What a day of contrasts! Side note: more people today said they call the city Mumbai (but nobody said it was really important whether others said Bombay). We got up at 9 only because we had agreed that our local arrangements manager could call us then - and when he did, he said the hotel [complimentary] breakfast stopped serving at 10. (I think I could have slept soundly another 4 hours.) By the time we finished sampling the buffet's tremendous array of edible opportunities, at least half totally unfamiliar, and organized to set out for a brief exploration of the Gate of India area before our 2 pm scheduled tour, it was almost noon.
Then, a magical moment. I stopped at Reception to ask about the very wide painting behind them. They immediately motioned over a young man with the good looks and quick wit of the lead in Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. In addition to natural charm, he seemed to have an encyclopedia memory; he had a wonderfully understandable British-accented English, a remarkably broad education, a delightful title, and a passion for sharing the experience that is India. We never left the hotel for the next two hours as he led us and two others on an art tour of the property. It became clear today my one big regret would be that there would be no way to come back for his 5 pm History tour.
Not expecting to be willing captives for so long, we pulled ourselves away after 2:20, with a cup of tea and two chocolate chip cookies each for lunch, to find our Realities Tour guide for the afternoon. Again, an unexpected bonus: a second guide - in training - who knew even more than the first about some of our objects of curiosity. Due to assorted confusion (we hadn't followed directions to be in our room at 2 to receive the guide's phone call), we didn't get underway until c. 2:45; we were with them until 7. We stopped to see an immense outdoor laundry, drove through the red light district, toured the largest, most famous slum in the area (home to a million people), and experienced the famous congestion of Mumbai streets - from the comfortable interior of a car driven by a 23-year-old with the perfect temperament for the assignment. Back at our comfortable home, it was time for a good shower and quick turnaround for dinner at a restaurant trip advisor.com identified as #1 in the city.
I've done a definite change of attitude from frustration that we had to fly into Mumbai instead of our original plan, Delhi, and annoyance that we had to lengthen the trip because of that, to disappointment that we aren't able to spend at least one more day here! I would recommend a visit here to anyone, and with exactly the itinerary we had today, though with an extra day for sleep, first!
On to a few details and some illustrations. I'm writing this at 6 a.m., after two attempts to sleep. I keep waking up, worrying that I will forget special details, that I can't find the card of two of those most important men in my day, etc. I don't want to wait 'til I have time to marshal all the details I want to share. This is a challenge. Do I hope every day is less stimulating than this? Well, no. But....
I think today I'll try adding illustrations and expanding on captions, and see if that does a good-enough job in sharing the highlights.
The iPhone does a nice job of panoramas; you just have to straighten out the image in your mind. This is the view from our room, probably one of the less expensive ones in the hotel. (A happy part of having a package put together to our specifications is that we don't have to know the price of any one element!) On the 16th floor, we have a "city view." It's hard to see here, since there is a screen on the inaccessible patio just outside the window. But you get the idea; bay to the west is at the right.
The hotel's impressive diverse breakfast buffet is included with the room. The space was full at 10 a.m. with a broad array of international visitors, from handsome sheiks from Kuwait to Indian families to westerners. The staff bustled, refilling presentation plates and taking care of diners. I avoided familiar items and instead found a few new Indian favorites, and some perfect grilled vegetables (as well, of course, as some inedibly spicy Indian dishes).
This is part of the painting that led me to ask about it, that led us to this handsome young man whose title I will find out and edit back in.
He explained his role in wonderfully eloquent ways that I'm sad I can't quote. I'd like to have taped the entire time with him. Something like turning guests into family members. He was about to begin a regularly-scheduled noon art tour. I hope to find time later to report more. Our visit began with his presenting us with a coffee table-type catalog on the Tatas' art collection (and had it delivered to our room so we wouldn't lose tour time). I hope many of the pieces we proceeded to see are in there, as the story is impressive. They have fairly filled the original part of the hotel with work by Indian artists.
We joined another twosome for the tour, a young woman in finance from Tokyo and a "mature" experienced guide from this city. If you plan to come here for a visit, be sure to call and sign her up!
Have I already written that the original hotel was completed in 1903, and our tower wing added in 1973? The old wing was the target of the attack in 2009. One of the many losses, we came to realize, was the art that was here. But more has been installed, and some was able to be saved.
We headed toward the new wing along this route, past the pool and garden:
We paused for presentation of garlands of tuberose jasmine blossoms from these lovely young women:
The treasures included a number of modern works, many museum quality, he reported. Some were easy to admire, some fascinating, all impressive. Here's one painted on palm leaves!
He invited us to stay for lunch but we were already late in connecting up with our afternoon tour guide. On our way to the lobby we passed this sign:
Then, a magical moment. I stopped at Reception to ask about the very wide painting behind them. They immediately motioned over a young man with the good looks and quick wit of the lead in Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. In addition to natural charm, he seemed to have an encyclopedia memory; he had a wonderfully understandable British-accented English, a remarkably broad education, a delightful title, and a passion for sharing the experience that is India. We never left the hotel for the next two hours as he led us and two others on an art tour of the property. It became clear today my one big regret would be that there would be no way to come back for his 5 pm History tour.
Not expecting to be willing captives for so long, we pulled ourselves away after 2:20, with a cup of tea and two chocolate chip cookies each for lunch, to find our Realities Tour guide for the afternoon. Again, an unexpected bonus: a second guide - in training - who knew even more than the first about some of our objects of curiosity. Due to assorted confusion (we hadn't followed directions to be in our room at 2 to receive the guide's phone call), we didn't get underway until c. 2:45; we were with them until 7. We stopped to see an immense outdoor laundry, drove through the red light district, toured the largest, most famous slum in the area (home to a million people), and experienced the famous congestion of Mumbai streets - from the comfortable interior of a car driven by a 23-year-old with the perfect temperament for the assignment. Back at our comfortable home, it was time for a good shower and quick turnaround for dinner at a restaurant trip advisor.com identified as #1 in the city.
I've done a definite change of attitude from frustration that we had to fly into Mumbai instead of our original plan, Delhi, and annoyance that we had to lengthen the trip because of that, to disappointment that we aren't able to spend at least one more day here! I would recommend a visit here to anyone, and with exactly the itinerary we had today, though with an extra day for sleep, first!
On to a few details and some illustrations. I'm writing this at 6 a.m., after two attempts to sleep. I keep waking up, worrying that I will forget special details, that I can't find the card of two of those most important men in my day, etc. I don't want to wait 'til I have time to marshal all the details I want to share. This is a challenge. Do I hope every day is less stimulating than this? Well, no. But....
I think today I'll try adding illustrations and expanding on captions, and see if that does a good-enough job in sharing the highlights.
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| Panoramic shot of view from our room |
The room was a mess, so before going down for breakfast I put out the red cord. Isn't this a great "system" in a multi-lingual hotel?!
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| Small portion of breakfast buffet |
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| My first-round samplings |
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| 1/3 of painting behind Reception |
We joined another twosome for the tour, a young woman in finance from Tokyo and a "mature" experienced guide from this city. If you plan to come here for a visit, be sure to call and sign her up!
We headed toward the new wing along this route, past the pool and garden:
We paused for presentation of garlands of tuberose jasmine blossoms from these lovely young women:
Here's a view looking up from the center stair hall in the old wing:
The treasures included a number of modern works, many museum quality, he reported. Some were easy to admire, some fascinating, all impressive. Here's one painted on palm leaves!
The Tatas are great supporters of tribal arts, and one of my favorite pieces was this iron gate:
The last stop on the tour was this lovely spot. My pictures can only begin to do justice to what we are seeing here. The textures, the complementary shades of green, the golden embellishments on the velvet....I kept catching my breath.
He invited us to stay for lunch but we were already late in connecting up with our afternoon tour guide. On our way to the lobby we passed this sign:
I requested the afternoon tour in our itinerary after reading Behind the Beautiful Forevers and then finding rave reviews on Tripadvisor.com and in Frommer's guide. Reality Tours helps visitors to "See the Real India with a company that puts money right back into the sum communities." We are an ethical Mumbai-abased travel company that are well known for our guided tours of Dharavi - one of Asia's biggest slums. We are a genuine social business that supports the Dharavi community by sharing our profits with our sister NGO Reality Gives. We had the good fortune to have not only a knowledgeable, experienced, personable 22-year-old guide, but also a 21-year-old "in training" who seemed to know just as much. We set off on a fascinating 4-hour time together. We were especially grateful for our 23-year-old driver (who looked 17) who must be the only driver in India who doesn't use his horn. This was the best way to experience the awesome congestion and extraordinary variety of people and "vehicles" sharing the road. One example:
Everything we had read about traffic was true...and hard to capture with a camera. The ride to Dharavi took an hour, with the route including a drive through the red-light district. I already knew I was not to take pictures of most of what we saw. You can imagine how difficult that was! Our guides had hundreds of interesting facts to share with us. I hope to include more when I do my photo books, on a more leisurely schedule. Our first stop was at the unimaginable laundry. Be sure to double-click to see this bigger.
Back to the traffic: this was a favorite truck sign:
We must have walked for two hours through the slums, through areas where they were recycling metal and plastic, through Hindu areas and Muslim ones (where everyone seemed to have a goat), through busy shopping avenues and 24"-wide lanes with open draining and iffy footing. The company is renting a "house" to show visitors what a typical home looks like. There, at last, I could take a few pictures. Kenneth wanted me to be sure to get the cooking area. Water is available 2-3 hours a day, thus the big blue drum for storage. Electricity is always available, so a typical family would have a 2-burner unit on this counter. Mats would be rolled out for sleeping. There was a raised space in one corner for washing, with a drain pipe to the "drain" below/next to the "sidewalk." There are 700 public toilets - just toilets - for Dharavi. So many use train stations, a community center, exterior walls, etc.
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| Dharavi kitchen area |
In our long walk we could see into many other homes, some with tile floors and more space, to be sure.
Back at the hotel, we had to do a quick shower and change and get on our way to dinner at the Konkan Cafe, a #1 choice on tripadvisor. It specializes in local seafood, and I figured we wouldn't have that chance as we go north. A wonderful man chose several dishes for us, including this favorite, Prawns Koncan. The handsome space re-creates a house in the area south of the city, and sturdy wooden kitchen vessels decorate the walls. Every dish presented had a banana leaf first, then the food.
Before we were done I had mentioned Kenneth's birthday, and they surprised him with a cake AND song. What a day! Sorry to be so hasty and relatively brief?! with this report!
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