INDIA - our ultimate homeland and the last country to be visited on our world travels!
We don't often write about our flight experiences themselves - it's all much of a much-ness when you've travelled so much. Air New Zealand (from San Francisco to Auckland) definitely stands out as our best in-flight treatment... they served Alkesh's standard meal at the same time as my special request veggie meal (which always comes out at least 20 mins before the rest of the cabin is served) just so we could have company in eating - how very considerate! Anyways... Jet Airways from Hong Kong to Bombay was also pretty good, somewhat surprisingly. To be honest, I was just excited to have sabji, roti, raita and pickle as my in-flight meal! Alkesh and I enjoyed 'Wake up Sid', a new-ish Bollywood film that was fresh and different[Alkesh: Navi forgot to mention the attendant who missed us on every drinks round and gave me the death-stare when I asked for water at the end of the flight]. Great Indian food and film and we hadn't even left the aircraft yet! Bring on India!!
The whole point of our Indian travels was to explore a region that neither Alkesh nor I have ever been to. We'd heard a lot about Bombay and braced ourselves for a bit of a 'culture shock' compared to Tokyo. After all the countries we've visited and different cultures and peoples we've experienced, India should have been easier for us. And it was in someways - we knew the language, understood the customs, knew to expect the noise / air pollution, avoided the rubbish on the sides of the road and dodged the many scooters! But in other ways, we also felt like 'outsiders' - we may have 'looked' Indian (and even that was questionable, dressed in linen and Crocs, cameras at the ready!) but we were not the same as the locals. We ate food with our hands in local restaurants, like other locals, but we ordered Bisleri (bottled mineral water) and anti-bac'd our hands before we began! We tried our best to haggle prices down at the street stalls, using my best Hindi, and yet the accent gave it away! It's hard to explain in words, but we felt quite 'misplaced' on the first day in Bombay. As a woman, I had forgotten just how much the Indian men stared!
We don't often write about our flight experiences themselves - it's all much of a much-ness when you've travelled so much. Air New Zealand (from San Francisco to Auckland) definitely stands out as our best in-flight treatment... they served Alkesh's standard meal at the same time as my special request veggie meal (which always comes out at least 20 mins before the rest of the cabin is served) just so we could have company in eating - how very considerate! Anyways... Jet Airways from Hong Kong to Bombay was also pretty good, somewhat surprisingly. To be honest, I was just excited to have sabji, roti, raita and pickle as my in-flight meal! Alkesh and I enjoyed 'Wake up Sid', a new-ish Bollywood film that was fresh and different[Alkesh: Navi forgot to mention the attendant who missed us on every drinks round and gave me the death-stare when I asked for water at the end of the flight]. Great Indian food and film and we hadn't even left the aircraft yet! Bring on India!!
The whole point of our Indian travels was to explore a region that neither Alkesh nor I have ever been to. We'd heard a lot about Bombay and braced ourselves for a bit of a 'culture shock' compared to Tokyo. After all the countries we've visited and different cultures and peoples we've experienced, India should have been easier for us. And it was in someways - we knew the language, understood the customs, knew to expect the noise / air pollution, avoided the rubbish on the sides of the road and dodged the many scooters! But in other ways, we also felt like 'outsiders' - we may have 'looked' Indian (and even that was questionable, dressed in linen and Crocs, cameras at the ready!) but we were not the same as the locals. We ate food with our hands in local restaurants, like other locals, but we ordered Bisleri (bottled mineral water) and anti-bac'd our hands before we began! We tried our best to haggle prices down at the street stalls, using my best Hindi, and yet the accent gave it away! It's hard to explain in words, but we felt quite 'misplaced' on the first day in Bombay. As a woman, I had forgotten just how much the Indian men stared!
[Alkesh: The night manager at our hotel was the Indian Basil Fawlty:- friendly but always super stressed out and quick to move you on so he could deal with the next person, gave us both plenty of giggles whilst dealing with him]
Still, it didn't take us long to adjust and find our feet. Bombay is a crazily busy and hectic place. Alkesh's fear for crossing streets was at its worst here - cars and motorbikes didn't stop for anyone, and there were no pedestrian crossings (apart from a few which, even when the green man was showing, the traffic kept going past!). Unfortunately, there was one more 'unknown' that we had to contend with - the rains! Yes, we'd arranged this last portion of our travels in India to coincide with the annual monsoons. I didn't think it would be so bad, having experienced tropical monsoons in Indonesia as a child. But those first few days in Bombay were difficult - heavy intense bursts of rain followed by a bit of steamy hot sun and then more rain. We persevered as best we could...
We spent our first day, walking through the sights of South Bombay in the areas of Fort, Churchgate, Kala Ghoda and Colaba - the original city centre, now heavily congested and somewhat run-down. A lot of the buildings have Western architecture left over from the British rule.
For example, the main central train station (previously known as Victoria Terminus, now renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus... many areas, buildings and roads in Bombay / Mumbai have been renamed since Independence), the High Court and the University. We had a small victory upon entering the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (a.k.a. Prince of Wales Museum). Alkesh went up to the ticket booth and said in his most gruff and commanding Hindi, "doh ticket dedho" - upon which we paid the 'locals' admission rate, just one-twelfth of that charged to foreigners! Result!!
Still, it didn't take us long to adjust and find our feet. Bombay is a crazily busy and hectic place. Alkesh's fear for crossing streets was at its worst here - cars and motorbikes didn't stop for anyone, and there were no pedestrian crossings (apart from a few which, even when the green man was showing, the traffic kept going past!). Unfortunately, there was one more 'unknown' that we had to contend with - the rains! Yes, we'd arranged this last portion of our travels in India to coincide with the annual monsoons. I didn't think it would be so bad, having experienced tropical monsoons in Indonesia as a child. But those first few days in Bombay were difficult - heavy intense bursts of rain followed by a bit of steamy hot sun and then more rain. We persevered as best we could...
We spent our first day, walking through the sights of South Bombay in the areas of Fort, Churchgate, Kala Ghoda and Colaba - the original city centre, now heavily congested and somewhat run-down. A lot of the buildings have Western architecture left over from the British rule.
For example, the main central train station (previously known as Victoria Terminus, now renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus... many areas, buildings and roads in Bombay / Mumbai have been renamed since Independence), the High Court and the University. We had a small victory upon entering the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (a.k.a. Prince of Wales Museum). Alkesh went up to the ticket booth and said in his most gruff and commanding Hindi, "doh ticket dedho" - upon which we paid the 'locals' admission rate, just one-twelfth of that charged to foreigners! Result!!
We ended our day at the famous landmark of Gateway of India, facing out on to Mumbai Harbour. The big arch was built to commemorate the 1911 royal visit of King George V. Nowadays, it's a place for youngsters to hangout. At dusk, the roads are lined with these massive silver gilded horse-drawn carriages... very tacky and touristy but fun to see - needless, to say we resisted the urge! Instead, we opted for cocktails at the Harbour Lounge of the world-famous and luxurious Taj Hotel.
Yes yes, the one bombed a few years back... althought you couldn't tell by looking at it. It was a lovely setting from which to see night fall. It was also interesting to see the wealthy Indian businessmen and ladies carrying on in the plush bar. Ahh - the 2 sides of Bombay!
Yes yes, the one bombed a few years back... althought you couldn't tell by looking at it. It was a lovely setting from which to see night fall. It was also interesting to see the wealthy Indian businessmen and ladies carrying on in the plush bar. Ahh - the 2 sides of Bombay!
With the aid of a car and driver, the next day we explored further afield in the areas of Malabar Hills (some nice parks with views there!) and Chowpatty Beach. We visited Mani Bhavan, a very small but well laid out museum - it is the building where Mahatma Gandhi stayed during his visits to Bombay from 1917 to 1934.
Picture of Gandhi with a young Indira Gandhi (Neru's daughter)
The museum showcases the room where Gandhi formulated his philosophy of satyagraha (non-violent protest) and launched the 1932 Civil Disobedience campaign that led to the end of the British rule. There was a collection of photographs documenting his life, along with letters to other world leaders, such as Hitler and Roosevelt.
Picture of Gandhi with a young Indira Gandhi (Neru's daughter)
The museum showcases the room where Gandhi formulated his philosophy of satyagraha (non-violent protest) and launched the 1932 Civil Disobedience campaign that led to the end of the British rule. There was a collection of photographs documenting his life, along with letters to other world leaders, such as Hitler and Roosevelt.
Whilst in Bombay we enjoyed lots of good food and chaat: we had bhel puri from a stall at Chowpatty beach; pav bhaji and dosas at a few places; and even puri sabji for breakfasts. We also watched a Bollywood film ("I hate luv storys" - yes I spotted the error on all the posters!) at the cinema when the rains were too bad - unfortunately that also meant we couldn't get out to Elephanta Islands to see the cave-temples.
On our last night, we met up with an old friend of mine from school in Indonesia - Dipti. Having lived in Bombay for several years, we asked her to take us to a typical night spot for young 20/30-somethings so we could experience a slice of the Bombay nightlife. Having negotiated more heavy rains and potholes, we arrived at Olive Bar in Bandra (a central suburb) 1.5hrs later. It was good to catch up with Dipti and experience another side to Bombay lifestyle. The bar filled up with young working Indian adults - all in business dress, having just arrived from work at 10pm! It was a sight that neither Alkesh nor I had seen before - perhaps only heard of or seen in the movies. Lots of very well-turned out men and women, smoking and drinking, chattering away in English (with the slightest of Indian accents), ordering from Indian waiters in English (!) and nibbling on Western tapas-style food. The prices were similar to back in London. En-route through the suburbs, we had seen posh malls and grand residences. Bombay for sure has a very very modern, Western and upper-class side of itself!
The following morning we picked up some last minute shopping from Colaba, before heading to the airport to fly down to the state of Kerala for a very different side of Southern India! On the way, we saw some of the slums that Mumbai is famous for, including the one in the film Slumdog Millionaire (Slumdog Crorepati!) . Navita and I had previously been told to visit the slums by other travelers, but, as with the Favelas in Brazil, seeing such poverty and looking in as tourists isn't something we're keen on doing, so we kept it as a drive by only.
Onwards to Kerala!
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