Tour of Mumbai (July 7th)

(Posted late due to lack of internet service for the past couple of days.)

We all keep saying “We’re in India!” every time we see each other.  It is very surreal and we still can’t believe it.  Today was our only full day in Mumbai.  Like I said, I was only able to sleep until 4:30am.  My roommate was also wide awake so we went ahead and got ready for the day and decided to explore the hotel.  We walked around the lobby, checked out the restaurants downstairs and went up to the rooftop.  We were disappointed that the rooftop was not outdoors like we expected. Instead it was a banquet hall but it still had a great (almost 360 degree view of Mumbai).

Here is what the view looked like from our hotel room.

At 7am we went down for the hotel buffet breakfast. It was amazing.  I'm 100% positive I would never be able to afford to stay in a hotel this nice...although maybe in India.  I'm amazed at the savory foods Indians eat for breakfast.  In the U.S., we tend to eat sugary foods in the morning.  We saw beans, chicken, soups, breads, and vegetable dishes at breakfast.  They also had traditional eggs to order and a fruit, cereal, nut and cheese bar.  

After our delicious breakfast buffet in the hotel, we met with Mala our tour guide for the day.  We drove around Mumbai in a tour bus and made stops along the way.  We were able to stop at the train station and take pictures.  We next went to the Hanging Gardens.  There, Mala told us about the Tower of Silence (Dakhma) and how the bodies for the Parsi community are disposed.  You can learn more about it here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakhma This was one of the more shocking things I have learned about India thus far. The tower is hidden by trees so we were not able to see it.

Here is a picture of the train station.  They really do hang out the sides of the train cars.  I'll have to take a picture of that in the next few days.

Here is a picture of Mala our tour guide.  She was an exchange student in North Carolina when she was 16. She was so excited to do our tour.

We saw a lot of amazing things in Mumbai.  Mala knew where to take us and how to prepare us for what we were about to see and experience.  One of the most fascinating places she took us to was the laundry (Dhobi Ghat). She told us that 90% of the people in Mumbai use the laundry service.  Your laundry is picked up from your house and taken to the laundry via cart or bicycle. The dhobis wash the clothes and they are returned clean in about a week.  I don't know how they keep all of the laundry from getting mixed up or lost.  Apparently it rarely happens according to Mala.

Note all of the laundry being taken by cart. 

We also visited the Jain Temple.  Mala told us that they don't want tourists to come into the temple anymore so we were lucky that she got us in.  It was pretty amazing to see. They were fixing up the temple and renovating.  They use real gold to paint the marble and the doors are all solid silver.  It was so colorful and beautiful and really a moving experience to be inside such a large, old and elaborate temple.  

After our tour, we went back to the hotel to relax for a few hours.  A bunch of us went to the pool to relax.  It was a really nice pool but it was so windy outside.  We actually had to tread water and fight the current the wind was creating so we didn't crash into the wall.

After our swim, we were off to meet the whole group for dinner at the Cricket Club of India.  It was like the country club at the big cricket field in Mumbai.  I have a feeling you have to "be somebody" to normally get into the club.  We had a very lovely, and not to mention spicy, dinner. It was hosted by SAS (a software company) which I will learn about more on this trip.

Tomorrow we leave early for a 4 hour bus ride from Mumbai to Pune.  It's really hot and humid and Mumbai so we are all hoping the weather will be cooler in Pune.