17 Mumbai - Feb 22

This morning was an opportunity for people to sleep in, walk the bay, and investigate nearby streets and buildings before we set off as a group to explore Mumbai for the day.

At 11 a.m. the cars came and we took them into the city for a walk through the streets, checking out the stalls and shops in the area around the Flora Fountain and the University. We passed Bombay House which is the headquarters of the huge conglomerate TATA. We arrived at a store called Fabindia which sells and promotes local crafts from all parts of India. This includes clothes, furnishings, spices, cosmetics, etc. This took quite a long time as there were three floors of merchandise and several of the group invested quite heavily.

Then it was on to Thacker - a small restaurant which was entered by a small doorway at 31, Dadisheth Agyari Lane off Kalbadevi Road and up a flight of stairs. Except for the fact that it is written up in every guide book, you would never find it or even consider going there. It was very crowded and we had to wait for about 20 minutes for tables to accommodate all of us. If you are in Mumbai, don't miss it, it is a real treat – and worth every minute of wait time.

When we sat down, steel trays with small bowls were set in front of us. Then a large selection of dishes, breads and chutneys were brought in and the bowls and trays filled with delicious curries, soups and sauces. This was a really tasty meal with lots of different flavors and textures washed down with buttermilk. The owner of the restaurant, Shree Thacker Bhojanalay, joined us. The restaurant has been around in his family for nearly 75 years and he told us his niece lives in New York and we all said this format would be a big success there. By the end of the meal we were all more than well fed.

To help digest the meal we walked for a while through the jewelry district called Laveri Bazaar and dropped in on Darshana’s cousin’s jewelry design store where he told us that despite the value of the goods sold on this street, there was no security and no crime. In each city we have visited, the small stores are often grouped in areas, with all or most of the small stores selling similar things, such as textiles, saris, wedding invitations and stationery, books, jewelry, paper goods, spices, etc. The amount of competition must be tremendous. One area in Delhi which sold saris was such a colorful and attractive area one wonders how a shopper can manage to choose any one store or item over the next, so great is the selection on offer.

We walked on through the paper district and then through Mangaldas Market, the textile wholesale market which is a riot of colors of cloths of cotton and silk. Then it was on again ending up in Crawford Market which is the fruit and vegetable market and which sells all manner of produce in every color, size and shape. The aisles seem to go on forever with hundreds, maybe thousands of small vendors. Quite a sight.

After negotiating the street crossing in rush hour traffic, a feat in itself, we met the car and drove back to the hotel. On the way, we decided to poll everyone to see if they would like to forego the dinner arranged for this evening and just have drinks in the hotel instead. The majority, still digesting the lunch, agreed.

After a freshen up we met in the Opium Den bar in our Hotel and had drinks before retiring to bed after another wonderful day in this amazing city.