Mumbai, India

Bombay (to the British)

"Bollywood" (films made here)

Named after a God (Mumbah-ee)

I describe it as: a Hollywood-NYC morph, with elements of Jungle Cruise/Indiana Jones, add a couple more million people and throw some garbage and dirt around and Voilà! 

There you have it- Mumbai. 

Temples

In the morning, I escorted a tour and visited the flower market and two Hindu Temples.  Culture and Religion collide here.  To visit the Vishnu elephant statue was pushing and shoving and a quick prayer and intricate donation of sweets and flowers. -I had just watched It's A Wonderful Life and the Stock Market crash, scene in the the crowded Building Loan- is near exact what it {felt} like to the Shri Temple in midtown Mumbai.  We also visit the Harre Krishna temple.

Driving in Mumbai

I will never complain about driving in midtown Manhattan again.  The cars are ridiculously tiny and they can get in and out of any traffic situation imaginable.  Three girls and two men in the front of the car (the size of a VW superbeetle) we chugged and haulted and sped our way all over town.  The streets are loops and loops with illegal things happening everywhere.  Things blew my mind: the honking; the motorcyclists weaving in and out and half running you over; no lines on the road, we drove on both the right AND the left side of the road; parking in the middle of the street for a ten minute shopping stop... All of it.  un-be-lievable!

Our Taxi Driver was a 72 year-old man with two sons -he kept telling us- and "Look no teef!" he said.  We haggled our way to $20 America dollars for a 3 hour "tour" around the city with stops where we wanted to go.  Little did we know we also stopped at every stop he wanted to go to too!  He said he made commission at the stores he brought us too.  "If you like, buy, i you don't like, no buy."  So he made $5 just from bringing us to a store to look around and "no buy."  We got a little fed up after the third store, rolled our eyes at the fourth stop and refused to go to a fifth- we wanted to go HOME.  It's nice that home has become our cruise ship :) We ended up giving the driver $28, although he asked for $30.  I felt it was a good deal in some respects- I could never get a cab for three hours for $20 in the US, but the way he parked the car, opened our doors and said, "You come shop, 5 minutes, go upstairs," would not happen in the US either.  you win some, you lose some. 

Our Mumbai Meal

Kyber Indian Restaurant, recommended by the morning tour guide= AMAZING!

Ivan realized this is our first real native meal since we have been on our cruise and 12/12/12 marked our 1 month anniversary on board!  It was an amazing meal!  The first and only time we would see 3380.00 on a lunch bill and no be upset,  1 ruppie equals 2 cents.  So divided, Ivan's and my meal was $32.

3 kinds of naan- garlic/butter/plain

Tandoori Chicken

Chicken Tikka Masala

Creamy herb yogurt sauce

picked onions

It may not look to scrumptious but it was one of the best chicken dishes I have ever had.  

The City

We saw lots of "sights."  This is the Gateway to India, right across from the Taj Mahal Hotel-5 star luxury in the mists of terrible poverty.  I saw the Racetrack and Wellington Golf Course (and, bonus, a monkey sitting on the wall watching the driving range *cuteness*) and, ironically, there were the shantis right beside the golf course.  (Which membership was 15 million a year.) The shantis were, what we call the slums, a home made of a piece of wood and canvas, the size of most people's closets.  

The most sad and surprising part of our journey were the beggars.  In the morning at the flower market, there were many adults and children asking me to buy their flowers. Some got very aggressive, they would even tie the jasmine around your wrist, say it was for free and then followed you around until you gave them money.  I smiled at all the women and children and most smiled back.  

Walking from the bus to and from the Harre Krisna temple, two teenage girls followed me, each with a box of bracelets.  The bracelets looked cheaply made but they were 100 ruppies- $2.  In English, they only knew "Ma'm, me, you come back, me, please, ma'm, so pretty." (They would wait for me to come out of the temple so I would buy their bracelets.  They were competing with eachother.)  When I came out of the temple, I opened my pocket liners to show I had no money. (I honestly didn't I only brought my camera.)  They didn't understand I guess.  They kept touching me, saying the bracelets were so pretty, Ma'm, ma'm.  There was another little girl following her.  She was about 6 and was carrying a baby about 4 months old.  I asked if they were her sisters she says no and shoo-ed them away.  Then another boy about 6 came up and kept motioning his mouth (to eat) and his index finger (one.)  Then he said banana.  The tour guide 'rescued' me and I walked into the bus.  

It was the afternoon in our taxi cab, when I truly realized the extent of the begging YOUNG children.  Every stop we made, two children would come to each window (not the drivers) and do everything they possibly could to beg for money.  

Poking

Nudging

Fake Crying

Ma'm, Ma'm

Frowning

Holding their babies close to us

grabbing onto the window and going for a ride (heart-attack)

All of them said "One, One, One."  They just wanted 1 ruppie!  I could have given 1 to ALL, but I wasn't sure what to do.  I am trying to think of a way to describe how it made me feel.  Being in a teeny tiney car squeezed with my two girl friends, husband and our toothless 72 year-old taxi driver... Surrounded by locals.  One 50 year old woman selling bags in Ivan's window, one boy fake crying, one girl frowning and poking Sara "Ma'm, Ma'm", one little boy brushing my arm, one older girl smiling.  They grabbed our empty Starbucks cups and ran off with them.  

We went through the green gate, showed the guard our Crew ID/Stamped Passport and went on with our life.  

Shanti

Old Building, American Oreo Ad on the left