Mumbai to Juhu

Dim Sum Lunch: Crispy Spinach, Shu Mei, Pot Sticker

Juhu Beach from our Hotel Suite Window

View of Bombay from K & K's New Condo

Kashmera and Krushna

Today was the day we checked out of the Taj. I know I am being repetitive but I don’t think there could be a better hotel experience anywhere. I have thought a lot about what makes the Taj Palace in Mumbai so extraordinary. It has a hundred year tradition of service excellence. It is a big hotel, which means it has every possible kind of facility. It is located in a very low wage country, which means it has a huge staff and they are very excited and happy to have a job and want to excel. It is a very large company that offers the staff a pathway to success and it motivates the staff to excellence. I imagine that there are hotels in Paris or London or Monaco that could rival the Taj, but they would be prohibitively expensive. Because Bombay is so hot and humid (especially during Monsoon) there is no pretentiousness they give you all of this service even if you are in a sweat drenched tee-shirt and shorts. To us it is perfect.

We had a final lunch at the Taj (in fact it was the first lunch we had on the whole vacation to India, we usually only eat breakfast and dinner). We ate at the Taj’s Chinese restaurant and had Dim Sum. The test of Dim Sum to me is: Shu Mei, and theirs was excellent. The lunch expanded to Pot Stickers, Hakka Noodles and giant prawns. We were satiated and thought we could never eat again (we were wrong).

The whole trip to India was based upon arriving in Mumbai to experience Ganesh Chaturthi, the 10 day festival where idols of Lord Ganesh (The Elephant God) are immersed in the sea. We went to Chowpatty Beach and saw immersions of small family idols. The events throughout Mumbai are very regulated. Tomorrow is the big day. The grand finale. The big kahunna of idol immersions. Hundreds of thousands of people will crowd the beach for the festival. Kashmera and Krushna provided us with an incredible suite at the Marriot in Juhu. Juhu and the small towns like Bandra are where most of the Bollywood stars live. This is near where Film City is located where the Bollywood movies are made. The Marriot is in the center of it, where all of their major Bollywood functions are held, and the stars stay. Our suite has all glass windows floor to ceiling looking out on the beach (including our shower and bathroom - memo to self be sure to lower the blinds before showering). For our safety, we can watch the entire procedure from our room (and be air-conditioned to boot). They have hired body guards for us, so we can venture out into the crowds tomorrow if we wish.

Kashmera and Krushna have just bought a large condo on Madh Island. Bombay was originally a series of islands that were subsequently  connected as the water between them was filled in. Madh Island is one of the islands, and it is still separated from the main city by a small creek. Nothing can prepare you for the trip to Madh Island. Bombay, known as Maximum City, the center of entertainment and finance is huge, with high rises everywhere, jammed traffic, construction gone wild. In the middle of the city is an active fishing village that could be 150 years old, one long dirt road, no sign of progress, happy people, seemingly oblivious to living in the middle of this great city. At the end of this dirt road, is a muddy path to what can only generously be called a pier. A boat appears, two rickety boards are stretched out from the decrepit boat and people and motorbikes scamper aboard, trying not to fall into the water from the gangway. The boat shoves off for its 5 minute ride across the water, everyone exits and you walk up another muddy rise to the dirt road above.

Kashmera and Krushna have 5 cars and drivers. We keep switching cars and drivers. I feel like I am in a gangster movie. One car and driver takes us to the ferry. Another car and driver meets us on the other side. Another car is parked along the way and we switch to a smaller car to navigate into the village. After crossing the water on the rickety ferry, being met by a driver and driven through another old fishing village we arrive at their new condo. It is in a gigantic new construction that reminds me of a Los Vegas Hotel with all of the trimmings. The juxtaposition of the wealth of the condo and the poverty of the village is unbelievable.

Here is view of Bombay from their balcony and their new condo.

Krushna is a major TV star and Kashmera is a Bollwood and TV Celebrity. Everywhere we go people recognize them and want to have their picture taken with them or just shake Krushna’s hand. They are incredibly accommodating to their fans, unlike American stars they are totally approachable. They stop for pictures and usually the person slides up next to them and they put their arms around the stranger and pictures are taken. The smiles on the people are amazing, I am sure for some of these people the picture of themselves with a Bollywood star will be a lifetime memento.

We picked up Krushna’s father and he joined us for dinner. We went to our 2^nd Chinese dinner of the day at 1China. We had eaten there before and liked it. Krushna’s father should have a movie made about him. He took an instant liking to Cathy and me. Thought we were saints. His judgment clearly needs to be tempered. He is very spiritual, extremely loquacious, sometimes drops his speech into a guttural Hindi, repeats himself (which is ok when is repeating we are saints). He has a very strong personality, and although I am not sure of everything he said (no matter how many times he said it), it was a kick to be with him. He reminds me of village character actor in foreign movie. Not a bad thing at all!

We drove with Krushna and Kashmera back to their current condo, switched drivers and he drove Krushna’s father (gosh just realized I don’t even know his name) home then dropped us off at the Marriot.

I strung a bunch of clips of the ride through the village to Krushna and Kashmera’s new place and the walk from the ferry to the car. Do remember this is all located in the middle of Mumbai not some distant village!

Click to watch.