Mumbai in the Rain

Monsoon was in full effect when we visited Mumbai (nee Bombay). Located on the middle-West coast of India, it got more rain this season than any other city we visited.

After an unnecessarily grueling ordeal with our hotel (the drawback to traveling during the low-tourist-season is that all the hotels are doing renovations), we took in a night-tour of Mumbai. It was nice to be in a city that didn't roll up its sidewalks at 8pm for once. The throngs of people out at the night markets, on the railway system, and along Marine drive were impressive. And some of the architecture left-over from the British Raj was stunning. As with other parts of India, Mumbai is full of contradictions. It has the largest slum in Asia (which we drove past - it stretches for miles) and some of the nicest hotels in the country. We treated ourselves to a late dinner at the luxurious Taj hotel. And K couldn't resist having a Sapphire martini while sitting in Bombay.

The next day, we set off for more archeology at the Elephanta Caves. Our ferry broke down before we left the harbor and, despite my almost coming to blows with the captain, we eventually set off on the one-hour journey in the same [repaired] vessel. Fortunately, the only other nautical incident was K's bout with seasickness on the way back.

The caves were fascinating. Carved out of the cliffs of a lush green island (that D claims looks like the Lost island), they are huge. And even though many of the statues have been damaged, the sense of grandeur survives. Our guide gave us some interesting history about the place, too.

Up next: Jaipur.