Dawn Princess – Venice to Sydney August 2013 – Post 12

Mumbai 23/9

This was an interesting stop, though four hours ashore was enough for me. Having not been to India since 1985 (Calcutta aboard mv Baron Murray) I had almost forgotten just how grimy Indian cities are. Of course, the appalling poverty is unforgettable. I hired a taxi to drive me around and wait for me while I had an excellent lunch at Khyber, an upmarket Indian restaurant recommended to me by one of the Indian stewards on the ship. The restaurant was moderately expensive by Australian prices and therefore outrageously expensive by Indian prices but I’d rather pay over the odds in the hope of reducing my chances of getting a dose of “Delhi belly” – fortunately I didn’t.

Berthing at Mumbai.

The infrastructure here, while presumably functioning, seems so shabby.

A car carrier berthing behind us.

This aircraft carrier, the same design as the old HMAS Melbourne, is now a museum ship.

The incredibly chaotic Mumbai traffic.

An ambitiously named clothing shop.

A local resident.

A Mumbai ambulance.

One of the old colonial buildings still standing here.

The Taj Mahal Palace hotel.

The Gateway to India monument.

Lunch at the Khyber restaurant.