Last Day of 2010

I woke up not feeling well at all. I drank a bunch of soda and that refreshed me somewhat. First we tried to fix our phones at Vodaphone. We have to submit passport documents for a sim card here. Ours had been denied so we needed to re-submit them. In the meantime, we cannot make outgoing calls. Anyways, I was very skeptical and suspicious about submitting documents at first. I actually banged my fists on the counter when they sent a guy away with our passports to make copies. Never before in my travels had my passport been taken out of my sight! and in the crazy streets of India?! The guy told me, "Don't worry." I was not friendly towards them, but Michelle was and so she did all the talking.

Then Ms. Alice wanted to visit some temples so I sluggishly tagged along. The security didn't let me in the first temple because I had a camera. I was actually glad of that. The crowded environment would have been more sickening to me. I rested and waited outside. Michelle and her mom went in and it turned out to be a really funny story for Michelle!

Michelle was worried about me and so was in a rush to speed through the place. She and her mom paid a bit more to get in the VIP line. Then Michelle wanted to get out of that line to check on me, not caring so much about entering the shrine. The guards then directed her to an even more exclusive path with direct access to the idol and priests. They blessed her, put a dot on her forehead, draped a jasmine flower garland around her neck, and handed her a sweet lentil ball. Ms. Alice was left in line and she didn't even get to see the statue through the crowd by the time she got to the viewing window. She said that Michelle was blessed because she had such a good heart that cared for me. hahahaha! The whole thing makes me laugh. I don't think Michelle cared much for it all. She left the garland in the cab and handed the sweet to a begging child.

There were many people in the best saris going to the temples. The lines were crazy long at the next temple we tried to go to. It's amazing how much people will go through to go up to place an offering to an idol. I think it was for the new year. The people are ardently seeking to be religious and I haven't seen this kind of religiousness anywhere else.

 

I bought the Kite Runner book from a street vendor as I was riding the cab over.

 

Sand Art in the Temple courtyard

Next we visited a mosque, then the hanging gardens, and finally Colaba Market. At the market we only saw produce stands. I was getting to be in pain and having diarrhea episodes at that point. We had lunch/dinner at a posh cafe, where I barely ate but went to the bathroom a lot.

walkway to the off-shore mosque (under water at high tide)

 

my favorite place of calm in Mumbai

New Year's Eve cheers

We walked up towards the fort area but only made it to the gate of India again. We had to stop at a quaint bakery cafe so I could go to the bathroom. Then we headed home, exhausted. It was a nice lit ride along Chowpatty beach and the Sea Link bridge... a nice way to end a visit to Mumbai.