We spent very little time in Mumbai, and even less than planned. Our flight from London was delayed by French ATC and a vexing mechanical problem (unhooking the AC hose from the jetway) for about an hour. We arrived after midnight, and planned to get on the ship about noon.
The British Airways Heathrow Business Lounge was nice.
By the time we got to our hired car (Sun Transfers, rec'd by our travel agent, very nice) it was about 2am. It was a 40 minute drive through moderate traffic to the hotel -- Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, located right next to the Gate of India along the waterfront. Even at this time, very early on a Sunday morning, there were hundreds of people out and about. But given that Mumbai has 23 million people, I guess someone will always be out. We drove through about seven police checkpoints, looking for drunk drivers and belligerent bikers.
The Taj Mahal was a wonderful hotel and we got to stay in the old section. Chillingly air conditioned it was easy to fall asleep for the 6 hours until we needed to get up and start fighting the jet lag.
Hallway outside our room
We would have faced this if they hadn't had an elevator.
We had breakfast in the hotel and then went out for an hour long walk before taking a car to the port. The India Gate was right out the door (after passing through construction going on just outside -- the backhoe had been at work at 3am when we arrived).
Prince of Wales Museum
We walked to the Rajabai Clock Tower on the University of Mubai campus, the Big Ben of India.
Across the street, on the Oval Maidan, there were thousands of people playing cricket. It was hard to tell where one game ended and another started as they all seemed to overlap. Some people were just practicing, others wore matching shirts and appeared to be playing the national sport of India. Imagine about 100 Little League teams playing and practicing with overlapping fields. Fortunately cricket balls aren't very hard because it was easy to get beaned by an errant pitch or hit.
We spent very little time in India, and even less walking around Mumbai. There was more to see, but it was time to get on the boat for our cruise adventure.
A new trip, cruising from Mumbai to Rome. We thought we'd break up the 20 hour journey with a stopover for a couple of days in London.
We flew from MIA to London Heathrow on this 747. They're slowly disappearing as more efficient long haul planes take over. Indeed we flew on a 787 to Mumbai. I last traveled on a 747 in 1984 flying from Sydney to Los Angeles on a 747SP, a short stubby version of the 747.
London as we arrive very early in the morning.
We checked into our hotel at the airport and began using all of London's transit services. A free bus from the hotel to Hatton Cross station, and onto the Underground.
We got off at Westminster and walked around the area. We had to purchase sweatshirts from a street vendor since it was cold (to us Floridians, at least) and windy. We also had to visit a bank to exchange about 100 GBP. I save some foreign currency after each trip so you can bypass the ATM as your first stop. Unfortunately Great Britain had changed their notes years ago and I had old ones. The Barclay's bank in Westminster was very accommodating.
No boating for us on this trip, but we do recommend the boat trip from Westminster to Greenwich, with a stop to wander around in Greenwich and see the Observatory and the beginning of time @ the Prime Meridian. It was much too cold for us to enjoy being on the water today.
One of Cynthia's heroes in Parliament Square Garden--women's vote crusader. Statue just unveiled a week ago & 1st statue of a woman in the Garden.
All of the public buildings in Westminster are undergoing refurbishment. Big Ben was swaddled in construction scaffolding.
We walked east along the river starting from the Westminster bridge.
A new monument, at least for us -- dedicated to the fighters in the Battle of Britain in 1940.
We went as far as St. Paul's Cathedral in the City of London.
And walked out onto the Millennium Bridge. I was happy to see that public appreciation of the bridge is limited to small paintings on the bridge deck rather than heavy padlocks professing eternal love.
We ate at an authentic British pub, with Cynthia getting Fish n Chips.
On our second day in London was pretty much the same thing. Except that the weather was miserable. Even colder with intermittent rain. We took the tube to the St. Paul's station and walked two blocks north to the Museum of London. It was an engaging way to fill the middle of the day. We took no pictures of the exhibits -- the museum is primarily a history lesson with lots of dioramas and models and text and few real things except some recovered trinkets from olden times. A note if you go: The entrance is on the second floor. There's an escalator just to the south of the museum, but the sign is hidden. Or you can climb the steps at the Ironmonger's Hall.
Our stay in the London area was short, just a way to break up the long trip to India. Some observations:
We stayed at the London Heathrow Marriott, very convenient to the airport. Inconvenient to tour London.
It was a long way by bus & tube to central London -- 1 hour+.
For more money we could have taken the Heathrow Express, 37GBP round trip. Our bus & tube was about 4GBP pp.
We didn't stay long enough to really do anything other than wander about a little bit. We've been to London several times before. This stop was just to break up the long flight and get a head start on jet lag.
There was a Mac's just 200 meters from the LHR Marriott. Suitable for cheap meals and morning coffee.
We visited Sanibel Island for a few days. We did all of the Sanibel things, mostly walking along the beach stooped over looking at the shells.
Osprey nest on a pole near the lighthouse.
The lighthouse
Pelicans feeding. They would lift off from the ocean, fly about 20 yards, then dive in formation to capture dinner.
Crab dinner
Seafood platter
Edison - Ford homes in Fort Myers
Amazing artistry, both technical and creative, in a sand carving
By the time we got to our hired car (Sun Transfers, rec'd by our travel agent, very nice) it was about 2am. It was a 40 minute drive through moderate traffic to the hotel -- Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, located right next to the Gate of India along the waterfront. Even at this time, very early on a Sunday morning, there were hundreds of people out and about. But given that Mumbai has 23 million people, I guess someone will always be out. We drove through about seven police checkpoints, looking for drunk drivers and belligerent bikers.
The Taj Mahal was a wonderful hotel and we got to stay in the old section. Chillingly air conditioned it was easy to fall asleep for the 6 hours until we needed to get up and start fighting the jet lag.
We would have faced this if they hadn't had an elevator.
We had breakfast in the hotel and then went out for an hour long walk before taking a car to the port. The India Gate was right out the door (after passing through construction going on just outside -- the backhoe had been at work at 3am when we arrived).
Prince of Wales Museum
We walked to the Rajabai Clock Tower on the University of Mubai campus, the Big Ben of India.
Across the street, on the Oval Maidan, there were thousands of people playing cricket. It was hard to tell where one game ended and another started as they all seemed to overlap. Some people were just practicing, others wore matching shirts and appeared to be playing the national sport of India. Imagine about 100 Little League teams playing and practicing with overlapping fields. Fortunately cricket balls aren't very hard because it was easy to get beaned by an errant pitch or hit.
