Karen speaking. After a mere 31 hours or so door-to-door, the three of us arrived safely at the hotel around 2:30 a.m. local time. Thanks to the miracle of modern medicine (i.e., sleep aids), the 15-hour flight from JFK felt almost trivial. This despite having to sit on the runway for a couple of hours before departure as they were clearing out about 50 backed-up planes from earlier thunderstorm delays.
Once we were on the ground in Mumbai it took about 30 minutes before we saw our first Indian rat. He was scurrying through the baggage claim area. Later he jumped on the conveyor belt and headed back outdoors, but for a moment I envisioned him being carouselled around and around among the suitcases. Later at the money exchange counter we met one of his smaller cousins. Good times! I was strangely unperturbed by the rodentia, though, I must say. This may have been a residual effect of the sleeping pills.
Breakfast at the hotel is complimentary and includes all kinds of yummy Indian foods like idli sambar, dosas, and other delights such as fresh pineapple and papaya. I may never go back to Cheetah Chomps.
Speaking of good food, we all went for lunch with Raj to a local veg restaurant and had excellent thalis for the incredible price of Rs 180 (about $4.50) each. The food just kept coming and coming. My favorite new thing is masala tea, a spiced, milky tea that is similar to what they call chai in the U.S. (whereas it seems "chai" here is plain tea, no spices). I am already addicted to its warm, cardamom-y goodness. And shut up, yeah, it's not vegan. Get off my case.
For your viewing pleasure, a photo from my hotel room window (that is BAMBOO SCAFFOLDING on the building next door, by the way):
And the beach as viewed from the hotel's patio/pool area:
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