Yesterday was our last full day in Mumbai before completing
our trip around the world. Tomorrow we are off to LA via Bangkok then Shanghai.
At the Taj, we miss the Club Room, on the 5th floor. After the fire
caused by the terrorists, they rebuilt it on the 1st floor. We told
the manager of the poolside restaurant about it, and he said he would show us
something that would make up for it. Today he took us to the reconfigured room
that is now an ultra luxury 3 floor suite. It is called the Ravi Shankar Suite for
a reason. They have on display, one of Ravi’s performing Sitars. This rare
instrument was a real treat to see. The suite is unbelievable, I always joke
with Courtney that our room has a Jacuzzi in it. This one actually does. I
don’t know who could afford to stay in it, but I am sure it gets it guests.
The Taj is owned by Ratan Tata. Tata owns many industries
besides the Taj Hotels, Automobiles (Including Tata Cars, Jaguar and
LandRover), telecommunications, etc. He is a multi-billionaire. As we were going
through security, entering the Taj, he walked out. I immediately recognized
him. He was dressed in a casual shirt. I expected to see him surrounded by
armed bodyguards and walk to a bullet proof limousine. Instead, he walked
through the crowd opened the back door of a Honda, helped someone get in, that
walked around to the drivers seat, and drove himself away.
I mentioned to our manager friend about seeing Tata, and he
said, he comes to the Taj often, that is a very simple man in taste, he doesn’t
try to impress anyone. Several other people said the same thing. He is
definitely the anti-trump or anti-Ambani.
We shopped a bit at some new stores (at least to us), then
returned to our hotel suite. We planned to join a walking tour of the Deco
Style buildings in Mumbai (being a new city by Indian standards, there are many
Deco buildings here). We taxied over to the famous Eros Theater to begin the
special tour. There was a large crowd their, and it was clear the event wasn’t
well planned. We decided to skip it and returned instead to the hotel to get
ready for our final penultimate dinner in Mumbai (we will have a final one
tomorrow night with our Bollywood Actress friend, Kashmera Shah, before going
to the airport).
First we taxied to the Intercontinental Hotel, for roof top
drinks overlooking Marine Drive and the Arabian Sea. It was a warm night and it
was wonderful having the beautiful view, especially for the sunset. After a
couple of martinis for me, it was off to dinner. We love the seafood at Trishna,
and the previous night we had a great dinner. Our waiter (an old timer at the
restaurant, who really made us feel welcome) was exceptional. We told him we
would return again tonight, would he arrange a special dinner for us. He was
happy to comply and we had an even better meal than the previous night. Crab
Cakes, Garlic Shrimp, Hyderabad Fish, Naan, Kulfi for dessert. We were curious
about Hyderabad fish, we didn’t particularly remember fish when we were in
Hyderabad. Turns out Hyderabad fish, is the way the fish is prepared, not where
it came from!
A brief word about travel directions in India. No one knows
where anything is! Drivers don’t consult maps and don’t have GPS. In Japan,
every cab has GPS and the taxi drivers use it to find addresses. In London,
taxi drivers have to pass a special test called “The Knowledge” proving they
know the streets. In Hyderabad, Mumbai and almost everywhere we travelled
directions were given like: “Go past the Temple turn right at the \ stand where
they serve the extra spicy chilies, turn left where you see three goats and a
cow.” Our drivers would go in the general direction then roll down their window
and yell to the driver of the tuk-tuk, motorbike, or pedestrian – Brother
(bhai) where is x. The person would sort of waive his hand in a general
direction and give some directions, and we would be off again. We experienced
it repeatedly. Our driver isn’t bothered by not knowing and who ever he asks is
happy to assist. The system works!
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