but what is??? We had a 4 hour layover in Frankfurt, and it was off again to Atlanta.

And it was heaven to sleep again in my "own widdle bed".

It was an amazing trip. And if I learned nothing else about Mumbai, I learned that Mumbaiers love McDonalds....and McDonalds DELIVERS!