Arrived!

I've started writing, but haven't had much time to really review my posts and get them up, so I will be catching up over the next day or so.

The flight was great and I was particularly happy with the second leg of the journey.  I flew on Jet Airways, which is an Indian carrier, and the service was outstanding.  Of course, what also helped was the very nice Bollinger champagne  that was being poured like water.  After about three glasses (and the glasses were truly full), and a very good Indian lunch, I settled in for a nice long snooze.  The only downside was that my TV wasn't working so sadly no Bollywood movies for me, instead I dozed over a book for the remainder of the trip.

It was gorgeous when I arrived in the early morning.  I remember how steamy and tropical it was the last time I was here and the weather is nothing like that now.  This time, it is the dry season and it was a lovely 26C.  The perfect nighttime temperature for someone coming from Canada. It was such a pleasure to take off the light jacket that I had worn.

Finding my driver was just as crazy, though.  The arrivals area  for the airport is outside of the building.  Only people with tickets can get in or out of the airport and security guard make sure that once you've left, you are not getting back inside, no matter what your problem is. This results in a huge throng of people waiting.  It has a carnival atmosphere though and goes on all night.  You can get the requisite flowers and stuffed toys for your loved ones and, of course being India, yummy looking food that I have not been allowed to eat, to date.  This time, I will try street food.  I was constantly warned against it before and yes, some of the vendors are obviously dirty, but there are also better ones and that's what I intend to find and enjoy, despite my weak, western stomach.

Now that I'm back, I'm happy to be here again.  I would never say I know the city, it's way too massive for that, but I recognized the way from airport to the hotel and was happy that "my neighbourhood" hasn't changed.

Coming back to the hotel was the best part, so far.  I was checked in by someone who remembered me me and when I came down the next morning for breakfast, my server immediately asked if I wanted scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast (my standard breakfast when I was last here).  It's like I never left and I like that.  It helps make an extended trip like this that much easier.

Rickshaw Drivers = Frustration

I get a real kick out of taking the rickshaws.  They are a hoot for those of us who are so used to either driving or taking cabs  When you're in a rickshaw, you're part of the route--from the traffic congestion, the near miss as the driver zips around a car with only centimeters to spare, to whatever smells are present.  I'll go slightly off topic in an effort to be fair, as I'm sure everything is thinking bad smells, but on my ride this morning, on a certain stretch, something smelled so incredibly good.  I don't know if a plant was blooming, but there was a beautiful, green, slightly spicy odour that was unlike anything I'd ever had the pleasure to experience.  It was truly intoxicating.

Back to my rant, though.  As much as I love the rickshaw ride, the drivers are a completely another story.  The rickshaws themselves and their meters are quite old, so there is a tariff rate in place so that when the meter says X, people can translate that into today's value.  For example, the meter will show five rupees on my trip from my hotel to the office.  According to the tariff card (I keep a copy in my purse), I should be charged 64 rupees (about $1.50).  The reality is something different and for some reason it's the drivers in the evening who are the problem.  My morning ride is an honest one.

My first night, my driver tried to charge me 200.  I argued him down to 100.  Last night, right off the bat, the driver said 300 and after much back and forth between two people who don't speak the same language and me threatening to get out and find another cab I also got him down to 100.  Tonight, the driver took me who knows where, and my 15 minute ride took at least 30 minutes.  When I said something to him, he acted like he didn't understand where I needed to go.  On the upside, it was a really interesting drive.  One of the streets we puttered along was a shopping street in a predominately Muslim neighbourhood.  It's Ramadam, so it was hopping as Muslims are fasting during daylight hours and only break their fast after dusk.  And since it only cost 30 rupees more than it should have, I'll enjoy it for the experience and refuse to get annoyed.

Last night's driver, Mr. 300 rupees, was just a jerk though.  To get to my hotel is very easy, you go by the Infinity Mall and take the next right.  But he just didn't want to and I got off at the mall to walk.  There was only one small problem.  It had been raining all afternoon so I had to make my way around an obstacle course of puddles.  This one was the worst.  The sidewalk ended and then puddle--a really big, really deep puddle that was wide enough that passing traffic made big splashes.   This meant stepping down a foot into mud and skirting around it.  By the time I made it to the hotel, my khakis and shoes were in pretty rough shape, but nothing that a good launder and dry mud brushing didn't solve. It was a lovely night for a walk, too, once I turned off the main road onto my street (I have begun to think of it as my neighbourhood).  My favourite stray dog wandered over to say hello.  I'd bought some cookies that I didn't like so I've been feeding them to her (the truth is, I'm on to my second packet) and carry a couple when I know I will be walking by where she hangs out.  Now she comes, check out if I have anything for her and then goes back to snoozing if I don't.  I don't pet her because they can carry rabies, but I like that she recognizes me.  Even the people who work in the shop and restaurants don't stare at me anymore, which is nice. That felt kind of strange in the beginning and I'm glad it's not an issue any more.

Food

It's a late evening (almost 10) and I've just finished up with work for the day.  As I'm slurping my ramen noodles (ordering room service will just take too long), I've realized that I've been totally remiss and really haven't talked at all about food and there is a lot to talk about.   To the right is a drink that I had that was a blend of coconut water, kiwi and milk.

One thing that I've learned is that I love spicy food.  This is good as everything has a bite, including my rather yummy noodles.  They're making my nose run.  The other thing is that I could spend my entire month in Bombay and never eat Indian food, not that I would want to. It would just be wrong to be another country and not sample the good.

Until this week, when my colleague had to go away on a trip of his own, his wife and mother very graciously and generously made lunch for me.  They made it extra special and lunch became my favouite meal of the day as I couldn't wait to see what Indian specialty they put together for us.   Aside from being so tasty, they made a fresh lunch each morning.  I can't thank them enough for their kindness.

I've learned I'm definitely a fan of paneer, which is a firm cheese.  I think I've raved about it already.  Okra, called lady fingers here, is also delicious,  Who knew?  I wish I had taken  a few pictures.  Home cooking is always delicious.  Beware, I'm bringing back an Indian cook book and everyone will be subject to my attempts at cooking.  I'll hand out Immodium as a party favour.

I just had an a-ha moment.  One vegetable I really enjoyed is just called drumsticks.  It's cooked and then the pulp sucked out of it.  It sort of tastes like artichokes.  In my google search to find out what it is, I found  it is actually the pod from a Moringa tree.  For anyone who shops at the Body Shop, you'll recognize that one of their scents is Moringa.  So not only good smelling but good for you.  I wonder if we can get it in Canada?  I think a trip to little India is in order when I get home.

My food benefactors also supplied us with some desserts.  I had a hands down favourite, called "sheera".  It was so yummy, I requested it a second time.  It's deceptively simple.  Flour, ghee (clarified butter), milk, cardamon and then sprinkled with chopped almonds.  I'm posting the recipe below.  It calls for wheat rava, which is semolina.  It takes no time to put together, so I'm told, and is just really, really good.  Now everyone knows what they will be getting for dessert following the aforementioned dinner.

I have much more to talk about, food-wise, and will very soon.  But I still have a bit of work to do and my bed is calling my name.  The recipe below serves two.

Ingredients:
Wheat sooji (wheat rava) (semolina) 1 cup
Sugar 3/4 cup
Ghee 1 tbl spn
Cloves 2-3
Raisins(Dried grapes) & Cashews 1 tea spn  (I had it with chopped almonds, no raisins)
Milk 1/2 cup
Water 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder 1/2 tea spoon
Saffron(optional) a pinch

Method:
Heat ghee and add cloves, cashews and raisins, fry for sometime. Add wheat sooji and fry on low flame till the nice aroma comes out. Add sugar, milk and water(add the saffron dissolved in water). Close and cook till water is absorbed. Add cardamom powder and mix well. Serve hot (it was good at room temperature, too)

Preparation time : 10min

 

Colaba Market

Last weekend, the one must-see area that I didn't have a chance to visit is Colaba Market.  It's a shopping street behind the Taj Mahal Hotel and is a great mix of small businesses, western retailers, and, of course, street vendors.  Everything is directed to get my tourist dollar.

The afternoon that I had at the market was so much fun, hugely helped by two Australian women I met outside the Gateway to India.  Last weekend, it was Independence Day weekend here and there were scads of people by the arches.  It was much quieter yesterday so I took the oppotunity to see it up close.  The vendors there see a white woman by herself and make a nuisance of themselves.  One vendor selling post cards followed me for about a block and only fell back when I reached the security check point to get into the  square in front of gateway.   Once inside, more postcard sellers, people who will take your pictures, balloon sellers and map sellers.  One man was showing me his maps and then wanted to know if I wanted to buy a "special" map and quickly opened it show a small bag of pot and then flicked open another map with a chunk of hashish.  And yes, I did say no.

Without question, my favourite vendor that I've seen is the cotton candy seller.  They walk around with small bags of the stuff on a long stick.  I love the way it looks and the cotton candy is tasty.  I couldn't resist buying a bag for 20 rupees (about 50 cents).

While I was there, I was approached by two women to take their picture.  We got to talking and somehow we ended up shopping together.  Both were really lovely.  They had come to India to participate in a Salsa competition and were finishing up their trip by spending a few days in Mumbai, at the Taj Hotel.

We wandered through some of the back streets and then hit the main street.  It is mayhem.  Every vendor is trying to get you to look at their stuff and yet from seller to seller, they're all selling the same thing.  The prices are fairly good.  You do have to barter, but when you're being quoted the equivalent of 2 dollars for a necklace, it's hard to put much effort into the haggle.  And unlike the pot, I did but the necklace.  It's made of multi-coloured wooden beads.  Very pretty.

For the better quality items, you need to go into the stores.  But that is very much buyer beware.  My new friends wanted to get an authentic Indian necklace so we wandered into one shop.  We were brought into a back room and the man behind the counter pulled out necklace after necklace.  We all ended up finding one we loved and then it is time to discuss price.  It's considered rude to talk price before selecting.  That makes it very hard, as I can invariably choose the most expensive thing.  Rather than giving us a price, we were asked how much we were willing to pay.  One woman said 5 Australian dollars (very, very low-ball) and I said 4000 rupees (about 125 bucks).  After much talk about how we were like his sisters and that the price he's going to quote is the price he'd give family, out came the price--35 000 rupees!!!!  This is about 780 dollars.  Insanity.  The necklaces were pretty, but the silver was tarnished and they weren't THAT amazing.  We almost fell on our asses, we were so surpised.  Absolutely not, we said and then had to listen to how these  were investment pieces that we would love for the rest of our lives, blah, blah, blah.  It wasn't until we just said, Look, we just don't have that kind of money, that we were allowed to leave.

Beside the shop, was a Mad about Donuts.  It's a chain here and we decided to get over the sticker shock with coffee and a donut.  The donut flavours were the same as we have, but some were more exotic.  Most interesting were the savory one, like chili, but we weren't that adventurous.  What we settled on was cinnamon, blueberry (that one was the best), a nutella filled, a white chocolate mocha, a mocha, and the equivalent of a boston cream.  The donuts are eggless, for some reason, so the texture is a little heavier than my Tim Horton's donut.  We were kind of "meh" on the donuts but the coffee was delicious.  It took several bites of donut to get over our outrage on the necklaces.  Even as I'm typing this, I'm still shaking my head.  If we would have gotten a decent price, he would have made a sale.  Jerk.

We proceed on and tried another store (called Amber) and this one was wonderful.  Family run, the husband and wife were behind the counter and were chatty and very knowledgeable about what they sold.  The steady stream of Indian shoppers who were also buying  was a good indicator of the store's reputation.  The ladies looked at necklaces, and I got sidetracked with bracelets and earrings.  Again, not cheap, but a price that made sense.  Like last week, once it was clear that we were there to shop, out came the tea.  I do love that.  We sipped our tea and browsed and browsed.  Service in this country is exceptional. No request is too small and I've found I've had to get over the notion that as a shopper, my needs are a bit of a nuisance.  You do not see 16 year olds yakking on their cell phones and ignoring you in the shops here.

We all found something. I bought a gorgeous marcasite bracelet.  Marcasite is also known as "black diamonds" and the bracelet is so glittery, I can see why.  We did mention the outrageous price from the other store and our new favourite shopkeeper just shook his head and said, "Crook".

We finished the day having high tea at the Taj.  It really was serendipity that the three of us met.  I had a truly fun afternoon at time where I am beginning to get a tiny twinge of homesickness.

More pictures of the market and the Sea Lounge at the Taj.  I think I might enjoy one last tea there next weekend.  I really enjoy the neighbourood it's in.