Goodbye, Mumbai!
The difference between 1st Class and 2nd Class on Indian Railways isn't all that much. In 1st Class they make your bed for you, your compartment is separated by a lockable door (rather than a curtain), and your bed is marginally longer. Still, it's always fun to get bumped up to 1st Class. I slept fine.
The next morning I woke up at Mumbai Central Station. It was much more humid than the desert cities I had been in the past week or two and I could see the high-rise buildings out the train station windows. I boarded a city train to take me to Churchgate station further down the peninsula. A few minutes later I had arrived and walked out into the city.
It was Saturday morning and traffic was light. I walked from the train station, past familiar sights from my original visit in Mumbai. The city, which once felt so new and exotic, busy and dirty, was now familiar and, compared to many places I had been, clean, modern, and even a bit laid-back.
I didn't have a hotel booked, but I had one in mind that a few other travelers had recommended and that wasn't in the guidebooks. I walked straight there in hopes that they would have a room available.
The hotel was located directly behind the famous and grand Taj Hotel (pictured above). I was in luck, as they had a room available. The window (with mini balcony) even looked out onto the Taj. Because of security concerns since the 2008 terrorist attacks at the hotel, photography was strictly forbidden, even from adjacent buildings like my hotel. So I had to be sneaky while shooting this. So far as I know, everyone in the hotel was safe after I snapped this photo...
Feeling good after a shower, I went back out into the city and walked around the corner to the Gateway of India, where they were selling tickets of passage to Elephanta Island. I bought a ticket, boarded a boat just below the Gateway, and was soon on my way across the harbor to the small island.
The distinctive Mumbai landmarks slowly disappeared in the haze as we rode further into the waters...
An hour later, I set foot on the island and walked through the gauntlet of souvenir stalls passing some angry monkeys...
...to the main attraction of the island: the cave temples...
Several ancient Hindu cave temples puncture the island, but the largest contains the most stunning artwork. Stone carvings, primarily of the deity Shiva, mark each of the caves entrances and its rear wall...
Shiva is angry and so am I...
The masterpiece of the island is the Trimurti, an enormous, exquisitely carved likeness of three faces of Shiva...
Of course, with the lighting it was hard to get a picture that captured the serenity and 3D awesomeness of the carving...
The island is home to a lot of rhesus monkeys as well...
Or as I like to call them, the "Benjamin Button" monkey...
After a fine time on the island I rode the boat back to Mumbai. I sat with a very nice family from Punjab who offered me snacks and chatted during the journey...
Back in the big city, I visited Mumbai's most famous beach, Chowpatty Beach. While there I got myself one of the best snacks Mumbai has to offer: Bhelpuri. It's puffed rice, crispy whispy noodles, a cracker, chopped onions, cooked potato, lime juice, chopped coriander, and some other spices all mixed together and served in a newspaper (or in my case, magazine pages). It was delicious...
It was fun people watching on the beach...
Mumbai skyline from Chowpatty Beach...
The fishermen had their boats in for the day...
And I walked along the waterfront and enjoyed the late afternoon...
I explored a bit of Malabar Hill, where a lot of Mumbai's wealthy live, and then came back to the waterfront in time for the lights to come on...
I enjoyed a fine dinner of a veg tikka kebab platter at a restaurant near the beach and I was done for the day.
The next day was Sunday and I was looking forward to going to church. I woke up in plenty of time and hopped on the commuter train that took me along the spinal chord of Mumbai and then across the harbor to the suburb where the church is located. I then took an autorickshaw to the area where the address indicated and hunted around for the church. It was a bit tricky to find, but eventually I was walking through the door in plenty of time before the meetings started and I was able to meet many of the members.
We had some fine meetings (I was the keyboard player, as usual) and afterwards I just stuck around and chatted with some of the local members. Eventually they invited me to come with them to one of the member's homes where his son was celebrating a birthday.
We rode the bus...
And eventually arrived in the suburb of Thane, where we found the family's apartment. Jason was turning 3!
The proud parents (and little brother)...
This group of members was entirely from Andereh Pradesh, a state in south-central India that includes Hyderabad. They were all in or around Mumbai working and so come here to church. Most of them spoke Hindi (the main language of Mumbai), but amongst each other it was all Telugu. They were nice to keep me entertained as well. We had a nice Hyderabadi chicken biryani (chicken with rice) and some birthday cake!
It was a very peaceful, restful Sunday and I didn't get home until later that evening when it was time for bed. It was great getting to know some of the church members here in India.
The next day I took the train up to Mahalaxmi Station where the extensive dhobi ghats are. This is where Mumbai does its laundry...
I then took a walk, passing the horse ambulance...
...to the Haji Ali Dargah, a 14th century Muslim mosque and tomb located on a small island off the western coastline. It's actually only an island at high tide...
The tomb inside is a place of reverent worship and is pretty much a shrine, though Muslims don't have shrines...
Stonework was going on outside...
I then visited the Mahalaxmi Hindu Temple around the corner and then worked my way down along Breach Candy road. I passed the American consulate with a huge line snaking down the street: people waiting for visa interviews.
It was a hot afternoon and so I enjoyed a yummy lunch in an A/C restaurant, a quiet sit at Chowpatty Beach, and then some ice cream at a local joint. I was just taking it easy.
Dinner that night was at Delhi Darbar, a nice restaurant popular with the local Islamic crowd. I had my last meat meal of the trip. Lamb.
The next day I decided to go see some of the marketplaces. First was Crawford Market, but on the way there I walked through the indoor fish market. The smell was enough to knock a man down and the floor was slippery. It was a sight to see, however.
I got to Crawford Market, which is a large indoor market that is basically like Wal-Mart but with every department a store of its own...
Fruits & veggies...
And I got some spices from these guys...
I wandered through the busy streets up towards Thieves Market. This part of town seemed to be much more heavily Islamic. There were some grand mosques...
And a lot of those hats...
It was fun wandering the markets but it was soon time to get back to Colaba, where my hotel was, and get ready to leave.
I did some last minute shopping and got all the things I needed before leaving. I then set off for the waterfront. I had a nice sit on the concrete curb along the bay, just as I had when I arrived. I reflected back on the great and amazing trip I had just accomplished, sitting in the place where, two months previous, I had sat looking forward to all that I would see and do. A warm breeze came off the bay and the air was unusually clear...
The lights came on. My last night in India...
For my final meal in India I walked to the restaurant where I enjoyed my first meal in India, Samrat. I enjoyed another wonderful all-you-can-eat thali until I was properly full...
I went back to my hotel, packed, and fell asleep.
The next morning I gathered my bags and took a taxi to Churchgate station...
I rode the city train north to Andheri and then took an autorickshaw to the airport.
Soon I was ascending over the slums, hills, and high-rises of Mumbai and I said goodbye to an incredible country. I hope and expect that I will someday return.
I had the window and the aisle seat to myself and I enjoyed four movies and some scrumptious food. (Unstoppable, Kick-A**, 127 Hours, and Knight and Day, in case you were wondering.)
Half a day later I landed in London Heathrow and browsed magazines and the new iPad 2 until boarding my British Airways flight to Munich. It was a sleepy flight, over before I knew it, and I landed in Munich at 11pm.
My luggage was almost first off the belt and soon I was sitting in the familiar old S-bahn, yawning, and feeling like I'd hardly been away at all.
I arrived home to a clean room, a warm shower, and a soft bed. It was good to be home...
