Day 21

And there it is, our final day in India. Sometimes it seems like it's been a lot more than three weeks, sometimes a lot less. We got some morning coffee at the Kaishi Art Cafe, which the Lonely Planet described as having "diffident service", and again, we quickly learned exactly what that meant.

A taxi, another flight on Jet Airways (which, after four flights, I can say is an excellent airline) and we were in Mumbai. Upon arrival, we couldn't find Swati, nor a phone that worked, so we killed about 40 minutes standing around, but eventually we found each other (Swati had gotten a haircut so she was hard to recognize!)

Mr. Saxena had also come out with a driver, and we hopped in the car to do a bit of sightseeing around Mumbai. I'm very glad that we had an afternoon and evening to do that, because my previous impression of Mumbai was only from a late-night, mosquito-ridden, pollution-choked airport arrival, and I had had no interest in seeing any more of it. But seeing the real city revealed yet another place unlike any other place we had yet seen in India. If you were dropped blindfolded into Mumbai and had no idea where you were, you would be able to immediately figure it out after simply seeing one or two women. It's by far the most Westernized city in India, where a woman in a traditional sari almost seems out of place, and where people would respond to Swati's Hindi questions with English answers. We travelled to the Churchgate area and a beach along Marine Drive, which might as well have been Oak Street Beach along Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. Though I'm not sure if they have guys walking around selling hot tea, "American corn" on the cob, or renting beach mats in Chicago. And I don't know if we had just gotten used to it, or if the ocean breeze was clearing it out, but the city seemed almost pollution-free, with the sun sinking behind the oceanfront high-rises and lighting up blue sky above.

We then did a quick spin by the Gateway of India (not to be confused with India Gate in New Delhi!), and then got a good buffet dinner in a nearby hotel. After that we dropped Arjan off at his hotel (he would be staying one more day in Mumbai), and, *sniff*, our travelling group was down to just me, Dennis, and Swati.

From there it was a long drive north to Swati's uncle's place, which is near the airport. Along the way we passed the amazing roadside slums that Mumbai is infamous for, which tempered my "Mumbai is great!" feelings back down a bit. Built out of all sorts of random materials, the one-room dwellings are stacked two-high, with wooden ladders to reach the upper floors. We'd seen ramshackle roadside housing all over in India, but in Mumbai it seems much more institutionalized.

We were welcomed by Swati's aunt and uncle to their home, where Swati's mother was also waiting. We all did some hurried luggage repacking, while they were far too generous with their welcoming and going-away gifts. And all too quickly we were back out the door again and on the way to the airport.

Swati's brother and another aunt were there waiting for us, and after check in, there were plenty of hugs, some tears, and a whole lot of waving as we made our way to the gate and our way home.

We were given many heartfelt invitations to return again, and I have no doubt that I will. I would love to return regularly over the next twenty or thirty years just to watch the country change, as it seems to be in the midst of an intense period of growth and flux. And now I have a good overview of a large swath of the country, but there are many other places to see, and many to see again in more depth. To steal a comment from Arjan, the government tourism board really got their slogan right: "Incredible India!" I'm sure glad that I have pictures, because otherwise it would be hard to believe that a lot of it was even real, and not just a product of someone's colorful, overactive imagination.

Now, can I have some Cheerios please?