Very early on International Women's Day, we leave Varkala for the Keralan capital city of Trivandum.We're booked on a flight to Mumbai where we'll spend a couple of days before flying to London and then home.
The airport is buzzing and full of women heading to Mumbai for meetings, conferences and celebrations in honor of March 8th. I'm impressed by the age range here from a group of young, "jeans and tee shirts" daughters to a quintet of "brief case carrying sari clad" grandmothers. You can feel their collective energy and strength.
We board an Airbus 320 and in the spirit of the day, are informed that our captain is a 25 year old woman who happens also to be a famous racing car driver. As well, one of the flight attendants has been just honored as the airline's best. We find ourselves in heady company.
As we land in Mumbai, we are immediately struck by the paradoxes of India's largest city. Slums line either side of the causeway and we learn from our taxi driver that of the 18 million residents, nearly 60% are, in fact, slum dwellers. Unbelievably, "slum tourism" has gained a significant toe-hold and you can sign up for an organized "tour" or simply wing it and go on your own. This is a city of enormous wealth and enormous poverty and we will see many examples of both during our brief stay.
We board an Airbus 320 and in the spirit of the day, are informed that our captain is a 25 year old woman who happens also to be a famous racing car driver. As well, one of the flight attendants has been just honored as the airline's best. We find ourselves in heady company.
As we land in Mumbai, we are immediately struck by the paradoxes of India's largest city. Slums line either side of the causeway and we learn from our taxi driver that of the 18 million residents, nearly 60% are, in fact, slum dwellers. Unbelievably, "slum tourism" has gained a significant toe-hold and you can sign up for an organized "tour" or simply wing it and go on your own. This is a city of enormous wealth and enormous poverty and we will see many examples of both during our brief stay.
We check into our hotel and arrange for a visit the next day to some of the places we've wanted to see. Of course, we're interested in Bollywood--the film capital of the world--but this time we'll have to skip it.
Our first stop is at Gandhi's home which has a library of 50,000 books and some amazing memorabilia including a letter to Hitler respectfully asking him not to go to war. On our way further into the city proper, we come upon a huge Punjabi wedding complete with a brass band and a gorgeous white horse awaiting the groom's arrival. Soon afterwards we're beside an enormous flat park some 2 kilometres long, full of dozens of cricket matches. These are serious affairs with players in white uniforms and well-dressed spectators lining the sidelines.
In the distance, we can now see historic India gate and our car is soon moving along the street directly behind the Taj Mumbai hotel where the terrorist attack of November, 2008 left 166 people dead and over 300 injured. We see guards armed with AK47 rifles sitting in doorways and a tank at the ready. We are scanned and frisked as we walk into the hotel through the single entrance which is open but after a quick look around, decide to move on.
We stop for lunch at famous Leopold's, a cafe nearly two hundred years old, which was also hit in the terrorist attacks. It's a very crowded, cosmopolitan place and you can hear a potpourri of languages over excellent Indian and European food served by efficient waiters. We could easily linger here for hours. It's time, though, for us to get back to our hotel in preparation for a 3:00 am departure.
Late in the evening, we are packed and ready to go. We are given an incredible send-off by the hotel staff who tell us they will wait patiently for our return and promise a "penthouse" upgrade "next year."
Just after midnight, we approach Mumbai's stunning new international airport. Our driver has been telling us about the realities of his life--15 hour days, 7 days a week for $200 a month, if he's lucky. There's an election coming but he holds out little hope for change. We listen to him as we approach the departure terminal which sits like a gigantic luxurious spaceship hovering above the ground. It's a stark counterpoint to the story we've just heard.
We leave India reluctantly. Perhaps of all our overseas trips, this one has been the most interesting and satisfying. We've loved everything about our adventure--the food, the travel, the new experiences. Most of all, though, we've loved the friendships we've made and these, more than anything else, will be the greatest incentive to bring us back.
Namaste.
Our first stop is at Gandhi's home which has a library of 50,000 books and some amazing memorabilia including a letter to Hitler respectfully asking him not to go to war. On our way further into the city proper, we come upon a huge Punjabi wedding complete with a brass band and a gorgeous white horse awaiting the groom's arrival. Soon afterwards we're beside an enormous flat park some 2 kilometres long, full of dozens of cricket matches. These are serious affairs with players in white uniforms and well-dressed spectators lining the sidelines.
In the distance, we can now see historic India gate and our car is soon moving along the street directly behind the Taj Mumbai hotel where the terrorist attack of November, 2008 left 166 people dead and over 300 injured. We see guards armed with AK47 rifles sitting in doorways and a tank at the ready. We are scanned and frisked as we walk into the hotel through the single entrance which is open but after a quick look around, decide to move on.
We stop for lunch at famous Leopold's, a cafe nearly two hundred years old, which was also hit in the terrorist attacks. It's a very crowded, cosmopolitan place and you can hear a potpourri of languages over excellent Indian and European food served by efficient waiters. We could easily linger here for hours. It's time, though, for us to get back to our hotel in preparation for a 3:00 am departure.
Late in the evening, we are packed and ready to go. We are given an incredible send-off by the hotel staff who tell us they will wait patiently for our return and promise a "penthouse" upgrade "next year."
Just after midnight, we approach Mumbai's stunning new international airport. Our driver has been telling us about the realities of his life--15 hour days, 7 days a week for $200 a month, if he's lucky. There's an election coming but he holds out little hope for change. We listen to him as we approach the departure terminal which sits like a gigantic luxurious spaceship hovering above the ground. It's a stark counterpoint to the story we've just heard.
We leave India reluctantly. Perhaps of all our overseas trips, this one has been the most interesting and satisfying. We've loved everything about our adventure--the food, the travel, the new experiences. Most of all, though, we've loved the friendships we've made and these, more than anything else, will be the greatest incentive to bring us back.
Namaste.
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