A day of Shopping in Mumbai

A day of Shopping in Mumbai.

We awoke at the Taj Hotel and started out for a day of shopping. Nothing could be more different then the transition from the filth, noise and spirituality of Varanasi to the wealth, and hustle and bustle of Mumbai (Bombay). Bombay has two temperatures throughout the year. Hot or Very Hot. Today was Hot and Humid.

We primarily went to clothing stores within walking distance of the Taj. There are many contemporary shops, but the Indian Glam ones are the most fun. These people like glitz, and jewelry and sequins!

Cathy and I were hoping to meet with the Mayor of Bombay to present the Sister City of Los Angeles Proclamation to him from the Mayor of Los Angeles but unfortunately he was travelling and away from the city. We will schlep it back to LA and bring it on our next trip.

I taxied over to Church Gate train station to watch the Tiffin Wallas at noon. Hundreds of thousands of wives prepare lunch for their husbands who are working in the city. Each day the Tiffin Wallas pick up the lunches in metal containers (called Tiffins) and bring them by train to the station closest to the husband’s workplace. As dozens of the Tiffin Wallas get off the train they meet and redistribute the Tiffins so that they can efficiently be delivered. Hundreds of thousands of lunches are distributed and very few mistakes are made. This system employs thousands of people and is amazing to watch.

We were so hot and humid we were constantly drinking water. We gave up on showering before dinner, it would have been pointless. You would just get hot and sticky the moment you stepped outside. We did have drinks by the pool before leaving the hotel for dinner.

Just after Sunset 4 of us crammed into a taxi and drove out to Marine Drive to walk along the promenade overlooking the sea. We then had a misadventure trying to taxi to dinner at Trishna Restaurant. It is difficult to explain to a cab driver who speaks no English that he is going the wrong direction. Eventually we got him to take us back to our Hotel, where a different cab driver got us to the restaurant. Taxis are very cheap in Mumbai, many cab rides only cost the equivalent of 50 cents or less. Many times we would take a taxi and when we arrived at our destination we would ask what the cost of the cab ride is. The answer from the driver would be “Whatever you wish to pay”. I am sure we always overpaid at that point, but it was a nice way of pricing a ride!

Trishna is one of the best seafood restaurants in the world. It is a combination of Indian and Chinese food. It has a huge menu. We had Shrimp, Crab, Fish, Calamari, Biryani Rice, etc. I think we ate every variety of animal that lives in the sea!

Mumbai is like New York, 24 hours a day of work and pleasure. It is a great city to visit, and we will always return.

We staggered back to our hotel room after a very full day and packed for morning flight north to the city of Bhuj.