On to Dubai in 3 days

Mombai


The ship was docked by 7 am. We had room service and watched the ship snuggle up to the pier and the various officials gather to begin the process of clearing the ship and all the passengers and crew. They sent 10 immigration officers on board this time. As I was nearing the officer, another fellow was checking our paperwork to be sure everything was in order to expedite the time. He saw that I had a 10 yr. Indian visa (something very new this year and only a few dollars more) and this BIG smile came over his face. You can envision it: dark skin, gleaming white teeth. He says with glee:”2019!”
Ed and I went on different tours. Last time we were here, he wasn’t feeling well and so I went to Elephanta Island. Fr. Sean had recommended it and it is definitely a “must see.” So that’s where he went and he wasn’t disappointed.
Shrines and temples tour
The tour was to gather in the ship terminal and with my eyes it’s very hard for me to see where things are these days. I finally latched onto another couple who were also signed up for this tour and after some fits and starts, we were finally accurately routed to the appropriate bus. It turns out we bypassed getting the stickers we wear when on tour. Since there were only twenty of us, the guide said it wasn’t going to be a problem. The two front seats were reserved for handicapped and so everyone else had bypassed them and chosen seats farther back. This included some folks with some problems. The obnoxious couple about whom I’ve written before, marched onto bus—the woman is always the worst and always ahead of him—sneered at the sign, put it aside behind the seat and sat down. That’s where they stayed the whole day. One fellow passed them, looked and said: I don’t see any handicap! They’re oblivious of course. It’s not very nice but I told that fellow later that I felt like coming onto the bus early, sitting in the seat and when she objected (as she surely will since this is her pattern), I’d show her my arm with my compression sleeves and say:”but I have a REAL handicap!” Of course I didn’t do it but I was surely tempted! I’m stewing about it and considering going to the tour office onboard and complaining. A woman had turned her ankle and the Queen did not budge and the lady went back further in the bus. One could make the argument that she managed to ambulate to the temples so why did she need a seat in the front of the bus? For me, it’s a matter of courtesy and respect for others.
As we see examples of such behavior which takes advantage of our concern for those with handicaps, I often think that those who are taking advantage should experience a substantial handicap themselves and then experience others treating them as if it didn’t matter.
Ok. Enough of that crap.
I took the shrines and temples tour and was not disappointed either. I had not seen any of the shrines before. And one of the major advantages, is that we went into areas we otherwise would not explore. In most instances, we had to leave the bus and walk through neighborhoods to reach these temples.
Our port talker had explained that tipping is usually for the tour guide and perhaps the driver. But there is also a fellow who hopes to be a driver one day who must prove his dedication for EIGHT years by being what’s called a “conductor”. He suggested we also give him a modest tip. This guy puts the extra step down, shoos away beggars annoying us, helps us down with his hand and such. But there were two other women also on the bus. I never quite figured out what their role(s) were and wondered about the etiquette of tipping them. In the end, I didn’t since I didn’t have the proper money along with me.
Public Buildings
The architecture is among the most interesting in the world. It includes old British colonial, Gothic, much less modern but still there especially among the new high rises. There is tremendous pollution here so the buildings show the gray discoloration and black streaking over many decades.
In recent years, the public buildings have acquired Indian names but no one uses them because they are so long. So the train terminal, seen in the movie “slum dog millionaire”, is still called Victoria. We passed many lovely beaches; I couldn’t recreate any of their names. Indians don’t sunbathe or swim on the beaches. They stroll and play with their kids there.
Taj Hotel and Gate of India
I’m making comparisons with our trip two years ago where there was much construction at the Gate of India. All of that is finished and the area is gorgeous. This is the huge Hindu and Muslim symbol of Mumbai. There are less beggars and they are better managed than in the past. The areas around the ship’s pier and this area have also been cleaned up considerably over the years.
The Taj Hotel is still gorgeous but going into it is a very different experience. There is only one door man dressed in that gorgeous uniform and it looks like he’s largely ceremonial. There used to be several there and they were actually door men with a few porters. There are still a few porters in ordinary wear, but there are a large contingent of men who are in and out of law enforcement uniforms. You must go through a scanner to go into the lobby. And the middle of that gorgeous, huge lobby, is blocked off with a wall. I found in conversation later that it is there to camouflage the repairs being done after the terrorist attack. The guest rooms involved are still under repair as well. The terrorists attacked old symbolic sites in Mombai including some favorite tourist restaurants such as the Leopold.
The remaining terrorist who was not killed is awaiting the verdict after a very long protracted trial. Pakistan has denied that any of their citizens were involved though the guide said that they knew exactly which village the dead men came from. Their bodies have been in a morgue for the past year waiting for Pakistan to claim them, which it won’t do because that would mean admitting it was their citizens who carried out the violence. So the Indians buried them in an unknown site where they couldn’t be found.
Terrorists
You can see the impact of this everywhere. There was always a police presence in Mombai but it is “in your face” now. I described the Taj Hotel and the Gate of India (they are across the street from each other) have a very visible presence. But you see them everywhere with their assault rifles at hand. Shopping areas also show this as do temples.
Beggars
This is a sore spot for many travelers of course. They can be quite aggressive and swarm you quickly. One fellow was passing out candy to the kids and the police and others were very pointed that he stop it. We only see the surface of course. The port speaker told us that women will rent babies by the hour because they can get more money that way. And the kids are kept in awful looking states as they can get more money that way too. And of course, they’ve all learned to look pathetic. But the most disturbing part is that they don’t get to keep that money; it’s like a pimp system.
The guide, as they have done in many countries, talked about the kind of work these women could be doing such as housework which doesn’t require much training. Many prefer to beg; that’s probably true more often than we’d like to admit but we simply don’t know much about all the details. I have learned over the years not to give directly to beggars but instead to give to groups who help them with food, lodging and education. They keep doing it because it works and thus I really have problems with people who insist on doing that. If they’re selling something, I find that less offensive though the way some of the tourists bargain them down is often shameful and in many instances, after this time when the person doesn’t have the opportunity to sell to someone else, the bargainer will walk away without buying anything.
Haji Ali Dagah
This is a place on an island in the middle of the bay which is reached by a bridge of some kind. It is a beautiful white structure and those who can’t go to Mecca, go here instead. There’s more the story but that’s the gist of it all.
Dabba Walas
This is an amazing system unique in all the world and is found only in Mombai. Basically, a woman anywhere in the Mombai area, and Mombai has 14 million people, prepares lunches for her kids at school, her husband at work, etc. About 11:15 in the morning she has it in a bag outside her door and the Dabba Wala, a man with a bicycle equipped with about 40 hooks to hold these bags, picks up the bags from the housewives or maids. He then takes them to a terminus where they are then transported via train usually to their destination. At the schools, they arrive about 15 minutes before the kids break for lunch and then the kids come to get their lunch. In each instance, the dabba walla waits for the bags to be returned to him and they are then returned to the housewife before 3 pm. They get paid a modest flat fee to do this and can still work another job around it. The accuracy rate exceeds 99.9%. They give lectures at management schools in Universities. I’d love to hear one of those lectures. The logistics must be amazing.
Dhobe Wat
This is also a uniquely Mombai service. It is an enormous outdoor laundry. Dirty laundry is picked up, processed here – no washers (except human), no dryers, no mangles—and delivered pristine clean to the owners within two days I think. How do they do it?
Lunch
We had this at a place on one of the beaches called Sand and Surf. It wasn’t very impressive but the food, a buffet, was terrific. It didn’t take us long to finish and so we didn’t stay as long as they had originally planned—mercifully.
ISKON temple
This is the Hare Kirshna temple and it is a bright white newer temple. There are three large windows inside an open structure and when the drapes open over these idol niches, people fling themselves onto the floor and much more. And there are a lot of people here. The music, disappointingly, was coming from a boom box. I saw only one of the traditionally attired Hare Krishnas we see in the US: shaved head with a small braided top knot, draped robes, barefoot…and he was a few blocks from the temple as we walked through the neighborhood.
Mumba Devi temple
We saw two other temples and I can’t recall which one this is. But one was a Southern Hindu temple that was very close, and dark, and with many nooks and crannies. There were many icons with worshipers at each one. There were also signs everywhere warning you in large English printing, to beware of pickpockets and such.
The other temple involved taking a “lift” or climbing a lot of stairs which was what I did. We went through some fascinating hovel neighborhoods to get here though and that was a real experience. At the top of the stairs, as you always do when going into these temples, you take off your shoes. But in this temple, the floors are often wet. This is because at the center of this temple is a lingam, a phallic symbol. They are more sanguine about genital symbols in many parts of Asia. People bring milk (the symbolism was not lost on me) and water to pour over this.
Shoes at temples
You must take off your shoes and so most people wear some kind of slip on. It is an ordeal to remove our tennis shoes, which most of us wear for stability and convenience. There are rarely seats or any other place to sit to take off, or as important, put your shoes back on. In many places, there are people who “look after” your shoes (because shoes have been known to be stolen from these places) and they of course expect a tip for this service. When you are on tour, all such tips are taken care of and it simplifies things considerably. The guide also prevents you from making any gaffs in speech or behavior too. I used to carry “temple socks”, those airline slippers you’re given on long flights, but it is still as much trouble to take them on and off, carry them, etc. In most places, the floor are pristine but in many of these older temples, the pigeon poop must be dodged between the shoe storage place and the inside of the temple.
Shopping
This was for 30 minutes and we were told we could only go into three shops in a row because of a concern about terrorists. The guide said there was an advisory out and each store had a guard who also spent time running the beggars away. But many folks believe it was so that the guide would get her kickback. Backshish (bribery and kickbacks) are so common in many parts of the world; You come to assume it’s going on even if you are not directly approached. Some folks went across the street (itself a suicidal mission given the traffic!) to buy, of all things, alcohol. One guy is collecting it in many ports to take home wherever that is. The baggage costs will surely off set his savings…for alcohol???
The stores had beautiful jewelry, clothing, rugs, and a few more expensive souvenirs. I looked at some clothing which was admittedly gorgeous and appeared to be well made, but $3-600 USD is way over priced! Most others agreed. One couple bought a chess set of some kind for no small price and I had the same questions about size and weight in getting it home. In most instances, all of these things are available in the US though admittedly, the cost might be much higher. But that might be offset by hassle factor and baggage costs, never mind customs fees as many folks are clearly going over those limits. Although the clerks are gentle and soft spoken, they still haunt you and so I didn’t stay long. The driver didn’t have the a/c on; we suspected it was to ensure that we stayed in the shops longer.
Stores in ship’s terminal
There are many lovely things here but few good bargains. And I’m never quite sure of the quality so unless it had really been a great deal, I wasn’t interested. And so I bought nothing. I keep telling myself, I could probably find the same stuff in LA, again perhaps at the same price.
Dinner
This was open seating and Ed and I opted against going out after dark in Mombai to have dinner somewhere unknown. We sat near the window to see the harbor and so this meant that we didn’t have our usual wait staff. Max saw us anyway and suddenly the plate of lemons appeared (I make lemonade) and Ed’s wine.
We decided to forego dessert to go to the early Folklorico Show on board. Later, we went up to the buffet and were busted. Max was laughing as he saw us getting dessert up there; the dining room was slow so he went to the buffet. These guys know all our secrets.
Folklorico Show
This was the same troupe we’ve seen before but the dances were new to me. And the costumes! So gorgeous. I’ll never be able to figure out how they can move around as well as they do in those clothes which are wrapped and tucked. Mine would be on the floor after the first twist. And as Hazel and I remarked, one of the dancers had to be 6 mos along though with all the drapery you had to look closely. Very clever. And speaking of which, that’s the only pregnant woman I’ve seen in India. Most of those with whom I spoke, have only two kids.