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Day -13: Through an accident of the Qantas frequent flyer program, on our first two nights away we’ll be staying in two cities that are among the richest and poorest in the world. It took three or four hours of trial and error on the Qantas website one morning, but we managed to jag seats with Qantas as far as Mumbai, and then the following morning on British Airways all the way to Oslo (connecting in Heathrow).

As there’s nothing worse than arriving late in a new town with nowhere to stay, we’ve booked ourselves an airport hotel in Mumbai and our first night’s accommodation in Oslo. Thanks to the curious economics of the international airport scene, we’re paying more in Mumbai than we are in Oslo. In Mumbai, we’ll be living it up in style at the Andheri Residency Hotel (US$114 including breakfast and airport transfers). In Oslo, we’ll be slumming it at the Anker Hostel ($US84, twin room only). I’ve included promotional photos of the receptions of each.

It’ll make for a fascinating compare and contrast - if we are too too exhausted from the thirty-six hour journey.