BOMBAY (MUMBAI), INDIA--Monday, April 15, 2013

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MUMBAI OR BOMBAY, INDIA, as the city was called until it was renamed in 1996--Monday, April 15, 2013

There was no question that we were entering a major commercial center as our ship pulled into the principal Indian port of Mumbai, which sits right on the Arabian Sea. This is the world’s 7^th largest city with a population thought to be in excess of 10 million. Its wealth was built on the cotton and textile industry, which was especially important to the British during the time when the Union blockaded the Confederate States and there were virtually no cotton shipments from the South.

Valerie and I exited the ship, planning to get a taxi to tour us around for a couple of hours. As we came down the gangway and crossed through a modern terminal to look for a taxi, I overheard an older man talking to some people about “not being sure what he wanted to do.” We asked if he wished to join us in splitting the cost of a taxi tour and he agreed.

He introduced himself as Asa Collins from near Lake Tahoe, CA, a man who wears two hats on this and other cruises. He is a Presbyterian minister, so he holds church services on Sunday and he is a history professor, so he lectures on board about various subjects and ports of call.

The city of Mumbai is the port and the old British buildings such as the Victorian-Gothic in style, Victoria Terminus train station, and other’s built prior to 1947, sit smack dab on a major boulevard that comes up directly from the port terminal. Lots of pedestrians were out walking about, but there was not as much vehicle traffic as we expected and our taxi moved along without very much delay.

We first went along Marine Drive that goes along Back Bay and looked at what the driver called the “gold coast” where the wealthy have homes and apartments overlooking the very pretty bay. We passed parks, a nice looking public beach, universities, and a big hospital. Even as modern as the city seems to be, people still move goods on backs of bikes, in carts attached to bikes, and on their heads.

Off a side street, in this section of Mumbai, was Gandhi’s home between 1917 and 1934. It was from here that he started his stance of Civil Disobedience. We went inside on the first floor and looked around with the other million tourists. There is a very lovely bronze bust of him in the front entry and another monument in his library.

We continued to ride through various sections of the city looking at the old interesting Colonial buildings like the YMCA and the library until we reached an area (right on a main boulevard) that was really, really poor and really, really dirty with garbage everywhere. It was on part of a waterway and the fishermen had boats pulled up on the beach and in between the edge of the water and the street they lived in shacks of tin and cardboard.

Next door was a group of laundry vendor’s shops. The laundry was hung up to dry on roof tops and in front of the shops along the street. I am sure it was sparkling clean when it is given back to the owners.

We next were driven to a fancy handicraft shop. We finally understood that what the driver was saying was to us was that the parking around the Bombay Gate was so crowded that if one of us went into the store to “shop” he could park out front in a roped off section. So, I went into shop, while Valerie hot-footed it down the block to look and take pictures of the Bombay Gate or as it is also called, the Gateway to India.

I bought a pillow cushion cover since I felt obligated to buy something. When Valerie returned she asked the taxi driver to drive past the gate so that Asa and I could also see it. It was built of yellow basalt to commemorate the arrival of King George V and Queen Mary in 1911. It is recognized as the city’s symbol. Right across from the gate is the Taj Mahal Hotel built in 1903 and considered by some to be one of the world’s finest.

We were now out of our bargained-for taxi time and so we were driven back to the terminus building past various statues in landscaped circles and street medians. Got back in time to have lunch at the Windjammer Café.

That night as we pulled out of port, Valerie took a number of pictures of the Mumbai skyline from the 10^th deck.

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