A Pleasant Surprise

Mumbai was our last stop in India.  It is also the home of one of the world's largest slums.  After what we had seen in the rest of India, both on this trip and when we were in India 14 years ago, I was expecting another loud, dirty and crowded city with beggars crowding every street and park.  Instead, we saw a clean city with relatively little trash in the major streets.  We saw only one beggar.  The parks were mostly empty since it was the late morning and getting hot. 

The Gate of India, celebrating a visit from the King of England

The area around the Gate of India had a lot of people including well dressed families with grandparents and children, but it certainly was not crowded.  The most"unruly" group we saw was a college or high school group who were occasionally cheering for something or other.







Near this area there was a hotel, the Warren, which at the time was the best hotel in Mumbai.  It posted a sign saying, "No dogs or Indians allowed."  As a result, in 1902 a wealthy Indian built The Raj, a five star hotel open to everyone.  Since then, a new separate building has been added to the hotel.  The Warren Hotel?  Well, this is what the two hotels look like today.

The Warren Hotel

The Raj Hotel (both buildings)

Mumbai has some interesting architecture.  In the part of town where our ship was docked, most of the buildings date back to the time when England ruled the country, with a little "art deco" thrown in.

A house with a view

The new parts of the city have lots of tall buildings, both office and residential, but there was so much humidity and smog in the air that it was difficult to see them.

Modern city center

This 27 story house is home
to a rich family of 4!

We visited the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and saw lots of unusual sights on the streets.

Gandhi's birthplace is now a museum.

Attraction in the children's part of the park

Street "market" cart

Cows are not allowed to wander the streets,
but it is OK if they have a rope attached.

Mumbai is a very clean city and the clothes all get washed at this city laundromat.  Your "dobie boy" picks up your laundry, takes it to the city laundromat, washes it in the stone tub, beating it against the stone to get out the dirt, rinses it in clean water and hangs it to dry along with all the laundry from neighbors, hotels and restaurants.  When it is dry, it is ironed using an iron filled with hot coals.  In a week, unless it rains a lot, you get back your laundry, clean and pressed.  If you happen to have a washing machine, you can still send it out to be ironed.

Sue's sari

 That night we had an "Indian Night" on the ship.  Everyone dressed up in the local garments.