Day nineteen - Mumbai

We are both well. No issues to report. However, I am running out of clothes. Did a small washing last nite which will last till we get back on Wednesday.

After exploring outside the city and a few local shopping malls, it was our day to adventure into the heart of Mumbai. It is sunny and the current temperature is 33 c. We heard that it will be -30 c to nite back home. When we mention that to people here they can't imagine how cold that is. 

The streets are remarkably free from the congestion we have been used to. However, it still took our driver over an hour to get to the heart of the city. The streets are much cleaner that Delhi and there are no cows. (You need a cow license)

Our first stop was the the Dhobi Ghat; the worlds largest outdoor laundry where the male only washers work in the open to wash clothes for Mumbai hospitals and hotels. 

There are many street vendors and hockers trying to sell us souvenirs. Over the last few weeks travelling, we have learned the word for NO, (Nahim, pronounced neehay)

The Chhatrapati Shivaji, formerly the Victoria train station is the largest in the world. The British established the country's rail system in the late 19th century. The station was built in 1887 to commentate the golden jubilee of Queen Victoria.

We are now in the Colaba district which is the nicest area of Mumbai dating back to the colonial era. The Gateway to India was built in 1911 to commentate the landing of George V and Queen Mary.

 Directly across the street is the Raj Palace hotel. Apart from being one of the best hotel's in the world, it was also the scene of a terrorist attack in 2008. We declined high tea.

Our driver was great. This one spoke enough English to explain what we were seeing and what the area was. We hired him for the whole day, including gas for $40. 

This district borders the bay and it has a sea wall for walking and a beautiful beach. Please note that even though it is now 37 C the beach is empty.  People here just don't swim or sunbathe in public. What a waste!

Donna couldn't get enough flowers knowing that her own won't be springing up for some time.

We spent a fair bit of time at Ghandiji's residence when he was in Mumbai. This house was the centre of the movement to free India from British rule. I can appreciate what the British brought to this country but they also extracted a heavy toll on the people. If it wasn't for the non violent efforts of Ghandiji, there probably would have been a blood bath. Donna was almost brough to tears touring the residence.

You can see the spinning wheels that he used to break the British monopoly of the cotton industry and also to become closer to  the land and the people. This one act brought him enormous respect from all. 

We read several letters to and from world leaders including Roosevelt, Tolstoy, Einstein etc. He even wrote  to Hitler just prior to the the Second World War asking him to use  non violent means to achieve his goals. It was strangely eerie to view them. He was very humble but managed to make his presence known and respected.

As he would have wished there was no entry fee for this attraction, only a donation box which everyone was filling. 

Probably his most famous quote, amongst so many was " You must be the change you wish to see in the world."