Today is the end of another segment which began in Singapore and ended here in Mumbai. Only a small amount of guests left the ship, and the same amount joined. This segment had the lowest amount of eggs consumed….21,600. Isn’t that incredible? The next segment will end in Barcelona.
It was going to be another sunny day with high temperatures. However, there was a stronger breeze, which always helps. We went off the ship about 9:45am and arrived by the 2 minute shuttle ride to the Green Gate by 10am. We decided to retrace our walk from yesterday, and ended up at the Gateway of India within 30 minutes. Compared to yesterday, there was a lot more car traffic and lots of folks going to work, since it was a Monday.
The Gateway of India had far fewer people, and there was no waiting to take the ferry to Elephanta Island. But we knew that the island was closed today, as it is every Monday. You can still travel there by ferry, but there is no access to the caves on top. Even at that, the local vendors were still trying to sell us ferry tickets, but at a reduced price of 200 rupees, which is about $3 USD. They did not hide the fact that the island was closed, so they dropped the price from 250r. to 200r. We declined as it would have taken a 1½ hour round trip. What many vendors don’t tell you, is that the ferry coming back to the mainland will not leave the island until it is full. Meaning that you could be waiting for up to 2 hours to return. That happened to friends who did this excursion on their own several years ago.
Crossing the street and trying not to get run over by the black and yellow taxis, we entered the Taj Mahal Palace again. It was more for an experiment with our camera, since some of the photos from yesterday were blurry. Changing the setting seemed to do the trick, but we would find out later when they got down-loaded.
Continuing up the back street towards the Colaba area, we passed by old mansions, carpet cleaners, and day care facilities. At the end of this street, we turned right, and walked by a series of restaurants and bars. Good thing we went this way, because we ran right into two cows that were tethered on the corner. A couple of guys had feed for them, and may have been enticing tourists to buy veggies to feed the cows. One of the cows seemed ready to burst from a full udder. In past years, these cows walked the city wherever they wished. People would feed them, and then use their milk to make yogurt and other dairy products. We suspect with the “clean-up” project in the downtown area, these cows and their other by products (manure) have been removed forever. We did notice that the streets were much cleaner, but not the harbor waters. Some places were covered with plastic refuse, especially around the Gateway seawall.
Even on a Monday, the Colaba market was still busy, mostly with locals. We window-shopped, then went into one shop that had some nice blouses and tunics. One of us found a nice dressy poncho like top dotted with stones in a silky print for a great price. Then we stopped once again at the shoe store, and found two pairs of sandals on sale – grand total of $18. USD. The vendor did not like small bills, so he asked for a $20 bill, and gave us rupees in change. We came out ahead by $1, and bought a small coin purse outside for 200 rupees.
Since the beers were so good at Leopold’s Café, we went back and ordered the same as yesterday. However, we did add a small hot apple pie to share, which came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It was about the creamiest we have ever eaten. Today there were several folks from the ship, including Harvey and Barbara, both of whom had fun shopping today.
Heading back to the ship, we passed by many historical buildings like we did yesterday. The good thing was that the taxi drivers did not approach us for rides, as they know you are going back to the ship. All aboard was at 5pm, except for the new arrivals, who had to be at a muster drill at 4:15pm. The rest of us did not have to participate.
Checking out the few shops in the terminal, we priced an identical top that they were selling, and were delighted to know that it was double the price we paid in town. And their prices were fixed….no bargaining. There was one small liquor shop that also sold snack food. The bottles of alcohol were reasonably priced, and we wondered if anyone was buying them. The xray check was in the terminal, not on the ship. We learned later that when you bought a bottle, the vendor asked for your room number, which we assume, would be called into security onboard. Unless they gave a wrong room number? On previous cruises a few years ago, no one really paid much attention to bringing wine, beer, or hard liquor onboard on a grand voyage. Not so anymore.
What we did have to do, was turn in those stamped landing cards so they could conduct the departure clearance formalities. At sail away time later, a few names were announced, and we assume these folks lost their cards or forgot to turn them in.
Once again, the real sail away activities were in the Crow’s Nest, as they featured drink specials and hot appetizers. With the Station Band playing, they can sell way more drinks than at the Seaview Pool. And there is much less work for the crew, where they don’t have to hang the flags, or set up the cocktail tables by removing two rows of lounges.
The outdoor folks like us still enjoyed the sail out of the harbor at the aft pool. The eagle-hawks were flying high, putting on a show for all of us. We stayed long enough to watch a small fleet of local fishing boats coming back from a day of work. Some of these boats still had nets in the water, stretched between them. A large number of freighters and container ships sat idle in the harbor. Further out, we passed by oil and gas rigs. But the best sight was watching the sun set by 7pm, visiting with friends and sharing stories of the past few days. Several folks we know had gone overland to see the Taj Mahal, Susie and Eddie among them. They all had a wonderful experience, reminding us of when we did a tour there back in 2007. Not much had changed from what we gathered.
Dinner for us was in the Pinnacle Grill restaurant at 8pm. Everything we ordered was delicious and cooked perfectly. They even had fresh strawberries and blackberries for dessert. We had run out of the strawberries and raspberries days ago, so a new shipment must have arrived yesterday.
We heard that the show of the singers and dancers, The Midnight Hour, was really good. We do hope this form of entertainment will continue on the grands, even if they will not happen on their other ships. Perhaps that is simply a rumor that they will be going away.
Good news…we got ½ hour back on the clock tonight. Always welcomed by all.
Bill & Mary Ann
Thursday, April 4, 2019
Report #73 Mumbai, India April 1, 2019 Monday Day Two Sunny & 90 degrees
