Wednesday, Jan 30 we strike out on our own

We joined the bus to the conference so that we could arrange some more sightseeing with the tour company. We have all made this trip several times, so when the bus made an unexpected turn, there were curious rumblings from the crowd. When the bus stopped and the driver got out and started talking to the auto rickshaw drivers, we realized that he didn’t know the way and was asking directions.

When he got back on the bus, Lucille’s husband opened the window to the driver and said, “We know the way. Turn around.” As he came back to the road we had started from, we all sang out in unison, “Turn right.” Then “The second gate, turn left.” It only took a few minutes to get to the right place.

We arranged to take the suburban tour on Thursday and asked for a quote on the cost of going to Elephanta island. They said, “No problem, this afternoon, we give.”

“We won’t be here this afternoon. Tell us tomorrow morning. Now, take us all back to the hotel.”

At the hotel we arranged for 2 taxis to take us to a real shopping mall and then on to a restaurant for lunch. We spend a lot of time making sure that we have all of the telephone numbers (both cabs, Deena’s cell, my cell, and Lucille’s cell (which has a Mumbai sim chip.)) We have learned the hard way that this is really important. The cabs seem to always let us off in different spots.

Everyone seems to be on the same page and we set off for the “In Orbit Mall”. We drive up to a store and our driver says, “Here it is, nice store.” It is another one of those damned department stores where they take the tourists.

“NO WAY!” We want the In Orbit Mall. “Oh,” he says, in all innocence, “No problem, I know it.” The other cab has been following us, so we all turn around and head off again. The next stop is the side door of the mall. The other cab goes to the front door, so with a little calling, we all get together. The cabs will pick us up when we call them.

Once inside, we decide to split up and meet again in an hour to compare notes. Maria (another of the Hefei 8) just arrived late last night and needs a coffee. Deena wants to shop for clothes, because she didn’t bring anything to wear that was a little dressy. I am looking for a Parcheesi set (and also anything that I think might appeal to the kids.) And Carol is still looking for hearing aid batteries. Today, she has a battery to show people. Her husband is hearing out of one ear.

It is really fun to see a mall in another country. There is a basic sameness. (A Body shop is in every mall in the world as far as I can tell.) But there is also very much the flavor of the country. You can see the kinds of clothes they wear, the toys for their kids, the food court choices, etc.

I ended up with Carol’s battery because I had a zippered pack and wouldn’t lose it. She was a little shy about asking people about it. Since I was just wandering anyway, I went into every shop that seemed to have watch repair or electronics and asked. No luck.

When we met again, Deena had found some great clothes at a store that she described as something between Target and Macy’s. Several of the group went off and Lucille also found a tunic top.

After the 2^nd hour, it was time to call the taxis and go to lunch.

We drove along and stopped near some hovels. Oh, oh. Out the driver hopped to talk to the auto rickshaw drivers. (This was both good and bad – the good part was that the restaurant wasn’t one of the hovels, the bad was that they didn’t know where it was.) No one seemed to know. We suggested that they call the number that the hotel had written. It didn’t work. We compared it with the other taxis piece of paper and realized that one number had been left out and insisted that they try the new number. Success at last. The restaurant told them how to get there and we soon arrived.

We tried to order beer, but in honor of Gandhi’s death, it was a dry day. We ordered only 3 dishes to share and some naan. It was more than enough food.

Here is our waiter opening one of our choices. This was an earthenware pot sealed with dough. Inside was a lamb and rice dish.

When we asked the waiter to take a picture, we suddenly had ALL of the waiters in the restaurant gathered around, giving him advice, checking the result, etc.

From the left, we are: Lucille, me, Deena, Carol and Maria. (I forgot to mention that Mary stayed at the hotel. Her back was bothering her after the car ride yesterday, and she wanted to used the hotel spa and relax it.)

Back in the taxis, we split up. Carol and Lucille went with one driver to try to find batteries. (They were successful. The driver took Carol by the hand and with the battery in his hand took her to a row of watch repair shops/hovels. They went shop to shop until one guy had some.)

On the way home we took a toll road. This was 2 card tables with guys collecting 20 Rupees. (50 cents) This road went through a wild park kind of area. Very rural looking with some dairy barns. It also seemed to be more direct with less traffic – a real blessing.

Chuck and I (and most of the other people) had the buffet dinner in the hotel.