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Published: March 27th 2012
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MUMBAI CITY TOUR, MUMBAI, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA. Tuesday 20 March, 2012.
We both felt dreadful but still managed to pack, then D lugged our stuff to the holding area on deck 6. D also negotiated an extra hour and 20 mins stay of execution from leaving our cabin from our cabin guy Angel (a very appropriate name as it meant we could stay in the cabin until 9.20 am instead of having to be out by 8 am). We then went to the restaurant for breakfast, returned to our cabin to shower etc. and then went up to the Discovery Bar to wait to disembark around 11 am as agreed with our Agent yesterday.
While we were waiting M decided to use our last 16 mins of internet time and found an email from Ashikur from Quo Vardis saying our Agent woud be there from 8 am. Rather than sit around for an hour or so M decided to get off and see if he was there. He was, so we got our stuff, disembarked, cleared customs (yellow gate) and were taken to our hotel round the corner (it was quicker to walk from the green gate yesterday). The hotel
was called The Grand, had internet access, breakfast included and was in a great location walkable from downtown, the Gateway to India and next to the Indira Docks. We were to be collected at 1 pm this afternoon for a city tour. We went for a look around and found an ATM to get some rupees.
Our guide and driver arrived 10 minutes late. She was a sweet girl who never told us her name on this first day. The first stop was Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Formerly Victoria Railway Station). This amazing Neo-Gothic building was designed by F W Stevens and was completed in 1887. It is an absurdly attractive, palazo-like structure and is on the UNESCO World Heritage list. It is the terminus of the Central Railways. From the ship M thought it was a cathedral. According to Miss Unknown Guide it is the second most photographed structure in India next to the Taj Mahal. We didn't go inside as apparently it is the outside that you need to see. We also saw the Municipal Corporation Building which is opposite CST and the nearby General Post Office building, both of which are similar built-to-last civic monuments.
We
then drove past Crawford Market and the Muslim District of the city before arriving at Mahalakshmi Dhobi Ghats. This was featured on one of Michael Palin's travel shows. This is the Mumbai Municipal laundry where people send their clothes to be washed or ironed or both. All the workers here are men. The clothes are all grouped together and hanging out to dry before being ironed. There were lines of jeans, overalls, bed sheets and anything else you can think of. The whites were gleaming . The Dhobi Ghats (laundrymen) worked in large stone basins, scrubbing, slapping and soaking. Miss Unknown told us that they hardly ever return laundry items to the wrong owner. Nobody knows how they do it or how their system works. It costs around 2 rupees to have an item ironed (about 2 and a half pence) or between 4 and 7 rupees for the complete works (depending on the items). What a bargain. We should all ditch our Hotpoints and get a Dhobi Ghat!
We then visited the Jain Temple in Walkeshwar Road but it had already closed for the aftenoon. However this did not matter as it is the elaborate facade that is
of interest. This marble shrine was built in 1904. The adherents of Jainism follow an austere religion developed in the 6th century by the Guru Mahavira. They hold that all life is sacred, to the extent that the most orthadox wear a veil over their nose and mouth so as not to breathe in and kill an insect by accident (wonder how they avoid treading on one by mistake?). The security guard allowed us into the outside courtyard to take some photographs.
We then went on to Mani Bhavan (The Ghandi Memorial Museum) where we spent about an hour. The museum is set in the house at 19 Laburnum Road where Ghandi undertook one of his historic fasts, precipitated by riots over the Prince of Wales' visit to Bombay in 1921. Ghandi lived here for several years and his working room (he learned how to spin here) has been preserved in all its simplicity. A mattress, pair of sandals, bowl and spoon were about all of his posessions. Alongside is a permanent exhibition of remarkably excecuted figurines depicting the major episodes in the great man's life. Gandhi was called 'Mahatma' which means 'great soul' by the Indian people. A
spinning wheel is still an emblem on the flag of India.
Our next stop was the Pherozeshah Mehta Gardens - better known by everyone as the Hanging Gardens. These are located at the head of the mini peninsula and were first laid out in 1881. There is some amusing topiary in the shapes of animals and a good view of the harbour and the city (when you can see through the pollution). As we walked through the gardens we saw lots of hawks and other birds of prey circling in the sky. Miss Unknown informed us that they were flying above the nearby Towers of Silence which are where the last rites are performed for the members of the Parsi Community. Parsis are the descendents of Persians who migrated to India some 1,200 years ago and they follow the teachings of Zoroaster, a 6th century philosopher. Unlike the Hindus, who cremate their dead, Parsis are opposed to polluting the earth, air, water or fire so leave their dead in the towers, which are divided into sections for men, women and children. The bodies are left bare for the vultures and other birds circling above to eat. This was the
reason we could see so many birds of prey in the sky.
After the Hanging Gardens we went to a stretch of green known as Pope Paul (Oval) Maidan where we could see the locals playing cricket - all Indians seem to be fanatical about the game! The Oval Maidan is surrounded by many other colonial buildings such as the Rajabai Clock Tower and many others. This area makes up what is known as the 'Fort' area of Mumbai. It is so named after a fort which is no longer there.
During our drive around the city we saw many aspects of daily life. We saw some slum areas which are fairly sophisticated (albeit totally illegal) with links to mains electricity (also illegal). Most of them are two-storey affairs constructed out of anything that is going including corrugated iron, plastic, wood, stone and anything else that does the job. Miss Unknown explained that usually the top or bottom half is 'let out' while the 'owner' lived in the other part. There is, of course, no mains sewerage or water supply.
We also saw the Dabba Wallahs (food men) carrying and distributing tiffin boxes to Mumbai's working population.
Miss U explained that religious dietary laws mean that many Indian's prefer to eat food prepared at home according to strict rules. Their lunches are made after the workers have left for work and sent in special canteens (or tiffin boxes) to the city by train and then have to be delivered. The Dabba Wallahs carry out the complicated business of distributing the correct tins to their rightful owners in a formidable feat of memory.
We returned to the hotel for a rest before venturing out to eat at a restaurant called Barat Exellence which had been recommended by Miss U. It was only 10 minutes walk from our hotel and the food was very good and authentic. We both agreed we had had a very interesting day in Mumbai.
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