March 22nd:
Our ship arrived in Mumbai very early. We were able to watch the sun rise as we entered port, the royal we, since Princess Ann was still asleep.
Mumbai is the most populous city in India. There are 14 million residents. We elected to go on our own in this port. After going through the entire Indian Immigration process for the third time, we started on our Mumbai adventure.
While waiting for the shuttle bus to leave the port, we asked the couple seated in front of us what their plans were. Turns out Lynne Rothrock and Ron DeWitte were the ship’s entertainers scheduled for tonight’s show and they also wanted to see the old town and to do some shopping. We shared a cab. At the port gate (the limit of the shuttle bus journey), the four of us piled into the TaTa taxi. This vehicle is tiny, even by Indian standards. Three of us were in the back seat and we were very very friendly…..thank goodness the ride into town was short.
These are some photographs of the local architecture and a sample of a taxi.
We also walked along the main shopping street in Mumbai and looked at the sidewalk stalls. Of course, we were constantly approached by vendors and beggars.
Next we saw the Taj Hotel, the site of the Pakistani attack two years ago. Police were out in force and the area was blocked off from any through traffic. Our last stop was the Gateway of India. This was a structure built by the British during their colonial rule of India.
As we left Mumbai, the sun set in the west as the fishing fleet was returning home.
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