Curried away in Mumbai

Had a 3-day working trip in Mumbai from 25-27 May and it was the best so far. I've visited this dynamic city twice before but there weren't time at all to look around. Not only had I eaten the best Indian food every day but I also managed to see main attractions in 4 hours!

On Wednesdy, after 2 back-to-back meetings, together with my HK colleague, we did some sight-seeing before going to the airport for our midnight flights. The places we went in chronological order, thanks to the organization from our Indian colleagues:

1. Dhobi Ghat laundry place
This is a huge laundry bay where men wash linens by slapping them on slates repeatedly. Many lines of laundry can be seen hanging. It was an amazing sight and I couldn't resist capturing a short video of it.


2. Crawford Market
Next stop, we went to Crawford Markt to buy a dozen of mango as this is the season. The market was bustling (in fact, as with everywhere in Mumbai) with many sellers touting their best Alphonso mango. It has a nice architecture, which was completed in 1869.

3. Victoria Terminus
Now known as "Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus", it was opened in 1887 and a grand sight with beautifully crafted architecture. It was one of the places attacked by the terrorists in 2008 and a shot from it was taken for the Oscar winning movie, Slumdog Millionaire.

4. Gateway of India and Taj Mahal Hotel
The Gateway of India is like Champs Elysees in Paris. It nicely sits by the river amidst a spacious square. The magnificient Taj Mahal Hotel is located across it. As it was hard to find a nice toilet, we decided to find one in the hotel, at the same time we want to see how it looks like. The hotel was attacked by terrorists in 2008 where one Singaporean lawyer perished. There are barricades outside the main entrance of the hotel where rows of luxury boutiques locate. Security is very strict where visitors are screened twice. On our way to the airport (about 1.5 hour drive), we dropped by a shop and I bought a pashmina muffler while my friend got a shawl. It has this ultra soft lux feel on the skin, at the same time, keep one warm.

5. Kebab Dinner at Peshawri
We were so hungry that we gobbled down a garlic naan and a kulcha with yummy boneless chicken kebab, paired with mango lassi.

The airport is now less chaotic after the renovation. However, the immigration officer that I encountered got into my goat. He asked me which hotel I stayed, if I was sure my hotel was in Thane and questioned what sort of meetings did I have in Mumbai, etc. He seemed interrogative and when I told my friend in Cantonese that I couldn't believe he asked me those questions, he rebutted if I had a problem. #%$!%^$#&*!*#$

The flight home was pleasant. Due to my sinus problem, I can never get a good sleep on night flights. Now I can't wait for my Bali holiday!