I live in Thane an immediate neighbor of Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra. Thane is a part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. For all practical purposes I call myself a “Mumbaikar”. The life here is fast paced and you are always submerged in a sea of people. Thane and Mumbai can be considered to be almost at the Mean Sea Level (MSL). The climate is mostly hot and humid. June to September is the season of South West Monsoon and the cities receive about 2400 MM (95 in) of rains.

11 August 2018 One day before departure

The week before the start of the tour was very hectic. I went to Nashik over the weekend of 4^th and 5^th August and brought my parents with me to Thane.

I did nothing on 10^th August, not willing to pack my bags. Finally, the dawn of 11 August, the bags must be packed, had to remove some items to manage weight. In the evening got message from Indigo Airlines, about reporting 3 hours earlier, considering the heightened security at the Airport due to upcoming Independence Day. Booked a cab to take me to the domestic airport at 2:15 AM. The rest of the day passed by at its pace!

Had supper in the evening and set up the Alarm clock at 1:30 AM. Got messages and some photographs shared by Pankaj and Chandrakant who were on the way to Delhi from Bhopal. They were to reach Delhi early morning on 12th August and meet me at the airport.