Weekend in Mumbai

Hi Everyone --

It has been a very fast, fun, and busy week. Wednesday was India Independence Day. It has been 60 years (1947) since India gained Independence from England. I tried to find out what they do here on Independence day. Mostly they don't go to work, then have a treat. We had the members of the church from Pune (Indians) over and we learned to cook an Indian dish -- Mugholi Byriani. We had to go up to the little store by us and get all the spices to make this tasty dish. We made it only a "little spicy" so it wouldn't be too bad, but we also had a tomato and cucumber salad to cool the burn too. We had chocolate chip cookies and ice cream decorated like the flag of India for dessert. It was a great cultural experience and we had a lot of fun!

One of the members here also decided that since he was leaving the area because of work, we should all go to Mumbai for the weekend and go to the Hard Rock Cafe. We got it all set up that we would spend Saturday night at one of the other member's homes. We left at 7 a.m. Saturday and got to the hospital to pick up Lisa (a medical student from Germany working here for 8 weeks) and then we went to the mall. We wandered around there a bit and had ice cream, then headed to the Hard Rock Cafe. We only had slight directions -- it's in Woorli and it's behind Phoenix Mills Mall, near Bombay Dying Company complex. So we head out with our driver. An hour and a half later we find out we have driven in a complete circle and it was the Phoenix Mills Mall that we were at at the first place. It was really only 5-10 minutes from where we were! That was so defeating! Really, the best thing to do was not think about it.

The Hard Rock Cafe was interesting. We were there at 1:30 in the afternoon, so it wasn't crowded. All the expat members in Mumbai came. It was fun to get together and eat hamburgers!


After that, we decided to go to the Dhobi Ghats -- the major laundry facility in Mumbai. The best way to see it was from the overpass above it. I hope the pictures do it justice. We were there in the afternoon when it wasn't busy with people washing. There were a couple, but it was mostly laundry hanging on the line to dry. This place is right next to the railroad tracks, so all the dirt and soot come right on over onto the clothes. It was quite a sight and very interesting. They say that if you put your laundry to be washed at the hotel, you may see it at the Dhobi Ghats!


After that, we went to a Muslim holy place. It's called Haji Ali Mosque. It's at the end of a causeway out into the Arabian Sea, and at high tide, the causeway is covered so you can only go at low tide. The disconcerting part is that the causeway is lined with crippled beggars and hawkers. We were certainly the only white people there and it was certainly interesting. Hannah was excited to have some experience with the Arabian Sea! Back to land, we went to the most famous juice bar in Mumbai. Hannah had apple juice, Dad had pineapple with sweet limes. I think they just throw the whole fruit into the blender and then you get your drink. The kids with us had pommagranite. It's pretty expensive -- 45-100 rupees, as compared with the juice venders near our friend's hospital, where it is only 5 rupees.

We then went to our friend's house. They live at the residency building at the Grand Hyatt Hotel near the airport (he works for Boeing). They have a really nice place -- hotel like, but also homey. Hannah liked it there a lot. We played games and ate snacks, then went to bed and slept well!

Sunday, we had to leave for church at 10 a.m. It's an hour to church for the people who live in Mumbai. The branch is getting quite large and bursting at the seams of the small room we meet in.

We made it home from Mumbai safely this afternoon. Hannah starts school tomorrow and she is quite nervous about it. Hopefully it won't be as bad as what she thinks she remembers.

Have a great week! We love you!
Lucinda