Ahh, my last stop in India...I came here to visit my friend, Libby, who moved to Mumbai about a year and a half ago. She is an Australian who was living in New York--where I knew her--and was moving back home via a stop in India to do some volunteer work for a little while. To make a long story short, she met up with an Indian guy who she had known somewhat in NYC and they fell in love. In fact, Libby married Dev three weeks ago!
It was so nice having the chance to spend some time with a friend in India, and one who is a "local" to tell me where to go. Libby and Dev live with Dev's father, and all together they could not have been more hospitable. It is my understanding that Indians are big on entertaining, and Dev even said that it is more normal for guests to visit for two weeks at a time. In fact, my 4 days visit was consider a bit odd to Indian standards!
Anyway, back to the city. To settle the confusion, the city was originally called Mumbai but when the country was under Bristish rule they felt that the name was too hard to pronouce and renamed it Bombay. My understanding is that the very conservative folks prefer the use of Mumbai while the more progressive, younger generation prefer Bombay. I'm in the habit of calling it Mumbai, so that's what I'm sticking to for now.
Mumbai is definitely a lot more cosmopolitan and nicer than Delhi. It sits in the Arabian sea too, so the water gives it a nice feel (though you would never want to touch that water!). My first day in Mumbai was more of an errands run, but the second day I explored the city. I began the day with Dev's father, Mr. Jhala, who was a great host. He took me on the bus and together we went into the city and he guided me to the tourist office. Here I arranged a private tour--for only $12 I had my own guide to take me around for 4 hours.
View of South Mumbai coast (also known as the "Queen's Necklace" due to the shape:
Before I left Mr. Jhala he took me to the Cricket Club of India, where we had a very nice lunch. This club sits overlooking one of Mumbai's two cricket fields, so it is quite a place to see. Cricket, I beleive, is the number one sport in India. I don't understand it, but basically men dressed in nice white outfits play a game that looks like baseball but their bats are flat and they hit underhand. The players are also a bit more classy and don't chew and spit tobacco.
For my tour, my guide first took me to the City Gateway for Mumbai. This was built to welcome people sailing into the city area. It is across from the Taj Hotel--Mumbai's fanciest hotel that was one of the sights of the terrorist attacks a little while ago. From the street we could see the floors that were still being renovated from the fire.
After this stop, we headed to Gandhi'shouse where I learned more about this incredible figure who is India's most loved and well known former leaders. In fact, Gandhi is pictured on all the ruppees (India's currency). It was interesting too to see how simple of a life he lived.
We then saw a temple. Sheesh, I forget the exact religion but it was interesting to see all the statues. There wa also a small ceremony going on allowing me to see how they worship (though I must say that most the women looked like they were thinking more about what they were going to cook for dinner).
Our last stop was Hanging Gardens. We first went to a sight that allows you to see a beautiful view of South Mumbai. Then we headed to the main section, which has quite an interesting story. On one end is a cemetary (not in view unless you go to the end), but not just any cemetary. It is for a religion that believes the deceased should be given back to the earth naturally. So the bodies are layed in open space and vultures do the rest, hence why there is a huge flock of these birds circling above. Of course I had to ask the obvious question, and my guide did say that she once saw a finger in the park. Ewe.
The next day Libby was able to take me around to the markets that she enjoys most, especially the textile markets. They were so cool, and I really enjoyed them all the more since Libby now works with textiles. She sources manufactures with brands. As a result, she has good ties with manufactures to make clothing. So, we picked out some fabric and Libby is going to have two tops made for me, custom fit. Very exciting! She can do this for anyone too. Her website is www.ejswan.com
Libby in the textiles market:
That night was my flight out of India. Although I was excited to enter into the second leg of my trip, I was sad to leave India which has proved to be an incredible country. It is so fascinating with all the culture and people who are extremely friendly.
