Magical Mumbai

What a great party town Mumbai is!  My first night comprised champagne, bratwurst, potato salad, men in leiderhosen, dancing to 80's hits, making awesome new friends, a spell at "Please Don't Tell" club before ending at 2am with a dose of sweet paan.  Wow, these people really know how to have a good time!

Left:  Aunty & "Ah Boy" Harvey;
 Right: at Britannia with Harvey, Michael & Mr Kohinoor

The main reason I'd come to Mumbai was to visit my dear "Ah Boy" Harvey Koh.  We first met at Calvary Church in 1994 when we were cast to play the two main characters in a Christmas production. The finale saw us serenading each other with a song entitled "O, What a Love", Bollywood style.  How apt that we should be reunited in Mumbai - the home of Bollywood!  Harvey and Michael live in Bandra, the Beverly Hills equivalent, where the major movie stars have their homes.  In fact, Shah Rukh Khan's house was a mere 300m away from our apartment!

The next day, the boys took me to Britannia & Co, an authentic Parsi restaurant in the heart of old Mumbai. While the sali boti (mutton stew topped with potato chips), chicken berry pulao (chicken rice with fruit & nuts) and chicken dhansak (lentil stew with chicken) were all extremely good, the real attraction is a charming 93-year old gentleman.  Mr Kohinoor is the owner, and while he took almost 15 minutes to take our order, I was completely enamoured by his stories, jokes and devotion to Queen Elizabeth II.  She's even written him a letter to thank him for his loyalty! You won't have to ask to see the letter, Mr Kohinoor proudly parades it around the restaurant every hour.

At the Gateway of India & Taj Palace Hotel 

I also treated myself to a stay at the Taj Palace Hotel - the grande dame of hotels in India.  It was right next to the Gateway of India, a unique landmark built to commemorate to visit of King George V and Queen Mary in 1911.  The place was heaving with local and foreign tourists and security was tight.  Still, the monument and its eclectic mix of European, Mughal and Hindu designs is worth seeing.

Camel safari

Don't you just love that one photo that sums up the entire holiday?  You know, the one photo that presents you as the adventurous heroine, ready to ride off into the sunset...

...like this photo of Aunty Jojo in her best "Lawrence of Arabia" pose?

Well, hold on to your horses, or in this case - your camels, here's a better picture of what REALLY happened...

Guess a picture really does paint a thousand words! :D

Gadsisar Lake, Jaisalmer

Water is a precious commodity in the middle of the desert.  This explains why Gadsisar Lake is the jewel in the crown for the residents of Jaiselmer, which is located in the heart of the Thar Desert.  For many years, it was the only reservoir supplying water to the town.

The lake is surrounded by temples and shrines, while the waters are teeming with catfish.  The local guide informed us that there's an overpopulation of catfish because they're not good for eating.  Sigh...guess it's time to move some Chinese chefs into Jaiselmer to solve that problem :)

Jodhpur

Panoramic view of Jodhpur from Mehrangarh Fort

The Blue City

Mehrangarh Fort, one of the largest forts in India

Top: King's quarters

Bottom:  Queen's quarters

Temple visits

You can be sure of one thing when travelling in India.  There will be temple visits - a LOT of temple visits.  The sheer number of gods, shrines, smells and colours, while spectacular, can get quite overwhelming.  Every village, city, peasant and king has a deity to worship, and a temple to house the deity.  One can't help but marvel at the incredible skill of the artisans and masons who built these magnificent structures.



Aunty Jo Jo at the Sas Bahu temple ruins at Nagda, Rajasthan

One of the first sites I visited was the Sahastara Bahu temple in Rajasthan, which was built and dedicated to Vishnu in the early 10th century AD. The temple is now in partial ruins because the statue of the gods were stolen in the 18th century and is presumably now on display at a museum or private art collection somewhere in the western world. 

The geometry and artisanry within the temple complex is really quite spectacular.  Walking into the round library of the temple, where sacred texts were once kept, I was amazed at the intricacy and beauty of the ornate carvings within the temple walls.

Our tour guide was also quick to point me (don't ask me why I was singled out!) to the many kama sutra carvings on the external temple walls.  Upon closer inspection, I found that most poses were the "same old same old" but a few were highly interesting and probably requires some degree of acrobatic skills to execute! :)

The magnificent Jain temple in Ranakpur, Rajasthan

This is really one of the most beautiful houses of worship I have ever seen.  Built entirely of white marble and set amongst green mountains, this 15th century complex is breathtaking from the outside but once you step into the temple, a sense of quiet and calmness envelopes you. 

Jainism is one of the oldest religions in the world and the 3 main principles are Ahimsa (Non-violence), Anekantvad (Non-absolutionism i.e. truth and reality are perceived differently from different points of view) and Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness).  Mahatma Gandhi's mother was a Jain, and he incorporated Jain beliefs into the fight for India's independence, notably ahimsa or non-violence.

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View of the interior of the Jain temple

It is said that the interior of the temple was inspired by the first Thirthankara's (Great Teacher) dream about what heaven looks like.  He spent several years describing the details of his dream to the architect, Deepaka, who followed the designs faithfully.  Intricate carvings cover every pillar, wall and cupola within the temple.  Out of the 1444 pillars within the temple, no two are alike! 

Isn't that amazing?