Day 114 Saturday 4/7/2018 Mumbai (Bombay), India

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Victoria Terminus) Railway Station

Street vendors

Day 114  Saturday 4/7/2018  Mumbai (Bombay), India 8:00-11:00PM

Mumbai is a major cultural capital of India that is spread over seven islands  The islands were home to fishing villages.   The coastal region was transformed by the Portuguese in the mid-1500’s.  It was ceded to the British East India Country about 100 years later.   It was known as Bombay until 1995.  It is home to some of India’s most beloved landmarks.    Mahatma Gandi was headquartered in Mumbai.  

David Sasson Library and Reading Room.  His bust is over the door.  

Gateway of India The impressive Gateway of India was built in 1911 to honor the arrival of King George V and Queen Mary. 

 Included Tour  9:00-12:00  3 hours  Mumbai at a Glance  - The Highlights of Bombay of Old.   Mumbai is one of India’s grandest coastal capitals with architectural and cultural treasures.  Traveled along Marine Drive to admire art deco architecture.  Visited the Hanging Gardens and Kamala Nehru Park for views of the city. Drove past the Parsi Towers of Silence to Dhobi Ghat, where locals still wash their laundry.  This was amazing.  There were clothes drying everywhere.  The men washed the clothing in concrete tubs in the ground.  They also beat the clothes to get them clean.  Visited Mani Bhavan, the residence of Mahatma Gandhi, Father of the Nation.  It is a fascinating museum.  Drove through the business districts of South Mumbai.  Passed monuments built by British Raj: the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Victoria Terminus) railway station, Mumbai University, the High Court and the Prince of Wales Museum.  Photo stop at the Gateway to India, built for the 1911 visit of King George V and Queen Mary.  My guide spent most of her time talking about falling, going to the hospital and how she could not sit without a pillow and how surprised her friends were that she was leading a tour today.  She should not have been leading a tour.    We did not walk at all in the Hanging Gardens, she told us there was nothing to see.  She also said she needed to stay out of the sun.  Other tours walked around and enjoyed the sculpted shrubs as their guide shared information.  

Harbor upon our arrival in Mumbai, India

Taj Mahal Palace Hotel

Vendors on the sidewalk.

We saw many nice old buildings and new buildings and some old delapidated buildings.  Mumbai did not have as much garbage as the other Indian cities we have visited or I was just exposed to the "better" parts of town.  

Mahatma Gandhi

Visited Mani Bhavan, the Mumbai residence of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi.  This room is where he slept and practiced spinning.  There were other spinning wheels on the wall opposite his bed.  

Dhobi Ghat  There are rows of open-air concrete wash pens in the upper left-hand corner of the picture, each fitted with its own flogging stone. Called the world's largest outdoor laundry, over 7000 workers spend 12 to 18 hours each day doing laundry.

The word Dhobi Ghat is used all over India to refer to any place where many washers are present.  The poor and lower middle class that do not have access to water use this facility.  

Dhobi Ghat, these pictures do not show the size of this facility.  It was unbelievable.

This man is cleaning up after working doing other people's laundry.

Dhobi Ghat Laundry.   There were clothes drying everywhere.  The men washed the clothing in concrete tubs in the ground.  They also beat the clothes to get them clean.  Our guide said when her children were small, she used the laundry.  The children's clothing often came back with broken buttons because of the intense cleaning.  

Dhobi Ghat, after the laundry is washed and hung to dry, it is ironed and delivered.

Sidewalks of Mumbai

Dhobi Ghat scrubbing tubs

Marine Drive in Mumbai.

FACEBOOK PasteMumbai India, formerly known as Bombay. This was the cleanest city we visited in India. We saw a lot on our tour around town; Gateway to India, art deco architecture on Marine Drive along the ocean, Hanging Gardens, Kamala Nehru Park, Parsi Towers of Silence, Mani Bhavan - the residence of Mahatma Gandhi, the Business Districts, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus/Railway Station, Mumbai University, High Court, and Prince of Wales Museum. Given all that, I chose to share Dhobi Ghat - the open-air laundry as I have never seen anything like it. Called the world's largest outdoor laundry, workers spend 12 to 18 hours each day doing laundry. There are rows of open-air concrete wash pens each fitted with its own flogging stone. If you look in the lower center of the photo, you will see the wash pens. Men washed and beat the clothes to get them clean. Our guide said when her children were small, she used the laundry. The children's clothing often came back with broken buttons because of the intense cleaning. After hanging the clothes to dry, they are ironed and folded. Workers pick up dirty laundry and deliver clean laundry all over the city. The poor and lower middle classes that do not have access to water use this facility. The word Dhobi Ghat is used all over India to refer to any place where many washers are present.