North India Tour - Day 10

Today we were to visit the Elephanta Caves.  What are the Elephanta Caves?  Good question.  We had never heard of them but once Mumbai was added to the itinerary apparently Elephanta Caves became a must.  According to the official blurb :

"Hewn out of solid rock, the Elephanta Caves date back to 600 AD, and attract more visitors each year than the entire city of Mumbai."

The  caves  are located on Elephant Island about 11 km north-east of the Gate of India (GoI). The island was named after a colossal elephant sculpture found on the island. This sculpture is now housed at Jijamata Garden in the heart of Mumbai.

Shahbaz was to pick us up at 7:30 - we did not know why as on our walk last night we passed all the ticket stands at GoI which stated that the first boat left at 9:00 am.  Seeing that we walked here following Shahbaz's simple 'down the road turn right then left' and got here by foot in 10 minutes, now it was going to take 90 minutes in a car sounded a bit over the top even for India.

Who were we to argue with the expert so we were up early, had a good breakfast then received the 7:25  message that he would not get us until 8:30.  That was OK, still going to take him 30 minutes to drive our 10 minute walk.

We were picked up, driven to the GoI and personally escorted to the stone steps where the thirty boats were tied up.  There were a further 130 anchored about 30 metres away from GoI.  Luckily it was low season.

The boat was a charmer. We boarded and went to go upstairs but there was a small Indian man guarding the steps demanding more money if we wanted to go up.  We declined, not because of the money, more because we are sick of having extra charges put on everything we do.  The seating downstairs offered four options:

1. Wooden benches around the outside
   
2. Cloth-covered seats down the middle for half the length of the boat, which wouldn't fit half a Wallis backside on them
   
3. A row of free-standing plastic chairs directly over the diesel exhaust output from the engine
   
4. A further row of free-standing plastic chairs connected to (2)
   

We discounted (3) due to IW's inability to handle the smell of diesel and the sea in the same journey.  (2) went out because when we tried them we found they slanted forward and when we sat on them we slowly started to slip toward the deck.  That left (1) and (4).  Being thrillseekers we chose (4) because we thought it would be fun to slide backward and forward on the chairs that were not attached to the deck.  Oh for a good Workplace Health and Safety Officer.

We watched people board, head to the stairs, be confronted by the Stair Guard and turn away to find a seat downstairs.  Strangely, our decision making process was followed by most people.  We had a great ride sliding ever so gently back and forward - the only ones who didn't either throw up on the voyage or continually pick themselves up off the deck after slipping off the cloth covered seats.  

It was a one hour trip to the Island which passed fairly quickly especially with the on-board entertainment provided by the seats.  When we arrived at the island we moored at the end of a long stone causeway that was about 300 metres long.

Upon alighting we ran the gauntlet of the vendors and paid our 5 rupee tax charge.  There waiting for us was a 'free' train to transport us to the end of the causeway.  It was only 'free' one way as they charged 25 rupees to take you back to the boat.  After the vendors was an incredibly long, steep, uphill climb which along the way also required the scaling of over 120 steps.  This is where words such as:

• advance warning steep stairs
  
• those with a heart problem
  
• if you recently had a hip replacement
  

come to mind.  Then we saw 'THE SIGN'.  'Chair Lift available - 400 rupees ($12) up and 300 rupees ($9) down.  Could be worth it as IW's knees are not that good.  Then we rounded the corner and there they were, the chair lifts.  As we glanced up, not being able to see the top for fear of damaging our vertebrae we christened what lay ahead as the 'Climb of Hell (CoH)'.

We declined these also as the memory of  'Lance' pushing us up the hill at the Taj mahal still lived in our memory.  We were not ready to put the Indians to another test just yet.

The climb is lined with vendors selling jewellery, cloth, carved elephants etc.  If only there was a Snow Cone Taj Mahal my wallet would be out in a flash.  We kept a steady pace with the Wallis competitive spirit simmering just below the surface.  IW was finding it difficult on the steps but there was a couple in their 80's in front of us so I urged her on with some great Wallis encouragement.

We could not stop as the vendors perched like giant carniverous birds ready to swoop on the first sign of fatigue in the passing tourists.  Fifty steps, wow that was easy (if you were an athlete in his prime).  My clothes changed from crisp and nicely ironed to sort of damp (well wringing wet) cloth clinging to my back and legs.  It must be noted that I was penalised early and had to do the CoH carrying a 20kg backpack.

We reached the top with no great injury.  IW was a champion - we left those 80 year olds in our wake.

At the top were the ticket booth and the monkeys.  We paid our money and followed the signs.  There were five caves of varying sizes.  All had been carved out of the rock.  Some surfaces were highly polished and others quite rough.  There were various Hindu gods inside but most had been badly damaged by the Portugese army using them as target practice.  This gave the appearance of a quite sad, uncared for place.  There was rubbish everywhere which added to the confusion for us as to why this was the most popular tourist destination in Mumbai.

We headed down to meet the boat. IW engaged in her usual banter with the vendors when she inadvertantly stopped and picked up some stone necklaces.  The bartering began and she ended up buying two for 100 rupees ($3).  Who knows what they are made of or what their real worth is.  IW is happy, the vendor is happy and I am happy as my wallet is a bit lighter.

We had plenty of time for the boat, so declined the 25 rupee 'free' train ride and walked back to the boat.  The trip home took 90 minutes as there was a pretty fierce head wind that bounced us, the chairs and the people sitting next to the diesel outlet around. We had negotiated with the driver that we would walk the arduous 10 minutes home and he was to pick us up at 3:00 pm to continue on our tour of Mumbai.

Promptly at 3:00 pm Shahbaz arrives wanting to take us to this temple and that temple etc.  I leaned over and said "Shahbaz we have seen enough old things, how about we change the itinerary and tour the great sporting arenas of Mumbai".  This threw him a bit as the first thing he showed us was a local cricket field. There was a game going on so it was good.  He then explained that the 'big' cricket field was two hours drive away (for me, I immediately translated that into about 20km).

We did get to the Royal Western India Turf Club which I knew would be of interest to several of the Wallis Clan. Unfortunately we could not get in so had to resort to the old 'over the back straight fence' shots.

We were then asked if we would like to see the Dhoby Ghaut.  The only thing I know of this name is a subway station in Singapore.  When we asked what it was, Shahbaz just replied "I think you will like it."  Shortly after he pulls up on a bridge and tells us to get out and have a look over the stone wall at the Dhoby Ghaut.

 

A bit of research revealed the following:

Dhoby Ghaut literally means washing place in Hindi, 

from Dhobi - literally meaning washerman or one who does laundry and 

Ghaut - meaning a large open space. 

Dhobis call on regular clients, collect their dirty clothes and then take them to the Dhobi Ghauts. The famous Dhobi Ghat of Mumbai, India, has rows of  wash pens, each with its own flogging stone. The Dhobi sloshes dirty linen into a soapy water mixture, thrashing it with the flogging stones, and then puts the linen into huge vats of starch. After it is dried, it is ironed and delivered to the owners. This is however not a standard practice of dhobis in general. In a large number of areas in the country, dhobis have migrated to washing machines and dryers, using the modern detergents.  The people live in these slumlike dwellings right next to a huge railway station.  Very depressing actually.

After departing the largest outdoor laundry in the world we were taken to a hill overlooking the bay where the Botanical Gardens are situated.

It is a spectacular site and although the flowers were not in bloom, there were plenty of families taking in the Gardens and the view.

We were soon back in our hotel and heading for the rooftop restaurant to watch some cricket and have something to eat overlooking the beautiful Mumbai coastline.

That was Mumbai. a great city surrounded by water, relatively clean, easy to get around.  Well worth a few days' visit. Tomorrow we head to Goa for our final four days.