Kanheri Caves, Mumbai, INDIA

Closer to the city itself than I thought are these caves.  They are a far cry from the ones in Badami a week ago, but are just as ancient, if not even more so.

We were supposed to start out at 10.00, but the chauffeur was late by a full half hour, because 'he had to pass by the office'.  We doubted this but at least he showed up.  It was 30 degrees hot today and the traffic was really bad, so we were already a bit tired by the time we got to the caves.  I was the one now with a semi-problematic stomach so my mood wasn't all that spectacular, but okay, we still appreciated viewing the caves.  Afterwards, we were supposed to go to the Marine Drive, but again, bad traffic and the heat wore us out quickly and we just told the chauffeur that we preferred to return to the hotel.  We also said we'd meet him in the evening at 7 p.m. so that he could take us to the Taj for dinner, before which he would have had 4 free hours.

Back at the hotel, we just took our time.  After two visits to the WC, I was fine.  Did some post-processing and watched two films with AW.  By 19.00 we were downstairs, but no chauffeur.  He arrived at 19.30, again a half hour late.  Because of this, there was no more time to pass by the Marine Drive as he'd offered.  A half hour through the evening traffic followed, during which he asked us how long it would take us to have our dinner because he wasn't allowed to work in the evening.  We told him to just bring us to the Taj and then he would be free for the rest of the evening.  He apologized for the inconvenience and we told him it was okay.  We actually enjoyed the evening without worrying about keeping him up too late, and then took a swift cab back to the hotel.  My stomach didn't bother me for the rest of the evening.

Tomorrow, we are supposed to leave the hotel at 10.00 for our last day trip.  We are no longer concerned whether the chauffeur shows up or not.  We are sure we shall have a grand time!