We had already booked our tickets to the US for Christmas but I still had some unused vacation leftover. So, I decided to go back to Mumbai for 6 days before our trip on December 22nd to Atlanta. Since it’s only an 8 hour flight from London as opposed to an 18 hour flight from Atlanta I thought, why not? I was very excited about the Mumbai trip as this was the first time back to the place I grew up in over 2 years. These days it’s just easier for my dad to come visit us now that he is retired.
It was great to see my dad at the airport although I whizzed through immigration and security and ended up waiting for him. The 6 days went by super fast as they always do. One whole day was spent visiting my relatives in the small village where my dad grew up and another half day was spent with my uncle outside of Mumbai. The rest was really good, quality time with my old man including spending time at the school where he volunteer teaches. It’s a street school for underprivileged yet, absolutely amazing kids.
Train ride on our way to visit relatives
I’m not sure if your parents are like mine, but to get my dad out to a somewhat decent restaurant is like pulling teeth. It is just not in his DNA… but I somehow convinced him to go to a couple of places. I must also say that my dad is a really good cook and I really enjoy his food but it is nice sometimes to take in what Mumbai has to offer. In this case some incredibly delicious seafood for a quarter of the cost in the US and UK.
All in all it was a great trip and Mumbai never fails to serve as reality check on how fortunate I am. It’s funny…growing up I never once batted an eye at the homeless, the stark poverty, or the struggles of average Joe to put food on the table. It was just part of the world I lived in, but now that I get to see it from a different point of view (for better or for worse), it most certainly shakes me to my core and reminds me about the big bad world we live in.
