QE World Voyage 2014

Day 93 - Mumbai, India

Sunday, April 13

What an amazing (but tiring) day! I awoke around 6:30 ( I know, that is amazing in itself) and watched us sail into port. Met my Cruise Critic friends (Maggiemou had organized the tour) in the Golden Lion Pub at 7:30 and we were among the first ones off. We had to take a short shuttle bus to the gates of the pier and then we were met by our coach and guide.

Our guide was a very personable young man named Pranav (he is an aspiring actor and appeared on the Indian version of "The Bachelorette") who spoke excellent English. Since we started early there was not too much traffic (it was also Sunday, which helped).

We started (appropriately) at the Gateway of India which was built to welcome visiting dignitaries in the days of English rule. From the large square in front you could also see the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, a beautiful example of architecture from the days of the Empire.

At the Oval Cricket Ground we saw hundreds of men playing cricket (although it is not the national sport, it is the most popular). At the same stop we saw the Bombay High Court and Mumbai University.

We visited the Crawford Market that went on and on selling all kinds of things. We saw really nice looking fruits and vegetables, spices, nuts, toiletries, birds and dogs for sale among other things. The puppies looked healthy (one man was washing each one) but there was no drinking water in the cages which bothered us.

There are supposed to be lots of rats at the Victoria Terminus Railway Station (which was featured in "Slumdog Millionaire") but luckily I did not see any. It is a beautiful old building with amazing carved details. We were not supposed to take pictures inside (even though there were no signs) but the guide said we could sneak a picture or two if we were discreet.

We visited a Hare Krishna Temple (shades of the 60s). There was an American guest lecturer and there were hundreds of people listening to him. From there it was a visit to the Banganga Tank which is spring fed. According to Indian mythology it was created when the brother of an ancient God asked him for water. The brother shot an arrow and where it hit the ground a tributary of the Ganges River appeared (the Ganges is really over a thousand miles away). The Banganga still has religious connections.

Then to the Hanging Gardens (they are built over water thus the "hanging" name) and across the street to Kamla Nehru Park where this a giant shoe (like in the Old Lady in the Shoe) that the kids can climb through. There is also an overlook of the city.

The next stop was probably the most unbelievable. It is called Dhobi Ghat and it is a huge open air laundry. Laundry is sent there and beaten on stones by men (it is considered men's work) and then hung on twisted ropes (no clothes pins/pegs) to dry. The railroads and cars go right beside this area. The men often bathe in the same water. We watched one man lather up and take a good washing.

Our last stop was at a typical street food market. We had a vegetarian dish made for us that was classified as "mild". It was actually really good even though I considered it a little spicy. We stood and ate with the locals. When we finished we had a Fanta fizzy orange drink. I am usually not a fan of this drink but it was cold and put out the fire in my mouth. We walked through another cricket ground and came out in the clothes street market.

We had beggars approach us and ask for handouts. Our guide told us not to give them anything because it only encourages them not to get a job (evidently jobs are available for those who want them). We also saw three little girls (looked like they were in the 8-10 year old range) walking through stopped traffic begging at car windows. Many people appeared to be living on the streets, sitting on blankets with many family(?) members.

There were also a number of people who were selling things at most of the tourist locations. One lady in our group bought a lovely crocheted tablecloth for $8 (he started at $15).

We saw a few cows on the streets. They are allowed to go where they want since cows are considered sacred.

It was truly an experience and I took so many pictures I drained the batteries of both my cameras. I am going to break up the pictures into a couple of posts because I have trouble getting entries to post properly with lots of pictures.

We got back to the ship at about two and I was exhausted. Picked up a Pepsi at the pub and went back to my stateroom and took an hour nap sitting up on the sofa. I had just enough time to download my pictures to my iPad before 4:15 trivia. Poor showing at only 8 out of 20.

I had decided not to go back on shore again so I headed down to the Purser's Office to turn in my yellow immigration card. There I met three of my dinner companions and we talked about our day. Plans were made to have a drink by the Lido Pool at sunset.

Read for awhile and on the way to meet my friends for a drink stopped to chat with Maggiemou who had organized today's tour. It was surprisingly nice by the pool with a cooling breeze.

Had dinner in the Lido and then went back out by the Lido Pool for sail-away just before 9 pm. Evidently there was no chance of a pirate attack in the harbor so the lights were still on and the deck was still open. Stayed on deck for about a half hour and then picked up an orange juice and back to my stateroom. Worked on my pictures (it was hard narrowing down the pictures because there were so many interesting sights) and the blog until I was too sleepy to stay awake.