Happy Valentine's Day to all!
We have been busy! Mumbai was a surprising mix of people, modern galleries, and some fine architecture that the British built during their stay. Mumbai Harbour and the Taj Mahal Intercontinental Hotel reminded Surrinder of Victoria and the Empress Hotel. I think you'll figure out which those photos are! There is also a photo of the "Gateway to India" - which was being cleaned up. You'll see the scaffolds on part of that.
We arrived in Mumbai at 5:30 a.m. following the long train ride we wrote about earlier. Nothing was stirring, really. We walked along some of Mumbai's busiest streets to get to our hotel. It was amazing. A few hours later, the streets were completely unrecognizable. So much traffic and busy-ness where there had been silence and people sleeping on the pavement.
We had a couple of great days. We went to Elephanta Island to see the fascinating sculptures carved within caves. A couple of photos are attached for your interest. The 3-headed Shiva is huge, and the main face is incredibly serene. The other Shiva image is of Shiva as the God of Dance, Natraj. It is surprising how much life can be brought into stone! Surrinder really enjoyed the one hour boat ride each way ... and the roasted fresh corn on the cob with lime and salt. One of the photos shows her delighted anticipation when she first saw the corn vendor! What we didn't enjoy was the rate of Rs. 250 (approx. $7) for foreigners, versus the rate of Rs. 10 (approx $0.23) for Indians. Shamir thought it was not a completely unreasonable way for India to raise some cash, but Surrinder was outraged.
We only saw some of the art galleries, but they contained surprisingly modern cutting edge art work. Just outside was a major student art exhibition, and we were lucky to catch a part of a several day long art festival, which actually shut down several busy streets. A few photos of those are also attached.
We then went off to Gujarat. We spent a good chunk of our first day visiting the former Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad. That is the ashram where Gandhi stayed for 15 years or so, developing his strategies for India's independence. We were truly touched by what we saw depicted of his life and work. The museum was excellent. The ashram was a surprisingly refreshing break from Ahmedabad's significant noise and air pollution.
We decided soon to go to Saurashtra, the area where Shamir's grandparents are from. We went to Jamnagar, the larger city in the area, about 450,000 population. It was a significant mix of modernity and ancient village bazaars. Some attached photos should help see this.
Our last day there, we visited a special village in Gujarat. One of the photos shows the name of the village. See if you can figure it out! We loved the village, though we had only a few hours there. People were friendly and curious. We bought some fabulous ganthia, dhokra, and jalebi, which made lovely snacks during our bus trip back. That little journey was a special adventure for us.
In Jamnagar, one of our special treats was freshly pressed sugar cane juice with some lime. It was simply delicious, and highly nutritious, costing a mere Rs. 5 for a glass (about $0.07!). Jamnagar's central bazaar was a great place to see the bandhani garments and fabric for which the area is specially known. It involves thousands of tiny knots into the fabric and careful "tie-dying" techniques. It brought Surrinder back to her old days of tie-dying T-shirts, back when she was an almost-hippie.
Our apologies if photos are a bit of whack. We're still learning!
We arrived in Mumbai at 5:30 a.m. following the long train ride we wrote about earlier. Nothing was stirring, really. We walked along some of Mumbai's busiest streets to get to our hotel. It was amazing. A few hours later, the streets were completely unrecognizable. So much traffic and busy-ness where there had been silence and people sleeping on the pavement.
We had a couple of great days. We went to Elephanta Island to see the fascinating sculptures carved within caves. A couple of photos are attached for your interest. The 3-headed Shiva is huge, and the main face is incredibly serene. The other Shiva image is of Shiva as the God of Dance, Natraj. It is surprising how much life can be brought into stone! Surrinder really enjoyed the one hour boat ride each way ... and the roasted fresh corn on the cob with lime and salt. One of the photos shows her delighted anticipation when she first saw the corn vendor! What we didn't enjoy was the rate of Rs. 250 (approx. $7) for foreigners, versus the rate of Rs. 10 (approx $0.23) for Indians. Shamir thought it was not a completely unreasonable way for India to raise some cash, but Surrinder was outraged.
We only saw some of the art galleries, but they contained surprisingly modern cutting edge art work. Just outside was a major student art exhibition, and we were lucky to catch a part of a several day long art festival, which actually shut down several busy streets. A few photos of those are also attached.
We then went off to Gujarat. We spent a good chunk of our first day visiting the former Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad. That is the ashram where Gandhi stayed for 15 years or so, developing his strategies for India's independence. We were truly touched by what we saw depicted of his life and work. The museum was excellent. The ashram was a surprisingly refreshing break from Ahmedabad's significant noise and air pollution.
We decided soon to go to Saurashtra, the area where Shamir's grandparents are from. We went to Jamnagar, the larger city in the area, about 450,000 population. It was a significant mix of modernity and ancient village bazaars. Some attached photos should help see this.
Our last day there, we visited a special village in Gujarat. One of the photos shows the name of the village. See if you can figure it out! We loved the village, though we had only a few hours there. People were friendly and curious. We bought some fabulous ganthia, dhokra, and jalebi, which made lovely snacks during our bus trip back. That little journey was a special adventure for us.
In Jamnagar, one of our special treats was freshly pressed sugar cane juice with some lime. It was simply delicious, and highly nutritious, costing a mere Rs. 5 for a glass (about $0.07!). Jamnagar's central bazaar was a great place to see the bandhani garments and fabric for which the area is specially known. It involves thousands of tiny knots into the fabric and careful "tie-dying" techniques. It brought Surrinder back to her old days of tie-dying T-shirts, back when she was an almost-hippie.
Our apologies if photos are a bit of whack. We're still learning!
1 comment:
happy Valentine's Day friends! We're so glad that your trip continues to offer such colourful adventures. There are promises of spring here-I saw my first snowdrops yesterday! By the time you are back spring weather should be right around the corner! stay well and have LOTS of fun! Heather (and Greg)
p.s. Possum scored with another kill this week! Yay Possum. Nick was SO proud of her!
Post a Comment