Day 101/138 2022/2023 Viking Neptune World Cruise. Mumbai morning day 3/3 (part 1/2)
As I’m writing this blog, we are on our 3rd sea day of 5 in the Arabian Sea/Gulf of Aden/Red Sea. I really wanted to spend some time editing photos of Mumbai before writing about our 3rd day there and with our busy sea day schedule, it is taking me some time to catch up.
What I thought I would try to do to help you really experience what our “Hidden Treasures of Old Mumbai” tour was all about, was to give you as many photos as possible of our tour. To help you feel that you were there, experiencing the tour with us and walking through the narrow, steep streets of the area of Mumbai we visited on a Monday, weekday morning on our tour. Since I have so many photos I thought I would split up our last day in Mumbai into two blogs. I just spent about an hour editing photos from the first part of our tour, so it will take me more time tomorrow to do the same, for the second half of this tour. This tour was one of the best we have been on. I really felt like we got to understand the daily lives of the people in this small part of Mumbai and for that reason we both felt very enlightened about our visit to Mumbai. Travelling is knowledge and very powerful and moving at times and I do not think we will ever feel the same about India and its people after experiencing the tour we had on our third morning in Mumbai. It was beautiful, raw, real and unfiltered. Everything we really want actually when we visit somewhere. Don’t make it pretty for us. Let us experience it and seek to understand, because from that we find our own truth. Ok. Enough deep stuff. Now onto the first part of our tour this morning.
We left the Neptune this morning to see that another Indian cruise line had docked in port right behind the Neptune. Richard took one look at the ship and said “That’s got to be an old Princess Cruise Lines ship”.
The dogs in Mumbai run around freely and we had about 3 dogs on the pier at all times. Someone seems to feed them though as this dog has a meal in front of him.
Driving towards South Mumbai and the Marine Drive Beach.
Kids playing cricket on Monday morning.
We were visiting the Walkeshwar area of South Mumbai today on our walking tour.
The fruit and vegetable market where our bus dropped us off.
The street leading to the area we would be walking.
Our tour today would take us on the Banganga Road, where motorcycles and cars could not pass.
The cilantro smelled so good from afar.
Walking barefoot with his child. Just look at those eyes!
A local tea stall where all the men were lining up for their morning cup of tea.
Walking the steep steps to the Banganga Road area of Mumbai. Some people leaving to go to work and some people were talking and enjoying the day.
It was laundry day in Banganga Road.
The boy wanted to speak to his mother and she was having none of it. She was slapping the clothes in the outdoor sink, scrubbing and scrubbing the clothes clean and rinsing them from the bucket. I imagined the boy saying “Please mom, can I go with my friends today?”
Monday. Laundry day. Banganga Road, Mumbai.
I particularly like the rocks as weights to hold the clothes down so they do not blow away. Richard, purple is not your colour.
Outdoor storage Banganga Road, Mumbai.
The Banganga Tank is a temple tank which is part of the Hindu Walkeshwar Temple complex in the Malabar Hill area of the city of Mumbai, India. The tank was build in 1127 and rebuilt in 1715. The tank is spring fed and its water remains sweet, despite being located on a few dozen meters away from the sea.
This man floated an offering into the tank before taking a swim and immersing himself in the waters.
This area of Mumbai is the oldest continually inhabited place in Mumbai. The origin of the tank is steeped in legend with it being written that Ramayana (written three centuries B.C.) or Lord Ram as he is known, stopped here to seek the blessing of a sage, while on his way to Sri Lanka to save his wife Sita from the evil claws of demon king Ravan. Ram was thirsty so he shot his arrow into the ground and a fresh water tributary of the Ganges sprang forth. The name Banganga comes from ’baan’ or arrow and ‘Ganga’ is the Ganges. Of course the Ganges river in Hindu tradition is sacred as the river is supposed to be the personification of the Goddess Ganga. Bathing in the Ganges causes forgiveness of transgressions and helps attain salvation. So people who bath at the Banganga tank believe they are achieving the same virtues as if they were bathing at the Ganges.
Beautiful coloured fabrics for sale in Banganga Road.
Taking it all in. I didn’t know where to look there was so much to see!
Back alleys of Banganga Road, Mumbai.
Mom’s little helper.
Carrying the laundry to the washing place.
Watching the world go by.
No doors to this home.
Offerings to the gods.
Ganesha, son of Shiva and Parvati. One of the most worshiped Hindu deities He is the god of New Beginnings, Wisdom and Luck and the remover of obstacles. The diva of intellect and a patron of arts and sciences. Ganesha is always displayed with the head of an elephant.
Temple behind the houses on Banganga Road, Mumbai.
Selling fruits and vegetables in the market.
Another local market in Banganga Road, Mumbai.
”One of my favourite shots of the day. I bet he’s thinking “I’ve got to get this laundry done sometime today, but I’m tired and I just need to sit and rest here awhile.
“My feet are tired. I need a rest…”
Steps leading us through and around the Banganga neighbourhood.
Now that is an old house!
Colourful saris on the women in Banganga Road.
Tending to the holy basil or ‘Tulsi’
Idol in the Hindu temple.
Another of my favourite shots. A local boy going to wait for the bus to school.
And he is off. Past the water pipes that are all shared by the homes in the Banganga Road area of Mumbai.
Meeting up with his friends and telling stories.
Waiting for the bus.
Showing off for the tourists!
We waited for our bus near these kids and they were a hoot to watch. All children in India must wear uniforms to go to school and these children looked adorable in their school uniforms.
What a sensory overload in the Banganga Road area of Mumbai! The area is not frequented by tourists, so for us to see how everyone lives on a busy Monday morning was a treat. We really did feel enlightened after we left this area and headed to another part of Mumbai, for the second part of our morning tour.
As you can tell I’ve been busy on my sea days catching up on blogs from Mumbai. Hopefully I can finish the other part of Day 3 in Mumbai tonight or tomorrow. We’re working on a special project which is eating into my free time to write blogs!
We were given a notice the other evening when we arrived back to our cabin after dinner.
Interesting…..
Yesterday we woke up to this:
Razor wire around the ship on Deck 2. We do not want any pirates getting anywhere near our ship!
And at the aft of the ship today we have a new reference card:
With all of the passengers on the Neptune now on high alert, and armed guards having boarded the ship at 2am this morning, I am sure we will be fine.
Cruise Mapper has also been updated to reflect we have ARMED GUARDS on board.
Our position as I finish up the blog from our last day in Mumbai.
Tonight we have a Lobster Night and Dancing Under the Stars on the Pool Deck. We will all be on high alert for ships, but we know Viking is taking all precautions to keep us safe!