Just one day to go now before we leave Mumbai on our 16 hour overnight coach to Udaipur. Those of you who have already read previous instalments will be aware of my essential dealings with Indian dentistry. We left for Aurangabad with my front crown temporarily cemented on, and a promise to return after our planned few days there. So true to our word we were back. Unable to book a bed at theTravellers Inn where we had spent our first week in India we booked In at the Bentley hotel on Marine drive. Twice the price but the cheapest we could find for the duration- it was a fantastic hotel. Thick memory foam mattress, TV with really good Warner brothers films for the dark evenings when we needed to rest our weary limbs, and a kettle. Bliss for the 7 days we were there......and right next to the sea. Reporting to the dentist on Friday when we got back to Mumbai I was told to report in on the Saturday at 2 for root canal treatment before they could start the crown. Root canal went to plan, hard not to drink for an hour post treatment in 37degree heat but hey ho- when you have to do you do. Monday all the measurements were taken, for the crown, and a further booking had to be made for Thursday for the first fitting and we were told to allow until Saturday for all the work to be completed. That left us with the quandary of where to stay for the surplus nights. The Bentley hotel was already eating into our travellers budget and we needed to try and book somewhere cheaper. After another internet search we found another room, at the Kumkum hotel so we could migrate to there for the additional two nights. In the event my lovely new front tooth was all fitted and finished on Thursday (complete with ten year guarantee), but of course that all happened after booking the additional two days, and the Saturday overnight coach. John was a bit miffed as we are both itching to move on now. Three weeks , all bar our two night trip to Aurangabad, in any one place starts to become a bit tiresome. We could both probably draw a street map of South Mumbai from memory alone. However not all bad, staying here for the extra two days has enabled us to witness first hand the Mumbai Dusshera festivities. Basically lots of noise, dancing, fireworks, flower garlands on cars and buildings and effigies of the goddess Durga. It's apparently one of the most important Hindu festivals and takes place over two nights. In another 20 days we will be at the beginning of Diwali . The sad part of it all is the state it appears to have left the coastline in. Today we wandered along Chowpatty beach and the waters edge was littered with broken pots, and debris which presumably had been left there, or washed up following last nights celebrations. I can't help thinking that some ecological awareness might be a good idea. If you want to float things off, make them from compostable materials. It seems to fly in the face of Mumbai's efforts to reduce litter and clean up the area, which in some parts is going well, and street cleanliness is on a par with some areas of the U.K. A few nights ago, before Dusshera, we wandered up the coast line in search of something to eat. The glitterati of Mumbai appeared to be attending an event at the Thackers establishment on Marine Drive. The entrance was decked out with lights and looked very special. The security men were manning the gate,and had decided to liven up proceeding by igniting some fireworks on the pavement. Just as John and I were crossing the gateway an almighty loud bang blew resonated across Mumbai. It felt like my left ear drum had imploded sufficiently to touch the one on the right and neither of us could hear for the next five minutes. It turned out they had lit a huge banger as we walked past. It's a wonder there wasn't a car crash and two heart attacks, never mind two almost pensioners with imploded eardrums. I'm not sure that have any regulations about fireworks. If they do no one seems to adhere to them. Anyway to cheer you up I have added a bit of footage of the celebrations so you can experience it too...... :)