14.11.18 Mumbai

Now the last day of our trip has begun. We take something with us from everything we have experienced. First, I treat myself to an extensive workout in the gym and then enjoy the last breakfast. We are creatures of habit, so it's poached eggs and toast for me, an omelette for Vanessa. Every day we have enjoyed delicious papaya, which shouldn't be missing today either. So we start for the last time with our driver and guide on our final sightseeing tour. And what a miracle, here in the westernmost city of India, we have a woman as our guide, which pleases us very much. In Mumbai, tuk-tuks are banned in the city center because of the traffic, we miss them. But the small Suzuki and Honda taxis almost make up for it.

We start our tour at the Gate of India, where the last British troops walked through in 1947 before leaving the country. Just opposite is the Taj Palace, where we use the pool. It is a landmark of the city and was built when a sign hung at another hotel at the turn of the century: no Indians and dogs... the hotel is steeped in history and the center of the 2008 attacks. It gives you goosebumps despite the heat.

We see many historical buildings of the British, foremost the magnificent Victoria Station.

A remnant from the olden days are public laundries, in the open air, the Dhobi Ghats. They wash the laundry by hand. Fresh laundry hangs in the middle of the city. We drive through a small slum by car and learn that these are well-organized cities, even though most people here have a job and are destitute.

At the Mahatma Gandhi House, we learn about the history of this important man for India, who led India to independence without war. Impressive, although there was a civil war shortly after freedom.

Finally, we get to know a special phenomenon in Mumbai, the lunchbox carriers. This is a sophisticated system of how lunchboxes from the suburbs get to the workplaces. We can see the last stage for ourselves. The lunchboxes are distributed to the individual cyclists, and each cyclist carries an incredible number of lunchboxes on their bike and delivers them to the destination. The system has an incredibly small margin of error.

The rest of the day is quickly told, to the pool at the Taj Palace, where we enjoy the sun, the pool, and some relaxation. At 9 o'clock in the evening, we go to the airport and leave this diverse India.

The trip was fantastic and very impressive, with many highlights like the Taj Mahal, the tigers in Ranthambore, the bustling street life, the market in Jaipur, Bollywood cinema, the tour on the backwaters in Kerala, Ayurvedic treatments. We agree that we have seen a lot, but there are still places we want to see someday, not today and not tomorrow. Of course, the trip was also special because of the way we traveled, with our own driver and guide, as well as the very nice hotels, which were wonderful oases, perfect for us. And yes, even though no one believes it, we didn't get diarrhea at all!!!

We were a great travel duo and watching episodes of our favorite series together in the hotel bed before falling asleep, you can surely only do that with a friend!!!