Suez to Mumbai

29^th, &30^th  October(Days 79 & 80)

The trip to Ismailia proves to be a good decision. Ismailia is a nice looking relaxed town (unlike Suez which, having driven through, we are glad we avoided, although to be far to the place it's had a troubled history!) We are off the usual tourist map here and are, therefore, the only European tourists, but the hotel is comfortable, quiet and it offers clear views of the Suez Canal where we can see huge tanker ships sailing through what from our perspective appears to be simply desert.

The hotel proves to be very accommodating over check out allowing us to stay in our room until 4pm before arranging a taxi to take us first for a closer look at the canal and then on the 120km ride to the airport at an incredibly cheap rate.

Our visit to the canal shows it to still be very heavily fortified but it is easy to understand why given the recent history of the area. As our taxi driver explains what it was like to have the Egyptian army massed where we are standing facing the Israeli army on the other bank so recently it is easy to see the effect that it has had upon him, but also how much he values the current peace. He insists we take a photo of the opposite bank which now says 'Welcome to Egypt'.

Our trip to the airport is easy and gives us plenty of time to devour plenty from the ‘Burger King’ menu before taking the overnight flight to Mumbai.

31^st October, 1^st – 3^rd November (Days 81 – 84)

Having had only limited sleep we land in Mumbai and meet our transfer by about 8:30 for the drive to our hotel.

Our initial impressions of Mumbai are mixed. It is home to the biggest slum in Asia and, it appears to us that our hotel is located right in the middle of it! The poverty is startling with huge numbers of people living in tin/tarpaulin constructions at the side or, in some cases, under fly overs in the middle of the road. When we arrive at out hotel there is major construction work under way in the foyer and we begin to feel a bit jaded.

The staff at the hotel, however, prove to be extremely helpful and our room is comfortable. The view out of the window onto the surrounding 'homes' stops any thoughts of complaints!

View from our room!

And another -
notice the lady sewing on the steps 

 A walk around that area clearly illustrates the difficult conditions that the locals endure, it is estimated that up to 15,000 people share one toilet! On the other hand we have read that the area has been described as one of the most inspiring economic models in Asia, amidst the ramshackle huts are one-room factories which employ up to half a million people and turn over a staggering £700million annually.

After a few hours sleep we feel brighter and head for something to eat. Our receptionist suggests the Ramada Hotel which shares the same site and owner as our hotel.

At the Ramada two gentlemen notice our accents and strike up a conversation with us. It turns out that one studied in Cardiff whist the other Mr Nikhil Kraheja is the owner of the hotel along with another large construction company. During our conversation Mr Nikhil asks us if we would like to visit the Bollywood Studios to which we say that we would.

The next morning we are awoken by a call from the reception manager to inform us that on instruction from Mr Nikhil he has organised a trip to Bollywood for us.

On the steps of the Masterchef studio

Isaac in Mr B's chair

The reception manager accompanies us and via both his and Mr Nikhil’s contacts we manage to visit the set of 'Millionaire' where Isaac sits in Big B’s (India’s Chris Tarrant) chair and we meet the producer who also worked on the movie ‘Slumdog Millionaire’.  We are then taken to the wings of the final of 'Masterchef' before touring much of the rest of the site.  

 As the day progresses we become aware that we have arrived in India only a few days before Diwali, which would be like arriving in the UK in Christmas week. This helps to explain why some of our travel arrangements have proved to be so difficult to arrange. Nothing like being prepared!!

On our second evening in Mumbai we head into the centre to eat and our taxi driver shows us many of the sights including the hanging gardens, Chowpatty beach, Marine Drive, The Victoria Terminus, The Gateway of India and The Taj Mahal Hotel which is the area that was the back drop for the Mumbai terrorist attacks in 200!

The Gateway of India

We soon realise that if we were to spend our time in Mumbai in this small central area we would be oblivious of the vast slums to be found in the city as this area ‘Colaba’ has a very modern cosmopolitan feel to it. Our taxi driver is a very small elderly Indian gentleman who is cannot do enough for us, his English is very limited but when we ask what he calls the city he chuckles and says 'Bombay' and then laughs continuously as he repeats over and over again 'Calcutta/Kolkata', 'Bombay/Mumbai'.

The next morning we visit the most expensive suburb of Mumbai, Bandra which is home to many of the big Bollywood stars as well as a number of large corporations. It certainly contains many of the big name shops but it is not quite as developed as the centre and we are met with the site of some top high street stores being located next to buildings with, for example, cattle tied up and feeding outside them.

Gandhi's few personal possessions

On our final day we revisit the centre to see some of the sights again in the light and to visit Mani Bahavan which served as Ghandi’s residence when he was in Mumbai. Revisiting the story of Ghandi’s life in his own home looking at his photographs, documents and belongings adds extra
                                                                                     poignancy to the story and is a moving experience.

Taj Mahal Hotel-POSH!

The floating Mosque-Haji Ali's Tomb

Hutatma Chowk-Flora Fountain

Our visit to Mumbai has been memorable, the poverty is shocking, some of the sights are hugely memorable and the people are charming.
We now head for the orphanage in Vijayawada for a week before heading up to Agra, the Taj mahal and the golden triangle.