India - GCP Trip
Day 7: Sugar factory, mango orchard, back to Mumbai and then to US
Breakfast was as good as the day
before. We cleaned up the place as best as we could and packed up. We did not
have much planned for today. We went along as whatever happened. Our first stop
turned out be the sugar mill. Bipin was not with us, so I helped out in
translation etc. I think by now the group was tired of touring all the
industries that some of them were not even walking with us. I had toured a sugar
mill before in Saharanpur, but it was still good to see another one. This was
also a very big mill. What I had not realized is that the mill is closed for six
months in a year for clean up and works six months for sugar production. So the
mill workers have a seasonal job.
From there we went for lunch at the most wonderful place – Red Chilles. It had a
mix of western/eastern food. Yet again we ordered all sorts of dishes from the
menu and shared the food. Behind us was a TV with hindi movie songs playing.
Great!
So before we left there were just a few minutes left for last minute shopping,
which some of the girls did! They are good in finding stuff to shop.
We left Surat and headed to Mumbai. Another surprise that Bipin had for us, was
a stop at a mango grove. It was a little bit off the main road. There were many
fruit trees there, mango, “ramphal”, chiku and more. We had some nice coconut
water and then walked around. While we were eating the ram phal, we had an
impromptu seed spitting contest. I think I won it…
Next was the long drive to Mumbai. The only drawback here was there was no
restroom break for 5-6 hours. We were going to Bipin’s sister’s house for our
last dinner/snack before heading to the airport. My cousin had called me and was
waiting for me there too. The drive back was a little tiring for me since I
really had to go (you know where!!). We finally reached and I ran to the
bathroom!! My cousin was there and it was great to see her! We caught up on news
and gossip.
Bipin’s sister had quite a spread for us. The one item the group enjoyed a lot
was mangoes! Wow – who would have thought?! Bipin had a small gift of sweet for
all the members. A little something to take back to US. Soon it was time to go
to the airport. My cousin came with us, that was really nice! We talked all the
way to the airport. Then we said our goodbyes.
That was it. We checked in and then it was all back to routine. Of course I did
not anticipate that the entertainment would not be working in the planes, so we
all ended up talking, yet again!
| Previous | Main | My Views------> |