Everything has a beginning, and for us Mumbai was ours. Geographically the area was initially made up of seven islands. These seven island are on the western side of India and on what is referred to as the Arabian Sea. Due the nature of different people on different island having different cultures and skills, they were traders. India is commerce. Mumbai still reeks from that skill and talent. It is a big port and a commercial city. Apparently the Portuguese came and recognized its calm and rather deep bay and called the area Bombay (.The Good Bay). India in post colonial times decided to convert its nane from the European choice to Mumbai. Hey, we’re here and impressed beyond my expectations.
First we got the Hotel well after midnight – late for this guy! The airport in Mumbai is somewhat like Miami, in that here are a number of pre-arranged guides or taxi services which display the name of the incoming tourist or traveler. You would think that Valerius would stand-out – well again in India spelling names correctly must call for a master’s degree. Thank God for Lynn,, she spotted our contact/driver and our Name sign rather quickly.. I would have still been standing there.
I’m jumping ahead slightly, Our flight from London to Mumbai was an unusual in that the indian airpline offered an almost mystical business class where passengers were seated just in a separate space from other passengers like a cacoone unit. There were only four individual seats across the entire body of the plane and were situated almost like a chase lounger at a 60 degree angle to the windows or the aisles. Again self contained TV,with a variety of options: Movies, news, music, TV programs, weather and a views of our traveling plane as it was going around the earth with an international map background. Each seat comfortably folded from the seat to a bed or other seating confirmtion. Wide and spacious!! You could email/message between seats – Yeah,, You’re right I never mastered that skill. There were a number of flight attendances.. All of whom introduced themselves, only to have that information shoved into my “What the hell did she say?” FILE. Our crew was all indian and beautiful with pleasant smiles but sometimes hard to understand for this particularly hard of hearing passenger. Their dark eyes and hair and natural skin color and smiling ways sure made the trip more pleasant, even if I didn’t realize the importance of each of their oral messages. We were served champagne, red wines, bottled water and a number of nibbles – none of which I could identify by name or even now describe. Could have been the wine!. We had a meal which was also camaeflaged .by my owe lack of knowledge and unwillingness to ask a se cond time what the different things were. Sorry still am not sure “but Specy-spicy”. and after the initial “Oh my God!” reaction and mouthful or two of red wine – the food or I adjusted. Bottom line, the flight from London to Mumbis was long but very comfortable – no I didn’t get control of this channel changer on this flight either but I did watch to Bolly-Wood Movies and enjoyed them. Love those dance finale!
Back to Mumbia, vehicles here are smaller than in the States. Cost of gas is higher ( I think!)They are equipted with head lights, brakes and squeeling horns – I can vouch that the Horns work! The occassional red light seems more of a neighborhood street light than a control devise. Speed seems to be a necessary and the possession of a lane of traffic is delusional. But we got from the airport to the hotel – The Taj Mahal Place and Tower. No, not the historic or original Taj Mahal but a wonderful runner up, Our room look out on the unending bay and the “Gate to India” built as a moment to the British ( and maybe by them ) recognizing their possession of India before its independence..
NEXT FIRST DAY IN MUMBAI
Ok, so I screwed up, but this is really our first day in Mumbai. We slept until one in the afternoon and only woke up because Lynn saw that we had overslept and were to meet our guides for that day at 1:30 pm. UP dressed and off to something that was acknowledged as our meeting place: The Gate to India. OK, so we didn’t let the good old USA look to sharp when we asked the desk clerk, since we were running late- how far was it to the Gate and did he think we should take a cab? The Gat was physically 200 yards from the hotel and stood in the middle of a paved park outr in front of the hotel.
We met our guides, two young high school/college students and another couple, mother and daughter from Edmonton, Canada. If I had to rank the personalities – Lynn and the other four girls and women ranked GREAT- #1 and I came in second. The mother and daughter were original Indian from the north, Punjab and were traveling India like us although a different itinerary. One of their relatives were getting married on Long Island, NY and they were here getting appropriate Indian wedding clothing/outfits for themselves for the event. By the way, the traditional clothing is still warn often on the street as often a jeans and loose shirts. or blouses. The colors are brilliant and beautiful-filled with sequins and designed. Many wear the bibdi-the red dot on the forehead indicating a married women, a holy/religious man or the third eye of God looking our for the wearer and our at us. Their language (s) is used often but so is English, The pitch of their voices and unfamilar pronounciation makes it challenging to understand their comments on the first try, not to mention my hard of hearing.
Lynn had arranged to use this touring nservice since they offer a Urban vies of Mumbai – WOW! How lucky could one guy be? We met at the Gate and walked although not my favorite means of transportation but it had to be safer than going by honking, red light running taxies. The city is sprawled out. I’m not sure that we have seen 10% of it and mostly the tourist areas, By the way, wakling has it challenged in India, those beeping cars are beeping at folks like me who look in the wrong diorection while crossing from one corner to another – inattentively. No joke, you have to give a 360, not actually knowing where the beeping is coming from – 1) so mush of it and 2)some drivers may cross over an apparently meaningless lane separating line. Bottom line: Eyes open, ears open and my hand was on my rosary as we walked trying to keep up with this healthing group of walker into which I was drafted.
Poverty is a viewable and constant fixture. Tough on my eyes and heart. The only defense is to try and overlook it. The general instructions are to ignore those who beg since individuals become rowdy groups that have needs which the average individual can not fill and may be the cause of violence to the giver. Young beautiful children, mostly boys that are the age of my younger grandchildren, on the unclean side or small and possibly young women holding infants openly beg and approach and grab at you to get your attention. The great number of needy and an individuals limitations , permits the tourist to walk on by ungiving. To the reader: Don’t be harsh until you have been there! It is a divine delemma- one which only He maybe able to satisfy.
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