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Taxi Tour
For
our second day in Bombay, we decided to tour some of the
city's sights that were a bit out of walking
distance. A rather persistent cab driver who was parked outside
our hotel offered to take us for a tour of the city and guide
us to the sights. We showed him what we wanted to see in
our tour book and inquired about the cost. He informed us
that he'd do it for 200 rupees and hour (about $4.45/hour).
We went down the street and grabbed breakfast at bakery before
getting into the cab and heading out on our way. The sights
we covered here are illustrated on the map of Bombay, in
the upper left corner of the map.
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We
started out by going to Banganga. We weren't
sure what this was, exactly, but the guidebook said: "This undervisited
temple complex in the Malabar Hill area is considered one of
the city's holiest sites. It is also the oldest surviving structure
in Bombay. The small, sometimes dilapidated temples are built
around a holy pool of water and surrounded by the ever-encroaching
houses of Bombay's newer residents. Cows and people mingle freely
here, as do bathers who come to sample the 'healing powers'
of the water."
The photos below
were taken about 10am or so. We were informed that we missed
the morning's ritualistic bathing by the locals,
but you can see that there were still some people lingering
around the pool. The cow pictured here is found off to the right
of the pool. We were lead up the stairs and, for a 5 rupee donation,
I got to feed the cow. EVERYONE who passed this cow gave it something
to eat, so I can't figure out why it's so skinny!
Our tour of the
area continued around the complex and back to the cab that
was parked a short distance away by a marketplace. I noticed
small temples constructed into the walls and the area was very
quiet. Traffic noise was barely noticable from this area. We
stopped at an outlook point where we could view the sea. I took
some photos of the shanties that were built there and noticed
that there was a fisherman on an outcropping and a cat walking
along the rooftops, so I tested the optical zoom on my camera.
(Thanks, mom!) |
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Above: The Holy Pool
Left&Right: They weren't kidding about the cows
Bottom: Pictures from an outlook by the sea.
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| We we got back to the cab, Yener expressed a bit
of disappointment with this site because he was expecting a more
grandiose structure. We were both hoping the next site would
be different. It was a short drive
to our next destination,
The
Jain
Temple. As you can see by the photos below, this was
much more in line with what Yener had in mind when he thought
of a temple
or holy site. From the guidebook: |
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"This
may be the most impressive temple in Bombay. This Jain Temple
belongs to the prosperous, strictly
vegetarian Jain community-- the largely Gujarati followers of
Lord Mahavira. The temple's colorful, peaceful interior has an
understated elegance. Check out the intricate work on the walls
and ceilings. Worship at this shrine takes a somewhat different
form than the [chaos] at Hindu temples. It's more introspective
and humble in aspect. Around 8am, freshly bathed Jains in swaths
of unstitched off-white cloth walk here barefoot from their nearby
homes to pay homage to the splendid idol of Adinath, an important
Jain prophet. (Jains show respect by arriving clean and without
shoes-- originally Jains used to wear only a silk cloth, the
best and hence most respectful material, but plenty now also
wear cotton, and many simply make do with ordinary clothes.)" |
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As you can see from the surrounding photos,
the guidebook was very accurate in the description of this temple.
It was very quiet here. We watched people arrange rice into various
shapes on these red tables. The walls, ceiling, and doors were
all very ornate. The marble floors of temple were beautiful!
We left both our shoes and the bottle of water we brought
with us outside the temple where a man watched over them.
I tried
taking some photos of the people counting the impressive
volume of donations, but the photo came out too blurry as
I
refrained from using
my flash inside the temple.
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| From the Jain temple, our next stop was the Hanging
Gardens and then the Kamala Nehru Park. We somehow managed to
find street parking by the Hanging Gardens and we walked through
the entrance to find a large, beautiful area filled with plants. |
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Left: Me
with the driver/guide leading the way. I was very glad it
wasn't too hot that day. This garden
was well kept, but not free from vendors trying to sell you
a tour book or a book of post cards with photos of India's
monuments.
Right: Yener in the Garden. I gave him the camera case to
carry so he could feel free to take pictures. Besides, it looks
much better on him than it does on me. :-)
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After
a tour of the Hanging Gardens, we crossed the street to the
Kamala Nehru Park. This park is primarily a children's park.
It features the "Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe" boot
that is open only to children... yes, Yener tried to get in
but saw
the sign with the dimensional restrictions. |
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This park, "...offers gorgeous panoramic views of the city
below. From the special viewpoint clearing, you can see all of
Marine Drive and the Bombay skyline, From Chowpatty Beach to
Colaba Point." The picture to the left here is a shot from that
clearing. I'm not sure how you're supposed to see any skyline
or much of anything else. The pollution in the air is so thick
you can barely make out any detail. It's unfortunate that I didn't
see any improvement in the air quality at night, either. |
| At this
point, both Yener and I were getting a bit tired and ready
to rest a bit before we went to get lunch,
so we asked our driver to take us back to the hotel. He took
us through downtown Bombay on the way back, showing us (driving
us through) the Bazaar downtown-- crowded streets filled with
people, animals, and things for sale. It was amazing we were
able to drive through it. At one point, he stopped the car on
the side of the bridge and asked us to get out and "see
the laundry".
Puzzled, we stepped out of the car and looked over the edge of
the bridge with the rest of the crowd there. |
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As you can see from these pictures to the
left, this is a huge laundry complex located right next to
the railroad line. I've never seen anything like this before.
According to our driver, this is where your laundry may end up
if you send it out to be washed. |
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We
finally made it back to the hotel and our driver/guide decided
to change the rate to 250 rupees and hour. Lesson learned:
try to arrange for tours through a licensed tour guide to avoid
such price changes. The difference in price is a little more
than a dollar, but the fact that the cost was not what we originally
agreed to is frustrating. Now we know why the airport offers
a prepaid taxi service. *exasperated sigh*
After resting for a bit, we decided to out for some food.
One thing that we can't complain about in India: We ate well
in Bombay. We usually stuffed ourselves for about 8 dollars total.
If you looking to be ultra cheap, just stick to eating the wonderful
samosas from the street vendors. Besides the cheap eats in the
restaurants, we also found a bakery right down the street from
our hotel that had very nice cakes, bread, and baked goods that
we purchased for snacks when we didn't feel like going out. A
big bag of excellent breads, phillo dough pastries, and cakes
cost us less than 7 bucks.
Later that night,
we wandered around the city by ourselves again and got some
supplies that we'd need for the next leg of
our trip: Calcutta (Kolkata). We were interested to see what
sort of accommodations would be available at the University.
Really, we had no idea what to expect.
We woke up and checked
out of the hotel at 4am. Apparently they forgot that we told
them about this earlier that day. Somehow we managed to get
charged for "snacks" and a 16% fee for not giving
them warning about our early morning checkout. We were both
too tired
and apathetic to argue over what amounted to be less than
$5...but still.... *exasperated sigh*
There was a taxi
outside the hotel ready to take us to the domestic airport.
We asked about the cost and were informed that it would be
350 rupees (if memory serves). Upon arriving at the airport,
the cabbie charged us 350 rupees! I was so stunned by consistency
in pricing I almost fell over.
It turns out, India
Airlines rescheduled our 6am flight for 9am, so we had a
bit of waiting to do at the airport. We hoped that whoever
was picking us up checked the flight schedules! Eventually,
though, we were off to Calcutta. |
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