Didn't get up quite as early as I'd hoped (I'd entertained ideas of taking my camera and going for an early morning walk). Walked to the travel agent and successfully picked up my tickets - thought they weren't all that happy about the photocopy of my passport that I gave them - I had to tape the pieces together first. It was a bit of a struggle to find a taxi. The travel agent had offered one at 600 Rs, so I figured I could find one for 500 - but when I got back to my half of the village everyone wanted 700! I finally found one who would do it for 600. Rushed through packing and headed out the door in a bit of a rush. The drive to the airport took about an hour and a half - the first half was pretty - countryside and foothills, but the rest was pretty suburban.
I got to the airport a little early, so of course the flight was late leaving, but only half an hour. The flight was on Air Sahara, and they were having a promotion - I won a small blender / mixer - just what my pack needed. I left it on the floor. The flight was uneventful except for the very nice meal - I think airline meals in India are actually pretty good. In the Mumbai airport I wandered around a bit looking for a prepaid taxi booth, but finally gave up and negotiated on my own - it wasn't as expensive as I thought it might be. The taxi in to Colaba (where I had decided to stay) took an hour and wasn't very interesting. The hotel I'd chosen is right on the waterfront just down the street from the Taj (claimed to be the finest hotel in the world) and the Gate Way of India. It's a lot more than I usually spend, but I figured it is my last hotel in India.
After dumping my gear I went out for a walk around the neighborhood (Apollo Bunder) until it got dark. I found a pharmacy and bought some ear drops (my ear is infected again) - the only cost 20 cents. I also found a book at a street stall - finally reading material again. I had a salad at a nice cafe (maybe a bit risky, but I figured the odds were better than they will be in Nepal). I went to the cinema and saw The 13th Warrior (Ok), and afterwards had a light snack and a couple beers while reading.
