We are in Mumbai right now and only one night left. Where has the time gone. Today we are staying onboard. We have spent quite a bit of time in Mumbai and we are coming back for two days after the post trip to the Taj Mahal and staying at the Taj Hotel so we will have time when we return if we wish to do anything else.

As previously noted by Andi in an earlier post I DID GO SHOPPING and even with all my problems had success. The secret was finding a mall where locals shop and a store that had Indian clothes that actually fit westerners. I bought three outfits. June was with me and she bought three outfits as well. We had a great time finding things that actually worked.

June and I considered going to another mall today and see if we could do a bit more damage but the malls are a long way from here and I do not cherish the idea of going store to store from the street. A mall makes it so much easier. The shopper is not that strong in me to deal with all the negotiation, some love it I do not.

Last night June and I wore our Indian outfits, Susan and Meredith bought stunning outfits. Eugene was "smashing" in his white suit and Bo was very handsome with a new custom made shirt. Meredith even had a bindi I have some bindis from my last trip but left them at home. Home dumb was that!!! At dinner an Indian women came up to the table and said that June and I looked great. She was obviously pleased we were wearing Indian clothing. We had a great dinner with Franck he is such a nice man and a very good GM. Rack of lamb of course with all the trimmings including roasted pumpkin that I love.

Ken took pictures last night. He will try and post those today.

We have had great get together every night in the Observation Lounge, what a great group of people. We were fortunate to get our own bus for the post land program to the Taj as there are 34 of us going so that will be fun.

Ken had an adventure in Cochin I have not posted about. He decided he wanted to do what some of our friends do and get a LOCAL haircut. The local advisor on the ship told him to get a taxi to the Grand Hotel. The Grand Hotel was not so grand! Next to the Grand Hotel was the barber shop. Ken said they washed his hair first, then massaged his head - that he loved. He said it was one of the best haircuts he has had and cost at a cost of $5. What a deal! I think he really enjoyed that experience.

This has been a great trip, totally calm seas every day of the cruise. It has been hot but tolerable I have been hotter in Europe in August. It is interesting how some people see things so differently. One tour in Goa visited some churches. One person was blown away by the churches and loved them, another person said "nothing there just some old churches". As always, different strokes for different folks. We have taken a taxi three times. The negotiation and hassle in getting the taxis you can look at as frustrating or a "hoot" depending on your point of view. We had two excellent experiences with good drivers and one bad experience with a bad driver. Pricing varied tremendously in each port and the larger the car the higher the price.