After a late night, Una and I began our first day on our own in India very slowly.  I spent what seemed like hours on the phone booking a driver and guide for the next day. We arranged for an Elderhostel friend, a lady who also stayed a few extra days in Mumbai, to join us. Una, an accomplished marathon runner, donned her shorts and went for her mandatory daily run.  Her habit gave me dependable alone time to read or shower without interruption.  Some days I even walked behind her as she trotted along. By noon we were both ready for lunch at the Taj café. Remembering pleasant lunches Tom and I had eaten there years before, I ordered “my usual,” the fillet of Pomfret.  It arrived as delicate and tasty as in my memory! After lunch, eager to share more places I had enjoyed in the winter of [...]

From Mumbai on, Una and I would be women traveling on our own in India.  We were both nervous and excited. I had been in charge of planning and organizing this part of our adventure.  Because I retained pleasant memories of the waterfront area of Mumbai from my previous trip twenty-eight years before, I felt that would be the perfect area for us to stay. I had made reservations at a mid-class hotel, a few blocks beyond and several steps of luxury down, from the famous Taj Hotel. When we arrived at the airport slightly before midnight, a representative from the hotel stood among the waiting crowds with a placard scrawled with “SLATTERY” in large, black letters.  This was a good sign. We bid a hasty farewell to our Elderhostel group and followed our new Indian guide.  Our taxi wound through streets alive with crowds celebrating a holiday dedicated to Ganesh, [...]