India 2019 – Hard Rock Cocktails & Bollywood in Mumbai

20.02. 2019

Having visited the Sassoon Docks Fish Market this morning, my mission for the afternoon was the Hard Rock Café. There used to be 2 of them in Mumbai – the one located in Worli was actually called Hard Rock Café Mumbai and it was my favorite. It was somewhat more comfortable than the one in Andheri. Unfortunately, it seemed to have closed … Pity!

I walked from the hotel to Masjid Train Station – google maps led me through a very residential, not touristy and rather slum-like area to get there. But the people were friendly there, they did stare at me, but kept pointing in the direction of the way out. Somehow I ended up in the main road again and kept walking around the very well hidden train station. Friendly people speaking limited English eventually showed me the entrance stairs and I found the ticket window. For Rs 10 I took a suburban train north to Dadar. There I had to change to get to Andheri.

An approx 15 min ride later, I reached Dadar Station, which was very confusing and I got lost again. I asked several young people and everyone pointed in the same direction and I got close to the right platform, but only a young guy who checked his mobile app could eventually tell me which platform I had to go to. No signs here anywhere – not even platform numbers. On the platform other friendly people motioned me to go to the spot where the Ladies Coach would stop, because the train would be crowded. And I did.

The Mumbai Suburban Railway is the oldest commuter rail in Asia – founded in 1853. It is owned by Indian Railways and operated by its Western Railways and Central Railways divisions. With a length of 430 km, it has apparently the highest passenger density in the world – 6.3 mio people use it daily. There are 4 radial lines – Western between Churchgate and Dahanu Road, Central between CSMT and Kasara/Khopoli, Harbour between CSMT and Panvel/Goregaon and Trans-Harbour between Thane and Vashi/Panvel. There are also women-only cars – termed Ladies Coach – and since 1992 in rush hour Ladies Special trains with all coaches reserved for women passengers only.

The ride was uneventful otherwise and after some 15 min I got off at the busy Andheri Station. Since there the bus stops were every confusing, I walked away from the station for a while in direction of the Hard Rock Café. But it was very hot today and way too far to walk. I had to stop for a cold soda on the way. Also, I found a new tempered glass for my mobile. The spider app on my phone was getting worse and since I came past a stall with new covers, I got one for Rs 150. I carried it in my hand all the way to the restaurant.

Eventually I found a not so crowded bus stop for Bus 254, a bus arrived soon and I hopped on – all the time being eyed by curious bystanders. It was another 15 min ride for Rs 10 to get to Hard Rock Café. I found the restaurant quickly – it was only a couple of minutes walk from the bus stop – and I was the only guest this time – maybe it was too early for lunch for Indians. It was almost 13:00 though – but a weekday and probably it would get busier in the evening. The restaurant is just not strategically located to attract foreign tourists …

I got a good enough table and ordered a Sparkling Mojito from the specials menu. It was with guava and rum and tasted very nice. No HRC logo cocktail stirrer, though …. Mumbai is going plastic free, they said, therefore they have paper straws and no cocktail stirrer anymore … Pity! They could have at least printed the HRC Logo on the new straws, though.

For lunch I opted for Tenderloin Steak from the specials menu and Honey Citrus Salad. I did make sure it is for sure beef, that steak, and ordered it medium rare. – You want well done? – No! I want medium rare! – Medium? – NO! More rare than medium! – OK, rare! – Yes, make it rare! …. Sorry again for eating the holy cow …. I must have confused the waiter completely, because he forgot to order my salad …

The steak came quickly, but I had to wait for the salad for quite a while. They had definitely forgotten it, even though the restaurant was literally empty. The steak was OK, but of course it was more medium going on well done … maybe a little medium, but definitely not close to rare … I guess, it is not surprising in a country, where they usually do not eat beef. Probably, the chef is vegetarian himself …. It was good, though – sorry, I love beef! And the salad – once it came – was excellent.

I did order another cocktail – Electric Ice Tea – and asked especially for the logo glass. If they did not have cocktail stirrer, I at least wanted the logo on the glass! For the photo opportunity! And the glass is huge – bigger than the regular glass! More drink inside! It seemed they had gotten the left over hardware from the closed HRC in Worli – Here they never had Mumbai logo items before, only Andheri.

The paper straws are driving me nuts, though! They get soft and after a while they are clogged … I had to order a new straw twice … Yes, I did drink that cocktail slowly! I remember one of the Hotel Operations Managers on one of the ships I work on mentioned a few years back to our bartender not to use 2 plastic straws per cocktail – she always did, because it looked nicer. He said, if on every ship of the fleet they would use only one straw, then it would cost the company a huge bunch of money less per year – and the figure he mentioned was huge … I am all for saving and I am also for the environment and I know about all the plastic in the oceans – Believe me! I used to work 10 years as a SCUBA diving instructor long before the controversy about plastic or plastic strews started! But those paper straws just drive me nuts! – A plastic straw lasted forever and if discarded properly, it would be recycled. A paper straw however leaves me with the impression, I have to drink faster – finish the drink before the paper straw disintegrates … or I ask to replace it and then there is more garbage … Sustainability is good, but I do prefer reusable straws to paper straws. That leaves, however, the question, if the reusable straws can be or are cleaned properly enough … Jeez, but that cocktail was good either way!

In the meantime I fiddled with the tempered glass and put it on my mobile. Of course, it being so cheap it was not original and did not fit properly … but at least it did not have a spider app on it – yet … But it did not stick and I had to put some tape on it once back at the hotel. It will do until I get home and can order a proper one again, however.

Later I visited the Rock Shop, but they did not have any nice or new pins. I have pins from here already, though. The selection here was very limited to 3 different once … Oh well. I guess, I have enough pins anyway.

For the way back to the train station I took a tuk tuk – here they call them auto rickshaw. Auto rickshaws play an important role in public transport in Mumbai. There are approx 246 500 black and yellow metered auto rickshaws here. Since 2002, all auto rickshaws have been required to use CNG as fuel. There are no autos in the city center of Old Bombay allowed however, only in the suburbs. I found a friendly auto driver who explained me that I did not have to bargain for the price here, because all autos in Mumbai are supposed to run on meter and that is what I should pay. A mechanical meter decides the fare which is proportional to distance traveled. Well … OK. He did put the meter on and for the quick ride to Andheri Train Station it showed Rs 37. I gave him Rs 50 which he seemed to have expected anyway.

Quickly I located the ticket window at the station and got my ticket for Rs 10 to Churchgate. I wanted to go to Colaba to pick up my trousers from the tailor. Before I got on the train I had to have a Lemon Soda, though. There was a stall in the station, where everybody got Lemon Soda and I lined up. They were sure surprised to see a foreigner there, but quickly I had a large glass of fresh Lemon Soda with rock salt in my hand. They could not change my Rs 100 and asked if I had Rs 5. – Yes, I do! Here! – I though, they would give me back some notes, but he just took the Rs 5 and handed me back the Rs 100. – It is Rs 5! – Believe it! Rs 5 for a large fresh Lemon Soda. And it did good in the afternoon heat today.

I took the train towards Churchgate Station which was closest to Colaba without having to change trains. It took maybe 30 min and I got off at Charni Road Station. This is a small station and it would be easy to find the bus stop there. Indeed the bus stop was just across the road, but traffic was crazy. There were many busses passing, but none went towards Colaba. After maybe 15 min waiting I spotted a Bus 133 and nearly missed it. Because of the traffic it could not change lanes and come towards the bus stop, so everybody dodged the thankfully slow traffic of 2 lanes to get one. It was a long way to Colaba in the afternoon rush hour and took very long. At least the bus was not packed and I had a seat. I sure had been on public busses today a long time! This time my ticket was Rs 18 to Colaba.

Public transport in Mumbai involves the transport of millions of its citizens by train, road and water. Over 88% of the commuters in Mumbai use public transport, therefore Mumbai has the largest organized bus transport network among major Indian cities. Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport – BEST – has a fleet of single and double decker buses – I have never tried the double decker here, though. The regular busses are mostly Ashok Leyland and very old. These frequently break down and hold up traffic due to their poor quality of engineering – Luckily, all the busses I ever went on, never broke down. They were all held together by rust and paint, but they never broke down.

Around 18:00 I reached the Immediate Boutique Tailor Shop to pick up my trousers. The boy there recognized me, but the boss himself was not there. I got handed his mobile phone – the boss was on it. – Hello sir! I am here to pick up my trousers. You said Wednesday evening. Now it is Wednesday evening! – Yes, but it is only Wednesday afternoon! They are not ready yet. – But I gave you 3 days and I am leaving tomorrow! I need my trousers! I am not happy! – No problem, no problem! We will deliver to your hotel tonight! – Are you sure? My hotel is far away. – No problem, no problem! 22:00 latest 22:30 we will bring them to you! – I am not sure, if this is going to work! – No problem, no problem! Sure, we will deliver tonight! – But I am not paying the balance until I see the trousers! – No problem, no problem! Tonight your trousers will be at the hotel! Sure! – OK! If you say so!

Somewhat frustrated I walked back to the bus stop and waited for my Bus 44 to go back to my hotel. There was no point in taking a taxi – traffic was a bitch at this time of the day. But I did not want to walk either. Too far for the end of the day and also it was getting dark. Eventually, a Bus 44 arrived and crawled along in traffic. Usually it took less than 15 min to Carnac Bridge where my hotel was located. But today that bus sat in traffic for almost an hour … Traffic moved only stop and go by meters … Anyway, it was better than walking in the dark. Outside my hotel was a junction which was often clogged with traffic. When it came insight up ahead, I got off the bus 100 m before my hotel and walked the rest.

Below my hotel there are a few local restaurants and I bought a couple of Kingfisher in the one that was selling beer to take to my room. Then I asked around if they had Fresh Lemon Soda. I felt I needed a large one to fight the onset of dehydration today. None of the restaurants had it, though. They did have soda and also lemons and also salt … I was already thinking to go back to the first place with the beer and ask there for the ingredients, when one waiter from another restaurant called me in and offered just that. He gave me a bottle of Soda, brought me some cut up lemons and pushed the salt towards me. Then they all watched me how I mixed my own Salty Lemon Soda and downed 2 glasses in no time. I was so thirsty today! They thought that crazy foreigner was funny, though. And I only had to pay Rs 25 for the Soda. Nice people.

Back in my hotel I settled in writing and beaming photos, drinking beer and waiting for my trousers to arrive. I waited and waited and waited … until I was finished with everything else around 01:00 and decided to sleep. Hmmm, maybe they had dropped off the trousers at reception? But then how would I pay the difference? Will see in the morning …

21.02. 2019

I was up early this morning as usually. I checked reception, but my trousers where not there. So I dug out the business card from the tailor and whatsapped the guy. He had given me his card and I suppose that was his name and number. And it sure was. Communication is so easy nowadays.

Just after 08:00 reception called and my trousers had arrived. I did try them on first – 2 were good, the other 2 were a touch too tight. So, he said, he will take them back and widen them a little bit. He would return them by 12:30. Oh well … I paid the balance and hoped for the best. I told him, I would be leaving this afternoon – in fact I would leave at 03:00 am ….

For my last day in Mumbai I had set up a Bollywood Studio Tour. I had been here so many times, now and had never made it to Bollywood … I had found a tour on the internet and had e-mailed back and forth with the tour agent for days now. It seems usual in India, that they only have private tours. Why can they not bring people together on a bus or van? I had to book a private tour since I am all by myself and for the full day tour, 2 studio visits and lunch I had to shell out Rs 11900. A fortune … But I wanted to see Bollywood …

I was supposed to be picked up at 10:00 – but the driver did not find my hotel … as usual … No, I am not staying in a fancy hotel! I am staying in a small one and yes, the house looks shabby from the outside, but inside it is very nicely redone and modern! And the address I have given you is exact! – So my driver and guide arrived 30 min late. The driver came up to pick me up – for the lady guide this area was not appropriate, it seemed, she stayed in the car. Anyway, she was a nice and knowledgeable lady and she talked a lot on the way to Andheri, where the studios are.

Hindi cinema – often also referred to as Bollywood and formerly known as Bombay cinema – is the Indian Hindi-language film industry, based in Mumbai – the term being a portmanteau of “Bombay” and “Hollywood”. Linguistically, Bollywood films tend to use a colloquial dialect of Hindi-Urdu or Hindustani, mutually intelligible to both Hindi and Urdu speakers, while modern Bollywood films also increasingly incorporate elements of Hinglish – which is the hybrid use of English and languages from across the Indian subcontinent.

Indian cinema is the world’s largest film industry in terms of film production with an annual output of approx 2000 feature films – and Bollywood is its largest film producer, with almost 400 Hindi films produced annually. Bollywood represents 43% of Indian net box office revenue and is therefore one of the largest centers of film production in the world.

It took about 1 hr to reach SF Studios, even though the driver had taken the express way. But the last 2 km or so city traffic was crazy. However, the car was comfortably air-conditioned and soon we were there. No visit to Mumbai is complete without experiencing the Bollywood facet and the feel of actually being inside a premier studio in action – is what they say …. I had been in Mumbai so many times now and had never managed to see a studio. I guess, there was always so much else to see and do … Therefore I had chosen the Full Day Bollywood Tour to SF Studios today, because the studios were located in the city. Most of the huge and sophisticated Bollywood studios are now further north with a more than 2 hrs drive to get there.

“SJ Studios is one of the main hubs for film and TV production in Bollywood. Housing lavish ready to shoot sets and countless production floors, SJ Studios today is one of Mumbai’s most prolific establishments. Watched by over 14 million people on a daily basis, Bollywood caters to India’s huge population and also to a great fan base abroad. SJ Studios offers an authentic Bollywood tour to its visitors. Lavish bungalows, real life like hospitals, conference rooms, a police station along with real jail cells are just a few of the many sights on offer at this sprawling establishment. Today, it is one of Mumbai’s major studio premises with shooting floors along with empty floors and countless permanent sets and props.”

My guide Amita knew everything about Bollywood and the behind-the-scenes happenings. First we walked through the permanent set of the police station, which was being readied for a later shoot. “Policemen” were taking their lunch break nap while waiting for their turn at the shoot.

We were allowed to visit more sets as well. Apparently at the moment they shoot mainly TV series and soap operas here, not major Bollywood movies unfortunately. But everywhere was much going on. One floor of the building was set up as family apartment and many technicians were installing lighting and cameras for a later shoot, actors were reading their scripts and practicing their lines with each other, it seemed.

On the floor above a colourful wedding decoration was set up. There we were not allowed to take photos, actually. Apparently the director did not want the brand new set up being sprawled over the internet before the series was screened. Not that I knew what series it was, though …. Oh well, we watched for a while as the cast in colourful sarees were getting the talk from the director and were instructed of what and when and how, probably. We did sneak in a couple of photos, though.

The studio premises over all seemed not really well-kept, there were many discarded props and old furniture lying around collecting dust. Mind you, they would probably use it again for another set up. I do not think, the studio gave an authentic insight into Bollywood, however – it was used mainly for TV series with only small scenes of some Bollywood movies being shot here occasionally. We did pass a display of movie Bollywood movie posters, though – all those famous movies were shot here in SF Studios once upon a time.

Well, I did not know any of them. Then again, considering the sheer infinite number of films made, I only know very few Bollywood movies anyway … I think my first encounter of Bollywood was when I worked my first contract on the sailing ship in 2002 and we did the Indian Ocean crossing. In 1998 a Bollywood movie had been filmed on this very sailing ship – Kaho Naa … Pyaar Hai with Hrikhit Roshan and Ameesha Patel.

A romantic drama-thriller movie, it was the most successful Bollywood film of 2000, becoming the highest grosser of the year. For the filming the film crew had invaded the 160-guests ship with an entourage of some 90 members for a few days. The ship crew was still talking about this crazy time years later. And when we passed India on the ocean crossing, we would show the approx 30 min out of the 3-hrs-movie that were filmed on board. After that I bought the DVD of that movie and it still is my favourite Bollywood movie to date. And I have seen many …

During the studio tour we visited the courtroom set and then were invited to a sound studio, where we watched a short introduction to sound dubbing. Apart from me there were also other tourists there – Saudi Arabians and Indians from New York. In the sound studio everybody could pick their favourite karaoke song and then they would record it in the studio and e-mail the track later. The others all did it, but I successfully wound out of it! – No thank you, I cannot sing … It looked like they only recorded the voice anyway. If they had played some more with the effects etc and had made the final outcome beautiful … But no, they just recorded and that was it.

From the sound studio we went to the small Bollywood Museum. It was only very tiny, but original vintage movie posters and memorabilia adorned this gallery of silver screen memories.

They had some – actually very few – costumes – not very nice once, I must say – for visitors to dress up and take photos in front of the Bollywood Awards wall. Since I had skipped the singing I had to do the dress up – only one of the outfits was big enough for me – and it was actually the nicest one of all of them …

There was a small movie theatre with a tiny stage as well and we saw a feature short film named Tribute to Bollywood along with a VFX presentation which explained about the various post-production techniques used in Bollywood.

The film Raja Harishchandra from 1913 is known as the first silent feature film made in India and by the 1930s, the industry was producing over 200 films per year. The first Indian sound film was Alam Ara in 1931, which was a major commercial success. Following India’s independence, the period from the late 1940s to the early 1960s is regarded by film historians as the “Golden Age” of Hindi cinema. Some of the most critically acclaimed Hindi films of all time were produced during this period. By the start of the 1970s, Hindi cinema was experiencing thematic stagnation, dominated by musical romance films. By the mid-1970s, romantic confections had made way for gritty, violent crime films and action films about gangsters in the Bombay underworld. The 1970s were also when the name “Bollywood” was coined and when the quintessential conventions of commercial Bollywood films were established. Key to this was the emergence of the masala film genre, which combines elements of multiple genres like action, comedy, romance, drama, melodrama, musical. The masala film was pioneered in the early 1970s by filmmaker Nasir Hussainand and became the Bollywood blockbuster format. Yaadon Ki Baarat from 1973 has been identified as the first masala film and the “first” quintessentially “Bollywood” film.

The most internationally acclaimed Hindi film of the 1980s was Salaam Bombay! in 1988, which won the Camera d’Or at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In the late 1980s, Hindi cinema experienced another period of stagnation, with a decline in box office turnout, due to increasing violence, decline in musical melodic quality and rise in video piracy, leading to middle-class family audiences abandoning theaters. The turning point came with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak in 1988 – Its blend of youthfulness, wholesome entertainment, emotional quotients and strong melodies lured family audiences back to the big screen. It set a new template for Bollywood musical romance films that defined Hindi cinema in the 1990s. The period of Hindi cinema from the 1990s onwards is referred to as “New Bollywood” cinema linked to economic liberalization in India.

The 2000s saw a growth in Bollywood’s recognition across the world. A fast growth in the Indian economy and a demand for quality entertainment in this era, led the nation’s film-making industry to new heights in terms of production values, cinematography and innovative story lines as well as technical advances in areas such as special effects and animation. Bollywood began influencing musical films in the Western world as well and played a particularly instrumental role in the revival of the American musical film genre. Danny Boyle’s Hollywood movie Slumdog Millionaire from 2008, which won 4 Golden Globes and 8 Academy Awards, was directly inspired by Bollywood films and is considered to be an homage to Hindi commercial cinema.

Bollywood is incomplete without its music and dance, though … every movie must have a dance scene in it … There is something uniquely magical about the musical numbers, elaborate costumes and well choreographed dance numbers. In the tiny theatre they had 4 dancers – which were not very good, I must admit … – performing for the visitors 3 or 4 dances.

Bollywood film music is called filmi music – from Hindi meaning “of films”. Songs from Bollywood movies are generally pre-recorded by professional playback singers, with the actors then lip synching the words to the song on-screen, often while dancing. While most actors, especially today, are excellent dancers, few are also singers. Songs are what make and break the movie in Bollywood – they determine if it is going to be a flop or a hit. Few films without successful musical tracks and even fewer without any songs and dances succeed. With the increase of globalization, there has also been a change in the type of music that Bollywood films entail – the lyrics of the songs have increasingly been a mix of Hindi and English languages as opposed to the strict Hindi prior to Globalization. Also, with the inspiration of global trends, such as Salsa, Pop and Hip Hop, there has been a modification of the type of music heard in Bollywood films.

The dancing in Bollywood films, especially older ones, is primarily modelled on Indian dance – classical dance styles, dances of historic northern Indian courtesans or folk dances. In modern films, Indian dance elements often blend with Western dance styles. The hero or heroine will often perform with a troupe of supporting dancers. Many song-and-dance routines in Indian films feature unrealistically instantaneous shifts of location or changes of costume between verses of a song. If the hero and heroine dance and sing a duet, it is often staged in beautiful natural surroundings or architecturally grand settings. This staging is referred to as a “picturisation”. Songs typically comment on the action taking place in the movie, in several ways. Sometimes, a song is worked into the plot, so that a character has a reason to sing. Other times, a song is an externalization of a character’s thoughts or presages an event that has not occurred yet in the plot of the movie. In this case, the event is often two characters falling in love. The songs are also often referred to as a “dream sequence”, and anything can happen that would not normally happen in the real world. Previously song and dance scenes often used to be shot in Kashmir, but due to political unrest in Kashmir since the end of the 1980s, those scenes have since then often been shot in Western Europe, particularly in Switzerland and Austria.

While watching the documentary and the dancers I got handed my lunch by Amita. It was grilled vegetable sandwiches and French fries. It was quite good. I was thankful she had handed me the plate just before the visitors were asked to join the dancers on stage for a last dance…

Leaving the SF Studios we drove for a short way to Chandivali Studio, as it is famously known. It is also located in Andheri and started its journey more than 7 decades ago. It was around 1940 that Mr. Chandrarao Kadam purchased land at Chandivali. The idea behind this was to create multiple, diverse locations, use them for shooting his own films and also make these locations available to other producers. This innovative concept was unprecedented in the Indian movie context and established a template for many imitators in subsequent years. It took nearly 5 years to clear and level the land and a lifetime to create and develop various locations.

This studio has witnessed innumerable success stories of films and television serials and has been a second home to a galaxy of famous film and TV stars, directors, producers and technicians. It is particularly sought after for its beautiful outdoor locations. There is a huge park with colonial style bungalows that gets transformed for many movies.

In the set of a village main square market there was a shooting going on for a TV series. They were already all set up and doing scene rehearsals. First we were only allowed to stand and watch – but do not take photos! Then we got chatting with the camera man – he was curious what the foreigner was doing there – and he said – Of course take photos … just do not let the director see it! – Therefore I just took mobile photos … Everybody was taking mobile photos or fiddling with the phones – actors, camera people and technicians alike.

Here the director had just broken his leg or such and was being moved around in a wheel chair. He had a microphone and was giving his orders over the PA system. I had seen movie shoots before – when I was working on the sailing ship we had a romantic series for German TV shot regularly on board – and the numerous repetitions did not come as a surprise to me.

And they had to repeat and repeat and repeat …. We stood right behind the camera man and could watch trough his display as well. As usual the scene looked totally different to what it actually was.

When we had watched for some time, we walked around the other set some more and also took a look at the wall of fame where miniatures of all movies shot in this studio were displayed.

There was also a handwritten schedule board for the different locations in the studio. All happenings from today were marked there. I wondered, if they do everything still by hand or if they do have computers ….

From the studio complexes we then drove south towards Bandra. It was a long drive again, but interesting. We passed the Worli Sealink bridge – unfortunately we did not drive over it, just saw it. From there was a great view of the Worli Mumbai Skyline.

Bandra is a coastal suburb located on Salsette Island to the immediate north of the Mithi River, which separates Bandra from Mumbai City. It is the third-largest commercial hub in Maharashtra, after Mumbai and Pune. Additionally, many personalities who are active in Bollywood – stars, directors, producers – cricket and politics reside here – it is somewhat considered the local Beverly Hills. Amita pointed out many mansions and bungalows belonging to the most acclaimed actors, actresses and producers of Bollywood. None of which I knew – Hrikhit Roshan is unfortunately living in Juhu much further to the north of the city …

The mansion of Shah Rukh Khan was easy to recognize, however … many Indian tourists were there in front to catch a glimpse – of the house or the star. Unfortunately, he was not home today …

Since the 1990s, the three biggest Bollywood movie stars have been the “Three Khans” – Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan. Combined, they have starred in most of the Top 10 highest-grossing Bollywood films. Shah Rukh Khan was the most successful Indian actor for most of the 1990s and 2000s. He still enjoys his rule as undisputed king as he has a big fan base in USA, Canada and many European countries like Germany, UK etc. His house is located right across the road from the sea promenade, but hidden behind big gates. We also saw one of the apartments of Salman Khan. It was one of many he owns, apparently. The balcony was all fenced off and closed against onlookers.

The tour through Bandra closed off my Bollywood Tour. The guide got off there, because she apparently lives there somewhere. My driver brought me back trough heavy traffic to my hotel – he remembered the way this time. Around 17:30 I was back. I did not do much for the rest of the day. I walked across Carnac Bunder Bridge again to buy some fruits at the market on the other side.

My trousers had arrived at hotel reception while I was on tour and they did fit somewhat better than before. So I am happy, I have new dress pants. I did much packing and writing and had the last of the Kingfisher I had bought yesterday. It was going to be a short night. I did the web check in for my flight to Nagpur already yesterday. Around 02:45 I would have to leave to the airport.

22.02.2019

I got up and checked out at 02:30. I had booked a taxi on the ola app before going to sleep and it arrived on time at 02:45. There was very little traffic this early in the morning and the ride to the airport was quick. On the way I realized – while I had checked the room before leaving I had however left my nice woolly socks hanging in the ward robe. I had washed them and hung them to dry. I had left the wardrobe door open, but it must have closed by itself. Since I never put anything in the wardrobe, I had forgotten to check. Oh well, I hope they check when cleaning the room otherwise the next guests are in for a surprise …

Also in Mumbai Air India is flying from the International Terminal at the airport. I of course had booked Air India again because of the luggage allowance. Bag drop was quick this time and then I went in search of an ATM – I expected that in Tadoba National Park there would be no ATMs … The first machine I found was broken, the second gave me Rs 10000 but then gave up … Hmmmmm ….

I passed security without any problems and then found another ATM in transit. This one was the same bank as the one outside and it also did not give me any money …. Maybe my VISA card was the problem. I dug out my Mastercard from its hiding place and tried that one. And success! It gave me more money. Lucky!

I hung out at the gate waiting for my flight. I was too early of course, I could have slept another hours. But you never know with traffic and India … so it was better waiting at the airport.

The flight was well on time taking off at 05:50 – I had an F window seat. I slept most of the time. It was a short flight of only 1.5 hrs. Breakfast was OK – I had fruit salad and tea, but left over the spicy hot food.