India: Mumbai

Sunday, April 30, 2023, Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India

We arrived in port and saw the impressive city skyline from our balcony. We had to do a face-to-face passport check. As soon as we got off the dock, we were greeted by dancers playing percussion, and sari-garbed women putting tikas on our foreheads.

Getting my tika

Skyline from our balcony

In line for passport check

We had a tour that started at 11 am. Our first stop was at the Gateway to India monument. This is the city’s top tourist attraction, and it overlooks the Arabian Sea. A giant arch built to commemorate King George V’s visit to India. The tour guides like to say the British left India for good through this arch.

Gateway to India Monument. Check out the crowds.

Being Sunday, the crowd was insane! We saw a line of a hundred or more people and asked what the line was for. It was the line for the ferry to Elephata Island, a tour some people we knew were taking. Traffic, vendors, locals and tourists alike were all here. We tried not to lose our group while still absorbing the scene.

Our next stop was the famous Mumbai train station. This is an impressive Victorian structure. We had a photo op here but were not able to go inside. It is mostly administrative offices now. We were told commuter trains in Mumbai have commenters hanging off the sides during rush hour. This is probably one reason for the unique dabbawala lunchbox delivery service in Mumbai that primarily uses bicycles and trains to deliver (and return) lunches packed in tiffins (metal layered containers with a handle) from homes or restaurants to workers in the city. Between 175,000 and 200,000 tiffins are delivered on week days to businesses in Mumbai and supposedly they never mix them up. 

Mumbai original train station

Remember the Hare Krishnas from the early 1970s? They have a large temple complex in downtown Mumbai, and our tour stopped there. It was a happening place. They were feeding people in the outer courtyard, and there were tables set up with representatives who spoke different languages to speak to people about lessons in Krishna consciousness. We had to take our shoes off to go into the temple itself. We waited in line to enter the temple itself. There were a couple of instructors and quite a few devotees in a very ornate room.

Onward to another very unique Mumbai institution: the world’s largest outdoor laundry, the Dohbi Ghat. There are thousands if not tens of thousands of jeans, sheets, shirts, you name it hanging out in the sun. New clothing that gets washed before being hung by color. This is a very popular tourist attraction mostly viewed from a bridge. High rises in the background are an interesting contrast.

Hard to tell, but clothes are hanging in the sun sorted by color.

Note man working in one of the vats

The Gandhi Museum, our next stop, is a simple 2-story house that Gandhi once lived in. The ground floor is mostly a library and research center. Upstairs, the room he lived in has been preserved with his simple belongings. Other rooms upstairs contained interesting small dioramas of the highlights in his life. 

Outside of Gandhi museum

Example of dioramas 

Last but not least on the tour, we visited the Prince of Wales Museum. This was a really wonderful collection with statues of deities, pottery, and artwork from ancient India housed in a gorgeous Victorian building. 

Once we returned to the ship we ventured out again on our own. Mostly we walked around the business neighborhood close to the pier. There were a lot of motor homes parked on the street, and we wondered if this was a homeless camp. Nope—on weekends this neighborhood is used by film companies and we happened upon a live shoot for a commercial. They were very friendly and talked to us for a bit. 

The film crew at work

Photo op with film crew

Another thing that was happening in these streets: cricket. Lots and lots of cricket. We’d never seen a cricket match, which is a little like baseball but with large wooden boards instead of bats. They can really wail on that ball! Last we wandered into a nice hotel to snoop and enjoy air conditioning for a bit.

Monday, May 1, 2023, Mumbai, India day 2

Another tour, and it was also excellent. It started much the same as yesterday’s: at the Gateway to India, which was eerily calm and quiet on a Monday.

Across the street from this monument is the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. Our tour guide told us how to get inside. There is heavy security there since it was one of the targets of Pakistani bombers. They scanned our bags at the entrance to the reception area. We then followed our guide’s instructions, but were thwarted by a locked door just past the hotel spa that required a room key. Fortunately, Charlie was able to grab the door as someone exited, and we found ourselves in the stunning pool area where a yoga class was in session. The entire place smelled like roses, with many large round bouquets crammed solid with rose blossoms. We wound through hallways past designer shops, arriving at the original entrance (now locked) with the atmospheric sound and sight of a sitar player on the staircase landing. Displays of fine Indian artwork were everywhere. 

Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai (old wing)

Bunches of roses like these scented the entire hotel

Yoga in the pool area

Sitar player on the landing of the staircase

We stopped by the University of Mumbai, which consisted of gorgeous colonial buildings and lovely gardens. Across the street was a UNESCO site with art deco buildings and a huge field full of cricket players. 

University of Mumbai

Next was the Mahata Jyotiba Phule Market. Dogs are not allowed, but cats certainly are, and they were all over the place. We entered through a messy area strewn with straw and litter. We followed our guide through the winding outer aisles into the interior. This is where people go when they are buying food for a lot of people for a party or holiday celebration. Much cheaper than the grocery store. We bought spices—they took our Visa card. We tried to buy some dried fruits and nuts but our Visa didn’t work at this place and unfortunately we didn’t have have enough cash. Sadly, we had to leave our purchases behind. 

Lots of straw everywhere at this market

Charlie paying for spices I picked out.

Mumbai has a few remaining 3-story apartment buildings that were built to house workers, which we passed on a walking tour of the area. 

Our next stop was a small street with some stunning Portuguese bungalows, and we stopped at one for snacks and a refreshing drink. There was flower art by the door to greet us, and we had rose petals sprinkled on us as we entered through the door. And per usual the forehead dot if desired. I always want one, Charlie not so much. This particular bungalow is owned by an Indian fashion designer, and the exterior and interior reflect an artistic spirit. Upstairs was a boutique. Charlie found a silk top for me. After converting the rupees to dollars it was more pricey than anticipated, but by that time I was sold on it. The purchase put us way behind the group. I had no idea where they were. The heat and humidity had fogged my brain and I was a bit panicky, but all ended well. 

Portuguese neighborhood

Our hosts

The guide bought green plants to feed the cow which was on the sidewalk, tended by a woman vendor. The cow picked up on the vendor’s irritability (she only got paid once) and it shook her horns dangerously. 

Me nearly getting gored feeding the local cow.

Our guide took us to a high class government sponsored art store. There were gorgeous pieces of art, and we bought a piece of artwork for home.  

We had lunch at an nice restaurant, then proceeded between some high rises and down an alley. Suddenly there was a gorgeous Hindu temple. We had to remove our shoes and a woman was in charge of keeping track of everyone’s shoes. The place was packed with the devoted and a few of us tourists. Our guide had bought some flowers on the street somewhere along the line and gave us flowers for offering at the temple. No photos allowed in the inner sanctum where everyone was leaving their flower offerings. One the way out a fierce looking swami was blessing people as they left.

Lunch in Mumbai

Getting a blessing from the swami

Charlie’s flower offering

Through this arch and around the corner is the temple

Charlie visiting with a local 

Outside we saw a woman with an elaborate headdress and was holding a baby and asking for money. This is where we learned about one dark side of Mumbai. People rent or sometimes even steal babies to beg for money, often part of a group involved in drugs or other organized crime. The babies are drugged to make them easy to handle. We could see it was totally zonked out and limp, not just sleeping. Right outside a Hindu temple. 

On the way back to the ship lots of colorful street scenes and examples of extreme poverty to lavish wealth.