Salaam Bombay!

Sophia mingles with the crowd at the Gateway to India

Haj Ali Mosque - the path to visit is underwater at high tide.

Shailesh and Sophia - Shailish showed us some of his favorite places in Mumbai.

Guys walking near Mutton Street

This guy made some great lamb balls - yes I tried them and they were out of this world.

Sophia making some new friends - or maybe thinking about lunch....

Victoria Terminus built over ten years starting in 1878

A great Gugarati lunch - curries, pickles, chutneys, different breads, dals and mango puree. Best meal I've had in a long time.

Shailsh snaps the picture before we dig into the food at the Samrat Restaurant (http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Samrat_Veg_Restaurant-94004-1.html)

Our last day in Mumbai was a nice one. Our friend Shailesh Paul made a special effort to arrive in Mumbai Friday night so he could spend the day with us Saturday. Shailesh and his wife Ruchira our recent transplants to Singapore by way of Doha. They come from the Delhi area but both have lived in Mumbai. We had a fine Saturday (and I had a fun Saturday night) with him.

Shailish picked us up at our hotel in the morning. He had the use of a very good car and driver for the day. Our first few stops were for shopping purposes. We hit the Hide Design leather store for belts and bags, then we went to Color Plus (http://www.colorplusonline.com/), a nice clothing store with fine casual shirts, slacks and stuff. Of course being the spendthrift I am I picked up several shirts.

We made a few drive bys for key landmarks and sights and then went to one of the very old Muslim areas where each narrow street seems to have some sort of specialty shops. One had all tools, another clocks and fans, another fabric and fancy Muslim skull caps and finally we turned onto Mutton Street. Each little shop was jammed to the rafters with antiques, reproductions, schlock and some gems. We saw some fabulous old wood, mirror and painted glass panels that came from a tea shop somewhere in India, Pictures with Hindu writing advertising the quality of their tea and cakes and letting people know that they did not extend credit. I was really hoping to buy one or two and we were given a decent price. when we came back to make the deal the vendor had changed his mind and doubled the price. I'm still upset by this! We also saw a really interesting dowry chest in another shop. It was made of dark heavy carved wood and had old tiles on the front depicting Hindu Deities and flowers. We were close to striking a good price but the owner was not sure how we could ship it back to Singapore. He called a friend who quoted us a price equal to the cost of the chest for packing and delivery to a shipper but did not account for the freight charges. It was all too complicated so we passed. Funny how in Bangkok at the weekend market and in Shanghai at some little antique street we had no problem lining up shipping. It was a great tour but left empty handed.

We hit a few more spots and then went to lunch at a wonderful Thali place (small dishes, vegetarian) called Samrat. The food was superb. The mango puree was so sweet and delicious it melted in your mouth - we had giant seconds. The savory stuff and various dreads were also well prepared and extremely tasty. They drizzled ghee (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghee) onto some of the breads to give is more flavor and extra artery clogging power! We stuffed ourselves, definitely eating more then we should have.

After lunch we made one more stop at a place called Fabindia http://www.fabindia.com/. It is a very cool store with a huge range of traditional and modern clothes, linens, towels and fabrics all very colorful and beautiful. I just found out they ship to Singapore and the US!

After shopping and fighting traffic back to the hotel it was already almost 7:30 PM. We were planning to go out for the evening but Sophia asked to opt out after the long day in the heat. OK by me because I always welcome a boys night!

I showered and changed and headed back downstairs. Shailesh had left the car and driver behind and took a taxi back to where he was staying. I hit the road and it took almost an hour to get back downtown. We met his friend Lalit, a TV commercial and music video producer, and headed out. First stop was a place called Not Just Jazz by the Bay (http://www3.oag.com/Cities/Detail?city=683&cat=24&item=320299). It is on Marine Drive - a prime beachfront street. A nice place with an outside area for dining and a small, smokey inside area with tables and a bar. We went inside where I had a few Cobra beers and the band started to play. The band (name forgotten) was made up of 4 guys who appeared to be in their early twenties. Their repertoire included some classic rock hits of the 70s and maybe a few from the 80s. They loved Pink Floyd and Zepplin and also hit on ZZ Top and Lynard Skynard. The singer was weak, the guitar player decent and while it isn't my favorite genre of music it was fun. Everyone in the crowded place was into the tunes. The crowd was about 70/30 local to expat types. After a few snacks and several Cobras and a few Vodka Shooters we moved on. The second stop was a place called Henry Tham's. Here is a recent review-

Henry Tham’s Lounge: It’s the latest craze among those who wish to party in style. Friday is the best day of the week to take a peek at the well-turned-out crowd. You might witness a tabla maestro jamming with the DJ, if you are lucky enough. At Apollo Bunder, Colaba (Tel: 22848214)

While I have since found out that this is a very well reviewed restaurant, by the time we got there at about Midnight it was a happening club. There is no big sign but there were cars and taxis jammed in front of the place and a long line of people waiting to get in. Lalit dialed up his friend the manager of the place and we were quickly brought into the house!

By this time I was a bit past my limit but I do that so infrequently I gave my self a pass. I had a few more cocktails and spoke to a bunch of people. The crowd was mostly local but a far different group of people then most of the folks I saw around the city. One drink probably cost more then most Mumbaites make in a month. Being one of the few Westerners and probably the only American was fun. I think we left sometime after 3AM. Lalit drove us most of the way back to the Marriott (at very high speed I recall- traffic was finally light at 3AM) and then Shailesh and I got into a black and yellow taxi for the rest of the ride. What a nice guy he was to see me back to the hotel and then have to schlep all the way back to where he was staying. I slipped into the room and into bed. Woke up with a bit of a headache. Sophia was very understanding. We left the hotel, headed to the airport and then home......