More, More Mumbai………

Here is the last little bit of our tour through Mumbai. This house was amazing – the door opened to the street. No sidewalks, just right onto the street. It is a very interesting house but I don’t think I would want to live there.

We got to visit another Jain temple. This one was beautiful and they let me take pictures. Yippee!

You are supposed to ring this bell (gently) when you arrive to let the gods know you are there.
Other pertinent facts you might want to know are that you do not wear leather products of any kind into the temple,
you take off your shoes when you enter, and you never turn you back to the statues.
Women do not need to cover their heads, but they cannot enter if they are menstruating.

Many of the statues are not of gods, but of teachers. I am not sure who this is but she is lovely.

Inside the temple, many of the icons are enclosed behind bars.
I am sure that is so that they are not stolen, but it gives my western eyes a kind of carnival sense to being there.

This is the Gateway of India. It was built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Mumbai (Bombay).
When India gained its independence from Britain, the last of the British troops to leave India passed through the gate on Feb. 28, 1948.

This is the Taj Hotel that was attacked last November.
It is a beautiful building and it was surreal to stand where the news reporters must have been standing
while reporting the horrific details of those few days.

This is Victoria Station – the train station in downtown Mumbai.

This is the view of the coastline as seen from a balcony at the Jain Temple.