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Day 15 - Back Home

It took us 25 hours from the time we left the Taj Hotel in Mumbai to the time we walked in our house. It was exhausting.

I am glad to be home yet sad that we had to leave India. I would go back to see Varanasi again, and really want to visit the Himalayas and Kerala (which I've learned is pronounced KER-ah-lah ohh and I've also learned that Pune is pronounced poo-nay and not poon hehe).

Top five things I loved about India:

1. There is so much color in the women's clothing regardless of their caste or economic status. We never saw the same sari twice. It was incredible.
2. The people we've met have been warm and welcoming. They had a healthy curiosity about us.
3. You can see their culture everywhere (though not so much in westernized Mumbai). Music, clothes, religion, customs.
4. Detailed architecture - if you take the time to look, the architecture is marvelous.
5. The fact that each state in India is so different from each other each other makes all of India a hidden jewel.

Top three things I disliked about India:

1. The poor air quality in the congested cities.
2. The fact that no one uses turn signals when driving and instead uses their horn to signal that they are passing on the right.
3. The nodding of the head from shoulder to shoulder rather than up and down. I still have no idea what that means. Is it a yes or a no?????

Our next big trip will be back to Taiwan in 2011 for their 100 year celebration. There will be lots to see!! I am hopeful that we will see Amy and Sean there also.

Beyond that, I have hopes to visit and photograph the salt flats in Bolivia, the wild birds in Costa Rica, the nomads in Tibet, and the small mountain villages in China.

Hope you enjoyed my India photo blog and that you will stay tuned to my blog for future trips. :)

Oh yeah. I will also be posting up links to videos of India within the next few day so you get and idea of how incredible it really is. :)

Day 14 - Our Last Day in Mumbai

We started out the day with plans to take a boat ride over to Elephanta Island to see the caves.  While at the Gateway of India, a man approached us for a city tour in an air conditioned car with driver.  Hmm..sounded good considering how hot it was outside again.

Tour man:  We can show you all around the city.
Amy:  How much.
Tour man:  950 rupees each.
Amy:  Oh please.  We'll pay you 1500 rupees and you take all three of us.
Tour man:  Oh no, no.  For 950 rupees each, you don't  have to pay for anything.  We pay for parking and there is AC in the car.  Come, I show you the car.
Amy:  I don't need to see the car and what parking charge?  You park along the street. 
Tour man:  You don't have to pay me now.  Let's make it 2200 rupees.  We show you all around Mumbai including the outdoor laundry and where Ghandi lived.
Amy:  Listen, I live in India - if we like it, we'll tip good.  We'll pay you 1500 rupees and that's it.
Tour man:  Ok, ok.  How about 2000?
(we gather to discuss)
Amy:  Ok.  We'll go for 2000 rupees

Sure beats 2850 rupees.

Score again for Amy Lee.

Here are some pictures from our tour.  Photos include Nariman Point, Jain Temple, Outdoor Laundry and some slums of Mumbai:

          

Amy putting on a Tikka.  :) 

   

Day 13 - Amy Lee arrives in Mumbai :)

Amy Lee arrived today in Mumbai and met us at the Taj Palace at around 12:30pm.  We decided to head to Indigo for lunch (it was very yummy) and then we showed Amy Colaba Causeway, the shopping district.

The art of haggling.  You either have it or you don't.  This poor Indian man had no idea what was in store for him when Amy walked up to peruse his assortment of headbands. 

Amy:  How much?
Salesman:  40 rupees each
Amy:  I'll give you 20.
Salesman:  No....40.
Amy:  20
Saleman:  No, no.
Amy:  Ok, 4 for 100 rupees
Salesman:  No...cannot do.
Amy:  Ok.  Bye.  (and walks away)
Salesman:  Miss!  Miss!  Ok, ok.  Four for 100 rupees.

Score 1 Amy Lee.

And she's off..............

Look at the little baby fire hydrant!!  HAHA!!

We had dinner at Khyber which is supposed to be a pretty hot restaurant in town.  Amy was not very happy that we were seated at a 3 seat table and she had to sit next to a pole HAHAHA!!!

I'm glad that we visited Mumbai on the  last leg of our tour.  Mumbai, compared to Varanasi and Hyderbad is a place where we can relax.  There are restaurants galore that we can WALK to.   There are sidewalks.  There are little cafes all over.  There are stores with air conditioning!!  That's HUGE!  Despite hearing all the warnings of "horrible traffic" in Mumbai, it was actually tame compared to the other cities.  It reminded me a little of Manhattan traffic at rush hour.

Day 12 - First Full Day in Mumbai

We are trapped in our hotel room at the Taj Palace due to the smoggy-ness of the air outside.  Can't stop coughing.  Below is the view from our balconey taken with our iPhone.

After lunch, Kevin and I took a stroll down Colaba Causeway, the shopping center of Southern Mumbai.  I find Mumbai to be fairly civilized and urban compared to Varanasi.  They actually have sidewalks here!!!  The humidity here is almost unbearable.  That combined with the exhaust from the cars makes it difficult to breathe - at least my allergies from the Varanasi dust is gone. :)

We've been in Mumbai about a day now and we've gotten ourselves on TV. HAHA!!  There was a news crew out by the Gateway of India and they asked me what I thought about India giving out ID cards to foreign visitors staying in India more than six months.  It would include iris scans, fingerprinting etc.   

Our room at the Taj Mahal Palace is SO COMFY.  It almost...almost makes up for the hostel room in Varanasi.

After we came back from shopping we found this basket on the bed.  It cracked me up.  It was my laundry.  Look at how nicely packaged it is!!

This is similar to the cab we rode in from the airport last nite, except this cab is bigger than what Kevin and I got.

Ahh...buffet lunch at the Taj.  A big thanks to Maria and Jorge for the Brooklyn Brewery t-shirts.  They made it all around India!!!

The pay phones in Mumbai look like home phones.

Here are some additional street scenes from Mumbai.

Day 11 - Leaving for Mumbai Today

I got up at 5:30 am today to watch my final sunrise from my room. Varanasi is peaceful at this time. There are no boat touts, wanna be religious freaks who want money if you snap their photo, no silk salesmen, no mothers carrying infants looking for handouts, no fighting stray dogs on the ghats, no double decker religious boats blaring their sermons, no chanting over the loudspeakers from the main ghat, no young girls trying to sell me flowers for blessings, no teenage boys pushing local photo postcards written in Hindu, no locals asking me if I am Japanese, no passing by men who relieve themselves out in the open along the river walls, no burning of the recently deceased.

At 5:30 am there is none of that in Varanasi. At 5:30 am there is just me and the wonderful sunrise.

Day 10 - Varanasi - Blessings and Back Alley Portraits

This morning we took another boat ride on the Ganga River and we lit four candles and sent them afloat down the river - a blessing each to those who recently left the earth - our friend Richard, JoJo's mom, Michele's mom, Han's mom. It was a beautiful morning - glowing sun, cool breeze, warm thoughts of our friends.

Below are photos we took on our final walk through the winding back alleyways to get some flavor for the local businesses such as shoe repair, food vendor as well as some portraits in the interesting afternoon light.

The below image was typical in Varanasi - a mother holding an infant looking for a handout.  They would follow me and Kevin at times grabbing at our arms.