Life has been fairly eventful since my last post on Thursday. On Friday, Phil perked up sufficiently to go out and about so we were able to do some more exploring in advance of Phil's work trip this week.
As most people are probably aware, film and cinema is hugely popular in India and nowhere more so than in Mumbai. Mumbai is the home of "Bollywood"; the morning paper (the HT) has a whole section devoted to sightings of its stars; and film seems to something that all parts of Indian society enjoy. We watched a few Hindi films (with subtitles) before coming out here to get a flavour of Indian film and are keen to see lots of what's on offer whilst we are here.
Bandra has several modern multi-plexes, but a quick search revealed that there is an older style cinema very close to my office, so I went for a short walk at lunchtime on Friday to investigate. It looked fine from the outside, if rather dated, with decor in a style from before my time which I recognised from 70s and 80s films....I tried and failed to buy our tickets in advance (I noticed small sign after a while that said that the box office is shut between 1230 and 1530, and that this was not flexible!) but noted that a couple of big hits were starting shortly after we finished work, so Phil and I agreed to meet there at 1800 later that day.
As a aside, I discussed my cinema choice with a couple of people in the office and they couldn't understand why we weren't going to the super-modern places in Bandra instead with reclining seats and where food is served to you at your chair. I explained our desire for authencity and atmosphere which seemed contrary to expectations!
Anyway, we arrived at 1800 and bought our tickets for the princely sum of 65 rupees (~75p) each, made our way past the rather brusk cinema security guard, and found our seats. We choose a popular comedy, Fukrey, one the basis that we might have more chance following the plot (Hindi, no subtitles) than for a complex epic. We enjoyed the film (all rather silly) but did lose the thread of what was happening which seemed to get increasingly bizarre and complicated; though we read reviews afterwards to say that most people couldn't follow what was going on, so it wasn't just us! All in all, it was a fun experience with lots of random goings-on including adverts which were simply wobbly slides held in front of the projector, all standing for the national anthem before the film, generally lots of chatter throughout, and a great atmosphere with lots of people enjoying themselves at the end of the week.
Yesterday was our first free day (no work, no apartment viewing) so we took the opportunity to venture south to the older part of the city and more traditional tourist areas of Mumbai. We travelled by taxi from the hotel over the impressive Bandra-Worli Sealink and arrived at the Crawford Market area 45 mins later. Our taxi driver wanted to take us on a full guided tour and was appalled by the idea that we wanted to walk around to see the city. To be fair, it was hot, but we saw a lot more by getting sweaty and wandering around ourselves than we would have done by staying in a car.
We spent a few hours wondering round a few sites in South Mumbai including Crawford Market, VT (the big railway terminus), the university, the old Fort area, the Prince of Wales museum, the Gateway of India, the (original) Taj Hotel etc. All in all, the key things you might read about in a tourist guide to Mumbai. Some of the architecture is stunning and it was enjoyable to wander around and take it all in, although spending large amounts of time outside can be quite intense. The heat and often the smell of the city can be overwhelming; the main roads are fairly wide and ordered (for India), and the side streets vibrant and bustling. It also struck us how much more we got hassled on the street (looking like white tourists) than in Bandra, where we've had no problems at all. People don't just approach you in the touristy areas, they are very very persistant and will follow you around for a while before giving up and going away!
After a couple of hours, I was in need of an airconditioned environment so we took the opportunity to stop for a drink in the (original) Taj Hotel; the landmark overlooking the Gateway of India. Phil enjoyed a Falooda, a rose flavoured drink popular in India, Pakistan and the Middle East, with vermicelli, jelly bits, milk and icecream. Not my thing but Phil is a fan. Afterwards, we had an obligatory walk past Leopold's Cafe (we both read Shanteram before arriving in Mumbai), mosied round The Bombay Store (lots of nice fabrics and cushions) and attempted to eat in Brittania (a highly rated Parsi restaurant), though went elsewhere in the end as the queue outside Brittania looked to be bigger than the capacity of the restaurant.
After a mid-afternoon Indian food fest (we rather embarrassingly ordered twice as much as we could eat as the portions were extremely big) at a restaurant called Mahesh Lunch Home (was pretty good), we caught a cab back up north (240 rupees for a 45 minute journey) so Phil could pack for his week away with work, and head off to the airport early that evening.
I'm now on my own for a week so likely to be mainly hotel and work based, but am aiming to plan some of our future activities in my free evenings this week. I've been gathering recommendations and we're starting to set aside weekends to visit lots of different places; it feels like the annual peal planning session just with holidays instead!
Our hotel continues to impress and will be getting a glowing review on Trip Advisor when we leave. After Phil left for the airport yesterday, the housekeeper came and ran a bubble bath for me without asking, and the DVD I ordered (from the list of complimentary films available in the room, I went for a cliched choice of Slumdog Millionaire) arrived with a drink and big bowl of popcorn. This led to a relaxing evening following a busy day out in the heat of the city. I'm not sure that this level of service is likely to continue at home when we leave here so I might as well make the most of it whilst it's available!
As most people are probably aware, film and cinema is hugely popular in India and nowhere more so than in Mumbai. Mumbai is the home of "Bollywood"; the morning paper (the HT) has a whole section devoted to sightings of its stars; and film seems to something that all parts of Indian society enjoy. We watched a few Hindi films (with subtitles) before coming out here to get a flavour of Indian film and are keen to see lots of what's on offer whilst we are here.
Bandra has several modern multi-plexes, but a quick search revealed that there is an older style cinema very close to my office, so I went for a short walk at lunchtime on Friday to investigate. It looked fine from the outside, if rather dated, with decor in a style from before my time which I recognised from 70s and 80s films....I tried and failed to buy our tickets in advance (I noticed small sign after a while that said that the box office is shut between 1230 and 1530, and that this was not flexible!) but noted that a couple of big hits were starting shortly after we finished work, so Phil and I agreed to meet there at 1800 later that day.
Mumbai cinema - old style
As a aside, I discussed my cinema choice with a couple of people in the office and they couldn't understand why we weren't going to the super-modern places in Bandra instead with reclining seats and where food is served to you at your chair. I explained our desire for authencity and atmosphere which seemed contrary to expectations!
Anyway, we arrived at 1800 and bought our tickets for the princely sum of 65 rupees (~75p) each, made our way past the rather brusk cinema security guard, and found our seats. We choose a popular comedy, Fukrey, one the basis that we might have more chance following the plot (Hindi, no subtitles) than for a complex epic. We enjoyed the film (all rather silly) but did lose the thread of what was happening which seemed to get increasingly bizarre and complicated; though we read reviews afterwards to say that most people couldn't follow what was going on, so it wasn't just us! All in all, it was a fun experience with lots of random goings-on including adverts which were simply wobbly slides held in front of the projector, all standing for the national anthem before the film, generally lots of chatter throughout, and a great atmosphere with lots of people enjoying themselves at the end of the week.
Yesterday was our first free day (no work, no apartment viewing) so we took the opportunity to venture south to the older part of the city and more traditional tourist areas of Mumbai. We travelled by taxi from the hotel over the impressive Bandra-Worli Sealink and arrived at the Crawford Market area 45 mins later. Our taxi driver wanted to take us on a full guided tour and was appalled by the idea that we wanted to walk around to see the city. To be fair, it was hot, but we saw a lot more by getting sweaty and wandering around ourselves than we would have done by staying in a car.
We spent a few hours wondering round a few sites in South Mumbai including Crawford Market, VT (the big railway terminus), the university, the old Fort area, the Prince of Wales museum, the Gateway of India, the (original) Taj Hotel etc. All in all, the key things you might read about in a tourist guide to Mumbai. Some of the architecture is stunning and it was enjoyable to wander around and take it all in, although spending large amounts of time outside can be quite intense. The heat and often the smell of the city can be overwhelming; the main roads are fairly wide and ordered (for India), and the side streets vibrant and bustling. It also struck us how much more we got hassled on the street (looking like white tourists) than in Bandra, where we've had no problems at all. People don't just approach you in the touristy areas, they are very very persistant and will follow you around for a while before giving up and going away!
Victoria Terminus (pronounced "Way Tee", if you want a taxi driver to take you there)
Flora Fountain, where we met a man who told us a very rude (but quite funny) joke, not repeatable on this blog!
The Gateway of India
After a couple of hours, I was in need of an airconditioned environment so we took the opportunity to stop for a drink in the (original) Taj Hotel; the landmark overlooking the Gateway of India. Phil enjoyed a Falooda, a rose flavoured drink popular in India, Pakistan and the Middle East, with vermicelli, jelly bits, milk and icecream. Not my thing but Phil is a fan. Afterwards, we had an obligatory walk past Leopold's Cafe (we both read Shanteram before arriving in Mumbai), mosied round The Bombay Store (lots of nice fabrics and cushions) and attempted to eat in Brittania (a highly rated Parsi restaurant), though went elsewhere in the end as the queue outside Brittania looked to be bigger than the capacity of the restaurant.
The Taj Hotel, which my 91 year-old Great Uncle Bill says is "the only place to stay in Bombay" based on his travels of 60 years ago, demonstrating its long standing illustriousness
Falooda Focus
Obligatory sight for those who have read Shanteram, though feels very touristy today
Street food. The puffy round things are Pani Puri, a street food classic
Cow in front of the Bombay Stock Exchange. Phil has recently had the win-win-win cow hire business model explained to him...to be included on a future blog entry.
Cats relaxing in the heat. Bombay is not short of cats.
There are also a lot of dogs, mainly seen in this classic pose, which is exactly what I felt like doing after walking around in the Bombay heat.
After a mid-afternoon Indian food fest (we rather embarrassingly ordered twice as much as we could eat as the portions were extremely big) at a restaurant called Mahesh Lunch Home (was pretty good), we caught a cab back up north (240 rupees for a 45 minute journey) so Phil could pack for his week away with work, and head off to the airport early that evening.
I'm now on my own for a week so likely to be mainly hotel and work based, but am aiming to plan some of our future activities in my free evenings this week. I've been gathering recommendations and we're starting to set aside weekends to visit lots of different places; it feels like the annual peal planning session just with holidays instead!
Our hotel continues to impress and will be getting a glowing review on Trip Advisor when we leave. After Phil left for the airport yesterday, the housekeeper came and ran a bubble bath for me without asking, and the DVD I ordered (from the list of complimentary films available in the room, I went for a cliched choice of Slumdog Millionaire) arrived with a drink and big bowl of popcorn. This led to a relaxing evening following a busy day out in the heat of the city. I'm not sure that this level of service is likely to continue at home when we leave here so I might as well make the most of it whilst it's available!
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