LOVE ON THE ROAD

THIS WEEK ZOË'S SUPRISED WHEN TRAIN MAN TURNS DIVA

Talk about ending India on a high note. I've spent the past three nights dining with a prince, and I don't mean Train Man.

A real bona fide Indian prince. And it's been hilarious.

We arrived at Ahilya, a fort-turned-hotel overlooking the holy Narmada river in Maheshwar, as a final stop before leaving India in two days.

I've been commissioned to write about the fort but it's so serene and relaxing I'm not sure how I'll tear myself away from the poolside.

The flamboyant prince who owns Ahilya holds court every evening, while well-heeled guests hang on to his every word over organic vegetables and local wine. Train Man and I have been royally entertained by characters you couldn't have invented.

But a strange thing has happened to my Prince of Hertfordshire – he's turned into a diva himself.

He's started talking about thread counts, wine temperature, mattress quality (all perfect here), while walking around in an Imran Khan-style two-piece like he owns the place.

This is the man who laughed at me for crying in Jaipur because our hostel sheets were stained.

Last night, something even weirder happened. Like that scene from the Thriller video, when Jacko's date sees he's changed into a werewolf, I looked up at dinner to see Train Man ringing the bell to summon a servant.

The night before, we'd pondered who'd actually use that thing. Prince excluded.

And in a role reversal, it's me getting anal about prices. Train Man has just proudly told me he's booked the five-star Leela Kempinski hotel for our last night in Mumbai. "We want comfort before a long flight to Bangkok, and it's the best that money can buy." (What? That doesn't make it OK!)

So it's a good job one of us has got some work in, because we're over budget already – in India!

Miles travelled: 947

Terse sentences exchanged: 2

Diva factor: High, and it's all Train Man

Next week: Poorly Zoë gets sick of being nursed by Train Man

Comments

[Abbi]

Hi Zoe, my name is Abbi and my boyf Jools and I have been reading your blog and love it - train man sounds so romantic!
We've recently been travelling to the Far East and your experiences so far have really struck a chord. Hope you have an amazing trip and see even more exciting things - looking forward to reading about them!
Abbi & Jools