"Mumbai Meri Jaan"

Wow...Mumbai is massive (just in case you didn't know!) Not only is there about 20 million people here but it's also quite spread out. Finding anything can take you several hours. Yesterday our gorgeous french friends arrived, "HRH" had a disaster, the little princes got away with murder and I gave my (silver croc) Hunter wellies a whirl. Where to begin?

Ganesh Festival Mumbai 2010

My friends arrived from France on a day that the heavens opened up and poured down on Mumbai...okay it is the "monsoon season" so we were expecting it. But boy did it rain. I think my girlfriend was suffering from what I call  " Mumbai Shock Syndrome" when she arrived at our hotel, which everyone gets when they come to Mumbai for the first time. It's like a slap in the face with a leather sandal...Mumbai just runs at you with the speed of a freight train. And all the National Geographic doco's you've watched to prepare yourself and Monica Ali books you've read- go right out the door. It's there in your face demanding a response. She looked lost, confused, upset, disapointed, excited, exhausted and hungry all at once. The first thing I did was order her a bloody mary (spicey of course c'mon we're in India) and a bite to eat! Next I took her out for a ciggie and "let her have a wee chat". Sometimes you just need time to process what's going on around you- find your stance or reasoning and then you can put everything into order in your head so the next time you are hit with it you know exactly how to react or reason with it. And that's what we did. It honestly does help. There is alot to process and all at once. Humanity is right there in front of you...nothing is hidden and at times it can be tough. But at least it's honest and real. I always believe that you learn more about yourself when you come to India...because it forces you to have to make decisions and have opinions on topics that you might prefer to ignore in your own world. But this is LIFE. You can pretend it isn't this way for as long as you want but THIS is the reality. And I'm ready for it...it doesn't mean I like what the reality of our world is -but I accept it. I understand it exists. Thats all.
So after that we got a call from "HRH" who sounded like he was in agony. He was calling from a chiropractor somewhere apparently he had put his back out. Again. And had taken a cab out immeadiately to see a chiropractor. Whilst in the waiting room he had been offered a chewy fruit candy. He had several and on the third one when he bit down- his gold crown completely fell out. He screamed in pain- had to leave the chiropractors (with assistance and rather slowly as his back was still out) and go to the emergency dentist in Bandra. Which took an hour in the traffic to get to. Poor "HRH" it sounded like hell. Five hours later he returned with a gaping hole in his mouth and his back was still out as he never actually made it into see the chiropractor. What a palava I say..."HRH" is just so unlucky sometimes.

Esco bar Bandra

We decided to go out to a local low key restaurant in Bandra where we ate four times more than a normal adult should. It was delicious...perhaps a little spicey for the frenchies. Teehehehe. But overall pretty good meal. I ordered the house specialty "Paddle crab curry". The poor creature was brought to the table live to be inspected which I thought was a little over the top but the end result was pretty spectacular.
Next we went to "Esco Bar" on Linking road, Bandra. It was a fabulous place with a stunning outdoor rooftop bar which was unfortunately covered over due to the rain. I marched in bold as brass wearing my silver gummies and matching fendi headscarf much to the wait staffs amusement. I don't think they'd ever seen a get up like it. But I didn't care, it was practical and with all the rain I didn't have a care in the world. Needless to say I will be back to heels tonight when we hit the AER bar at the Four Seasons...my wellingtons will be safely tucked away under the bed.

Caves at Elephant Island

When we arrived home at 1am "Lil G" and Prince M were still awake and taking the poor little Indian girl for a complete ride. I couldn't believe they were still awake and giggling like little monkeys. The make shift party was quickly shut down. And I respectfully explained to the babysitter that SHE was in charge and not those two little devils. She told me that Lil G had managed to lock himself in the bathroom for an hour and they had to get maintenance to free the door which had jammed. Lil G had gotten quite upset. Much to Prince M's amusement of course. They were allowed to ride their scooters around the hallways which was pretty nice and explore the hotel. She was absolutely lovely insisting the boys had not been too bad and then agreed to be our babysitter during our stay at the hotel. All in all it had been a massive day. But a great day. Have decided to postpone our apartment search till next week so we can hang out with the frenchies. Tomorrow the plan is to go to Elephant Island to visit the caves and ancient temples. The kids will love it. They'll feel right at home with all the monkeys!
Thanks again to the new readers from Japan, Bermuda and Turkey. Woohoo this is it. We're here- it's really happening!