Arrived in Mumbai last night after a looooooooooonnngg day of driving from Ellora, followed by hours more of stop/go traffic once we reached the city limits and attempted to find our hotel. Tempers were flared, arguments were had, tears were shed (not by me), cots were removed from some rooms, taxis were taken to entirely different hotels, drivers were sick, the truck's gears were still f@#&ed, the truck's cab was still propped up on small blocks of wood thanks to the genius that is my father, fancy restaurant meals were foresaken (by me, Dad, Marty, Darren & Annie) in lieu of strong rum/whisky drinks and a late-night foray to McDonald's . . . just another day with Dragoman. Which is not your ordinary adventure.
About half the group officially left this morning as the second leg ended. Will miss many, but certainly not the three folks that I have decided are the little known and long lost --- but certainly not missed --- 8th, 9th and 10th dwarves: Moany, Assy and Bitchy. There are tons of newbies so it is another full-to-capacity load of 23 from Mumbai to Chennai. Haven't met them all yet since orientation was just this morning, but I have left them with a fridge full of Kingfisher beer (6 cases) and pop (60 bottles), and I am staying an extra night in Mumbai and flying to Goa on December 19. Six of us are doing that option and we'll get to Goa before the truck . . . which is having all kinds of problems that can not be fixed here in Mumbai and perhaps will NOT be fixed until Kathmandu two months down the pothole-filled road.
We're having a going-away dinner at the best restaurant in Mumbai tonight (Indigo), which none of us has the right clothes for but for which I did actually break down and purchase makeup for. Lipstick, blush, mascara, the works. I figure I can look good from the neck up if nothing else. Only 12 people of the 24 (22 travelers & 2 drivers) were invited, which has contributed to the overall angst and truck drama. Erg. I plan to have lots of drinks.
Despite the carrying-on above, there have been many highlights and I am so happy that I am doing this trip. The caves in Ellora were absolutely amazing . . . hard to believe they are so old and still so intact. Mandu was also awesome and peaceful and the best architecture yet. Only two nights of camping due to truck issues and hideous roads. The first night was really awesome, like something from opening scenes of Jesus Christ Superstar as we pulled into a random field and unloaded the tents/dining stuff and started cooking a massive and truly gourmet Indian feast. The locals appeared out of nowhere and just stood around the fringes all night staring at us. They also reappeared very early the next morning to watch us squat & do our duty, brush our teeth, etc. They won't eat anything or even really try to talk, they just look at us like we're the most fascinating (or disgusting) things they've ever seen. It's very strange. Would like to do more camping than we've done --- it's great to be around a campfire under the stars and better for the group dynamics overall.
OK, signing off now because I need to get ready for din-din. Please do e-mail me and fill me in, I am lonely for non-truck talk:-)
Oh my gosh....so dad is going to camp out at the airport for a day? :-) Have a safe flight and have FUN....hope your new group are all GREAT people!!!!!
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