Wednesday 1st February
This has been the best day yet! Mumbai! What a City. We woke up in port and the legendary fog enveloped the port and bay. It was very warm even at 8 O’clock in the morning and the fog soon dispelled. We were not sure how to go about the day because we had booked a tour in the afternoon and the dock area is quite extensive.
Anyway after breakfast and the immigration controls we ventured out and we soon haggled for a taxi ride. Very nice driver and he took us around the Centre of Mumbai explaining where we were and giving commentary. However it was not until we had been in the car for awhile that we got used to the chaos of Mumbai traffic. Imagine London without any traffic and parking rules at all!!!!
We went to a very nice shop and bought a few things and then returned to ship for lunch. After that we had an excursion again around the city and again through the absolute chaos of traffic. This time we were able to get to the Gate of India and see the famous Taj Mahal Hotel.
The contrasts in this amazing place are sometimes unbelievable! The very poor almost in the gardens and back yards of the very rich; so many people milling around and doing their everyday tasks! (20,000,000 people live here)The Bus driver was also very good and coped so well with impossible turns and clogged side roads. The ultimate in this trip was a fantastic show of Indian Classical Dancing. This really was something very special. I have always been interested in Indian Classical music and dance. So beautiful in its sounds and movements and costume! Tomorrow I am going with the taxi driver again and Suuske is on another excursion which contains too much walking for me. Looking forward to it so much! The sounds and smells of India the friendly people and this very special city; can’t wait! Watch out for some pictures! Fd
Your looking well. Glad you are having such a great time. We are really enjoying following the blog. (We will miss you at Bible Study tonight!) Love Glenda & Ian x
ReplyDeleteWonderful glad you are having a good time. I had to cross one of those roads! It was like crossing the M6!! Manju grabbed one arm and his brother grabbed my other and they dragged me across. I was screaming at the top of my voice whilst they dodged the traffic!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying reading your updates and share it with mom on a weekly basis Rosemary x x x
Sounds a fascinating city - is it anything like Slumdog Millionaire?
ReplyDeleteHaving got the taste of India, I recommend a great read : The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga(winner of the Booker price 2008)
The book is about a young Indian boy who wants to make it big in life & what he goes through in order to try and get there.
Enjoying your blog and looking forward to more pics to get a flavour of Mumbai.
Joke
Sounds like you are having a super time. We found the drivers, drive by ear (sounding the horn), with no signals. We were amazed at seeing whole families riding on scooters Mum sidesaddle & children sitting & standing between Mum & Dad. Quite scary!!
ReplyDeleteThe taxi drivers are great aren't they? Ours loved to tell us all about the areas we were driving through & the fares were so reasonable. Missed you last night.