Mumbai (Bombay), India
After an overnight sail from Goa, we arrived in Mumbai on Saturday, April 7, at 8 a.m. for a 1-day visit. This city, unlike any of the other places we've seen in India on this cruise, requires a stay of at least a week to do it justice. It's a beautiful, imposing metropolis crowded with people. The current population of metro Mumbai is said to exceed 22 million. It's the largest city in India and the 4th largest in population in the world. The population density is approximately 73,000 people per square mile. Over 9 million people (41.3% of the population) live in one or another of the slums of Mumbai. Good or bad, we did not visit or see any of those concentrated slums on our 5-hour city tour. (Visiting the slums was another tour option.)
Sixteen major languages are spoken in Mumbai. The population is made up of the following religions: 66% Hindu, 20.5% Muslim, 4.85% Buddhist, 4.10% Jain, 3.27% Christian, .49% Sikh and the remaining (just under 1%) Other.
So, which of these two photos more accurately reflects the real Mumbai? This one of the Crawford Market that is open 24/7 and covers a vast area with seemingly endless stalls filled with foods and goods of all sorts?
Or this one of Mumbai's city hall, just one of many stately buildings in the city?
The answer undoubtedly is that they both do. The city is at the same time full of first-class architecturally significant and distinguished public and private buildings, as well as a host of other scenes that reflect the grittiness and diversity of the life of its teeming masses.
As with all of our visits, I'll start at the beginning. When I pulled the curtains back in our stateroom it was clear that we were in a large and busy port.
There were several ships lying at anchor some distance away in the outer harbor. I learned later that many of them are oil tankers and that oil tankers offload into pipelines that run quite far outside the inner port area.
The Indian navy has a substantial presence in this port.
At one end of our pier was this cluster of colorful boats.
We had signed up for a 5-hour excursion called "Mumbai Walk & Drive." The routine was the same: down the gangway, across the red carpet, into the terminal building to have our immigration papers stamped, onto our assigned bus, one more onboard immigration check and then meeting our guide.
Our first stop was the Crawford Market. Here's some of what we saw on our drive there.
Walking through any part of Crawford Market is stimulating. For all of the time we spent there, apparently we only saw a small part of it.
On our way to our next stop we passed a number of nice looking buildings and signs of affluence. Here are some of them.
We next got off the bus just a few blocks from St. Thomas Cathedral, also known as Bombay Cathedral, Mumbai's first Anglican Church. Note the plaques on chairs that King George V and Queen Mary sat in when they attended services there.
Next was a "rest stop" across the street from the church which conveniently turned out to be a Starbucks. It was a pleasure to get into air conditioned space, even if only for a brief time.
The next neighborhood we walked through took us past the Bombay High Court, which means the highest court of the state of Maharashtra of which Mumbai is the capital. The court building is especially beautiful, an example of English Gothic architecture. Note the guards with rifles just sitting in the open in their kiosks.
Just beyond the High Court building is one of the equally impressive buildings of Mumbai University known for its highly engraved pillars and ornamental arch. It is an example of French Gothic-style architecture.
In sharp contrast, right across a side street from the university is this severely run down building that was the famous Watson's Hotel, one of the grandest relics of the British raj (built in 1871), where Mark Twain once stayed.
And around the corner from that eyesore is a beautiful building that the Iraqi Jewish emigree to Bombay David Sassoon built as a public library. Sassoon became the leader of Bombay's Jewish community and was known for his broad-based philanthropy.
On a side street diagonally across from the Sassoon library we found a large synagogue (Knesset Eliyahoo) that is undergoing a major renovation, which explains why it is completely covered. In the 1940s, when Jewish life was at its apex in Bombay, 30,000 Jews lived there. At that time there were eight synagogues in the city. There are now fewer than 4,000 Jews remaining.
Next we passed the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (translation: 'king Shivaji museum'), abbreviated CSMVS and formerly named the Prince of Wales Museum of Western India. It is the principal museum in Mumbai. The building, which is stunning, reflects the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture and incorporates elements of other styles like that of the Mughai, Maratha and Jain. I loved seeing a group of children on the museum grounds who I assume had just spent time in the museum. Note the leaning Norfolk Island pine, it too undoubtedly protesting its having been planted in an inhospitable climate.
From the museum we walked to the so-called Gateway to India. The engraving on the arch also recognizes the visit to Bombay of King George V and Queen Mary in 1911. Across the way from the Gateway and plaza is the Mumbai Taj Mahal Hotel.
As we moved through the city (or at least the part of it that we toured) we saw other attractive things such as iron gates, statuary, green spaces, buildings and a few particularly interesting signs.
As I suggested earlier, not everything in Mumbai was visually appealing. There are also lots of buildings that are substantially run down, a condition our guide blamed on rent control laws that lead to landlord neglect. Here are some examples:
On our way back to the ship, as our bus came to the port entrance, the proverbial immigration officer came aboard and checked our papers. (I have so often mentioned the number of immigration checks throughout our visit in India only because they far exceeded anything we were put through in any other country we've visited on this cruise.) When I asked if I could take his photo, he actually posed for it.
In the evening, onboard ship we were treated to a performance by a local instrumental music and folk dance troupe.
We loved our all-too-brief visit to Mumbai. It is so different from the other three places we saw in India, and for us so much more appealing. A trip back here some day is not out of the question.
We are continuing to cruise the Arabian Sea on our way to Muscat, Oman with a scheduled arrival on Tuesday, April 10. Because we will be transiting the Gulf of Aden thereafter on our way up the Red Sea to Jordan, preparations are already underway to insure our safe passage. Here's a photo of barbed wire that is being attached to the rail of Deck 2, the lowest access point on the ship. We're told that there are other security measures in play as well.
I'll next blog after our visit to Oman.
Sixteen major languages are spoken in Mumbai. The population is made up of the following religions: 66% Hindu, 20.5% Muslim, 4.85% Buddhist, 4.10% Jain, 3.27% Christian, .49% Sikh and the remaining (just under 1%) Other.
So, which of these two photos more accurately reflects the real Mumbai? This one of the Crawford Market that is open 24/7 and covers a vast area with seemingly endless stalls filled with foods and goods of all sorts?
Or this one of Mumbai's city hall, just one of many stately buildings in the city?
The answer undoubtedly is that they both do. The city is at the same time full of first-class architecturally significant and distinguished public and private buildings, as well as a host of other scenes that reflect the grittiness and diversity of the life of its teeming masses.
As with all of our visits, I'll start at the beginning. When I pulled the curtains back in our stateroom it was clear that we were in a large and busy port.
There were several ships lying at anchor some distance away in the outer harbor. I learned later that many of them are oil tankers and that oil tankers offload into pipelines that run quite far outside the inner port area.
The Indian navy has a substantial presence in this port.
At one end of our pier was this cluster of colorful boats.
We had signed up for a 5-hour excursion called "Mumbai Walk & Drive." The routine was the same: down the gangway, across the red carpet, into the terminal building to have our immigration papers stamped, onto our assigned bus, one more onboard immigration check and then meeting our guide.
Our first stop was the Crawford Market. Here's some of what we saw on our drive there.
Walking through any part of Crawford Market is stimulating. For all of the time we spent there, apparently we only saw a small part of it.
On our way to our next stop we passed a number of nice looking buildings and signs of affluence. Here are some of them.
We next got off the bus just a few blocks from St. Thomas Cathedral, also known as Bombay Cathedral, Mumbai's first Anglican Church. Note the plaques on chairs that King George V and Queen Mary sat in when they attended services there.
Next was a "rest stop" across the street from the church which conveniently turned out to be a Starbucks. It was a pleasure to get into air conditioned space, even if only for a brief time.
The next neighborhood we walked through took us past the Bombay High Court, which means the highest court of the state of Maharashtra of which Mumbai is the capital. The court building is especially beautiful, an example of English Gothic architecture. Note the guards with rifles just sitting in the open in their kiosks.
Just beyond the High Court building is one of the equally impressive buildings of Mumbai University known for its highly engraved pillars and ornamental arch. It is an example of French Gothic-style architecture.
In sharp contrast, right across a side street from the university is this severely run down building that was the famous Watson's Hotel, one of the grandest relics of the British raj (built in 1871), where Mark Twain once stayed.
And around the corner from that eyesore is a beautiful building that the Iraqi Jewish emigree to Bombay David Sassoon built as a public library. Sassoon became the leader of Bombay's Jewish community and was known for his broad-based philanthropy.
On a side street diagonally across from the Sassoon library we found a large synagogue (Knesset Eliyahoo) that is undergoing a major renovation, which explains why it is completely covered. In the 1940s, when Jewish life was at its apex in Bombay, 30,000 Jews lived there. At that time there were eight synagogues in the city. There are now fewer than 4,000 Jews remaining.
Next we passed the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (translation: 'king Shivaji museum'), abbreviated CSMVS and formerly named the Prince of Wales Museum of Western India. It is the principal museum in Mumbai. The building, which is stunning, reflects the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture and incorporates elements of other styles like that of the Mughai, Maratha and Jain. I loved seeing a group of children on the museum grounds who I assume had just spent time in the museum. Note the leaning Norfolk Island pine, it too undoubtedly protesting its having been planted in an inhospitable climate.
From the museum we walked to the so-called Gateway to India. The engraving on the arch also recognizes the visit to Bombay of King George V and Queen Mary in 1911. Across the way from the Gateway and plaza is the Mumbai Taj Mahal Hotel.
As we moved through the city (or at least the part of it that we toured) we saw other attractive things such as iron gates, statuary, green spaces, buildings and a few particularly interesting signs.
As I suggested earlier, not everything in Mumbai was visually appealing. There are also lots of buildings that are substantially run down, a condition our guide blamed on rent control laws that lead to landlord neglect. Here are some examples:
On our way back to the ship, as our bus came to the port entrance, the proverbial immigration officer came aboard and checked our papers. (I have so often mentioned the number of immigration checks throughout our visit in India only because they far exceeded anything we were put through in any other country we've visited on this cruise.) When I asked if I could take his photo, he actually posed for it.
In the evening, onboard ship we were treated to a performance by a local instrumental music and folk dance troupe.
We loved our all-too-brief visit to Mumbai. It is so different from the other three places we saw in India, and for us so much more appealing. A trip back here some day is not out of the question.
We are continuing to cruise the Arabian Sea on our way to Muscat, Oman with a scheduled arrival on Tuesday, April 10. Because we will be transiting the Gulf of Aden thereafter on our way up the Red Sea to Jordan, preparations are already underway to insure our safe passage. Here's a photo of barbed wire that is being attached to the rail of Deck 2, the lowest access point on the ship. We're told that there are other security measures in play as well.
I'll next blog after our visit to Oman.
We got to see some of what you saw in Mumbai but we saw more of the dilapidated poorer side of it. I don't think that Lenny and I care to ever go back to India.
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