After Dubai

Sunset over the Indian Ocean off the coast of Mumbai.

Upon leaving Dubai having spent far too short a time there, we traveled overnight to Fujairah, UAE. It may well have been as wonderous as Dubai, I cannot say as I spent the entire day on ship recovering from my whirlwind adventures in Dubai. I did rise long enough to snap a couple of pictures of its port and eat, otherwise I slept, and slept, and slept. Following Fujairah, came another two days at sea in which I continued to pamper myself doing nothing more strenuous than writing my blog and playing trivia. You may recall that half our team completed their cruise in Dubai, so I had to find another team. This makes the third team I've been on. Do you think that should tell me something? Since joining Naughty Corner, we have won zero Big O-points. Only one US President has fathered twins. Who is he? That one I got, but who was the first female Prime Minister of Canada, no. We have many Canadians aboard, but none on our team.

The port in Fujairah, UAE. Now you have seen exactly as much of this city as I.

On April 30th, our 107th day, we reached Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India. Mumbai is India's most populated city with approximately 12.5 million souls living within the city proper and India is the most populated country in the world. This day my excursion was Mumbai by Light, billed as a two hour tour hitting the highlights of Mumbai including a drive along the Queen's Necklace. This is a brightly lite street running along the shoreline through the wealthiest section of town. The lights, strung out as they are, looks like the Queen's Necklace, or so they say. I only remember Queen Elizabeth II wearing pearls - either two or three strands of pearls. On well, its their landscape and their former queen so they can call it anything they like. Our guide, Shen, a forty something year old lady, was very informative and answered all our questions as we creeped by landmarks. This was a holiday weekend (May 1st being Labor Day) thus she did not expect there to be as much traffic since many would have taken the opportunity to go out of town. At the conclusion of our tour Shen admitted she had never before seen such masses of people even on a non-holiday weekend. People, cars, motorbikes, buses, police officers, were everywhere. Honking, yelling, talking, walking in the street, beside the street, everywhere. One explanation was that a cricket match was being held, but I'm not sure we passed the arena/field/whatever. I know we passed an elaborate wedding venue with ceremony in progress. These affairs go on for four days! Some marriages don't last that long. Then as we neared the restaurant at which we were to be served beverages and snacks we traveled along the beach. Or so she said. Not a grain of sand was in sight, none of the teeming masses seemed to be wearing a swimsuit, sitting on a towel or any of the activities I normally associate with a trip to the beach. Hundreds and hundreds if not thousands and thousands of people were standing shoulder to shoulder chatting, I suppose. All ages, sizes and shapes out for a night at the beach. Too hot to go in the daytime don't you know. Amazing! We passed private social clubs with lines out into the street awaiting admission. Street vendors were all over the place with racks and shoppers completely taking over the sidewalks and sometimes spilling into the street. Once again Shen explains that because of their work hours, Sunday night is the best time for them to shop. Computer trains built for twelve to fifteen hundred people routinely carry five thousand or more. With that type of overcrowding its no wonder that one cannot take their lunch with them. Enter Lunch Box. Being enterprising, a thriving business has been developed to get one's lunch made at home delivered to the office, eaten and then the process is reversed getting the empty lunch box back home to repeat the next day. I do think she said this lunch delivery service costs some $12 to $13 a month (US). Just the delivery service, not the food inside. Still cheaper than a restaurant.

Downtown Mumbai around 8 pm Sunday.

Only a portion of the hospital. Filled a long city block.

Let's all go to the beach!

One of the landmarks we passed was of the man who built the Tahj Mahal Hotel. Seems he was of humble beginnings but had worked hard and raised himself above his ancestors' socio economic level and sought to check-in to one of the local five-star hotels. His request for a room was denied due to his humble beginnings. He then built his own five star hotel never to be denied a room again. For himself or anyone else who could afford the tab. Way to go, Sir! Another was the home of India's wealthiest man, a fifty-seven story townhome in which he, his wife and one son reside. That's it! Three people! President Obama was entertained within on his trip to India or one of them. Can't say I followed his travels that closely. It also houses a McDonald's though the owners are vegans. For the benefit of staff, don't you know. Finally we arrived at a mall, closed except for the restaurants and bars, which housed our refreshments venue. Very nice place! Very nice! We were all 52 persons served drinks of our choosing, something green and saucy looking, four different types of finger foods, contents of which I did not ask nor want to know but really, really tasty. Not too spicy, Did not try the green stuff. I know this trip is all about new experiences but even I have my limits. Lacking Mikey there to taste it for us, we all ignored it. A quick use of the very clean facilities and we all loaded back onto our buses for our quick trip back to the ship. Unfortunately the teeming masses had not vanished so our return was not so quick. Shen mentioned the call centers which we all love, right? I now have a new perspective. They provide a living for many someones who otherwise might not be able to make it. Life is not easy in Mumbai. Rarely do students get beyond seventh grade or so as they are needed to supplement the family income. Shen did not tell us where she lived, but did mention that her house had been in the family for over a hundred years and she was the fourth generation to own it. Our two hour excursion turned into four and a half hours due to traffic. Not quite the delay on Gilligan's Island, but delay none the less.

The best news I've had since Dubai is that Dr. Sherry is back. She is the most wonderful story teller whom I adored on the 2020 aborted trip. So very glad to have her back! Her first story was about our upcoming stop in Sri Lanka. I have two excursions for Sri Lanka. Really looking forward to them!

Today Is Someday! Live It!