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!

Thanks!

India - Mumbai (1/2)

After months of planning, our India holiday has at long last arrived. Up at the crack of dawn (for me anyway!)  the taxi collected us a a cold and wet morning. With heavy storms and snow expected in the Western Cape, we were rather  glad to be leaving the drab, soulless day behind. There was not much time in Johannesburg before the international leg of the journey to Mumbai. However, boarding was delayed (no explanation) so we waited and waited. After standing in a long line for over 30 mins, boarding commenced. The flight was good with only minor turbulence. The downside was a very loud child of about 3years who did not stop shouting the entire flight. If she was not calling her brother, who was seated across the isle, she was shouting at her mother who was right next to her! Her father was in a seat behind but seemed totally oblivious to the noise! I suppose they ignore her all the time and it is just "white noise" in their house? The other irritation was the bell somewhere above my head which kept pinging ALL night long. The people on the flight were mainly Indians - very few Westerners so our food was curry! Surprise? An announcement was made before serving the food that it was all Halaal. Now I have no problem with anybody's eating habits but SAA should advise those of us who do not like Halaal food, that we need to pre-order something else maybe? In this day and age of democratic society, having something forced down my throat, or starve, is not quite what I have in mind when flying SAA. Other than that, full praise to the staff and pilot..

As we disembarked, the lovely warm air hit my limbs which tuned to jelly. Warm for the first time in months, it was a delicious feeling. Our luggage took ages to arrive, but then it was plain sailing to the hotel as the traffic was light by Mumbai standards. The driver, sent by the Vivanta President Hotel, was extremely courteous and pointed out the sights as we sped along. Loads of "shacks" just past the airport with 24 tyre repair places still open. What story does that tell you about the driving? Taxi's still plying for trade, young couples on scooters whizzing past at nearly 02.00 in the morning. Apparently, 02.00 is the witching hour for those living in Mumbai. We won't be testing that theory though! The hotel welcome was superb and a long glass of fresh watermelon juice was delivered to our room. Although still fairly early by Cape Town time, we were exhausted from the long day and fell into bed.

We woke at 08.00, turned over for 30 minutes more shut-eye and woke at 10.20 - too late for breakfast. Bummer! So after a shower, we headed for an early lunch at the hotel's Italian Restaurant and our first Kingfisher beer. I am sure many more of those will be consumed as we discovered the heat today! The service is first-class.

Our hotel suggested we walk to Colaba Causeway - just 10 mins, they said. Well, James managed to get us to walk very much more than that, somehow.

Mumbai is noisy as everybody will tell you - everybody blows their horn just for the hell of it, red robots don't seem to mean much but we soon learnt that following the locals was the only way to cross the street - just try and close your eyes to the scooters, brightly coloured buses, millions of taxi cabs that look as if they have seen better days and just as many bicycles. The locals seem to use the "local" taxis and they are crammed into the back seat. There are more "sedate" cabs that look in better shape but most probably cost more too.

It seems that school is held on a Saturday as we passed many parents with their children, all in very smart uniform. They seemed to come from the Convent School.  We walked, we walked some more, I asked directions, we walked some more, we started sweating, we walked some more....past shack like "shops" and very smelly areas. We found a spot near the sea and James took a video saying " this is Mumbai's Blue Flag Beach" Tongue in cheek as the water was so filthy. There was a young guy sitting there who turned round to glare at both of us - if looks could kill, we would not have survived. Sarcasm obviously did not go down well with this chap. Other than that, most folk have been friendly as we are soooo obviously tourists. We did not see many westerners at all today.

Some Indians do not speak English and will just shrug if you ask for directions but other were helpful, in sending us in the wrong direction!!!

We did not see many beggars today in Colaba (the tourist area of Mumbai) and nobody bothered us too much except some weird balloon sellers who were selling a packet of huge balloons - so big, I think one could take off on them! There was a young boy begging at a traffic light and 2 Indian men gave him money. Along the Causeway, a women with an arm hacked off, tried to beg. It looked so gross but one has to wonder if this was a genuine accident or a deliberate act to make begging easier?

The heat, the blisters on my toes did nothing for me when surrounded by the crowds at the Gateway to India. Security is tight in Mumbai - one's luggage is checked again once you are OFF the plane, the car is checked at the hotel, bags are checked at the hotel if you come back from a walk. Rather embarrassing having 4 large 650 ml bottles of Kingfisher in the shoulder bag! Seems we are not really 5* folk - love the ambiance and the comfort but the wallet with ZAR conversion is not so loaded!

The Gateway to India was crowded with Indian tourists - all waiting for the cruise to Elephanta Island?  This gateway was constructed to commemorate  the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to the city. Completed in 1920 it remains a striking symbol of the British Raj. The end of the era happened in 1947 when the British troops left India via the "Gateway to India". Camera men are all over the tourists in this area - trying to sell you a picture of yourself against the monument. With all cell phones able to take pics these days, one has to wonder how much business they do? Although, we did see a fair number of them taking shots of people grinning from ear to ear! It's just something that first time tourists "have" to do?

The area we wandered around is made up of many little shops selling all kinds of wares from cigarettes to hardware, to basins, to clothing and everything in between. Near to the Gateway to India there were guys making "fresh" juice and others selling delectable looking ice-creams. However, we have been warned about eating anything off the street so we sweated onwards! The other tip picked up before we left SA was that the Indians re-sell bottled water after gluing the caps back on! We saw evidence of this along this area - crazy what people will do to make a quick buck at the expense of foreigners health! I also spotted a circle of kids sitting on the pavement eating some food. Tough tummies!!

The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, close to the Gateway to India, is very grand and shows Moorish, Florentine and Oriental styles - it is also the first hotel in India to have electricity, the first with a lift (elevator), the first licensed bar in Mumbai and the first to host international jazz bands.  Although we are staying at a Taj (President) the prices do vary and Taj Mahal was just a tad more than we wished to pay!

The hooting in Mumbai is constant, the heat is sweat-inducing, the pavements are a hit and miss zone with many pot holes which nearly resulted in a  sprained ankle, the smells are quite gross in some places we passed, but over-all the people are smiling and happy and very, very polite.

We made it back to the hotel in one piece but totally drenched in sweat and with blisters on my toes. Another shower was called for and a Kingfisher or two!

For an early, casual supper we headed to the restaurant at the Pool Deck which serves Indian cuisine. Not being a food boff, I cannot even remember the names of the dishes - suffice to say that we had crackers (white and thin) with 3 different dips - delectable! Then curry chicken and prawns with some Indian bread which one dips into the curry sauce. Dessert was Indian Ice Cream for me - very rich and yummy and some sort of spicy cake slice for James which was just as tasty. Again, the service is superb, friendly and very pleasant.

Tomorrow, we hope to explore further.......

© 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!

Thanks!