{postcards from India-Mumbai beginnings}

{Gateway of India at dusk}

In  my previous post, I discussed what draws me to India, and in this post, I begin writing down some of the details of our trip! We arrived in India on January 3 and were picked up by our faithful taxi/tour company State Express. We drove to our simple but clean hotel near the Gateway of India. The roads were fairly empty because of protests due to disputes between castes. All shops were closed and at one point we thought we might not be able to get to our hotel. We passed all types of architecture, ranging from humble abodes to the most luxury accommodations: crumbling old British buildings; a large monstrosity that is apparently the most expensive house in the world; as well as slums, with tarps for roofs. 

{faded grandeur}

{neogothic taken over by banyan}

{brightly coloured Mumbai dwellings}

Brightly coloured buildings, some with only three walls revealed the inhabitants inside—the second floors reached by little ladders attached to the side of the house….men drinking chai or reading newspapers, while others slept. With no room for washrooms inside, men washed themselves outside on the road.
 Roads closer to our destination were closed and after a detour we arrived at our hotel. The hotel staff advised us to not go outside due to unrest. We settled on some dahl and rice at the hotel’s restaurant, my father exclaiming ‘I could eat this food for the rest of my life.’ Having been brought up in India this was the food of his youth.

By late evening things had calmed down and we ventured out to the Gateway of India, with many Indians out for an evening stroll, takings selfies against the sunset and the Gateway of India.  Many boats were moored on the Arabian Sea and my Dad revealed this is where he had first learned to sail, a remarkable start to a career as a captain who has sailed the seven seas!

{Taj Palace Hotel}

{Arabian Sea}

 We ventured into the old Taj Palace Hotel—where we stayed 25 years ago on our first trip as a family to India—and had a drink in the piano bar called the Sea Lounge. There was live piano music playing and we were served by a nice waiter who had worked at the Taj his whole life, and was soon to retire. He brought us endless plates of free Mumbai street food, with a gourmet twist.

{Gateway at night}

The next day we ventured out to Chor Bazaar—a Muslim quarter where anything from antique brass, Hindu and Christian sculptures and old prints, to bathtubs, archaic phones, and suitcases can be bought.

We stopped off in a little shop (after crossing the terrifying traffic) and bought some Kurta Pajama for my dad, who ever since he was a boy wears these to bed.

{Mumbai streets}

We then went to what was once called the Prince of Wales Museum (now Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya) a fine example of ‘Indo-Saracenic’ architecture, where we saw the Tata collection of European paintings, including a work reportedly by Dosso Dossi, once in Alfonso d’Este’s camerino in Ferrara as well as Hindu sculptures, a fine collection of Chinese porcelain and an impressive collection of miniature paintings covering all types from Rajput paintings to Mughal illumination. Mughal emperor Akbar's armour is also on display! I was impressed with the modern museum displays and the accompanying texts, something we wouldn’t find in other museums on our trip.

{Prince of Wales Museum}

We also briefly stopped off at Victoria Terminus (now Chhatrapati Shivaji)—what appears to be St. Pancras transported into Mumbai, yet the traffic in front of it was much different than Euston road, where school boys cross the street, dodging lorries, scooters, and men carrying things on their heads!

{Victoria Terminus}

After a rest, we enjoyed dinner at Delhi Darbar, a famed restaurant known for its fine curries, with simple décor but excellent food.
On 5 January, we took a cab to the Four Seasons and joined my eldest sister, Julia, who had arrived early that morning. We had the day to kill before our overnight train left for Goa, so we enjoyed relaxing by the pool as well as a short taxi ride to the Dhobi ghat, the largest outdoor laundry, where  dhobi wallahs wash clothes and textiles in large tubs in the ground and hang the laundry to dry. A kaleidoscope of colours greets the onlooker, with each dhobi specialising in a colour or type of laundry, from the white sheets of nearby hotels, to blue denim jeans. While we were onlooking and Dad was rattling off in Hindi to a handful of women trying to sell various things, one of the dhobis lost their footing and fell into the tubs, bringing a whole pile of laundry with him!

{stark contrasts between Mumbai high rises & the dhobi ghats}

We headed back to the hotel for dinner and awaited with slight trepidation the overnight sleeper journey to Goa. Stay tuned for that adventure in the next installment!
Xo,
L

{Quito for Christmas}

Yes, indeed, I am headed to the centre of the world to celebrate Christmas!
On 24 October 2010 a smashing little man was introduced into this world in Quito, Ecuador--Juan de Dios Almeida Clark. With a name like that you know he is destined for great things. He is my third nephew, and falls seventh in the long line of my nieces & nephews born to my four sisters. So, not only am I going to visit my sister, her husband, & their daughter, but I am also being introduced to this great little man!
Since my sister is involved with the new airport that is a Canadian-funded project, I will receive special treatment at the airport upon my arrival...and a few days later we will be attending a Christmas party at the ambassador's house. It all sounds very ooh-la-la.
The last time I was in Ecuador, was for her splendid wedding in 2006.

{my photo of my sister, Esther and her husband, Juan on their wedding day, plaza of San Francisco, Quito}

Ecuador is becoming more and more popular as a tourist destination with the Galapagos, and Quito is often a landing point for tourists making their way to the coast. We sailed to the Galapagos when I was 13 aboard Pacific Swift, when my Dad was Captain (if you check out the link to Swift-my Mum, Margaret Clark is the figurehead). But 2006 was the first time I had been to the capital.
Esther and Juan got married in a beautiful Baroque chapel, and their reception was in the adjoining monastery of San Francisco. We drank cocktails and munched on canapes in a frescoed hall, that I would guess, dated to the late Renaissance/Early Baroque period.


{Esther & Juan in the cloister of San Francisco (with my nephew Sabo (Julia's son)}



{the sisters at Esther's wedding}

As you can imagine, I'm eager to explore the country again...and hopefully to take in some great art historical sites and sights. I am looking forward to going to my niece's Christmas recital, singing carols with my sister, decorating the Christmas tree, and visiting Quito and the environs.
My sister is the closest in age to me--she's the fourth and I'm the fifth. As kids we were super close (& we still are).

{Esther always looked out for me. My Mum, me (the baby) and Esther, at my Grandparent's home, Mamre Oaks, in Victoria, BC}

{Me & Est in our backyard with Calliope, the kitten}

We always shared a bunk/cabin together on coastal and offshore voyages aboard Robertson II and Swift, and when on land, we shared a room together, where we had a bunk bed to mimic our sleeping arrangements on the boat.

{Esther, me, & sister Christina on the Robbie (Robertson II)}

We were flatmates when I was in my first year at UBC and she was working in between her BA & MBA. We've shared hotel rooms around the world, from converted caravanserai in the Thar Desert, India, to hotels on the border of Afghanistan in Peshawar, the town my father was born in.



{Esther & me with mendhi in New Delhi in 1995 (just outside my father's old home)}



{Esther & me getting mendhi done in Agra in 2005}



{Esther & me on the Khyber Pass, border of Afghanistan/Pakistan}

 When I was in High School & Est was home for the summer working, we decided on the spur of the moment to take a trip to Mexico. My parents were away on boat donation business, and we called them to see if it would be OK--we used our savings of course. They agreed, so Esther, 18 & I, 14, went on a week trip to Puerto Vallarta together. We had been to PV numerous times, had even sailed there, and felt rather at home on our week away from home. Est always treated me as an equal even though, I'm sure, I was at times an annoying little sister!

{Esther, 18, and me, 14 in PV}

So, you can imagine, we have tons to catch up on, tons to remember, & tons to chat about. I am looking forward to re-visiting some of the great places I went on my last trip to Ecuador. The market at Otavalo and the nearby monastery-converted-to-guesthouse is gorgeous. Est & Juan treated us to lunch at the beautiful Hacienda Cusin that has beautiful grounds to walk, full of flowers and paths down lush little lanes.


{P tries on a hat at the market of Otavalo (P is now a grown up independent 5 year old!)}




{our family at the Cusin  Hacienda/monastery minus the Vazquez family & minus the nieces & nephews that have been born since}




{me & my parents walking in the gardens of the Hacienda Cusin}

 Esther tells me there is also a leather town near Otavalo, which I hope to visit...and we are also hoping to visit some natural hot springs. I'm sure I will have tons to blog about, if not during my time there, I'll be sure to post lots upon my return.
But until then Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, & Happy New Year!!