ITC Grand Central Mumbai (Bombay)

... the outside. It was very basic to say<br>the least. It looked like it was about 40 years old but wouldn't call<br>it a 'classic car'. Not sure there's many people out there who'd want<br>to keep this in their garage! The seats were bright red but had a<br>transparent plastic cover on them. Don't know what purpose this served<br>as the plastic was torn and the red seats were stained and torn as<br>well. In fact, the plastic was a nuisance as the sharp edges where it<br>was torn ...

... ferry's on board cinema hall while my wife took a nap in our suite for the night. This was followed by a lavish dinner in the ferry&#8217;s lavish restaurant.<br><br>We alighted in Le Havre feeling rather refreshed, which wasn&#8217;t what we were expecting when we&#8217;d gotten on board, and this was surely a great way to start our French sojourn. <br><br>

... Gateway of India, I walked haphazardly northbound. I was thoroughly charmed by Bombay, with it's seductive mix of fading colonial grandeur, cosmopolitan luxuries, slums, wide and shady lanes, diversity and density of people etc etc etc. It was never dull, everywhere you looked you'd see something interesting or surprising or fantastic or ridiculous. I bumped into a few scallywags/rascals who invited me for a drink of sugarcane juice by the road. We chatted away, mainly about cricket. They ...

... of Mumbai University. Miles found he could get very close to the crows in the Hanging Gardens, so he was snapping away with the camera and making his mother pose with them. The guide book says, "Perched atop the Malabar hills, the Hanging gardens provide a panoramic view of the Arabian Sea and Marine drive. [Editor's note: except when the air quality is bad, which is often.] Adjacent to the hanging gardens is one of the largest city parks The Kamala Nehru ...

... seems more inteligent and cultural. There are some nice museums, art galleries, quality restaurants, etc. It's nice to see people in business attire for a change. On the other hand, you can also feel the caste system's effects here. You either see the wealthy or the poor, not much in between. Here are some stats: Population density: 29,000 people per square kilometer # of taxis: over 40,000 ...

... and fell over themselves in their eagerness to buy me alcohol. Ahem...not really. But they were welcoming and we talked. They were all from England and we had a few beers together and said that maybe we'll do some sight-seeing together today. As part of the conversation of the evening, the guys told me horror stories of stray dogs attacking people at night in India. Most of them went something like this - 'I saw one bloke get taken down by four savage dogs.' Mumbai is ...

... in India in a couple of weeks. She's seriously beautiful, but she turns ugly as we watch her abuse her mirror holder, her water bottle holder, her sari holder...literally waving them away with a manicured hand, as though they were flies. Our brief is to follow her with our eyes from one end of the catwalk to the other, her in her tinfoil dress and thigh-high boots. After 12 takes, necessitated by Chopra's minute hair imperfections, my neck is ...

Au hasard d'une ruelle j'entends de la musique, forte, projetée par un haut parleur invisible, champs religieux, incantations mysterieuses. Devant l'entrée voici un couloir de tentures vives qui delimitent un chemin, intrigué je l'emprunte, suis les clameurs et quelques centaines de metres de tissus plus loin me voila au pied d'un autel improvisé dans une cour de maison. On me prie de m'asseoir, on me sourit, on m'apporte du sucre roux, une boisson colorée, des pommes sech ...

... told us that Avi wasn't home but would be back soon. We relaxed for a bit and read the paper in her beautiful apartment. When she got home, we went downstairs to go to her friend's house for lunch. Avi's friends, (Mayer and Nosh)'s driver drove us through the city to their house, which was another spectacular apartment, with lush greenery inside and out. The balcony and many of the rooms had views of the ...