India 🇮🇳 ~Mumbai “Gypsy Tail Winds Take Daryl Back to India from North Carolina!!”…. Plus Blog Links for Before and After Mumbai”
Gypsy Tail Winds
~Daryl Wrote
The gypsy tailwinds are swirling, as I observed the signs and secured my boarding passes for the many plane rides, in my immediate future.
My destination was Old India 🇮🇳, more specifically Bombay; now known as Mumbai. Only the airport refers to the name Bombay, now.
The journey involved, almost 20 hours of flight time and airport time, to get me to India from the USA via, Newark, NJ 🇺🇸and Germany 🇩🇪
We were cruising at an altitude of 35,000 feet, traveling at 520 miles per hour, and are just over five hours from our destination, as we skirted the coast of the Black Sea, near Turkey.
As we left the Black Sea behind, we flew around Mount Ararat; the legendary resting place of Noah’s Ark. According to legend, God himself shut the ark’s hatch when the rains began. I can see majestic Mount Ararat and its 16,854-foot peak, coming into view on our north side. I recall a trip from Armenia to reach Mount Ararat, but driving, it’s impossible to get close to, since there are no road systems available, to get anywhere near the base, easily, especially with restricted access, due to snow. But we could see the mountain, looming large in the distance. We turned back at the Turkish border. Later, would drive to Göbekli Tepe, in Turkey, which has the most amazing history of an ancient culture.
Back from the plane view: to the left, and below, Georgia 🇬🇪 slipped by, and soon Iraq 🇮🇶 passed below us, as well, followed by Iran 🇮🇷. I can see the Caspian Sea straight ahead. Behind us, the setting sun casted shimmering reflections on a lake, making it appear as if it is sinking into the waters. Dusk wraps our route in a shadowy embrace, marking the arrival of the blue hour.
We maintained our altitude at 41,000 feet, as our flight path paralleled the majestic Himalayas, taking us over Afghanistan 🇦🇫 and down towards the Indian Ocean. In just two hours, we will touch down in India 🇮🇳, although I must admit that kissing the ground isn’t on my agenda.
As a child, I was told you could smell Mumbai from high above. While I’ve never experienced this, the city is indeed a kaleidoscope of strong aromas and colors. The drive from the Bombay airport can be thrilling, quickening the pulse, as it stirs primal instincts. The Leela Hotel in Mumbai offered a warm welcome with staff ready to assist, at every turn.
I was on a mission to retrieve two luggage pieces we left in storage, back in 2019, when we both visited The Leela. We had come in to Mumbai, primarily to catch a flight up north, then a long day of riding by car to Bandhavgarh National Park, where we got to go on the most amazing wild Tiger Safari. After the Tiger Safari, we returned south and headed to Goa and then on to Kerala, in the far south.
Why did we have two stored luggage pieces there, to begin with? It became necessary to change up our checked bags, when the luggage allowance on all airlines, changed; from 2 checked bags, to 1 bag, per ticketed traveler. This became quite the big burden for us, for the rest of the three and a half years of travel that followed. Each of us started out with two large bags, and when we were caught off guard with the change, we were on our way to Borneo, Malaysia 🇲🇾 and it cost us $900 to take them with us, since obviously we had no place to leave them at that time, since we were ready to board our next flight! OUCH!! Borneo would be the first place we left them behind, and began the piggy-backing game. Borneo wasn’t a convenient travel HUB, by any means, either. After traveling through several countries, and being able to plan ahead, Bunny was able to arrange the stored luggage in locations with better airport Hubs. It would help.
I was the one elected to return to Borneo, and other countries, to collect the luggage. Bunny will say I was elected, because I can sleep anywhere, anytime, on planes (she isn’t wrong), making the piggy-backing of our luggage doable, since we had no choice, other than to abandon them, which was not an option for us. Unless you’ve traveled full-time for 4.5 years in a row, living out of suitcases, through many weather patterns and country visit needs, and collecting of souvenirs, don’t judge. Yes. We managed to have what we needed, at all times, with constant repacking. after we got all four pieces, in one place. One gets very used to certain items, that are nowhere to be found overseas. I mean, I wear a size 14 shoe. Trust me when I say, shoes alone were impossible to purchase, new for me, in most countries, not to mention clothes and glove sizes. My daughter would ship us items from the states, to replenish. We had quite a system and were always so grateful to Chelsie for all she did to make our sojourn so successful!
Eventually, our luggage pieces were left in Mumbai, at The Leela Hotel. When COVID struck, then my mom passed away, suddenly, I was unable return for three years, due to strict entry restrictions. Later, after we returned to the USA, Bunny would stay in contact with the concierge, and to their testament, they kept our luggage for six years and did not charge us for the long-term storage.
On the night I arrived in Mumbai, I retrieved our luggage and began sorting through them. Six years became a time capsule, revealing the toll, time takes on possessions. Dust covered both the exterior and interior of the suitcases, strangly enough. Plastics had yellowed, some crumbling with a touch. Pen’s fur wrap disintegrated at the slightest contact, but the fur hat survived.
Pen wrote: I’m wearing my beautiful fur hat and wrap in this photo, in Mongolia. I bought the furs in Uzbekistan. It was the most treasured item and I loved them. They were always in the back of my mind, that they got left in India for so long and I hoped they would be okay. Had I known I would not be able to get those furs back in a few months time, I would have not left them in India. I’m glad the hat made it, but that wrap is a sad loss for me.
Daryl wrote: My leather gloves were pressed into unrecognizable shapes, and supplements were long expired, plus some items I believed to be in those bags, were not. But we have many boxes stored in California, of souvenirs, too….so everything is accounted for, but hard to remember all of those items.
I called Bunny on FaceTime, to go through everything, together. It was like Christmas in some cases, as Bunny hopped up and down with glee! By the time we finished. It was 4:30 in the morning in Mumbai time, and 10.5 hours earlier for the Bun. I needed to catch at least four hours of sleep.
After a delightful buffet breakfast, I headed to a pharmacy to restock medicines, which are meds purchased over the counter that require doctors and prescriptions, in the USA: for example. Ivermectin, thyroid meds, Anti-inflammatories, ZPaks, Cipro (don’t travel foreign lands without Cipro, or ZPacks, ever) I wandered through the local streets and enjoyed some homemade ice cream. The ice cream is especially delicious in India, although I couldn’t shake the image of cows lounging on sidewalks and streets. While Mumbai seems to have outlawed this practice, (due to heavy traffic) I did spot a woman walking a cow on a leash.
With my legs weary and my fill of human interaction, I returned to the hotel and repacked the suitcases. I obtained permission to photograph the resort, capturing the luxurious surroundings. I probably should have taken a few more photos of things like bunny would have, but Dinner was a treat, with lamb chops, dessert, and a café latte. With only a single day spent here, I prepared myself for the early 5AM departure to the airport.
On departure day, I would travel on four planes in 43 hour: India 🇮🇳 to Turkey 🇹🇷 to Denver, Colorado 🇺🇸 to Newark, NJ 🇺🇸 to North Carolina 🇺🇸 where my Bunny was waiting for me.
~Pen Wrote
Daryl and I just got home, to The Whale, after I picked him up at the airport, in Wilmington, NC. (3 hour round-trip drive). We do not currently live in an area that is conducive to plane travel, like I was used to in Colorado, Texas and California.
Thank you for all the positive thoughts and prayers, for a safe trip on seven planes. It took him 19 hours to get to India, and 43 hours to get back.
Unfortunately, the two luggage pieces he went all the way to India to collect, in Mumbai, got lost along his route, back to the USA.When Daryl told me, I told him that wasn’t funny and don’t joke. He wasn’t joking.
That was not great..🙄
So United Airlines gave us $100 for the lost luggage, for the trouble. The luggage WAS recovered in New York, for which we were grateful…. Since they were able to get them to us, in a few days. (courier delivered to The Whale, after they were flown to NC) vs many days and potentially lost forever, had they been left behind in Turkey or India. 🇮🇳
I found myself reminiscing about our travels and where we were at, before we left our luggage in Mumbai and where we went to, after leaving Mumbai. Prior to arriving in Mumbai we had been on a month-long odyssey of central and southern India. It would be our second visit to India; the first time, spending a month, exploring the North.
Before arriving in India on this second trip, and leading us to Mumbai, we had traveled the ancient Silk Road in the Five Stans: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan. We also went to Mongolia!
After our fabulous time in India, we would travel to Sri Lanka, where we flew Chelsie over for some much needed time, together, plus our way to thank her for collecting mail, and shipping us items from North Carolina to us, out in the world. … wow did we have a blast, together in Sri Lanka! It had been years, since I had seen my daughter! This was also a place where Chels would go on her first Safari!
After Sri Lanka we went back to Thailand for another amazing visit, there!
So getting that luggage picked up from India, really does close a chapter for us, for the 4.5 years we traveled the world and the 3.5 years we piggy-backed luggage. When we get to leave again, to travel full-time, and finish what we started, when a plandemic got in the way, and kept us from finishing, we will only have one suitcase, each. This is a plan that I can explain when we get to that point.
We are beginning the planning phase of taking off again, and will be gone a couple of years. We most likely will move along the country visits faster in this next phase. We have already seen so much and explored to our hearts content in every country we visit, so far; 93 for me 73 for Daryl. Our focus has shifted a bit, since we are much more filled-up in the travel tank, going out this second time, than we were going out the first time. We will still immerse ourselves in each country, like we always did, but we won’t spend months of time in any one country, like we did, on occasion, before…. Perhaps a few weeks in each county, instead. By this stage of our lives, we have been living like vagabonds for nine years. It’s been a great nine years, but we are looking forward to settling down, buying property, building a house and acquiring large and small animals, again.
Our focus will be Central/South America, Europe and Africa. We may pop in to Asia to visit three countries we did not get to, when we extensively traveled all of Asia: Myranmar, Bhutan and Bangladesh, but we are fortunate to say we have been to all the countries in Asia we wanted to go to.
When we do get to go, is up in the air, but it will be very soon, after America goes through its transitional phase of getting our new Quantum Operating System up and running. This will also launch our new financial system (world wide)… but each person needs to be in their own country of legal residency, to get access and get set-up. Also, by getting our appointments for the newly launched med beds that will be available, we will be so appreciative of the health and complete body repair and rejuvenation we will get, before we launch on another full-time traveling adventure!
Could be, we might get to go, by Fall of this year, if everything goes well!
Here are some blog posts of trips we have mentioned in this blog post, as well as about which places we went too, before Mumbai, and directly after, if you are interested:
A Few Other India Adventures:
From Mumbai to North and South Goa
https://2gypsiesinthewind.com/asia/india/india-north-and-south-goa/
Tiger Safari in Bandhavgarh
https://2gypsiesinthewind.com/asia/india/17687/
The Taj Mahal and Agra Fort
https://2gypsiesinthewind.com/asia/india/india-the-taj-mahal-and-agra-fort/
Kerala House Boating
https://2gypsiesinthewind.com/asia/india/india/alleppey/
Jodhpur, Pushkar and Udaipur
https://2gypsiesinthewind.com/asia/india/india-jodhpur-pushkar-and-udaipu/
Camel Safari in the That Desert of Jaisalmar
https://2gypsiesinthewind.com/asia/india/india-rajasthan-on-camel-safari/
Ellora and Ajanta Ancient Caves and Temples
https://2gypsiesinthewind.com/asia/india/india-ellora-and-ajanta-stone-carved-caves-and-temples/
Alleppey
https://2gypsiesinthewind.com/asia/india/india/alleppey-alappuzha-india-lighthouse-and-snake-temple/
Only a Few Sri Lanka Posts
Habarana Sigiriya Palace “Lion Rock”
https://2gypsiesinthewind.com/asia/sri-lanka/sri-lanka/habarana-sri-lanka-sigiriya-palace-lion-rock/
The Famous Sri Lanka Train
https://2gypsiesinthewind.com/asia/sri-lanka/sri-lanka/scenic-railway-kandy-to-ella-sri-lanka/
Polonnarumwa Ancient City
https://2gypsiesinthewind.com/asia/sri-lanka/sri-lanka/polonnaruwa-sri-lanka-ancient-city/
Kaudulla National Park Safari
Yala National Park Safari
https://2gypsiesinthewind.com/asia/sri-lanka/sri-lanka/yala-leopard-safari-sri-lanka-day-3/
Mongolia
Wilderness Adventure and Reindeer Tribe
Our Tibet Visit … in the Himalayas
Seeing Mount Ararat When in Armenia
https://2gypsiesinthewind.com/europe/armenia/armenia-scenic-from-central-and-southern-armenia/
Just a Few of MANY Turkey Adventures Both Asia and European Sides
Cappadocia And Balloon Ride
https://2gypsiesinthewind.com/asia/turkey-asia/turkey-cappadocia-ballooning-in-gorme-national-park/
https://2gypsiesinthewind.com/asia/turkey-asia/turkey-our-beautiful-stay-in-gorme-and-around-town/
Mount Nemrut
https://2gypsiesinthewind.com/asia/turkey-asia/turkey-mount-nemrut-in-nemrut-dagi/
Gobeklitepe
Istanbul
The Bosphorous and the Golden Horn
https://2gypsiesinthewind.com/europe/turkey-europe/turkey/turkey-bosphorus-strait-cruise/
Balat in Istanbul
https://2gypsiesinthewind.com/europe/turkey-europe/turkey-istanbul-walking-the-street-of-balat/
Our First Turkish Bath
https://2gypsiesinthewind.com/europe/turkey-europe/turkey/turkey-our-first-turkish-bath/
Pamukkale Travertene Thermal Pools and Roman Ruins
A Few of our Borneo, Malaysia Adventures
Kinabatangin River Safari
Sandakan Turtle Island
https://picsbypen.smugmug.com/Places/AsiaLife-SouthEast/MalaysiaLife/Borneo/Sandakan/Turtle-Island
Probiscis Monkeys
Lahad Datu
https://2gypsiesinthewind.com/asia/malaysia/borneo-malaysia-lahad-datu-the-bike-and-tour-b-b/
A Few of Our MANY Stops, in Georgia
Batumi and the Black Sea
Ushguli
The Five-Stans
Part 1 of 2
Part 2 of 2
Archive Blog Posts of Our Country Visits
About Us
About Us
Hello and Welcome to our Travel Blog Website, We enjoy writing about our experiences and taking photos of our adventuring along the way. Our names are: Daryl and Pen, but Daryl calls me “Bunny.” We met, quite randomly, whilst both… Read More