We walked around Don Bosco school and Central District watching local and then more organized cricket. The volume of people is astounding. 12,000,000 in Mumbai vs 500,000 in Raleigh. People are everywhere and fortunately they are pretty easy going. We toured the Gateway of India and the Taj Hotel where the 2008 terrorist shooting happened.
The Taj Hotel has a Starbucks seemingly one of the first in the country. It was full of expats and a comforting place to sit for a bit.
Evening saw us out an Irish Pub and then Aer, a club atop the Four Seasons with an amazing view.
Monday we took a train to a nearby town. We ran to jump onto the train as it pulled away from station. We disembarked while the train was still moving. Never in America.
Interesting to note there are compartments reserved for women. The next compartment behind me, not clearly visible, was reserved for women passengers.
Station were remarkably clean and contained beautiful murals.
Later in the day we visited a very americanized community near Powai lake including drinks at Chili's. Lal drove while I navigated. Navigating streets was oddly akin to some bike trails.
Tuesday we walked on Juhu beach. Apparently its been cleaned up significantly. It was a typical beach other than droves of photographers offering to take and sell pictures. I waded in the Indian Ocean to claim another body of water.
We visited Iscon temple for more cultural experience.
I marveled at the bicycles a bit. There are some clearly older and heavier duty bikes.
Note the double top tube and robust kickstand. The kickstand is attached to both sides of the rear axle and rotates around the tire with a wide triangular base. I find it more like a motorcycle center stand than a bicycle kickstand.
In the evening I toured a local art gallery and museum. A painter was there in the art museum showing his work. The museum provided more insight on Indian history and deities. The natural history wing had stuffed cobra, rhinoceros, and tiger. These are impressive animals. The stuffed cobra coiled on the ground and stood almost chest high. I can only imagine the serpentine terror these inspire in the wild.
I capped the evening at a coffee shop followed by walk on Marine Drive. My definition of a walk seems to stretch the imagination here.
It can't be that unreasonable though, they still have marathons. Wonder if I could get back to Mumbai for this...
The Taj Hotel has a Starbucks seemingly one of the first in the country. It was full of expats and a comforting place to sit for a bit.
Evening saw us out an Irish Pub and then Aer, a club atop the Four Seasons with an amazing view.
Monday we took a train to a nearby town. We ran to jump onto the train as it pulled away from station. We disembarked while the train was still moving. Never in America.
Interesting to note there are compartments reserved for women. The next compartment behind me, not clearly visible, was reserved for women passengers.
Station were remarkably clean and contained beautiful murals.
Later in the day we visited a very americanized community near Powai lake including drinks at Chili's. Lal drove while I navigated. Navigating streets was oddly akin to some bike trails.
Tuesday we walked on Juhu beach. Apparently its been cleaned up significantly. It was a typical beach other than droves of photographers offering to take and sell pictures. I waded in the Indian Ocean to claim another body of water.
We visited Iscon temple for more cultural experience.
I marveled at the bicycles a bit. There are some clearly older and heavier duty bikes.
Note the double top tube and robust kickstand. The kickstand is attached to both sides of the rear axle and rotates around the tire with a wide triangular base. I find it more like a motorcycle center stand than a bicycle kickstand.
In the evening I toured a local art gallery and museum. A painter was there in the art museum showing his work. The museum provided more insight on Indian history and deities. The natural history wing had stuffed cobra, rhinoceros, and tiger. These are impressive animals. The stuffed cobra coiled on the ground and stood almost chest high. I can only imagine the serpentine terror these inspire in the wild.
I capped the evening at a coffee shop followed by walk on Marine Drive. My definition of a walk seems to stretch the imagination here.
It can't be that unreasonable though, they still have marathons. Wonder if I could get back to Mumbai for this...
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