Mumbai/Bombay

Trip Start Nov 21, 2007

158

Trip End Oct 01, 2008

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Where I stayed

Renaissance Mumbai Hotel And Convention Center Mumbai (Bombay)

(Mumbai (Bombay) hotels)

Flag of India Mumbai (Bombay), Maharashtra, India
Wednesday, April 9, 2008

This city is just well...crazy. We saw a statistic that said on average 15,000 people (one slum has 1 million!!) live in one square Km. There are something like 40,000 black taxis! They are everywhere. We heard that taxis have to wait days for just one fare from the airport which is a big reason so many people get "taken". Well, we had been to Mumbai before so we knew that our ride to our hotel should be around 300 rupees. Our drivers (yes, there were two for NO reason) suggested a fair price of 950 rps. We both knew this was wrong. So, we just kept going and would deal with it when we got to the hotel. When we got there, Jana took the bags and went in the hotel. Layton took care of the fare. One driver had cranked the meter higher and the other driver kept demanding 950 rupees. Layton gave in to 400 rupees and walked away. The security guard at our hotel walked up with a fare calculator to help, but we did not want to use the meter because Layton had seen them crank the meter up! UGH! All part of life. The funny thing is Layton met a French Canadian in the lobby the next day

cool elephant in our lobby

. He started the conversation with "I saw you fighting with the taxi driver yesterday..." He confirmed that we were right to stand our ground for the price. It was very interesting, he's in the business of recycling plastic and any materials he can't use in Canada he sells to India and China.

Our stay in Mumbai was not too exciting because we needed some R&R. Yes, we talk about all the great times and things we do. This time well, not so fun. We were in the Vietnamese Consulate getting our visas sorted out when Jana started to feel bad. She was trying not to make a scene but also being hard headed as usual. Finally, it was getting worse...sort of a heat stroke who knows...cold sweat, seeing black dots, nausea, you get the picture. So, the sweet workers brought us back to a nice leather couch, gave Jana sticky rice and potato dish and the best tasting orange juice! SO FREAKING EMBARRASSING (but they were really nice to us after that!) We ended up getting our visas after about an hour though! After 30 mins or so, we made it back to our hotel where we turned it into a dark cave of coolness. A full day of Layton's TLC, medicine, rehydration and toast brought Jana back to life and ready to go again!

Layton treated us to a night at the Renaissance Mumbai which is a SUPER nice hotel

even better flowers to accent

. We would have had to pay $330 for a night there but it was FREE because of L's work travel points. The room, bed, shower, bathroom, amenities, great view of a huge lake and the city...well you get the point. We loved it!

Random facts:
We wanted to mail or "post" some items home to Jana's Mom in Happy, TX. So, we headed out to the post office which the concierge at the hotel was very hesitant and warned us many times about how expensive it might be for us. We got there and it turned out to be a long process but not a complete beating. It took about an hour to get it all weighted, packaged, sewn (yes, they literally wrap the package in fabric and sew it together!) and labeled correctly. Mom, we hope you get it because that process was none too comforting!

India's cheapest night stay: $11 dollars for both of us in a double with a TV, Smyle Inn in Delhi.

India's meals were quite inexpensive as well, we frequented a vegetarian place in Pune and paid on average 160 rupees (about 4 USD) which included a drink, main dish, and a bread (Naan or Chipati) side order.

Internet at Internet Cafes in India were typically 15 ruppees/hour (about 37 cents), needless to say we really caught up on emails and travel planning!!

"The Times of India" a newspaper Layton liked to read was 3 ruppees (8 cents)!!