Day 90: The (sad) journey back home
Priya Ramani -
Friday, July 25, 2008 9:39 AM
It broke my heart to say goodbye to Mika and Khensani. Mika wanted to know why we hadn't stayed with them for the full 10 days. And I don't think I will ever meet another seven-year-old who is as special as Khensani.
On the flight we were seated near a Gujarati family who proceeded to "capture" all the nearby empty window seats and then yell across the aisles to each other. We flew back to Mumbai with frequent cries of "Meena, ay Meena" echoing from the seat in front of us.
When the duty free trolley came around, the family waylaid it for 2 hours. South African Airlines (which has the most regular water replenishment service but the worst inflight entertainment system I've ever encountered -- I was forced to pick between the 2003 film Master And Commander and the animated Horton Hears a Who!) had some duty free deals on watches and this family was determined to get the best price on all the watches and perfumes they bought. After they spent $1500 buying up half the trolley they wanted an additional discount. Now I really know why Indians in South Africa have a reputation of being diehard negotiators.
My Asian Vegetarian meal was awful -- I still haven't figured out why airlines don't have any in between formula for someone who likes dairy but doesn't eat omelettes.
Anyhow, before we knew it, we were back in Bandra. Where on earth did the three months disappear?
PS: We'll do some more round-up blogs so don't go anywhere. And, more importantly, our photographs should be up soon. We haven't posted them due to a technical hitch which will hopefully be resolved soon.