Post #210 26 March 2020

Gentlefolk,

This post describes our visit to Mumbai (aka Bombay).  We had two nights there, 3 & 4 March 2020.

Mumbai is the commercial center of India, a huge city of around 20 million. We were there only for one full day, just long enough to get a feel for this huge, vibrant city.  Most of us immediately felt "at home' in Mumbai - it had a more familiar feel to it than other Indian cities.

Our guide, Varisha, picked us up at 9.30am on 4 March. First stop was the Hanging Garden of Malabar (not much to see there); then the public laundry area at Dhobi Ghat; the Gandhi Museum; The Gateway to India Monument; lunch at Leopold's Cafe; finally we drove past City Hall and Victoria Terminus Railway Station. Our tour terminated at 3pm, as she had to get to a yoga class.

Vera and I then walked to the High Court and University of Mumbai campus, but both were closed to visitors (armed guards on the gates, following the terrorist attacks of 2008). From there we went to the Esplanade and people-watched, then ice cream at Rustom's and cake at Gaylord Restaurant.  It was a good, long, memorable day.

Our hotel was in Churchgate, about 100m from the esplanade along the Bay.

We stayed in the venerable old Ambassador Hotel. It had seen better days, but was in a great location.

The foyer of the Ambassador Hotel.

A photo of the Ambassador Hotel from across the street.  Unfortunately the revolving restaurant and bar at the top was no longer in operation.  It must have been quite a hotel in its heyday.

On our first night in Mumbai a group of us found the Stadium Restaurant just down the street from the Ambassador Hotel. Prices were very reasonable, this meal cost us Rs250 (A$5) each. Delicious and inexpensive - that's more like it, we all said.  Diwan always took us to up-market restaurants in northern India - the cheapest meal we had was Rs600 (A$12) per person - but in southern India, and even in Mumbai, most of our meals were less. 

The group enjoying the food and prices at the Stadium Restaurant, from left: Ros, me, Vera, Elaine, Jill, and Elizabeth. Our first impressions of Mumbai were favourable, and we looked forward to exploring the city tomorrow.

Our guide picked us up the following morning. Her name was Varisha, a knowledgeable elderly lady bent almost double from scoliosis. 

The huge open-air laundromat at Dhobi Ghat is a popular tourist attraction. There are more than 1,000 washing troughs. Traditionally, only men do the washing here.

Can you see some of the washing troughs?  It was an incredible sight.

The old and the new. Mumbai is a city of contrasts.

We visited the Gandhi Museum.  He often visited this city, and this is where he launched the "Leave India" campaign in 1942. Gandhi was a most remarkable man. 

Gandhi with his protege Nehru who became India's first Prime Minister after Independence on 15 August 1947.

Copy of a letter Gandhi wrote to Hitler in July 1939, imploring him to avoid war.

The Gateway to India monument, built to commemorate the 1911 visit to Mumbai by King George V.  It was completed in 1924, by which time his visit would surely have been long forgotten. Such was the might of the British Empire.  Ironically, the last British troops left from here in 1947. 

The iconic Taj Hotel was near the Gateway to India Monument.  Allegedly Mr J.N. Tata built it in 1903 after being refused entry into a European hotel.  It was one of 12 targets in Mumbai attacked by terrorists in November 2008.

The grand Victoria Terminus Railway Station. The Raj certainly left its mark on Mumbai.

The ornate City Hall.

The Mumbai High Court is housed in a 1848 neo-Gothic building, a bit reminiscent of a German castle.  Casual visitors have not been allowed entry since the terrorist attacks in 2008; there were armed police guarding the gates.  Similarly with the University of Mumbai which is next to the High Court.

The University of Mumbai's 80m Rajabai Clock Tower dominates the skyline.  Unfortunately the University has been closed to causal visitors since the 2008 terrorist attacks. There were literally dozens of cricket games going on in the park in front of the University and High Court. Actually, it was the same in Delhi: every park or vacant ground featured men and boys playing cricket.

We had lunch in Leopold's Cafe. It was started by a Persian in 1871. Has always been popular; featured as Lin's hang-out in Gregory Robert's marvellous 2003 book 'Shantaram'. In 2008 it was one of 12 targets by terrorists and 10 people lost their lives in that attack.

The waiter taking our lunch orders in Leopold Cafe.

Leopold Cafe had good vibes.

We finished the meal with Beetroot Cheese Cake - yummy!!!

A street stall. Sandals anyone? 

or leggings anyone?

The girl was getting "henna" a kind of brown hand tattoo (non-permanent) which is popular for celebrations - but personally I don't find it attractive.

The attractive Esplanade along the Bay - very popular in the evenings, for exercise or strolling or meeting friends. Note the many couples facing out to sea, often hugging (physical contact is rare in India, only seen in the large cities!).

The esplanade was a very pleasant spot - cool sea breeze and a nice sunset.

Some of the buildings along Marine Parade, across from the Esplanade.  They look a bit run-down, but it would be a great place to live (and worth millions!).

Newspaper report on 5 March - the corona virus was starting to cause concern with 29 infections in India (mainly tourists from Italy).  Today (26 March) just three weeks later it is so serious that PM Modi has announced a complete shut-down of the entire country for 3 weeks.  Drastic. 

The next morning we left the hotel at 6am for the airport and our flight to Chennai. The streets were deserted; the trip only took us 30 minutes.

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So ended our fleeting visit to India's economic powerhouse.

From Mumbai we flew to Chennai (aka Madras) in Tamil Nadu, the start of our 10 days around southern India. Chennai will be the subject of my next post.

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Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Vera & Alex Olah
Canberra, Australia
Thursday, 26 March 2020