My Indian Adventure - Part 2 (BOMBAY)

        Two flights later I arrived in Mumbai (or Bombay (I'm going to Call it Bombay because its what I call it in my mind)). I was sceptical of my accommodation arrangements and the pick up from the airport arrangements.

      When I landed I suddenly realised that I had no plan B in case my accommodation fell through. I don't mean to bad mouth the place that I currently live in but "friends" in this country (lets call it Q) are "friends" of convince (bar a couple). Its quite common to arrange to stay at someones place and then that certain person from the country of "Q" might call up and tell you his/her uncle died and that you cannot possibly crash on their couch or a small area of the floor overnight. You see this has happened a few times (and on a side note people in Q are most willing to kill their uncles and aunties at a drop of a hat if your visit inconveniences them). I'm not judging, I'm just saying that it happens quite frequently and then you have to end up in some youth hostel or backpackers at the last minute. So I have learnt not to rely on friends from Q but to always have a plan B.

      The minute I landed whilst still in the air craft I could smell Bombay, that old familiar slightly stale smell of a big city bustling and bursting with life. After going through the rigmarole of collecting bags and going through customs I was standing outside (my flight was delayed a couple of hours) and there was no one there to collect me. My heart sank as I thought I would have to face the reality of finding my own accommodation in Bombay at 2 am. But something in my called out and told me to call the number my friend had given me (for her driver), I thought "what the heck" and called the driver. To my surprise HE PICKED UP. My heart gave a little leap of joy to know that my dearest friend (whom I hadn't seen in about 8 years) had not fallen through. She was as reliable as ever. After some phone acrobatics I got picked up and dropped off at the arranged accommodation where get this - SHE ANSWERED THE DOOR AND LET ME IN AT 3 am (even though she had a sleeping husband and child).

    She then (bless her cotton socks) stayed up with me and we excitedly chatted till about 5 am. With that  one gesture she restored my faith in my Indian friends (or friends I made in India), that they would never let me down and never kill off an aunt or uncle because my visit was inconvenient to them. She reaffirmed my faith in our friendship and the fact that shes a genuine friend. THIS IS THE SUBSTANCE that TRUE friends are made of. I thought I was the only idiot that would go out of my way for friends, I am continually disappointed by friends in "Q" because I go out of my way for them and they in turn just use me, I was starting to become hardened to this "fake" friendship and starting to loose my memory of what a TRUE friend is.

      As I was to find out that she was only the FIRST and not the LAST person that would reaffirm what a true friend is. Her husband, bless his kind heart reaffirmed my faith in the "Indian hospitality", no going Dutch on anything (although it grated a little with me I was pleasantly surprised as I frequently do not let friends pay for anything and then get idiotically hurt when they don't return the gesture), they both went out of their way to get me to places that had the "food" I was craving and then after feeding me not only dropped me off to the airport (where I was to meet someone) but then continued to make sure I met up with this person.

    Words fail me - I cannot describe how I feel about these two special people (and their most gorgeous son). But they did more for me and my spirit in a day and a half than the land of Q has done for me in 15 odd years.