22 Magical Mumbai
*** I am having terrible trouble uploading these blogs so I will put the words and add the photos later...
Not sure why but we was at least an hour late coming into
Mumbai today... we were on time but it seems the pilot wasn’t... as we lingered
in the waters you could see the haze in front of us which was Mumbai...
Today we were not alone in port as the Azamara Journey was
parked in our spot.... We had to
manoeuvre ourselves to just in front... I said to Garry ...”0h no another ship ...
that means it will be crowded today” .... Garry just looked at me and said
“really you think!.... this is Mumbai!!”
Just like every other time we have been in Mumbai our tour
company Mumbai Magic ( you can google them ) were there to meet us. This time we organise a trip to Elephanta
Island.. Last time in Mumbai it was a Monday and the caves were closed.
Sudha our guide was wonderful and our very air-conditioned
bus was a bonus. We were taken straight
to the Gateway of India where the ferries left from. Several ferries left at the same time so we
walked across a couple of them until we reached ours. It was the start of the holiday season so
there were lots of people around.... Indian Tourists from other regions... Our trip took around one hour to get to the
island. The Indian passengers were just
as intrigued with us as we were with them.
There were signs all over the boat about no photography
which didn’t have any meaning as everyone was snapping happy. We were instructed that you were not allowed
to photograph anything Naval hmm they should have told everybody that whilst we
sailed in the morning... so it didn’t matter as we already had our photo’s.
From a distance we looked back at the 2 ships berthed, you
could not be blamed for thinking you were seeing double... Apparently the Ocean Princess and the Azamara
Journey are sister ships with the only difference being the Azamara dark blue
Hull.
Once you arrive at Elephanta Island you make your way onto
the pier where a little train awaits to take you into the little village at the
base of the steps that take you up to the caves....
No etiquette here, the train hadn’t even stopped before you
are elbowed out of the way. We crammed
ourselves onto the train and as we took off I had visions of men standing on
the roof of each carriage.
Stalls are set up all along your path to the top of the hill
to the caves. Everyone one is out to
welcome you ... the traders, goats, cattle and the monkeys.
There are over 120 steps up and that is not including the
paths that also incline up, it is a strenuous walk and although Princess warn
on their shore tours that those with difficulties should not go, people ignore
the warnings... as we walked down Princess was making their way up and there
were those who were struggling. There is
a deck chair service and for 600 ringgits you can be raced up at break neck
speed.
Once at the top you can explore the caves that form a temple
carved out of a single rock. The main
room is a shrine to the Indian God shiva and as you follow the panels around
the room it tells the story of how this
god progressed through life to finally find inner peace, which we all should
strive for.
We made our way back down the stairs, fought our way back
onto the train and boat hopped our way onto the ferry that was to take us
back.... Did I mention about one
particular hawker who targeted me for a sale.... On the way to the caves he approached me to purchase one of
his many necklaces..... when we first arrived “please madam, please madam....
when you come back buy from me... remember me, remember my name... I live in
the village.... I go to school...please madam” Well there is wonderful
marketing tool called persistence... when I did come back he found me again...
“please madam, please madam”....”no no I said”.... he followed me onto the boat
and stood beside me with his puppy dog
eyes... and if I dared make eye contact with him he would hold up a necklace
with a pleading look... He stood and stood as the boat filled up... feeling
sorry I asked the price of one the pieces... $15.... “no I will give you $5”...
“no madam not possible.... $10”....”too much no $5”..... he stood and stood.....Garry couldn’t take it
any longer and offered $8... Now I am the owner of a pretty blue necklace.
Once back in Mumbai we were taken to a restaurant that
served “snacks” as it was now 4pm. The
food they sell is the same sort of food that you will find from the Street
Vendors, except safer as it is prepared in a sanitary way.... I can’t remember
the names of all the dishes, but they were all divine....There were variations
of Dosa’s and a rice crepe cooked on a banana leaf. Curry sauces served with
breads... everything was excellent.
Next she took us for a walking tour on Chow patty
Beach. This beach comes alive after 5 pm
each evening when families come down, sit on the beach, catch a snack from the
many vendors for dinner and watch the lights around the corniche come alive and
become what is known as Victoria’s necklace. We saw those game enough to swim
in the murky waters but as our guide said if you see someone swimming they are
tourists from the regions... no right minded Mumbainian would dare swim in that
water.
As Sudha talked to us on the beach, a crowd started to
gather around us. Many of these tourists were just as intrigued with us as we
were with them, many probably not seeing anglo’s like us before. One family took a shine to one of our group
... it was the blonde hair, and they all wanted their photo taken with her.... first
the family then just the children, then the mother, then all the children
individually.... The father was snapping like crazy so exciting at what he was
capturing.
As the beach became busier we were running out of time so we
started heading back to the ship...Another very satisfying day in Mumbai.
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