MUMBAI (BOMBAY)

Since we did not realize we would be able to get off in any of the ports in India, at the last minute there was room for us on a bus tour called "Snapshots of Mumbai".  It was a short tour and I will let the photos speak for themselves.  After the tour was over we took a taxi back to the center of Mumbai to see up close the Taj Mahal  Hotel that as bombed a few years ago which has been completely rebuilt.

Ignoring the fact that they really don't want you taking photographs of the hotel, and the fact that there is one entrance with metal detectors and high security, forgetting the fact that the bottom columns of the hotel all have sandbags around them and the fact that you can't walk within 50 feet of the perimeter of the building, it was nice to see.

As we drove on the bus we passed a number of Victorian building built when England had ruled the country and the architecture is amazing.  The first image is of the Church Gate Station which was built in 1853.  The next picture is of a church called St. John the Evangelist.

Of the streets themselves here are some of the photos short from the bus window.  Len has become an expert bus window photographer

You could hire this carriage for your upcoming wedding.

This is one of the tower of the Taj Mahal Hotel

This is the famous archway called Gateway to India.  There are many India people strolling around the archway - sort of like the Arc de Triumph in Paris.

This arch is really close by the Taj hotel but right across the street from the hotel is a pigeon feeding station with about 500 birds milling around.  The ground is wet with feces and people are walking in it and the smell is incredible.  I can't understand how the hotel which is not more than 100 yards from this place does not clean it up!

The indians drive like maniacs - they lean on the horn despite the signs everywhere and they squeeze 4 to 5 cars on a 2 lane street honking as they go.  I thought we would be killed by another car.

The one thing we did find fabulous was a place called the Dhobi Ghat.  It is a central washing station for clothes that people can afford to send out.  Hotels, restaurants, business and ordinary people have their favorite wash man come and pick up, wash, dry, iron and return to them.  It is run by men only.
These pictures don't do justice to the scenes we saw.  It is all cold water washed, hammered against the edges o the cement sinks and hung out to dry.  At one time there were many of these places and now Mumbai is down to just this Ghat.  It looks so chaotic yet it is not.  The dirty water goes into a hanging gardens below.  I did not see any soap bubbles and the water certainly looked gray - yet the whites were really white!

Parked outside of this place was this baby.  There are no wild bulls walking the streets.  Too many have been hit by cars so they are herded or tied up. Near temples they are loose.

Those not lucky enough to have laundry service do their own.

The Indian people have decided to revert the names of most of their large cities back to the names they used pre-British, hence Bombay is Mumbai yet as our ship pulled out there was a band,
dressed in the style of British uniforms playing Colonel Bogie.

Our next port of call Dubai!