You Photographing Me Photographing You

I always stop off at the Gateway of India if I am down south in Colaba.  Because I love to see the tourists - mostly Indian - that flock to the site for a glimpse of history and a view of the sea.  I also love the way that they gather in huge groups to have their photographs taken by a member of their family.  I usually nip in at the side to steal a picture - which usually distracts them and causes their eyes turn in my direction.  Ooops sorry about that!

What happens when I steal the pose - eyes going in two different directions!

At the Gateway of India you will also find the 'professional' photographer who will avail himself of portrait services for those visitors who do not own a camera.  In fact you will find many of these photographers.  These men carry DSLR cameras (and probably don't have a clue how to use them) and portable printers tucked in a bag so that the snaps can be developed 'instantly' (whatever happened to the Polaroid camera?)  Not only does this service give visitors a nice souvenir to take away with them (I do not know at what cost) but it also means that the whole family/couple/group will be complete in the picture.

The Gateway of India - Mumbai's 'most valued structure' (and where the British were seen off!)

And the point of this blog? On my last visit, I decided to turn my camera on the camera-men. At first, I tried to be surreptitious but it wasn't long before I was spotted - the reaction to this being lots of waves, V signs and posing for my camera by the guys!  I was almost chased! Here are the pics:

This couple wait as their picture comes out of the portable printer.

Another photographer sets up his equipment to print.

I look on as this guy approves his photo (close-up below)

I almost distract these children as they line up for a group shot.

Effectively hawkers, these photographers harass every tourist that passes by.

Some of them hang around shyly waiting to be asked....

And....I'm spotted!

....and again!

This fella looks at me in a bemused way...perhaps he thinks I'm competition?

More photographers join the group and stare at me

...but it doesn't take long before they're laughing, posing and being silly.  Funny!

This guy was so happy because he had the same camera as me - Nikon D7000

As more of the photographers come towards me, I start to run in the other direction.  BYE!

Just love the colour

Inscription at the top of the Gateway.

How to Spend 48 Hours in Mumbai

Mumbai is not really what I would describe as a ‘holiday’ destination where people stick around for very long.  48 hours is usually just enough time to get a taste of the city before moving on to the tourist trail of the Golden Triangle, ‘God’s Own Country’ Kerala, beachy Goa or the crisp, fresh air of the Himalayas.  If you are stopping off in Mumbai before a 'grand tour', or if indeed you live here as I do and are entertaining guests in the city for a couple of days, the following is a compact guide on what to do and where to go.

 

I will show you how to see the beautiful and not so beautiful sights of the city, where to go for an introduction to Indian street food and where to go shopping for good souvenirs. My guide assumes that you have access to a car and driver.  If you don't have your own driver, it is possible to hire one quite cheaply and will mean you can pack an awful lot more in than if you got the train or bus.  (I am also not ‘at one’ with the Mumbai public transport system!) It also assumes that you will do a bit of pre-planning with a street map.

 

(This is all tried and tested by BombayJules by the way!)

 

Day 1

 

I will usually try and make an early start before commuter traffic peaks at 10am, aiming to get to Banganga Tank at the bottom of Malabar Hill by 9am.  Banganga tank is the oldest and most sacred Hindu site in the city where Lord Rama is said to have brought forth water from the Ganges by firing an arrow into the ground.  It is a place of rare serenity and there are usually photogenic pilgrims and worshippers to be seen ‘purifying’ themselves in the waters.   You might even see some of the many ducks that reside there floating around.  Surrounding the tank are a few Hindu and Jain temples – take your pick at which one to look at, remembering to take off you shoes before you go in.  Hop back in the car and take the five minute drive to The Hanging Gardens of Malabar Hill from which you can get your friends to line up at the in front of the wonderful view of Marine Drive.  Passing back via the giant boot (if you’ve got kids, let them go up to the top) and crossing the road, you will enter Kamala Nehru Park with its perfectly manicured hedges and topiary animals, green benches and colourful flowerbeds.  This is a rare haven in Mumbai – verdant, well kempt and rubbish free.

 

By now you are probably feeling a little peckish - so get back in your car and drive past the almost completely hidden Towers of Silence - you can just get a glimpse through the trees on your left.  The Towers of Silence are where the Parsis (Zoroastrians) place their dead. I suggest you look up the reason for this on Wikipedia so you can amaze yourself/your friends with the information! Keep going straight until you are back on Babhulnath Marg.  If you want to, hop out here and take a look at Babhulnath Temple (another one of the city’s holiest Hindu sites) – the steps leading up to it are lined with traditional Gujarati houses for temple workers.  Having done that, get your driver to park up whilst you cross back over the main road for a nice, reasonably priced lunch at Soam.  Soam is my favourite place in Mumbai to experience street food in a safe, clean and quality environment.  If you’re new to Bombay street food yourself, get the friendly restaurant owner to show you and your guests how to eat Pani Puri. You should also try to sample the amazing masala dosas, sev puri, and farsans.  Yum.

 

After lunch, you are now ready for a quick/optional diversion to nearby Anokhi off Hughes Road – especially if there are women in the group, (well women like me that can’t resist a quick shop!)  At Anokhi, you will find irresistible hand block printed items from Jaipur, all at very agreeable prices.  Cotton tops, long skirts, fabulous table cloths and printed notebooks. 

 

Now, get your driver to drop you at the start of Marine Drive so that you can take a 20 minute stroll along Girgaum Chowpatty.  Chowpatty means ‘beach’ in Marathi.  If you go right down to the sea, you will unfortunately witness the rubbish that is so prevalent in and around Mumbai.  But don’t worry, you'll soon get used to it!  Oh, and I don’t need to tell you not to go anywhere near the water. 

 

Next, pick up your car again and come away from the beach by heading east - asking your driver to go towards Crawford Market.  Get out here and go through the front entrance where you will be immediately greeted by the hustle, bustle, sights, sounds and smells of Mumbai’s most famous shopping bazaar.  Try not to veer into the caged animal section where birds, cats and dogs are for sale, Kept in small cages without visible evidence of water, it can be very upsetting to see.  After mooching around for a bit in the market you will find that it’s almost time for a cup of tea.    Get back in the car and head down DN Road so that Victoria Terminus (Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in new money) is on your left hand side.  No need to get out of the car, just enjoy the ‘Victorian Italianate Gothic Revival’ architecture of Mumbai’s main transport hub, built in 1808.  There is plenty of similar Raj-era architecture to admire in the vicinity, such as the Bombay High Court and the University of Mumbai and The Prince of Wales Museum.  Carry on going straight towards the sea, getting off at the next stop – The Gateway of India. 

 

Get out here and proceed through the (defunct) security gate. Take a few photos with your clan in front of the Gate, have a look out to sea, do your best to avoid the photo-touts and giant balloon sellers (I still haven’t fathomed why on earth one would need a balloon the size of a small car) then turn around, go back and cross the road.  You will now be right in front of the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel on Apollo Bunder.   Admire the grandeur of the building, pass through the lobby and go up to the SeaLounge on the first floor.  Here you must sample a very expensive cup of the divine Silver Grove White Tips Darjeeling tea whilst looking out to sea - as smooth as a silk sari.  Whilst chatting, you can think about the 2008 Terrorist Attack centred around the hotel where 200 hostages were rescued but 31 guests were unfortunately killed.

 

Get collected again and go around the back left hand corner of the Taj Palace Hotel and find the small Good Earth Shop on BEST Marg.  Delight in the Indian themed cushion covers and crockery etc...but beware of the western prices. 

 

After the thrill of Good Earth, you’ll need to come back down with a cocktail.  Drive back to Marine Drive and find the Intercontinental Hotel about a third of the way up on the right hand side.  Clear security and take the lift up to the magnificent (and trendy) DomeBar on the top floor.  I actually like to ask for a white wine spritzer (you have to explain to the waiter - white wine with soda with ice) which is a perfectly refreshing accompaniment to what I consider to be one of the best views in Mumbai.  You can while away a few hours watching the stunning sunset and chatting before going to a restaurant of your choice to sample some more Indian food – or perhaps just stay at the in-house restaurant Kebab Corner where you’ll find some of the tenderest Chicken Malai to be had in the city.

So that’s the end of Day 1.

Day 2

 

And now for something a bit different.  Do you think I am going to show you the street markets of Mumbai (Colaba, Fashion Street, Linking Road etc) or an art gallery or museum? Wrong!  Day 2 of my itinerary is an optional alternative to the usual tourist trail.

 

Today starts in the “Queen of Suburbs” - Bandra - at 10am.  If you are coming from South Mumbai, come via the Sealink – the city’s best and most scenic feat of engineering.  Find your way to Carter Road (starting at Otter’s Club), hop out of the car and walk along the sea promenade. Get some of that sea air into your lungs!  After 20 minutes or so, drive back towards Pali Market, going up and down some of the streets in order to admire the Art Deco bungalows of a bygone era. Some are decrepit, but some have been restored to stunning effect.

 

Heading back in the direction of Carter Road along Hill Road, find Ben Hur Chemist opposite pretty St Andrew’s Church.  Get out of the car here and walk down Waroda Road which is off at an angle just before the chemist’s.  Waroda Road and its offshoot Chapel Road, are part of Ranwar Village - a charming bohemian enclave, with colonial bungalows, narrow streets and artistically graffitied walls.  Ranwar (now favoured by French hipsters) is one of the original 24 pakhadis (hamlets) that made up Bandra since the earliest documented history in early 1700s, and has managed to retain its village character even as present-day development has hemmed it in on all sides.  The street art is fun to look at – some of it is slightly naïve, some of it highly artistic. 

 

Get your driver to pick you all up again from Hill Road and then drive 30 minutes (max) to Matunga, south of Mahim (and not via the Sealink). You will probably go past Dadar Flower Market on the way.  Matunga is famous for its South Indian restaurants, very much favoured by the local vegetarian Gujurati community.  Head for the most famous of these restaurants - Café Madras (Bhaudaji Road, Kings Circle) for brunch.  At weekends it can get very busy and you may have to queue.  Café Madras is an excellent place to sample a traditional Indian breakfast – food items such as idlis, dosas, wadas and rassam.  Perhaps stay away from the coconut chutney accompaniments in case of fragile stomachs!  But it should all be perfectly safe.

 

After your brunch/lunch, you can browse some of the pavement bookstalls or take a look around the local vegetable market to give your guests a true flavour of local life. If you want, take a peek at the King’s Circle nearby, another rare area of greenery.

 

You then need to get yourselves to Mahim station by 2.30pm where you will meet one of the tour guides of Reality Gives Tours & Travel (www.realitytoursandtravel.com).  You are going on a tour of Dharavi which you have prearranged. It is hard to ignore the shanty towns of Mumbai so why not educate yourself and your companions about the amazing enterprise that goes on in Asia’s biggest and most profitable slum?  It’s not half as scary as you might think and the tour seeks to break down negative or misinformed attitudes towards less developed communities. You will be led around a pre-organised route where you are encouraged not to gawp and you will come out with a completely different view of the ‘Heart of Mumbai’.  No photos are allowed and you will have to try and be subtle about unfavourable smells.  I have taken several people on this tour and they have all appreciated the experience and been enlightened by it. The cost is only 600 Rs per person or 3,000 Rs for a private tour for up to five persons. 80% of profits made by Reality Gives are ploughed back into the community.

 

Two and half hours later, the Reality Tours tour guide will speak to your driver and tell him to collect you from their office on the other side of Dharavi - where you can also by some mementos of the tour.  Now you can relax!  Gather yourselves up, get in the car and drive to Phoenix Mills shopping mall in Lower Parel (around 30 minutes depending on traffic).  This is partly to show the immediate contrasts between rich and poor and partly for them to pick up some more souvenirs.  Plus it’s nice and cool in there.

 

Admire the Gucci, Burberry and Jimmy Choo outlets in Palladium and then go down to the ubiquitous FabIndia and Bombay Stores where you can pick up some more quality souvenirs.  For dinner, there is a multitude of safe bets here – I would particularly recommend Rajdhani for an excellent and never-ending Gujurati thali experience (if you are sticking with Indian food) or Serafina, the Italian Pizzeria if you want a change of scenery.

Your BombayJules tour is now finished!
 

 

Left to right, top to bottom

1. Banganga tank 2. Topiary of Kamala Nehru Park 3. Anokhi prints 4. Pani Puri at Soam 5. Bustling Crawford Market 6. Gateway of India 7. Dome Bar 8. Colonial bungalow of Bandra 9. Graffiti of Waroda Road 10. Matunga Vegetable Market 11. Dharavi 12. Phoenix Mills Mall.

Boat Ride to Elephanta Island

Elephanta Island is located about seven miles out to sea from the Gateway of India, right in the middle of Mumbai harbour.  It is one of Mumbai's main historical and tourist attractions but Mr Jules and I only just got around to visiting it yesterday.  This was partly because we had been waiting for the climate to cool down a bit - the temperature in Mumbai is just sooooo nice at the moment!

 



Pulling away from the pier - The Gateway of India and the Taj Palace Hotel in the distance.

 

We paid our 150 Rs each for a deluxe ticket (which is not much more than a regular ticket costing 120 Rs) and found our boat at pier 4 behind the Gateway monument itself.  When we got there, the vessel was already almost full, so we paid another 10 rupees each to go up on to the top deck (they never miss a trick eh?). From what I can tell 'deluxe' means you are assured a seat on one of these double-decker boats instead of cramming on to the floor or standing on one of the single-decker boats.  From afar this looked a bit more fun to me, perhaps we should have tried it.  Oh, and there is also a chap that comes around selling crisps and cold drinks in deluxe class.

 



'Economy' boat



After a pleasant one hour journey on calm seas and sailing past the huge oil tankers that stop to offload at the oil refineries on Butcher Island, we arrived at the end of the Elephant Island pier.  From there, we opted to take the toy train to near the foot of the hills, and then we walked up the market stall-lined incline to the caves.  There was also the option of being carried in a sedan chair for the final kilometre but there was no way I could have inflicted my weight on those skinny sedan chair carriers!

 



Four men to take this little girl up to the top.  Glad I didn't ask them for a lift!



 

There did in fact used to be an elephant on Elephanta Island...but only a stone one.  Previously, the island was known as Gharapuri (fortress of the Shaivite priests) but Portugese explorers renamed the Island after discovering a massive stone elephant on the shore.  Unlike most of the "unheathen" stone statues on Elephanta, which were used for target practice by the Portuguese, this stone elephant managed to survive until 1814, when it finally succumbed to erosion.  It was later rescued by British archaeologists (yaaay!) who reassembled the pieces next to the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Byculla.

 



The ex-Elephanta Island Elephant now in Byculla (picture courtesy of Anuracha Shankar)



After paying the various entry fees, we spent a couple of hours having a look at the carvings and stupas, strolling around the caves, taking a cup of chai and enjoying the views from the various vantage points. 

 

The main temple at Elephanta is an impressive complex of shrines, caverns, open courtyards and prayer halls created by the Maurya civilisation in the 6th century. Further up the hill from the main temple are another three smaller caves with unfinished or defaced carvings.  Actually, Mr Jules and I were both of the view that the Buddhist caves at Kanheri in Sanjay National Park were not only more plentiful and varied, but also  more entertaining to look at than these caves (due to the defacing of many of the Shivaite figures at Elephanta by those naughty Portuguese).  However, you can tell that these sculptures must have been, at one time, absolutely stunning.  And I loved the cute little Ganesha carvings at the top of many of the columns.

 



A selection of images including ones showing several entrances to the caves.  Bottom left is a cute, if somewhat defaced Ganesha carving at the top of one of the columns.



Apparently if you hike up the hill just before the main entrance to the complex, you will find several unadorned cave temples hidden away in the forest.  However, we didn't take the walk as the boat ride back to get lunch at the newly opened Pizza Express in Colaba was beckoning!

 

Here are the photos from Elephanta:

 

The centrepiece of the temple and as tall as a double-decker bus is the statue of Mahesh Murti,depicting Shiva as creator, preserver and destroyer of the universe.  The statue has three faces: in the middle is Shiva the Creator with a look of serene contemplation, to the right is Vamdeo - the feminine preserving incarnation of Shiva and to the left, is the severe looking Rudra - the destroyer of the universe. Scary!

 

Shake those hips! This is Gangadhara Shiva - or Shiva carrying the River Ganges. I thought this was actually another one of the sculptures (not photographed) called Nataraja - The King of the Dances..looks more apt!

 

 



Kalayansundar Murti - depicting the marriage of Shiva to Parvati

 

A colourful line of sedan chairs





A couple of slightly ironic Maharashtra Tourism signs



 

This annoys us...but nothing you can do about it



The toy train which takes you to the end of the very long pier and a bit further

 

Yoga Monkey.
Looks so sad :(

We got to the Gateway of India at 10am and were back in Colaba by 3pm, making it a nice half day out if you are on a schedule.  If you are going to visit on a weekend, as we did, it is advisable to get on a boat as early as possible  as it gets very crowded on the Island. The first boat is at 9am.  The first boat back from Elephanta is at noon and the last one 5pm.  It is currently 150 Rs return for deluxe or 120 Rs economy.  Expect to pay another 10 Rs each to enter the village (panchayat), 10 Rs each return for the train - which is a bit of fun if you've got kids - and a further 250 Rs each entry into the cave complex (10 Rs for Indian Nationals).



See : Gateway of India

So here's for my first 'touristy' bit. Actually, can I say that I wouldn't describe Mumbai as a tourist destination in itself, but more as a good starting point for travelling to other parts of India.  Perhaps then the 'Gateway to India' is an appropriate place to start my bloggy tour of Mumbai and India.

Having been to Mumbai twice already, this was my first visit to this outstanding monument (too busy shopping before, you know me!).  But it is very near Le Pain Quotidien were I had a solitary lunch, so there was no excuse really. The Gateway is a great Archway overlooking the Arabian Sea with halls either side capable of seating 600 at important receptions (and probably the odd Hindu wedding).

From what I could see today, the Gateway attracts mostly Indian families, couples and youngsters on day visits, I saw only a smattering of Western faces. There were also lots of urchins, offering to take your photo in front of the monument in exchange for a few rupees (you've seen that bit in 'Slumdog Millionaire'?), although a trio of schoolgirls came up to me and asked me to take their picture - as they knew this way, their cameraphone wouldn't get nicked!

The Gateway to India is also in front of the other great Bombay attraction, the Taj Mahal Hotel(so horribly damaged by the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks where several guests and staff were taken hostage and killed). As you can see from the pictures of the Mumbai Police cordens and signs, security is very tight and the terrorist threat still seems to be fresh in peoples' minds. 

I have yet to go inside this most famous of hotels but apparently it is great for a (posh) bite to eat or drink, and is very popular with the young rich of Mumbai - of which there are plenty.

Just what you need on a hot day...a balloon

Mumbai Police...Sponsored by Famous Travel Operator!

A reminder of the threat of terrorism (aimed at English Speaking people only)

Random tree providing welcome shade

Find an abridged history of the Gateway of India on Wikipedia here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_of_India

Postscript dated 5th January 2013.

Please see my blog on Elephanta Island - catch a boat there from behind the Gateway of India!

Postscript dated 31st January 2013.

Please see my blog on Spending 48 Hours in Mumbai - what to see, where to go and what to eat.