Back in Bombay and Packing for A Conference Trip to Kerala

Friday, February 22, 2019
Nagpur-Bombay

Back in Bombay and Packing for A Conference Trip to Kerala

     Namaste from Bombay!
     It is true! Things often just come together all at once to make life overwhelming. Just back from Nagpur, I am in Travel Mode again as I get ready for my travels in Kerala.
     So I had a very restless night--thanks to the mocha latte I'd bought at Bombay airport yesterday morning and had with my breakfast sandwich! Yes, if you can believe it, my caffeine intolerance is so pronounced that if I have caffeinated tea or coffee even in the morning, it remains in my system for a whole 24 hours and keeps me awake until the early hours of the morning. But the problem is that in India, decaff anything is almost impossible to come by! It is the one thing I really and truly do miss here when I am out and dying for a refreshing cuppa--not even Starbucks carries decaff. Luckily, I have my supplies from the US with me and these serve my personal needs at home. It is when I am traveling that I have a hard time (although I do now carry a Comfort Pouch filled with decaff tea and coffee sachets, Coffeemate, my Stevia sweetener, a drop bottle of artificial lemon juice and a small spoon with me when I travel so that I can enjoy a comforting cuppa).
     So I stayed awake until about 2.00 am reading my magazines that I have downloaded on my iPad through the Flipster app...and that kept me somewhat occupied. As a result of the late drop-off to sleep, I only awoke at 6.45 and did not waste too much time lazing in bed as I wanted to take a shower and go down to the restaurant for breakfast by 7.45am with the aim of getting into the shuttle bus to take me to Nagpur airport by 8.30 am for my 10.30 am flight.
     And that was exactly how things worked out. A shower, a quick pack-up of my belongings in my backpack and the gift bag that carried the gifts of books I was given at the University of Nagpur and I was down in the lobby getting set for breakfast.  And what a massive breakfast it turned out to be! It is probably the best buffet breakfast in Nagpur--a typical five-star hotel breakfast (and I am sure you know what that means) but not a single bit of it was up to my standards.
     I decided to eat breakfast and lunch right there and ordered an omelette which I ate with bacon (tasteless) and a chicken sausage (ditto), a grilled tomato half and some tater tots (really tasteless). I then opted for waffles (as I haven't eaten those in ages) and was brought a nearly burnt one--much too well done and crisp. Instead of being chewy and pillowy in the center, this was more like a hard cookie. Very disappointing. I had it with maple syrup and chopped nuts. Also, I was disappointed to find that in the city of oranges, there was not a single orange on the menu and no freshly squeezed orange juice. When the waiter came around to ask if there was anything he could get me, I asked for freshly-squeezed OJ and he returned with a tall glass full--but he was right. There was a reason they were not on the buffet. They were quite sour and tasteless and he told me that was because it was not the right season for oranges. Oh well, at least I tried to taste Nagpur's famous oranges before leaving.
     The hotel shuttle van quickly sped me off to the airport where I reached in about 15 minutes. My flight was on time and I reached Bombay at about 12 noon. I was very sleepy and dozed off throughout the flight as I had slept so late and the lack of sleep was definitely making me feel listless. I did pick up my Paneer Tikka Sandwich (the Chicken Tikka Sandwiches were all gone) and my pouch of pomegranate juice and figured I would have it in the evening for dinner. I was not hungry as I'd had such a huge breakfast and knew that I would be skipping lunch.
   Once in Bombay, I got into an auto rickshaw and was home about an hour later after we fought bad traffic in the Bombay suburbs. I called my Dad to let him know I had arrived and began unpacking. A little later, I curled up for a nap and got a 20 minute rest. When I awoke, I caught up with my email (it is amazing how much accumulates in just one day!) and I also drafted my blog post on my experiences in Nagpur. It was a lot of fun to relive my brief but very fulfilling visit to that city.  And then I began to plan my evening.
    I hauled out my little stroller bag from my balcony (where it is stashed inside my bigger suitcases) and began packing for my trip to Kerala. I shall be leaving again on a flight on Sunday. This time I will need more things as I will be away from Bombay for a week. Following my four-day stay in Cochin, I shall be going to Munnar with another Fulbrighter Michelle and we intend to spend three days just chilling there. I must remember to download a lot of magazines and another book on my iPad. After the stress of the conference, it will be nice to chill with long hikes amidst the tea and coffee plantations and by the lake (we have a hotel overlooking the lake).
     With a lot of my packing already done, I left my place for Dad's and spent a bit of time catching up with Russel and telling him all about my trip to Nagpur as he actually asked me what it had been like. He is looking well and the swelling on his leg looks better. Rohit has been wrapping it in the bandages as I have taught him to do.  However, Russel's elbow joint is still sore and he is not yet walking anywhere in the house with the walker. Hopefully, he will begin soon. Dad says that all is under control on the home front.
    Dad and I left shortly afterwards for the 7.00 pm Mass where I did the Reading as the appointed Lector did not show. That done, I went to Jay's to get some photocopying done and then to my phone and internet plan provider called Ajit as my plan had expired and needed to be renewed.  That done, I retuned to Dad's as he needed me to read something for him from The Times of India about the role of Cardinal Oswald Gracias in suppressing the sex abuse scandal among the Catholic clergy that has also hit Bombay.  Dad wanted me to read him an article about three cases that have currently been filed about priests in Bombay who have raped and sodomized children in their local churches.  Catholic lawyers are now out fighting for them and taking their stories to the Bombay media while Cardinal Gracias is attending the Sex Abuse Summit that Pope Francis has called in Rome.  It is all very sad and sordid and the name of Catholic priests in Bombay is reaching rock bottom fast.
     Back home, I ate my paneer tikka sandwiches, two crackers and blue cheese with a cup of cream of vegetable soup and started watching the movie, How Do You Know? It is another rom-com with Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd and Owen Wilson. It is not completely stupid, but it isn't that great either. Chriselle and I had a long whatsapp chat while I was in the middle of it and caught up before I washed up my dinner things and got ready for bed.
     Until tomorrow...