Bombay

…As the train rolled on into the night, I fell asleep, and when I awoke feeling refreshed the next day, I immediately noticed a climatic change. Obviously we had travelled a great distance overnight and we were nearing Bombay as the early morning sun brought news of warmer weather. The train arrived in Bombay late at night after 36 hours on the rails, but on our arrival in Bombay we experienced great difficulty in finding an empty hotel. Even the hotel gardens had beds in them for Europeans, at extortionate prices. I failed to see the point in spending the night in a hotel garden and paying for the mere privilege. of sleeping in hotel grounds.

Furthermore, the poorer inhabitants of Bombay were already bedded down for the night as usual on their own private spot on the pavements, under the stars and if they were really affluent they may even possess a blanket. Why then should not follow their example, (when in Rome…) after all it was a scorching night, one could probably not sleep if confined in a hotel. Just to be on the safe side, and due to our innate British distrust of the weather, we headed towards the Gateway of India, that had an enclosed space and it had a solid roof. When we arrived there, we discovered other westerners on a similar mission, in a similar plight. We stretched out next to some very arrogant, noisy Germans, but the intense heat made sleep difficult .I had to crawl out of my sleeping bag to catch a much needed nap…..