Advertisement
Published: January 18th 2009
Edit Blog Post
We'd made so many friends in Delhi that when it came to leave, it was a crazed mad dash to wish everyone farewell. Alex, one of the staff at Asha, who had taken such good care of us and had been a real lifeline to us when beset by some of the lows of living in Delhi, was someone with whom parting was especially sad - we really looking forward to meeting up with her sometime in the future. Another significant individual was Freddy Martin, also of Asha, who helped marvellously when poor Kerry suffered her leg injury. He really could not do enough - sending round drivers, food parcels, flowers, etc. An absolute gentleman with a huge heart. As we said goodbye, we wished him and the team every blessing and continued success in the good work being done in the slum colonies.
Farewells out of the way, we jumped into the back of an autorickshaw and made for New Delhi train station. We travelled sleeper train from Delhi to Mumbai. We shared our carriage with two Indian businessmen, Rajinder and Sonil. It was very pleasant sharing life stories with them. They were quite amazed that we should be
travelling for such an extended period - "Twelve months?!?!", Sonil exclaimed. They were also very touched to hear the stories of our work with Asha and seemed impressed that we'd dedicated time to serve as volunteers. It was lovely unwinding in good company, reading our books and gazing out our carriage window as landscapes of India rushed past. On the odd occasion, I caught sight of India's national bird, the Peacock, strutting as if on parade in fields lush and green. Quite remarkable creatures!
In all, the train journey was far more comfortable than I'd been expecting, but as with any long distance journey it was still tiring. For our first day in Mumbai, we treated ourselves to a full day of repose, simply relaxing around our hotel, watching on TV the best of bollywood and enjoying some delicious room service. It was, I feel, a day well spent.
The following morning we embarked on a heavy day of sight-seeing. Starting at Malabar Hill, we walked around the Banganga Tank, an odd place, really not much to look at, but a significant holy place for Hindus. Five thousand years ago, at this very spot, the Hindu God, Rama,
is believed to have asked his brother Laxman for water who, according to the legend, proceeded to shoot an arrow at the ground causing the Banganga to spring forth.
From there, we headed to the waterfront and to the landmark Gateway of India. An imposing arch, the Gateway of India was completed in 1924 and commemorates the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Bombay in 1911. Sadly, the structure of the arch was undergoing extensive restoration when we visited. The scaffolding and tarpaulin took away from its grandeur.
We could not hang around the waterfront area long. The touts were tenacious and pursued us relentlessly. In the pressing throng, I was losing my cool. We had to summon stealth and conviction to battle through, making our retreat in the direction of the Taj Mahal hotel.
The hotel was sublime. Synonmous with opulence, past guests include The Beatles, Joan Collins and Bill Clinton. Opening its doors in 1903, it was commissioned by Jamsedji Tata, a prolific Indian businessman and founder of the Tata group of companies. Apparently, so the story goes, he instructed its erection after being refused entry at one of the grand hotels
Gateway of India
As you can see, it was undergoing some restoration works when we visited. of the day which was restricted to whites only! Here, in decadent surroundings, we whiled away an afternoon spoiling ourselves on gin and tonics - just the elixir we needed, I can tell you! Having had such a lovely time there, it is disturbing knowing what took place only a few months later in the course of the Mumbai terrorist attacks - very sad.
The next day, our last in India, we set out on a walking tour of central Mumbai set out in Lonely Planet. We whizzed past the Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue, St Thomas' Cathedral, the Flora Fountain, the gothic-style buildings of the empire and more. In the evening, we gave our weary feet a well-deserved rest with a trip to Eros cinema, a popular art deco venue playing Bollywood's latest releases. We saw there a movie which was more Rom-Com than hardcore Bollywood but it was really fun to watch all the same - even if it was in Hindi without subtitles! In many ways, it was the perfect way to spend our final night in India.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.172s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 7; qc: 45; dbt: 0.1106s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb