Ritesh reading the paper at the Gateway of India while waiting for his boss. We are invited today to his boss's sister's beach house, which is a boat ride away from the peninsula of Bombay on the mainland, and are scheduled for a 7.15am departure from the dock by the Gateway.
doves in front of the Gateway
the sun peeking out of the morning haze, from the boat
the Gateway of India and the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, which is still closed due to all the damage sustained during the attacks, and is not scheduled to re-open for another year and a half. The Taj Tower to the right, behind the Gateway, has been reopened, though.
sunrise over the Arabian Sea
enjoying the smooth speed boat ride
arrival in Mandve, about an hour later. From here, we continued by car to Alibag.
another impromptu hospital visit
the entrance of the hospital watched over by Ganesh
another Indian doctor very graciously putting up with his American visitors
This is a reasonably well-off province, and things are looking much better here than what we saw in Bombay
arrival in paradise - the beach behind Ritesh's boss's sister's house near Revdana
view from the terrace - the house is built right on the beach
a guest room in the house
breakfast! Parsee spicy scrambled eggs, idli, and a couple of rice dishes, with masala chai and juice
some fresh sweet lime
fresh Alfonso mango - the bright orange Alfonso is very famous and hard to get in the US. Another thing Ritesh's mom misses a lot... This is my first time trying it, and it's nice and has a slightly different flavor. But to be honest, I'm quite happy with the yellow ones we normally get.
walk on the beach after breakfast
Ritesh cleaning his feet after returning from the beach
resort-style perfection
fresh coconut water
our gracious hosts: Ritesh's boss on the left, her sister, and the sister's husband
a visit to the architect's house on the same property - this is the entrance lobby, totally open i.e. no roof
living and dining room directly in the sand, and happily devoid of walls
guess where we ended up after this?
Indian white wine - aperitif before a late, late lunch
the fabulous lunch spread
delicious fresh grilled fish, fish curry, two kinds of veggies, salad, fresh chapati
and they served imported German marzipan for dessert! Niederegger makes the best marzipan ever, and has for like a century - they're located in Luebeck, where Thomas Mann was born and Buddenbrooks is set, and have a cafe there where they serve marzipan cappuccinos and marzipan hot chocolate and marzipan cakes etc. But I digress.
masala chai, before heading back to Mandve to catch the boat
boarding the boat back to Bombay
returning to Bombay. We had to be back before 6pm as private boats are no longer allowed to dock after sunset. Another increased security measure after the 26/11 attacks, as the terrorists arrived that night by boat.
and here we are back home - the Gateway is just a 10 min walk from our hotel
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