Mumbai
Mumbai, called the maximum city…crowded but with a great food scene. I had a hard time there with traffic and noise but did like the food.
Juhu beach – there’s no way to photoshop out all the people
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj terminus, a major train station in Mumbai and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. [“Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus”, Wikipedia, 28 Jan 2024]
I saw it from the taxi but didn’t go in.
The Gateway of India is a historical site. The traffic in Mumbai was really bad so by the time I got there, I was tired and unimpressed by the site.
This was annoying, seeing that “Telecaller Executive”, “Data Entry Executive” and “Customer Service Executive” are “Female” jobs. Just the idea that there are jobs for women and jobs for men and gender discrimination is 100% in the open in India’s job market.
I think this was preparation for a festival where local youth make a human pyramid. It is called Dahi Handi. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahi_Handi
The two pictures above depict Pav Bhaji, a famous street food in Mumbai. It is made up of pav which a bread with Portuguese roots and bhaji which is mashed up veggies in a tomato base. The pav is used to scoop up the bhaji. Onions and lemon are used as a garnish.
Above is a street scene in Mumbai. This one is not too fancy but not too trashy either.
Above is a scene from a JW Marriott hotel in Mumbai. I did not stay there but it was ultra fancy.
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
I did not spend a lot of time visiting Chennai specifically but used it as a base to visit some sites in Tamil Nadu.
Chennai Airport had some nice artwork.
I stayed with extended family and this is the view from their deck.
Scene of a temple near Chennai.
Descent of the Ganges is a bas relief sculpture that is part of the Group of Monuments at Mamallapuram. Seeing this was one of the highlights of this trip.
(“Descent of the Ganges”, 28 Jan 2024, Wikipedia and “Group of Monuments at Mamallapuram”, 30 Dec 2023, Wikipedia)
Gujarat / Navsari and train back to Mumbai
People working on rice paddies
A scene from Navsari, a town close to where my parents grew up.
Probably a rose-ringed parakeet stopping by the window.
A scene from a train station in Gujarat. I think this is Navsari train station.
After this it was on to Mumbai for a flight to Bangkok.