Jet Lag, Crab and Architecture

Compass on our plane pointing in the direction to Mecca

Lunch by the Pool at the Taj

The Crowds at the Gateway to India viewed from our room

Dining Area in our Suite

Living Room

Crowds of strollers on a Sunday

Its ok to breath in Mumbai today!

Dal Makani, Crab and Rice

On our Qatar flights from LA to Doha and then on to Mumbai, there was a compass projected on the video monitor. It showed our direction, but it also always pointed to Mecca so that the Muslims could align them selves for prayer. The prayers obviously worked for we arrived safe and sound.

After going to bed about 4:30am I was surprised to awaken about 8am. Cathy was still asleep, but it gave me a chance to get our cell phones in order. It turns out the Taj Business Center could acquire an Indian SIM card for Cathy and top off my iPhone Indian SIM. Luckily both of our iPhones are unlocked and can accept an Indian SIM. 

Since it was Sunday, many of the Taj Stores were closed. The Southern Mumbai area the Taj is located is called Colaba, and we know many of the stores in the general area. We walked around amazed at the vibrancy of Mumbai, once again: the hoards of people, the noise of constant cars honking and hawkers selling everything from food to baby shoes.

We returned to the hotel, had a small lunch and after a wave of jet lag hit us, we took a mid-day nap. Upon awakening we walk the streets of Coloba and by good fortune came upon The National Gallery of Modern Art. There is a major show about Indian Architecture currently at the Museum. The museum closes at 6pm but we saw people going in a side door. We followed them in and discovered there was a lecture just starting on Charles Correa. He was India’s most famous architect. Mumbai has lots of the modernist architect's homes, apartments and communities. As the lecturer put slides up explaining his philosophy and showing his work, we were amazed at how many buildings we recognized. He was a master of open spaces and housing units stacked in a way to let in air and light. The lecture was an unexpected treat.

We then returned to the hotel for a drink and then dinner in the exceptional Kraft Masala Kraft Restaurant – Crab, Dal Makani, Rice and wine. This is our traditional Mumbai first dinner. During dinner, again, I felt waves of jet lag but the food was so good I didn’t give in. Afterwards we retired to the Club Room for Cognac and Chocolate before returning to our room and falling into bed. At about 3:30am I awoke and surprisingly Cathy was wide-awake reading the iPad. Jet lag had arrived for her.