We got up early to swim as we do have a tour today. Then breakfast in La Veranda. And ready for our tour.
All guests are required to attend the Indian face-to-face immigration inspection. Such nonsense. At any rate, we were called by tour number and deck number to keep the lines to a minimum. Our tour is "Old Bombay and Lunch".
Our first stop was at the Gateway of India and the Taj Mahal Hotel. You need to go through security where they have a line for men and one for ladies. This was really just a photo stop. We did not go into the Taj Mahal Hotel, but did see it from the outside.
This is the Gateway of India. It is Mumbai's most acclaimed attraction. Construction was started in 1911 to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary. It was officially inaugurated in 1924 to welcome the city's visitors who came by ship. You no longer arrive by the Gateway.
Just a close up of the doorway.
This is the new addition to the Taj Mahal Hotel. It was built by an Indian man who was denied admission to the best hotel in Bombay at the time. That other hotel would not allow Indians or dogs so he said he would build a better hotel and he did.
This is the front of the Taj Mahal Hotel. It really is beautiful.
Some of the other sites we saw as we drove around Mumbai is the City Hall.
And the Victoria Train Station. Tons of Indians use the train system to get to work. They run trains every 45 seconds. And men cannot ride in the women's cars but women can ride in the men's cars. On some trains they have two or three cars just for the women.
Next stop was at the Crawford Market. This is a hugh market where they sell almost anything. The women of India use fresh foods so they shop almost every day.
They say they have 40 different varieties of mangos that grow in India. This is the mango season and there was lots of them around.
The market was very crowded. And we visited it early in the day. They say it gets worse later on.
Lots of fruits and vegetables.
And melons.
These men will carry your selections in the baskets and then take them to the taxi for you.
Anyone for chicken? Notice the flies on the chickens. No such thing as refrigeration.
This sign means nothing to the Indians.
As we drove around, we stopped to look at the building going on but we were amazed at the condition of the beach. Terrible. It seems that the people do not have any pride in keeping things clean.
Next we went to the Balbulnath Temple. When we arrived we realized this was the same Temple we visited when we were in Bombay a few years ago. Needed to remove your shoes in order to enter the Temple. Which this time I did as I had socks on. The practice here is to celebrate with milk so the floors can be wet.
The Hindi people worship the cow. So outside the Temple we found these two.
And this man was walking up to enter the Temple.
Some of the homes that line the walkway up to the Temple. This Temple is up a street behind the main street. You can either walk up or take an elevator. We took the elevator up and walked down.
This is the courtyard outside the Temple.
And this is the Temple itself.
In the Hindi religion, there is no priest or such. The people just come to the Temple when they feel like it and pray. So the Temples are always open.
At the bottom of the Temple road, we found this man who you can bring your laundry to and he will wash and iron it.
We stopped at Church Gate Station to watch the lunch men getting ready to deliver the lunches to the workers. The wife makes the lunch and gives it to someone who puts it on the train and when it reaches the Church Gate Station, all the lunches are sorted and then delivered to the worker in the offices. This way the worker gets a hot lunch from home. It costs about 20 rupees per month which is not much.
Sorting the lunch boxes.
More lunch boxes.
They then hook these carts to their bikes and off the go. All the lunch men wear the Neru hat.
Our next stop was to a store to shop for a bit and then headed to the restaurant for a wonderful lunch. We sat with Daniel who is a casino dealer on the ship. Food was good and not too spicy.
Next we headed to The Albert Museum. They have restored the museum and it is nice.
We only had about 30 minutes to walk about this museum.
On the drive around town we were shown this house. It cost 2 billion dollars to build. When you see the amount of poor people in Mumbai, you have to wonder what made this man build such a place. He lives in the house with his wife and three children and 600 servants. And the place is ugly if you ask me.
Just another view.
Finally we headed to Khotachi Wadi which is an area of old Portugese Homes they are trying to save. If you ask me, they need a lot of attention as they are old and cracking. We were served cookies and lime juice. It is now the home of a fashion designer so we also visited his studio. There were originally around 65 cottages in this area but people of selling them and moving to the suburbs and they are tearing them down to build high rises. So those that are left are trying to save them. I can't blame the folks who sell them, not when you see them.
Back to the ship where we rested for a bit and then changed for dinner. Tonight is the BBQ on the deck but we will go to Compass Rose for a light dinner as we did have an extra large lunch.
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