21-Storey Mumbai Mansion

Hotel Majestic will more than do

    The good days on tour need to be cherished and this was certainly one of them. It takes more than a few days to become re-accustomed to the hardness of Indian beds but, once you’re there, it’s surprising how well you sleep. You have to. Waking up stiff is a small price to pay for eight, mostly undisturbed hours.  #

    My dear friend and travelling mate, Stuart Hess of the Sunday Times, bravely volunteered to join me on this ‘authentic itinerary’ and has delighted (and occasionally despaired) alongside me since he arrived three weeks ago. First night back in Mumbai after five inglorious days in Ahmedabad. Stuart is a part-time drinker, but that first cold beer at Leopold’s Café…

    The drive to Mumbai Airport passes directly under the mansion of Mukesh Ambani, one of the wealthiest men in the world. He owns the Mumbai Indians and various other bits and pieces in the cricket world, like the SA20. The mansion is actually a high-rise tower block, custom-built with cinemas, theatres, six levels of parking, four dining rooms, a dozen guest suites, spa, gym, tropical garden etc…

    The flight from Mumbai to Kolkata was on Vistara Air, not Indigo or the reprehensible SpiceJet. Turns out Vistara is a ‘proper’ Airline with old-fashioned values, like looking after their customers. They even gave us an exceptional butter chicken, rice and dahl. Who needs their own skyscraper when they can fly economy on Vistara?

    We gave ourselves an hour and a half to get through the five levels of security and scanner checks in Mumbai in order to participate in Rob Walter’s online press conference in the Departure Terminal. We made it with two minutes to spare. Having missed the Bentley’s Hotel toast and marmalade breakfast, a Costa Coffee and chicken Subway, usually mundane, tasted like provisions from the Gods.

    Walter was buffery in the Costa area of Mumbai Airport, but he can hardly be blamed for that. He said that captain Temba Bavuma’s fitness situation would be treated the same as every other players’, that “nobody was more important than the team.” It was exactly what we needed to hear. Yesterday. He also pointed out, rightly, that the captain was also the team’s leading ODI run-scorer in the last year and that the desire to repair his tweaked hamstring in time for Thursday was for his batting, not his title.

    And so, back to glorious Kolkata and the delights of the Hotel Majestic. When Stuart and I checked out two weeks ago, I asked the manager whether he could accommodate us again for these dates. He paused, looked at the bookings register, and asked: “You like it here?” We said ‘yes’. And meant it. It’s loud, chaotic and full of kind and willing staff who aren’t always sure of what to do, but do it anyway, enthusiastically.

    Our rooms, exactly the same ones we were in before, had been given an extra scrub and polish. There was even an extra towel. The room is currently thumping with the music from the lounge-of-debatable-repute downstairs, but it’s time to say goodnight anyway. We are due to speak to Pat Cummins tomorrow morning…