After mixing champagne and vodka on Saturday night, I woke up on Sunday with a headache. My brother (s) and I had lunch at my grandmother’s and then decided to do some shopping. We went to Colaba and walked around there for a while – actually it was more like elbowing our way through the crowds for a while. We went to Nike, Metro shoes and some other random shops. I bought a new yoga mat for 650 Rupees (£6.50) – bargain! (Although I’ve since used it and really don’t like it.)
On Sunday night we went over to my cousin’s place where my mum’s sister-in-law was babysitting her grandchildren. My cousin and her husband were out of town but we got to see her three kids and her fabulous new home on the 60th floor of their new building. You have to take three lifts to get to her flat – imagine getting downstairs and realising you’d left something upstairs: nightmare. After a drink at the flat, we went to Shiro for dinner. I’d never been there and had heard good things about it. The owner is a good friend of my parents and he’d pre-ordered the food for us – and there was so much of it! I can’t even tell you what we ate, but it was a lot.
On Monday we had lunch at home as usual. That afternoon we decided to do some shopping for my cousin’s wedding in Bali. We went to a few designer stores but everything was so ridiculously expensive and there was nothing that I loved enough (or even fit into, to be honest) to be able to justify spending that kind of money.
That evening S and I went to visit a friend for a quick drink and then had dinner with my mum and aunts at Umame. We had the rock shrimp tempura roll and the piri piri roll to start with. We also had the Umame barbecued chicken. The rest of the food was vegetarian as there were three vegetarians at dinner (rock corn tempura, vegetarian khao suey, tofu and barbecued paneer). It was pretty good – for dessert, we ordered the chocolate souffle but when it came I was too full to even try it.
On Tuesday morning, S and I decided to try the breakfast in the Club Lounge (as we had a Club room). I had the scrambled eggs and sausages (average). He then went to see my parents and I went to the salon for an oil head massage. I had warm almond oil rubbed into my hair and scalp for 40 minutes – it was amazing. I then had a wash and blowdry and went to see my parents. After lunch, my mum, S and I went to run some errands and I went over to see my cousin for tea. I sat at her place for a while and then went to meet a friend at Metro Pizza Metro for a drink. I hadn’t seen her since she left London seven years ago and we had a lot to catch up on. I went back home for dinner and then S and I went back to the hotel at around 10pm.
S left early on Wednesday morning. As I was awake I decided to go to breakfast at the Club Lounge. I ordered the buttermilk pancakes with maple syrup. When they came, I realised the chef sprinkled crushed pistachios all over them. Why would anyone do that?? I scraped it all off and tried to enjoy the pancakes! I did a bit of work and then went to see my parents. After lunch we went to the hospital as Dad had an appointment with the nephrologist. We went back home after that and then Mum and I had an appointment to see some clothes. (Remind me to never get married, just the shopping for clothes would kill me.) I actually liked a few things and bought a couple of outfits! Hurrah! We got stuck in traffic on the way home – and it was 7.30pm by the time I got back to the hotel. A friend was waiting for me so we had a coffee together in the Club Lounge (this is the same friend I had dinner with at Rivington Grill in Dubai a couple of weeks ago). After he left, I got ready in a rush and went over to my cousin’s place for a drink. After just one drink I headed to my grandmother’s for dinner with her and my parents. I’d been rushing around all day and could not wait to get into bed. I packed my suitcase (didn’t take long) and my cousin from London who was staying at the Oberoi came over for a chat – we had such a laugh!
I was up early on Thursday morning and went for breakfast. This time I ordered the Indian version of scrambled eggs – with turmeric, coriander and chilli. It was much better than the eggs I’d had before (but not worthy of a photograph). I did a bit of packing after that, checked out of the hotel and went to my grandmother’s place. We had a late lunch and at 3.30pm my Emirates car arrived to take me to the airport. The journey to the airport didn’t take as long as I expected and checking in was a breeze. I browsed the shops for a while – can you believe there’s no bookshop at Bombay Airport?? I got so excited when I saw a Crossword store but it only sold toys. Meh.
So I went to the lounge. I didn’t feel like eating or drinking and one of the hostesses asked me if I’d like to have a complimentary foot massage before my flight. Er, yes please! She led me to the spa area at the back of the lounge and I got comfortable while the therapist massaged my feet for 15 minutes. And then it was time to board.
What I noticed in Bombay on this trip:
- It’s so humid at this time of year that having a blowdry is almost pointless (almost)
- The landline at home rings more often than the mobiles (perhaps because the mobile networks are so bad)
- The roads are so bumpy, women are better off wearing a sports bra when in the car (and maybe some men too)
- The service at the Trident is excellent (efficient and friendly)
- I still wouldn’t want to live there
The flight was delayed for about half an hour and I didn’t get home until 10pm. I unpacked and got into bed. Oh, it felt so good…
I love my life.
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Notes by Nectar 