India - Mumbia (7)

We decided to go back to the Hanging Gardens today as we had only had a brief photo stop on our first day "hotel tour"

Our taxi driver this morning has restored our faith in humanity - a reasonable fare plus of IR 110  from the Taj President to the Hanging Gardens. He was very chatty and pointed out all the sights  on the way to Malabar Hill. An uneducated man who admits that he received no formal schooling - his schooling was "on the streets" He adopted 2 girls and also has 2 sons. All his children have been educated and he is paying off his taxi. The mileage these taxi's do daily is huge so by the time the taxi is paid off, it's just about on it's last legs, one would imagine. Perhaps that is why so many of  these taxi's look so decrepit and bashed.

The Hanging Gardens are a little oasis from the noise of the streets and they were laid out in the 1880's. Benches galore to sit on, gorgeous butterflies that refused to sit still for a photo, lovers, and some blooms. Being just after the monsoon, one would not expect an abundance of blooms. The best was watching 2 guys mowing the lawn with a hand-mower - one chap pushing and one pulling. In the heat, this gets the job done quickly and efficiently! The Indians have some age-old customs which are lovely to see!

Opposite, the Hanging Gardens is the Kamala Nehru Park, a pleasant spot to sit in the cooling breeze to regain our breathe after walking all the way up the hill and back again. There are some beautiful apartment blocks and just as many really grotty ones (from the outside anyway!) This a Real Estate with a hefty price tag and this can be believed as we say some really great roof top gardens - they must have amazing views of the city.

As usual, we are the only Westerners in sight but besides a few women (always with a child) begging, we have not been harassed. After a firm NO, most vendors have left us alone. I find the tiny stalls quite incredible - they are only about 1.5 metres wide (if that) and the goods are packed tightly into this minute space. Some even have a phone!!! Although, how they can hear anybody speak with all the road noise is a miracle!

There are always Indians walking to and fro, everywhere we go, and on this road on Malabar Hill, we found them the most friendly with wide smiles, especially from the ladies. It has been a complete eye-opener - nobody has tried to harm us in any way, and it seems that theft is not an issue here. Bicycles are left unattended, laden with goods, a helmet was left on a sidewalk waiting for it's owner to return. Now how is this for co-incidence - our daily newspapers have just been delivered and the front page of the Times of India has an article stating that Mumbai is the 2nd most honest city in the world after Helsinki. This exercise was conducted with wallets being dropped, with cash in, plus a phone number. Citizens in Mumbai returned most of the wallets planted whilst Lisbon came in stone last. South African is not listed as none of the wallets would have been returned!!!!!!! However, this is not to say that there is no crime in India - the country is high on the corruption stakes, rape is a huge issue and burglaries do certainly occur as can be seen by the burglar bars on windows.

Given the number of lovers lining Marine Parade, one can understand the huge population - it seems they start young here! Smooching in public, albeit behind an umbrella, is commonplace along this sea boulevard and this in broad daylight so who knows what happens once the sun sets??? The mind boggles!

It does not seem as if there is a market for scrap metal in Mumbai as all the metal drain covers are still in place. Not like South Africa where nothing is sacred and metal = money!

The other issues are health related - water is not drinkable, we spotted a man doing his "toilet" needs just below Malabar Hill on the beach and the stench from some areas is disgusting.

Eventually our legs got tired so we tried a taxi. IR 200 to go back to the hotel - what a rip-off. The next driver said IR 30 but then changed his tune once we were in the car!! His English was very poor and although he was a total rip-off at IR 80 he did get out of the taxi to get change! So he trusted us to wait for him as we could have just walked off. It's a crazy country and the hotel room has muted honking sounds which is bliss after our very long walk.

They honk, they honk, they honk some more - often just for the hell of it! Nobody points a gun though and nobody gives any rude finger signs so just bear with the noise - they will get you to your destination in one piece, even if the price is a total rip-off! So much for honesty amongst taxi drivers!

Supper time came around and once again, no taxi's to be had. As we did not feel like paying fo the hotel cab, we ventured back to the Thai restaurant at the hotel. Bad move as my tummy did not enjoy this again. Obviously, something in their food does not agree with me and it is very irritating. I had asked for the veg curry and could count the few beans on virtually one hand, with a tiny slice of potato thrown in. Drowned in a bowl of curry sauce, this was a poor choice and a rip-off. Whilst our first meal here was pretty good, except for my poor tum-tum, this one was very poor. Win some, lose some.

© Judelle Drake

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradclinphotography

For Accommodation Cape Town, South Africa

www.bradclin.com

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India - Mumbai (6)



Churchgate Station, Mumbai, India

We arose rather late this morning - all the walking and noise is exhausting!

Breakfast at the President Taj was busy this morning. Service is always friendly although sometimes rather hit and miss as the staff seem to be all over the place instead of concentrating on a few tables. The spicy tea (don't ask me for the Indian name) gets the taste buds going and then we can enjoy our eggs and normal tea/coffee.

A IR 50 taxi ride, with us holding on for dear life, got us to Churchgate station in time to watch the  dabbawallahs come off the trains, cross the road and start sorting out their food bags for delivery to offices across  the city. How on earth they know what goes where is beyond my little brain but it is all precision packed either onto bicycle handle-bars or those famous Indian wooden carts. The carts take loads of meals and are pulled by hand. Luckily, all the bags are closed as we saw one of these guys picking his nose and then proceeding to go off on his deliveries for the day.

Hygiene does not seem to be a big thing in India, given  the fact that so many tourists fall ill.

Started a century ago with home-cooked meals. this tradition lives on in the modern Mumbai. 5000 of these man deliver approx. 200,000 lunch boxes from homes to respective offices every day. Making virtually no mistakes (1 in every 16 million delivers)  these men earn between 2000 - 4000 IR per month. The system was started by the British who preferred their home-cooked meals, made by their staff, to be delivered to their workplace. The fact that this system still runs like clockwork and is favoured by many so many years later, is incredible, given the age of modern technology. This defies modern systems and shows that old traditions can survive, despite everything. The boxes are colour coded which tells where the food comes from, which station it will be delivered to and the address where it has to be delivered. The dabbawallahs deliver in all weathers, never go on strike and now even have their own website or you can order via sms. Modern and ancient mixed together in an incredible way.

Apparently, business schools ask these dubbawallahs to lecture on their systems and they have been used to promote their new products. Prince Charles met them in 2003 and Richard Branson has also spent time with them. It's totally mind-boggling that such a simple system, yet with so many logistical problems such as train travel, can be delivered on time each and every day. Dubbawallahs need to be well-disciplined as there reputation is of paramount importance.

Hats off to these people in carrying on with a tradition which started in the 1890's. It's mind-boggling to me, yet it runs like clock-work.
Sometimes, people from other countries need to sit up and take note of systems that work, of people that have pride in their jobs, no matter that they are not the most well-paid in society. Coming from South Africa, where many people have no pride in their work and yet expect huge pay increases  every year, despite the poor economic climate, makes one see India in a very positive light. The Indian papers are also quick to report rapes or crimes - they are not hidden away or swept under the carpet.

Once all the dubbawallahs had left, we saw from the map that Churchgate  Station is not too far from Marine Drive, so off we set on foot. This time we walked North to the end of the pier which is right opposite the Fisherman's Village (near our hotel). With humidity of around 88% today, it is very hot unless walking in the shade. Once again, we are surrounded by only Indians - the Westerners can be counted on 10 fingers so perhaps they are more into the fancy shopping centres than the down-to-earth Mumbai with it's thousands of taxi's, honking horns, normal people going about their daily lives, collecting their kids from school and catching buses and trains to wherever they need to go.

We have not been brave enough to catch either a bus or a train but we have walked most of Colaba -  my feet and legs tell me so. 

Most of Mumbai is fairly clean - the streets are tidy and neat except in the areas where the squatters (fisher folk) live. Even there, the rubbish seems confined to patches near the rubbish skips and on the beach where they have their boats.

Crossing the roads in Mumbai is a rather death-defying experience as nobody stops at a pedestrian crossing and one wonders why they even bother to paint them? Most are very faded and worn from all those feet stumbling across! I nearly got squashed by a taxi today and I was not amused - silly people - surely a second will not make that much difference in their lives? But no - they blow their horns and just keep going hell for leather. It's daft, it's crazy, it's Indian and it's Mumbai. Love it or leave it! Some of the locals just walk - I suppose they know the taxi will stop at the last minute or face homicide charges, but we are not willing to take that chance. Scaredy cats? YEP!

We have not seen many stray cats or dogs - those near the shack dwellers are all rather thin and don't look too healthy. The well-looked after dogs are being  walked on leads by their well-dressed owners. Those look in tip-top shape.

We reached our hotel totally drenched in perspiration and me looking like a beetroot with my hair all over the place and the shorts sticking to my limbs. A cold shower has somewhat revived me but my core temperature still feels overheated!

At least we can say that we have walked this small area of Colaba (in relation to the entire city!) It is so very different to anything that we are used to in Cape Town or have ever experienced anywhere else in the world. Over-stimulation of the senses, especially the ears!

Feeling peckish, we decided to try a Pizza place in Nariman Point. Well....nobody wanted to take us there - obviously too close and they wanted a min of IR 80 to virtually go round the corner. So...too far to walk and having tried at least 5 taxi's, we decided that they were all a rip-off so we stayed at the hotel and ate their pizza instead! Boring?? Yep but what can one do. The taxi's do seem to rip off foreign tourists, as I suppose they do all over the world.

Complimentary fresh fruit from the hotel and a cuppa of my own Five Roses tea will do me fine together with some R&R time on the Kindle.

© Judelle Drake

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradclinphotography

For Accommodation Cape Town, South Africa

www.bradclin.com

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India - Mumbai (4)



Mumbai from Marine Drive

05.30 and disaster.....we have all heard of the song "Beds are Burning" Well, my b.. was burning! Obviously, the tummy did not enjoy the delicious Thai flavours quite as much as my palate did!! So a very basic breakfast for me at 09.30 in the hopes that the unruly tum would settle down as we hope to explore at least one market today.....

Meanwhile, reading the "Times of India" is a worthwhile way to pass the time.

Forget about Car Pools - a Mumbai resident has a Helicopter Pool. After 12 years of leaving home at 06.00 and only getting back by 23.00 at night, he discovered that he could get enough folk together to share a chopper. Innovative thinking from a 45 yr old Chemical Engineer. Needless to say, he owns the factory but still - imagine having work hours that long? Not for me thanks!

As my tummy problem was more a reaction to all those delectable Thai spices, I swallowed an Imodium and off we set for our next adventure. The hotel cab dropped us off at the Crawford Market. Taking our lives in our hands, we crossed the street and entered the market to be accosted by a "guide" who showed us his official badge and told us that he had to escort us around the market! He stated that his services were free so we obediently followed.

The Crawford Market was built in the days of the British Raj. Named after Arthur Crawford, this market is still a very much part of South Mumbai life and teems with local people. The fresh fruit and veg all look very tempting and there were many types of fruits that we did not recognise. The stalls sell anything from chocolates, biscuits, plastic ware, toiletries, and a stunning array of spices from the Spice King - just about anything and everything one could wish for.
spicekingmumbai@yahoo.com

Pay them a visit - it will be worth your while!

There is also a meat market which we did not visit and then the pet market which is rather depressing - hundreds of birds in cages, geese, canaries, love birds, small puppies, wagging their tails in the hope of finding a good home, beautiful kittens, quail (for the pot, I assume!) fish in tanks etc.

It's a kaleidoscope of colour, an overload of people and no Westerners except us and a Dutch couple travelling the world (Europe, India, China and whatever else takes their fancy) Young and free, they did not have a guide! We were then told to cross the road - death staring us in the face! There are so many stalls in this area, that it is hard to take it all in. Artificial flowers are absolutely stunning but would get crushed in a suitcase. How everybody makes a living is beyond me but I suppose they all do. There were people sewing suitcases, making juice from something that looked like sugar cane or bamboo,  men staring, others smiling, most thinking we are crazy tourists!! Which we are!

After walking for ages through all this chaos, we decided to take a taxi to Marine Drive to breathe some sea air and relative quiet! If you have never driven in a local cab in this mayhem, you are totally missing the point of Mumbai. It is TOTAL MAYHEM and far worse than anything you could ever see on TV. Hooting is the name of the game, anything and everything goes from guys with baskets on their heads (local Courier service!!) to animals pulling goods, to parents with 3 kids on a scooter, to people walking in amongst this mess, to guys with loaded wagons and many, many taxis! 50 thousand of them apparently, all living by their horns!!! Hang on as you progress slowly, then have a burst of speed, only to brake and nearly go thru the windscreen! It has to be seen to be believed, the noise is incredible and just does not stop. In fact, I think I have to say that it is worse than Manhattan, New York. In the traffic jams, anything and everything goes - no rules apply - it is each man for himself!

With a sigh of relief, we reached Marine Drive and some cooling sea breezes. This is a very long drive so we could only walk part of it. There were many students also catching the sea breeze and perhaps a little cuddling away from parents eyes!

Even though the traffic was free flowing along this area, the hooting continues - just for the hell of it! Perhaps the Indians are not all born with a silver spoon, so they have a hand that simply loves the horn and it's blaring sound! The drive is 4.3 km long, with C  shaped 6 lane concrete lanes along the natural bay. The road links Nariman Point to Babulnath and Malabar Hill. The sea breeze was most welcome and the litter was not TOO much! In fact, we did see somebody picking up litter hence the fact that this area is not so dirty. Malabar Hill has the most expensive real estate in Mumbai it seems with a recent sale at Darshan Apartments reaching a new high. This apartment has 3 floors, 4 bedrooms, attached terraces, a covered garage of 700 sq feet and the unit is 3510 sq ft. The price of 57 crore is huge (1 crore = 10 million rupees)

We walked as far as Chowpatty Beach. This beach is huge and I would not like to be there when it gets packed with people. Seething masses are not my favourite! Besides Juhu beach, Chowpatty is Mumbai's most famous beach and comes alive at night when family's descend on this area. During the day it was not so busy although there were a number of kids having a swim. The fishermen were hauling a boat up the beach with military precision and it seems as if they live in shacks on the beach. After a very long walk, we caught a cab back to Cuffs Parade for 100 Rupees. Most probably a rip-off as the distance was not great.

We are total plebs, so we wandered down the road again to find some more Kingfishers - 100 Rupees each for 650 ml against 225 Rupees for 200 ml in the bar fridge in our room. As we have to go thru security every time we enter the building, they must think we are really not 5 star quality guests!!!!! Love the comfort, don't like the prices!!

We also wanted to see Fashion Street today as we passed this yesterday - however, it seems the stalls are closed on Mondays so too bad!

A great day out and a true Mumbai local experience. Mixing with the locals in areas where there are truly no Westerners, has been incredible and awesome experience.

The legs are tired, the body needs a shower but what a great day out!

Tonight we decided on "safe" food - chicken and veg with choc mud pie desserts. Boring, but hopefully my silly tum-tum will behave. Mind you, we are drinking buffalo milk with our tea - 50,000 buffaloes supply approx. 750,000 litres of fresh milk daily to Mumbai. Housed in Buffalo Tabelas (cowsheds) the smell is apparently over-powering and there are moves afoot to re-locate these.

© Judelle Drake

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradclinphotography

For Accommodation Cape Town, South Africa

www.bradclin.com

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India - Mumbai (3)



Mumbai from Marine Drive

Humidity 83% at 28 degrees - welcome to the day!

We made breakfast on time today!! The service from the Indian male staff  opted  at  Taj President is superb - lovely fresh croissants, divine spicy tea served in a tiny glass, eggs or Indian food to order, fresh fruit, fresh juices (watermelon, carrot or pineapple) various breads toasted, plus much more. We could not sample everything - too much!

After our long and very hot walk yesterday, we opted for a half day City Tour. Air conditioned comfort and a very informative driver. With a population of 19 million in Mumbai ( yep, you read the figure correctly, 19 million!!!) it is a crowded city. Those in the higher income bracket have at least one car per person in the family with maybe a spare. So a 5 person family would most likely have 6 cars. Those not so rich use either public transport or have motor cycles. The really poor  just walk. The family who own the Reliance company (oil and Sim Cards) have 5 family members with staff of 130. Their home is very high so one imagines that there is cleaning and more cleaning to be done! Can't say that I would like to be surrounded by so many staff? They would be under your feet at every turn!

Mumbai is a mixture of old and new - some stunning, modern high rises which nestle alongside some really grotty buildings. It's an amazing mix and adds to the flavour of the city. The Rajabhai Clock Tower has an interesting history - built by Premchand Roychand who founded the Mumbai Stock Exchange, he named this clock tower after his mother who was blind. As a member of the Jain religion, she had to eat before evening, so the chiming of the clock tower was her guide. During the British Raj, the clock chimed Rule Brittania, God Save the King, Home Sweet Home and a Handel Symphony out of a total of 16 tunes which changed 4 times a day. Now it only plays one tune every 15 minutes. This clock tower is within the are of the University of Mumbai - gorgeous buildings inspired by Venetian Gothic influences, it was built in 1857 and is one of the first 3 universities in India.

Jain Temples are very ornate and the one we visited in Mumbai had two massive elephant statues in front of the temple. One has to take off shoes to enter the building and there are rules for tourists such as:
Women may not enter if they have their "monthlies"
Do not turn your back to the idols
Walk gently so as not to disturb the devotees
Surrender your drinking water.

It is a holy place with many devout people praying so silence is the norm.
There are many religions in India - Hindu is the majority, then Muslim and the rest follow - Buddhism, Christian, Catholic, Jain (in no particular order)
All appear to get on well together which is as it should be in the world.

The Haji Ali Mosque is located in the sea on a small island - a  long walk takes one to the mosque  and this is only accessible at low tide. The queue stretched for ages so we did not attempt this. Constructed in 1431 in memory of a very wealthy merchant who gave up all his worldly possessions before taking a pilgrimage to Mecca it remains a very important mosque and a popular tourist attraction.

Marine Drive gives a view of the Arabian sea and this is a popular area for walking. Unfortunately, on the tour there is not much time to get out and wander.

The Hanging Gardens were created in 1880 and renovated in 1921 - with hedges in the shapes of animals and an "Old Women's Shoe" for the kids to climb, (we saw many adults too!) is a good place to chill out, walk or jog. This area is known as Malabar Hill, which is apparently very expensive. It certainly does not look expensive except for the Governor's House tucked away in a prime position. Certainly not Clifton, Cape Town.

Parking at any of these spots is a nightmare and the cops apparently issue "illegal" fines to tour guides or hotel drivers. Corrupt officials everywhere?

Talking with a cell phone is also prohibited and there are cops all over, watching for drivers chatting. The motor bike folk tuck their cell phones into their helmets so as to escape detection! Good  move and rather inventive, I would say!

Apparently, there are many wealthy folk in Mumbai which is the financial centre of India - however, to earn all these Indian Rupees they have to work 12 hours per day. Take in approx. 2 hours of travelling to work and back again, they are away from home for 14 hours - that leaves just 10 hours for dinner, family time and sleep! It seems 12 hour shifts are the norm as our tour guide from the hotel works 7 - 7!

Dialect changes happen every 100 km or so with various food styles as well. However, there are numerous English Newspapers so many Indians speak English. The offices of the "Times of India" are huge, set in an impressive building opposite the Victoria Terminus. This station is a world heritage site and was fairly quiet on Sunday. We believe it heaves with people during the week! We started taking photos and were then stopped by somebody asking if we "had permission" As we did not know what this entailed, we shook our heads and wandered back out again. The Sea Cadets, all smartly dressed, wanted their photo's taken and kept pushing each other to get closer! With wide smiles, we did manage to grab a quick shot!

The Dhobi Ghat is a very famous and amazing open air laundry. With laundry hanging all over the place, it's an incredible sight. The men wash the laundry from local hotels and hospitals and all is done by hand. Only men work here and this tradition has been going on for many, many years. Bashing the laundry would certainly get rid if anybody's aggression, I would say!  Families also live in "shacks" around the laundry. A buzzing place 7 days a week and a tradition that has survived modern times and washing machines. Sometimes, change is not always for the better - old methods work just as well.

Our driver has 3 children, 20, 17 and 5! All born at at a Government Hospital where they are only charged 10 Rupees. There are also private hospitals that charge much more. Mumbai is an incredible city with so many different facets that it is difficult to take it all in - the rich, the middle class and the very, very poor living in total squalor, far worse than anything in South Africa? Yet they still smile! And seem to survive? Although......

Rape, dengue fever in Bandra, match fixing all make the Sunday papers. However, the newspapers here are not all doom and gloom and make rather interesting reading. Cricket is, of course, a huge topic in India and the Oval in Mumbai is most popular with a number of matches underway when we passed by. Hockey comes a poor second as EVERYBODY loves cricket. You will make a friend for life if you are able to talk about Indian cricket.

We walked down past this 5 star hotel and within a short distance came across a huge local village of shops, friendly people and children all wanting a photo. We cannot get over the squalor that some Indians live in and yet they are all friendly, smiling and allow us to photograph their surroundings and way of life. It's humbling to say the least.

The Fishing Village is also not far from the hotel so we walked back there this afternoon. The fishermen were all tying up their nets - a laborious task, it seems. The floats are neatly bagged for use again tomorrow. The tide was out so we could see the "beach" - a conglomerate of litter as far as the eye could see. The boats are all very colourful with brightly coloured flags flapping in the slight breeze. The children are so amazingly friendly, given that we always seem to be the only Westerners walking!!!! Photo please, they ask politely! We have not yet met an angry Indian and hopefully, this does not ever happen.

Some guys do stare at us as if we are aliens - it seems that Westerners don't wander around like we do?

So far we have seen very few dogs, a few scrawny hens, cows of the pavement with an Indian lady guarding the cow from silly tourists who want to take photo's. It OK if you purchase some grasses to feed the cow, then photos are permitted! We did not realise this at first until our tour guide explained what the lady was "selling"

All in all, a day of many surprises and a brief glimpse into the Indian culture. Whist the caste system is obviously still very much in place, people remain happy. Perhaps they are born with beautiful, smiling faces - one hopes so. I could not bear the thought of living in such squalor, surrounded by filth, the smell of fish and having to call such a tiny hovel my home......Those of the more privileged, have a far easier life with their servants and cars.

Tonight we decided to give the Thai Restaurant in Taj President Hotel a try. WOW!! What an explosion of tastes in everything that was served from the chicken dishes to the potato mix to the very decadent desserts. The hotel staff reckon that this is the best Thai Restaurant in Mumbai. Now we cannot comment on this, but it certainly puts our Cape Town "Wang Thai" Restaurant to shame. Totally delicious flavours explode in the mouth and leave the most incredible tastes. All I can say again is "WOW" Whilst the service in all the hotel restaurants have been superb, the Thai one wins our vote, hands down - no competition! We will return to sample more of their delights!

My Kindle better have a really good novel to take my mind off this meal............goodnight!

© Judelle Drake

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradclinphotography

For Accommodation Cape Town, South Africa

www.bradclin.com

Please share - if you did not enjoy this post .....Shhh - but please still share!

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