Everything about India is new to us; the history, people, geography, even the food. So we are taking it slow, starting with a walking tour of Mumbai. Honestly, it isn’t as intimidating as is sounds. Look to the right for oncoming cars, cross at the green and avoid street food.
Clive, our trusty GPS unit, is programmed for Europe so we are back to using a map, one of Connie’s many talents. She lead us from the Garden Hotel past the Taj Mahal Hotel to the Gateway to India then to the Post Office, the largest and busiest in Asia. The architecture, like many of Mumbai’s buildings, is British colonial. But the scale is Olympian. Likewise Victoria Station, where we stopped to check on trains to Goa, our next destination. Train travel in India is supposed to be a real “experience” – take that as you wish – but we will have to wait to find out. All the sleepers to Goa are booked until Wednesday so we booked an overnight “sleeper” bus, 12-hours for $30.
Then we delved into the history, religion and art of India at the Prince of Wales Museum; Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma in all their incarnations, Indian proverbs told in fantastic paintings, and even an exhibit of Low Country art.
Ganesh, my favorite Hindu diety, Prince of Wales Museum
Today we hopped on a “luxury” cruise to Elephant Island. When you hear of a ferry sinking in some Third World country with a devastating loss of life, this is the kind of boat they are talking about. Paint, where present, was peeling. There were no life preservers in sight. Instructions to the “engine room” were via a string attached to a makeshift bell alerting the engine walla to kick the transmission into gear – if he could hear the bell over the din of the engine.
You aren't alone
Elephant Island is one of those World Heritage sites that has evaded inspection by the WHS. It’s famous for its caves containing statues of Hindu gods, mostly Shiva, carved into the rock walls. The caves are 150 steps uphill from the wharf, each step flanked by a stall selling "many useless things that you do not need." The monkeys await at the end of the climb along with hundreds of people. Anyone who hopes for a photo in India without other humans (also taking photos) is delusional. Especially on a Sunday. And it seems that each of the visitors leaves a pile of trash in his wake. Why the guides and guards don't clean up is beyond me.
