Mumbai, India (formerly known as Bombay)
I guess it’s good when you expect the worst because then when it turns out to be so much better than you thought it would be it is really wonderful. That’s how it was in Mumbai. We expected a super-sized Chennai but what we found was a city of 18 million people that was cleaner, better organized and had much better infrastructure than Chennai. It was Sunday so there were fewer people on the streets than we would find during the week, and less of a traffic jam too.
We went on a tour with our Virtuoso group and we started out driving around the city. We saw the gothic and art deco architecture that is most prevalent in India. The streets were clean and wide and lined with trees and neatly landscaped parks and elaborate official buildings. Our first stop was the Gateway to India, which is a very large arch that was built in 1911 to welcome King George V and Queen Mary. The arch has been designated as a UNESCO site because of its historical significance. There were many people there just walking around with their families. There were also lots of beggars and people trying to sell us things. The saddest were the little children following us with their hands out asking for money.
Street vendors were everywhere, selling food and clothes and shoes and books and souvenirs. We did see a few cows in the streets but not as many as I had expected to see. Maybe since it was Sunday they were resting. Cows in India are so sacred that if a person sees a cow walking down the street without someone watching her, she can be taken to the cow orphanage that has been established in Mumbai.
We passed an enormous open green space about the size of 4 or 5 football fields where men were playing cricket, which is the national sport of India. Near this green space was Victoria Terminus, which is the biggest train station in Mumbai and the finest example of Gothic architecture in Asia. India’s train system is the second largest employer of people in the world.
Our port lecturer, Barbara, had told us there were two places in Mumbai where we should not even ask to go. One is The Cages, where the prostitutes live and work, and the other is the Tower of Silence. We didn’t go to either one of them but our guide today told us about the Tower of Silence. The people of the Parsee religion don’t believe in burial or cremation after death, so when they die they are taken to a place called the Tower of Silence. There their bodies are left for the vultures to eat. This place is so off limits to the world that a few years ago when CNN did a flyover in a helicopter and filmed it, there was almost an international incident over the situation.
The next stop on our tour was the Dhobi Ghats which is located in the slums of Mumbai. The slums were the worst I’ve ever seen. For the most part they were tarpaper shacks, two stories high, some with doors, some without doors. There were people sleeping by the side of the road and dirty children playing much too close to the traffic, with their parents watching but seemingly uncaring. The Dhobi Ghats is an outdoor laundry facility where men do the wash. It is so vast and complicated to describe that I’m going to include a picture, which will not do it justice. There is vat after vat of water where the men soak the clothes and then slap them on concrete to get them clean; then they hang them in the sun to dry. When they are dry they are starched and ironed and returned to their owner. The men pick up and deliver the laundry and a person can get a whole week’s wash done for just a few dollars.
Another very interesting tradition here is the tiffin box. It works like this: Mr. Singh lives in the suburbs and works in the city and Mrs. Singh stays home to care for the children. After he leaves for work and the children go to school, Mrs. Singh cooks lunch for Mr. Singh. She puts the food into tiffin boxes, which are round, aluminum-covered boxes that are stacked 5 high. She puts them outside her front door and at a specified time Man A comes and picks them up and takes them to the nearest train station. Man B then makes sure they get onto the proper train and at the other end Man C takes them off the train and puts them on his bicycle and delivers them to Mr. Singh at his office. An hour later he collects the boxes from Mr. Singh and returns them to Mr. Singh’s home. Every day 3 million tiffin boxes are delivered to offices all over Mumbai by these men, most of who are illiterate. The boxes are color coded and given symbols so that the men know where to take them and, according to our guide, they are never delivered to the wrong person, or lost or stolen. And they are always delivered on time. Each man takes 45-50 boxes at one time. The service costs the businessman about $6.00 per month. This system is so efficient that the CEO of FedEx has visited Mumbai to study the technique in hopes of getting some ideas about how to improve his company’s time management.
We next visited the home of Mahatma Gandhi. We learned the story of his life and saw where he spent most of his time in India.
After that we went to the Hilton Hotel where we had lunch at an exquisite restaurant. Once again I had packed my bag with peanut butter and crackers, having no intention of eating Indian food. But lunch was delicious and I ate way more than I really wanted.
After a short shopping stop we returned to the ship. As we entered the pier area, our guide said “Please come back to India. One billion people can’t be wrong.” I thought that was sweet even though I doubt that I will ever return.
Tomorrow we fly to Agra and Ed will fulfill his dream of seeing the Taj Mahal. So, a full report about that will be coming in a couple of days. So for now, Namaste.
I guess it’s good when you expect the worst because then when it turns out to be so much better than you thought it would be it is really wonderful. That’s how it was in Mumbai. We expected a super-sized Chennai but what we found was a city of 18 million people that was cleaner, better organized and had much better infrastructure than Chennai. It was Sunday so there were fewer people on the streets than we would find during the week, and less of a traffic jam too.
We went on a tour with our Virtuoso group and we started out driving around the city. We saw the gothic and art deco architecture that is most prevalent in India. The streets were clean and wide and lined with trees and neatly landscaped parks and elaborate official buildings. Our first stop was the Gateway to India, which is a very large arch that was built in 1911 to welcome King George V and Queen Mary. The arch has been designated as a UNESCO site because of its historical significance. There were many people there just walking around with their families. There were also lots of beggars and people trying to sell us things. The saddest were the little children following us with their hands out asking for money.
Street vendors were everywhere, selling food and clothes and shoes and books and souvenirs. We did see a few cows in the streets but not as many as I had expected to see. Maybe since it was Sunday they were resting. Cows in India are so sacred that if a person sees a cow walking down the street without someone watching her, she can be taken to the cow orphanage that has been established in Mumbai.
We passed an enormous open green space about the size of 4 or 5 football fields where men were playing cricket, which is the national sport of India. Near this green space was Victoria Terminus, which is the biggest train station in Mumbai and the finest example of Gothic architecture in Asia. India’s train system is the second largest employer of people in the world.
Our port lecturer, Barbara, had told us there were two places in Mumbai where we should not even ask to go. One is The Cages, where the prostitutes live and work, and the other is the Tower of Silence. We didn’t go to either one of them but our guide today told us about the Tower of Silence. The people of the Parsee religion don’t believe in burial or cremation after death, so when they die they are taken to a place called the Tower of Silence. There their bodies are left for the vultures to eat. This place is so off limits to the world that a few years ago when CNN did a flyover in a helicopter and filmed it, there was almost an international incident over the situation.
The next stop on our tour was the Dhobi Ghats which is located in the slums of Mumbai. The slums were the worst I’ve ever seen. For the most part they were tarpaper shacks, two stories high, some with doors, some without doors. There were people sleeping by the side of the road and dirty children playing much too close to the traffic, with their parents watching but seemingly uncaring. The Dhobi Ghats is an outdoor laundry facility where men do the wash. It is so vast and complicated to describe that I’m going to include a picture, which will not do it justice. There is vat after vat of water where the men soak the clothes and then slap them on concrete to get them clean; then they hang them in the sun to dry. When they are dry they are starched and ironed and returned to their owner. The men pick up and deliver the laundry and a person can get a whole week’s wash done for just a few dollars.
Another very interesting tradition here is the tiffin box. It works like this: Mr. Singh lives in the suburbs and works in the city and Mrs. Singh stays home to care for the children. After he leaves for work and the children go to school, Mrs. Singh cooks lunch for Mr. Singh. She puts the food into tiffin boxes, which are round, aluminum-covered boxes that are stacked 5 high. She puts them outside her front door and at a specified time Man A comes and picks them up and takes them to the nearest train station. Man B then makes sure they get onto the proper train and at the other end Man C takes them off the train and puts them on his bicycle and delivers them to Mr. Singh at his office. An hour later he collects the boxes from Mr. Singh and returns them to Mr. Singh’s home. Every day 3 million tiffin boxes are delivered to offices all over Mumbai by these men, most of who are illiterate. The boxes are color coded and given symbols so that the men know where to take them and, according to our guide, they are never delivered to the wrong person, or lost or stolen. And they are always delivered on time. Each man takes 45-50 boxes at one time. The service costs the businessman about $6.00 per month. This system is so efficient that the CEO of FedEx has visited Mumbai to study the technique in hopes of getting some ideas about how to improve his company’s time management.
We next visited the home of Mahatma Gandhi. We learned the story of his life and saw where he spent most of his time in India.
After that we went to the Hilton Hotel where we had lunch at an exquisite restaurant. Once again I had packed my bag with peanut butter and crackers, having no intention of eating Indian food. But lunch was delicious and I ate way more than I really wanted.
After a short shopping stop we returned to the ship. As we entered the pier area, our guide said “Please come back to India. One billion people can’t be wrong.” I thought that was sweet even though I doubt that I will ever return.
Tomorrow we fly to Agra and Ed will fulfill his dream of seeing the Taj Mahal. So, a full report about that will be coming in a couple of days. So for now, Namaste.
1 comment:
Hi guys!
Just wanted to let you know that I have been catching up on the "World of Ed and Suzanne"! Your Blog is interesting and easy to read. The pictures are very helpful! You see, I am typically a caption reader...a picture with two sentences underneath. I truly enjoy the insider's view of the world. Thanks for sharing! Mike Schulte
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