A Day off in Mumbai
What to do on a day off in Mumbai? Well if you are out on tour with STOMP you get a group together and go on an adventure. We met in the Hotel Lobby at 12.30 and decided to head to Chor Bazaar. One of India’s largest flea markets. Things is, the taxi driver understood something else and we ended up on Fashion street. A cluster of over 100 fashion market stalls. After a quick wander, and look at all the unmistakably fake designer labels. I bought a pair of trousers for the show. Would you believe the label said Next!!! A bargin at £6. Boom
The Gateway of India
The next stop on our travels was the Gateway of India. Built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Mumbai in 1911, the gate is an impressive structure. Standing 25m tall at its highest point the monument is Mumbai’s most famous and consequently has many thousands of visitors each day. The thing was… on our arrival there seemed to be a new attraction in town. Namely us!!! We were inundated with people wanting to have pictures with us. It was crazy! Thanks to Emma King we managed to get a group shot infront of the Gateway, but after that we had to fix up and move sharp.
An Adventurer’s Reward
Having escaped the civilian paparazzi we stopped by Leopold Cafe. Established in 1871 the restaurant and bar has been made famous over the years. Most noteworthy in its history are its mentions in Indian epic Shantaram, and the terrorist attack of Mumbai in 2008. Some atmosphere and a couple glasses of Kingfisher later, it was time to head back to the hotel.
En route our taxi got stuck in the mother of all traffic jams. We soon found out that it was a special day in the Muslim calendar. It was Milad un Nabi, a celebration of the birth of the prophet Muhammed. Isn’t that the equivalent of christmas day?!! We abandoned the taxi and decided to walk through what was very similar to a street carnival. Thousands lined the streets. There was music, food, dancing, and big screens streaming live scenes from mecca. We even saw a man skin a chicken!! It was a feast for the eyes and the senses. And the great thing was, we were walking around the Chor Bazaar area. Which was the original area we wanted to see at the start of the day. A proper STOMP full circle moment.
We had an amazing day off in Mumbai. Big shouts to Shae Carroll for the video you see below and to the rest of the gang Simon Watts, Dominick Schad, Louise Durand, Rhona Ashwood and Emma King.
