Going back to February in Mumbai before we left, there were some interesting events our last Saturday. We decided to stay in Mumbai and run some errands and have a chill out day. First we headed for a camera store to find some miscellaneous things for the upcoming trip. Rather than our usual taxi ride, we opted for the local rail station. Since the one near our hotel is the origin of the line, we were able to buy a ticket and calmly walk on and take a seat. We had to go approx. eight stops. After a few stops, we realized a couple of things. First, the train doesn’t exactly stop for long, like 20 seconds of full stop so most people jump off before complete stop and other jump on as the train begins to leave the station. Since the doors never close or people would suffocate, all riders hang on to avoid being jostled off the train as it moves. Second, we realized that there is no limit to how many bodies would be squeezed into the railcar. With each passing stop, there was less room, less air to breathe, less comfort. As we finally approached our stop in the now fully crowded train, we made our way toward the exit before the train fully stopped. Just as it slowed to almost no forward motion, we pushed our way to edge. I saw there was a huge push already coming from the outside from the people trying to get on (kind of like the Shanghai Metro) so I took up the position of a football offensive lineman, elbows extended out from my body and made a path for Susan to exit the train. I found just like in China, these people were easy to move wherever I wanted to move them.
We did our somewhat uneventful shopping and headed back to the station. This time we were part of the surging crowd trying to get on the crowded train and hopped and pulled and struggled to get a handhold as the train began to move out of the station. Although we were able to get on the train, there was no room to move, turn, bend, etc. As the stations passed, the crowd abated until we reached the terminus where we began and calmly walked off the train. Of course, this was all on a Saturday when the trains are not crowded!
We proceeded to the Taj Mahal Palace, scene of the terrorist attack in 2008 and where President Obama stayed last year, renting out the entire hotel. The hotel is beautiful, security very tight and the location amazing. We proceeded to the afternoon tea buffet which was pretty impressive. We waited for a window table to enjoy the view of the nearby harbor and people watch from this vantage point. All went well until there was a bit of commotion below us and I spotted a three car escort stopping down below our window, no big deal until two guys got out with Uzis. Of course, rather than turn from the window for safety, I was plastered against the edge to see what would happen next. Out of the middle vehicle steps the Dalai Lama who was in town to give some speeches and meet with local believers. A pretty interesting sighting, but sorry no photos.
Jumping ahead one week, after settling into Capetown, I reported on some of our activities but our last days provided some other things of interest. Three major points of interest are Table Mountain, so named because the top appears completely flat, Robbern Island where Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were kept for 30 years and the V&A Waterfront. Robbern Island is like a visit to Alcatraz near San Francisco. It’s a prison from which one person is known to have escaped and many endured hardships. The tour is given by a former political prisoner and that makes it worthwhile as you get a pretty good idea of what they endured during their incarceration.
Table Mountain can be hiked in two hours or you can take a cable car to the top and walk around up there. We opted for the 2nd choice mostly because we were running out of time since we had to delay this earlier due to poor visibility but it was also pretty hot outside and we’re wimps. The views from the top were pretty good even in the bright light of early afternoon.
Finally, we went to the V&A waterfront on a perfectly clear evening. As the sun went down, I took some photos of the harbor and the huge Ferris wheel.
In the same location, the are all kinds of street vendors. This one is similar to one I've seen in other locations.
One other day, we were entertained before lunch by some children who had finished their own lunch and were just looking to entertain people who came by. I got these photos reflecting their moods…
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