Ghandi, Mumbai, the Gates of India/ Elephanta

---

My mom and I went out one morning to see Ghandi's memorial thing they have here.
"the Aga Khan Palace was built by Sultan Muhammed Shah Aga Khan III in Pune, India. Built in 1892, it is one of the biggest landmarks in Indian history. The palace was an act of charity by the Sultan who wanted to help the poor in the neighbouring areas of Pune, who were drastically hit by famine" If you care, the link is (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aga_Khan_Palace)

It was really amazing to see the story and pictures of Ghandi. He is always looking down. I don't think I saw a single picture of him looking at the camera or looking up. There were amazing stories, and if you have not read up on Ghandi, you really should. It was an amazing place to be while in India.



Took a weekend trip out of Pune to drive 4 hours to Mumbai. We were picking up April at the Mumbai airport and Jeff and I decided to go early and go see some sights in Mumbai. The only thing I really knew about the trip was that we were going to see the Gates of India. What happened was an extraordinary trip that I hope to recreate next weekend before I need to fly back to the states.

Our driver picked us up at the hotel and we drove 4 hours, he asked us if it was okay for him to play music and we said yes. To my surprise his play list contained and lots of Ludacris. Best trip music ever, or at least the best I could expect under the circumstances.

We arrived to the Gates of India and immediately, Jeff gets "Taken" by one of the hustlers outside the monument. What they do is hand you some rice or candy then quickly tie a piece of yarn around your hands and ask for money. I had warned him of this trick a couple of days before at a dinner with some executives we had to attend. I just laughed and walked away and he kind of just went along with it. If it's never happened to you it is kind of fun to play along, but I had watched the hustlers do this in Italy every morning when I would walk to Dumo. (see Europe travel blog- Milan).

We walked around the Gates of India, because you can't actually go THROUGH them. So why is it called a gate? I don't really know. Jeff and I walk around to where the boats were and they were taking people to Elephanta, an island off the coast of Mumbai that has some really cool temples and stuff to look at. We were trying to buy tickets and then the Photos happened.



In order to explain photos, I think I should elaborate a little more. Apparently it's a big deal to get photos with (white foreigners). I had some people come up to me to ask for a photo, and I said yes. Then it turns into a circus and cluster mess of switching who is standing near me, who's all in the picture, who wants a hug in the picture. This is all fine and dandy, but once one group of people start to do it, more people catch on and then ask for THEIR pictures with you. Effectively this went on long enough to miss the boat we were trying to get on, and we had to wait for the next one.

Jeff and I went on an hour long boat ride out to the island and passed the Mumbai Navy ships and enjoyed the boat ride. We got off the boat by docking next to other boats and then walking across a few boats to get to the actual dock. At the dock you walk a ways then there is a train- it was only something like 10 rupees to ride but I figured it was lazy to ride when you could easily walk. What I didn't know is that if there is offered transportation, you should probably take it. We arrived walking the shore line to a small market area with steps leading up. There were these guys that had chairs attached to two long poles where you could sit in the chair and they would carry you up the stairs. Again, if there is a form of transportation offered , you should probably take it. I still felt like that was a bit lazy, and I did not feel comfortable making someone carry me up a bunch of stairs. By the time I had arrived at the top of the stairs, I don't think I could have taken another breath. I was drenched in sweat, and tired as all get out. There are little market stalls lining the stairwell so if you stop to take a breath, they try to sell you stuff, so you just look down and keep on moving.

When we got to the Elephanta temples, we saw quite a few. The temples were amazing and carved out of the mountain. It wasn't built from the bottom up like others, it was carved out of the side of the mountain, and there were like 8 or 9 of them and they were HUGE. If you care, (http://www.maharashtratourism.gov.in/mtdc/HTML/MaharashtraTourism/TouristDelight/Caves/Caves.aspx?strpage=ElephantaCaves.html.)



At one point, Jeff had to use the facilities, and I waited outside near a fence-line, where another photo opportunity arised when some guys saw me sitting. This one only lasted about ten minutes, but sometimes its hard to smile when you feel so gross and sweaty and nasty and people just really want a photo with you, again, with every combination.

On the other side of Elephanta is a large hill to climb, with more steps. We climbed to the top and the view was amazing. I thought I was going to die, I'm not going to go into details, but I was extremely hung over from the night before. *I'm in my twenties, totally allowed to do this* Got to the top, thought I was going to die, sat down, drank some water, and then I asked Jeff to give his bottle of water to one of the monkeys because that's always fun. I'll upload the video when I have more time one day.

---

Photos

Ghandi's sandles
look at the bottom of the blog for more pics of the Ghandi memorial