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Published: March 4th 2012
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4pm, 1st March - 3rd March: Heathrow to Mumbai (or somewhere near)
George:(Written in the present (continuous?) tense, in homage to Private Peaceful by Michael Morpugo and Antony Browne’s “The Shape Game”). We get in a taxi and Max wants to come; Dad claims he only wants to come so he can steal his hat. We get on a few trains that will take us to Heathrow; at Heathrow we board a plane with three aisles instead of two. The plane takes us to India, Mumbai. A taxi-man takes us to a hotel called Manoribel on the edge of town – on the journey there are plenty of multi-coloured lorries and hooting – the hotel is wonderful and it has a great playground. We go down to the sea, we splash about in the waves for a while, then Ruby requests that we go and get our swimming kit so we can go deeper. We have a smashing time.
Alex: Landing in Mumbai the usual Indian beauracracy kicked in when we got a taxi, having to fill in forms in duplicate and get them stamped before actually getting in a car. Looking out the
taxi window, we saw some of the slums that came right up to the airport – thousands of corrugated iron shacks piled on top of each other, and the paths between them narrow and filthy. As we travelled out of the city we saw plenty of scooters holding 4 people (standing up), and motor-rickshaws, and shop called George Menswear and a bus called Ruby. All the traffic seems to operate on the rule – I’ve honked my horn so you’d best get out of the way!
Our first hotel is fantastic, and is well set up for children. Its quiet (very few people here), right on the beach and has tree houses and hammocks in the palm trees. We were all very sleepy yesterday by the time we arrived, but George was awake enough to drag me and Ruby down to the basketball court, to shoot some hoops. The room is big and airy, with ‘Apocalyse Now’ style ceiling fans and everything smells exotic - the kitchen as you wander past the restaurant, the towels smell of coal tar soap that I remember as a kid.
Ruby: I was leaving school because I was
going on a six-month holiday and they took a photo that looked like this. Then after that we got a taxi to the station. We got on a few trains to Heathrow, at Heathrow when we were putting our bags onto the plane, the lady let me and George press the buttons. Then we went to Giraffe and I had chips and a fish-finger burger. I was excited when I arrived in India.
Carla: If we don’t start blogging now, we never will I think, therefore this first ‘tester’ entry has been completed to kick start good habits. From my point of view I am pleased to report a smooth start to the trip (one jumper left behind at Kerstin and Jans’ house notwithstanding). After months, weeks and days of planning, organising and packing it was a strangely calm Thursday that launched us into our trip (although Alex probably doesn’t agree with my assessment of that); a weird limbo day where the kids didn’t go to school but we weren’t travelling until the afternoon. The sun was shining so we went to Queen’s Park when exiled from the house at noon to allow the tenants access.
At just gone 3pm our brilliant neighbours all came to wave us off, after one final tasty coffee made by Kerstin.
I’d worried about Mumbai airport. Thoughts of it teeming with people and frenetic activity as well as chancers and hassle; but it couldn’t have been more different. Empty, calm and well-ordered and upon much good advice we got a pre-paid taxi through the outer-suburbs of the city to our little retreat of a hotel. Just enough urban angst to start the trip for G&R I think – glimpsed through the window of the cab. They’ll get plenty of that later I would think anyway. We did walk out to the village nearby in the cool of the evening and braved the bullock-carts, mad rickshaws, horses, dogs, chickens and pig (singular) – R&G were interested to see a bit of Indian life and also very pleased to get some crisps from a roadside kiosk.
So here we are – trying to remember we’re not on holiday – I am deciding whether to use the trip as some kind of therapy for my control issues or whether that could mean it all starts to tumble,
although I have already said to George that he will be ‘the leader’ for at least one of the days. He does have tendencies in that direction; spotting signs and looking for ‘the way to go’ which we don’t want to discourage.
And finally, it’s been lovely getting so many ‘bon voyage’ texts. “Warms the cockles”, as they say. Alex has told me I have to email replies from now on; keeping costs down. He is a very sensible man.
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Len and Marion
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Lovely to know you are all safe
We are glad you arrived safely in Mumbai and are chilled. Read all your blogs and found them very interesting - especially George's in that strange language! Looking forward to more communications in the future. Lots of love L & M xxxx