I made my first steps into India today, first with one of the young men working in the hotel. He took me to a nearby mobile phone stand and organized me an Indian SIM card.
He managed to get the color photo copies of my passport and visa pages, warned me that I needed a photo and used his existing number as a contact (and in the evening even guided me through the rest of the installation as it did not work out yet…)
With that out of the way, I decided to walk through my area around the Fort, and down the streets to the Gateway of India.
I’m in good area. Sure, it’s all a bit chaotic and sometimes run-down, the sidewalks are a mix of cobblestone, new concrete, dust, construction, parking lots and in between little stands that sell everything from pirate copies of movies, shoes, iPhone cases and clothing.
The houses are mostly from the Victorian area of British rule, a somewhat strange implant among the tropical palm trees.
Traffic is chaotic, a constant mix and stream of cars (half of them the black&yellow taxis of all sizes and shapes), endless numbers of motorcycles, pedestrians, wooden carts and the occasional cow thrown in.
It really takes some nerve to navigate and get across, as a red light do not really mean much to anyone.
They will stop if they absolutely have to (e.g. if the traffic from the other side is so heavy that there’s no chance, and they relent…) All this accompanied by the constant honking form all sides.
I made it through safely and down to the Gateway, and through the security controls, that are in place since the terrorist attacks on the nearby Taj Hotel in 2008.
I had to learn to brutally ignore the vendors for various tours and cruises and the guys who want to give you flowers and hand bands for good luck, but then try to extort a ‘donation’.
I feel bad about it, but at one point I really just wanted to be left alone and have a look at the Gateway.
The Gateway was built for the first ever visit of a reigning British monarch to India, George V, in 1911. However the first version was made of paper, and the stone version was only finished in 1924.
The Gate also symbolizes Indian independence, as the last British troops marched out through it in 1948. Unfortunately you can’t walk through it.
I had a look out on the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea to be precise. It’s my first time here, the last Ocean I still had to see.
I will pretty much circle it on my way to South Africa, up to Dubai and over to Perth in the next months, and I can’t wait to bathe in it.
The heat forced me into a café, and from there I went to the National Gallery of Modern Art Mumbai to see an exhibition on music and instruments. I didn’t always get it, but it was an interesting stroll.