Mumbai (Bombay), India - Wednesday, April 2nd

After our experience in Cochin we weren't sure what we would experience in this massive city.  Our destination expert told us to be prepared for a multi-sensory experience (including some good smells and other which are horrible), hot and muggy temperatures, huge crowds, traffic congestion, street beggars, street vendors who are very aggressive, particularly the children, and extreme mass poverty.  He also told us Mumbai was a vibrant, alive extremely affluent, and colorful city with beautiful architecture and huge skyscrapers.  Mumbai is one of his favorite cities in the entire world!  After our day here I can understand how he made two such divergent statements.

It is quite trued that there are too many people living in this city.  People are living everywhere.  Some of them live in fabulous houses or apartments.  In fact, the world's most expensive private home is located on Mumbai's poshest street.  The owner paid four million dollars for the lot and another TWO BILLION DOLLARS to build his house for himself, wife, and their three children.  They have close to 200 servants for the 27 story high rise building.  Their 168 cars are kept on some of the floors, where they have a full service auto station and repair service.  It is just incredible.  On the flip side, we saw people living with their families on the sidewalks or in a collection of cardboard shacks in slums.  Slumlord Millionaire was filmed on the outskirts of the city.  There is no means of sanitation in the slums provided by the city so the living conditions are extremely primitive.  One little girl, who looked about 9-10 years old, who lived on the street, ran after our bus with a very large live chicken on her head, hoping to get our attention so we would give her money.  When our bus didn't stop she left the chicken with her mother and grabbed her baby brother and started running down the street with him in her arms, chasing our bus.  We were in terrible traffic so she ran about one-half mile until she caught us where we had stopped to see a laundry facility.  Our tour guide jumped off the bus and told her she was endangering her baby brother by running so fast with him across traffic and streets.  If she did it again the tour guide told her she would call the police.  It was so very sad.  Our guide told us that approximately 300 people each day move into the city from the countryside to build a better life, even though they live on the streets or in slums.  They feel there are more opportunities for food work and survival in the city.

It was a very hot a muggy day so I was a soggy mess by the time we returned to our ship.  We experienced some of the aromas and odors of the city and dealt with hundreds of street vendors (with whom we negotiated and bought some lovely items).  We were practically thrown out of our seats on the tour bus because the roads were in such poor condition, with repairs needed urgently.

Still, we were pleasantly surprised how all of these factors combine to create an exciting and diverse environment which in many ways, appears to run quite effectively. The trains, with people hanging on outside the open doors, run like clockwork.  The times are so dependable that there is a lunch program, which involves a business, hires employees to ride the trains daily to deliver homemade box lunches to thousands of downtown office workers at exactly 12:30pm each day.  Pretty impressive!  However, at rush hours the trains are filled to three times their listed capacity.  They do not look or sound terribly comfortable or safe, sine our guide told us that thousands of people die every year from falling out of them (many people are hanging onto the doors outside of the trains).

As we rode around this intriguing city we passed we passed some of their most famous landmarks, including the Gateway to India.  The Indo-Saracenic archway was erected in 1911 to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary.  Our next stop was at a community laundry, like the one we saw in Cochin.  However, this laundry was very busy and large.  Tons of clothes from all over Mumbai are laundered, pressed and bundled by men each day and then returned to the owners.  Our guide warned us that if we had our laundry done here that the water is poured first thing in the morning and not changed all day.  Although the water is filthy by the end of the day, clothes are cleaned by the extremely strong soap and bleach used in the water.  Afterwards, clothes are beaten with a broom.  Our guide explained that this process is very hard on clothes and they are often returned with large holes!

Since the businesses do not open until 10:30a.m. the traffic is not bad in the early morning.  After 10:30a.m. it is gridlock.  At one intersection we waited over 15 minutes just to pass through the intersection.  Our guide told us that stopping at traffic lights is "merely a suggestion".

We passed Chowpatty Beach, a lively area where people gather for festivities and public gatherings in the city.  It is a lovely sandy beach, however people are unable to swim in the bay because of the extreme pollution of the water.  After we made a visit to Mahatma Gandhi's home base in Bombay between 1917 and 1934.  His home is now a museum with a research library, personal artifacts, photos, letters and Gandhi's sitting/bedroom.  He was certainly an impressive man.

Our last scheduled visit was at the Prince of Wales Museum which is crowned by a white Mughai-style dome.  Exhibits included clay and terracotta figures from the 3rd century B.C., Greek-influenced ff4th and 5th century manuscripts, figurines, paintings and exquisite miniatures.  Finally, there was jade work and weapons from the Mughal Empire.  It was a lovely museum but a bit warm inside, although there were electric fans circulating the air.

On our drive back to the ship we made a quick photo stop at the Victoria Terminus, a remarkable railway station built during the year of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.  It was inspired by the St. Pancras Staation in London and features impressive domes, spires, Corinthian columns and minarets.  The station serves a half-million commuters each day.

Once we returned to the ship there was a local show onboard which was a live Bollywood performance.  Enthusiastic, colorful and dramatic performers danced their way through a drama filled with love, denial a villain, and eventually, in true Bollywood style, a happy ending!  It was quite entertaining.  However, our cruise director had to cut their last number and big finale because our ship was about to sail and it was time for the dancers to leave the ship!!!

As we now sail away from India we have seen and learned a lot about this country and culture.  The caste system is still very much a part of Indian culture, although people an now move up through the classes where, in the past, was not possible.  The former "untouchables" are no longer barred from frequenting some public buildings or churches.  It seems that the classes of society are now much more flexible.  Most of the marriages in India continue to be arranged by the parents.  Our ship's dining room waiter, who is from Cochin, India, told us at dinner last night that his parents came on board for lunch and brought him basic information on about 15 girls who were suitable marriage material for him.  He is 29 years old and seemed very comfortable with this process.  He told his parents that he had only two criteria, then they could choose the girl.  She must be a "little bit pretty" and she must have a good education.  They will make the decision and inform him of their choice sometime soon.

We leave India now with mixed feelings.  Mumbai is an intriguing city.  It can seduce you with its wealth and charm.  However, the poverty and daily struggle that millions of its residents face just to survive will break your heart.  We have not visited any place previously where the contrast between the "haves" and "have nots" is so visually striking.  It is a city based on time-honored traditions, where pre-arranged marriages and taking care of elderly family members rule supreme.  However, it is also a place where many young people, with access to social media, are enticed by what they see and hear about in other cultures and countries.  The old walls of tradition are beginning to show wear and are just beginning to crack.  I will be watching with new understanding and interest as Mumbai continues to develop.

We are sailing now towards Oman, which I understand will be a completely different experience.  We are leaving the predominantly Buddhist and Hindu countries behind and are now entering a part of the world which is mainly Muslim.  There continues to be restrictions on being on the upper, open decks at night but so far everything, including the ocean, has been very calm.  So very excited to see and spend a few hours with oldest son, Sean, in Oman in a couple of days.  God always answers our needs and I think He knew I am having a rough time being away from my family for such a long time so He has arranged for me to spend some time with one of our sons.  So very thankful for God's perfect faithfulness.  Now for a couple of relaxing sea days and more time to pray and reflect on what I have seen and learned.