Even though the train was over an hour late, we still arrived very early in Mumbai at around 6.30am. It meant that once we’d checked into our (very posh) hotel, and freshened up, we could go for breakfast. There was a vast selection of Indian and other world foods on offer. I’m not sure I would ever get used to the cooked Indian breakfast every day, so I was happy with cereals, breads and fruit.

Among the range of jams and honeys I spotted a much welcome friend – my mate Marmite! I haven’t missed much on the holiday (apart from the dogs) but I have craved for a bit of Marmite on toast. There was a selection of breads and a toaster, so the only thing missing was some dairy-free margarine. Given that the range of breakfast offerings was pretty good for vegans and included soya, oat and coconut milk, I thought they must have some margarine somewhere. I asked our lovely waitress, but she was a bit flummoxed as I tried to explain margarine or dairy free butter, she called a colleague. I went through the same explanation but he didn’t know what the strange and unusual food type I was asking for either. Off he went to consult the chef. A short while later a third waiter came to say they had soya, oat and coconut milk! Fast on his heals was waiter number three who apologised but said they did not have any dairy free spread – but asked if we were here tomorrow. I confirmed we would be, and he said they would do their best to see if they could get some for tomorrow. Dear readers – stay tuned to see if I have my Marmite on toast (with vegan spread) fix tomorrow!