India. Mumbai

  In Mumbai, we arrived from Kochi and spent two days exploring the city. We visited the Colaba district and took a tour boat to Elephanta Island, whose caves house a large collection of rock art dedicated to the cult of the god Shiva...

 Map of our journey in India...

  Upon landing at Mumbai airport, we headed to its nearest suburb, Vile Parle, located just five kilometers from the airport... This location was convenient not only because of its proximity to the airport but also due to the local train station, where trains to the city center ran every ten minutes... We booked a hotel in this area for two nights, and after a bit of rest, we went out to explore...

 On the first day after arrival, we didn't feel like going to the center... We visited a vegetarian burger place, stopped by a local supermarket, and observed life in the non-tourist areas of the city...

The next morning, we took the train to the central part of the city... 

  Mumbai is the most populous city in India, with nearly 13 million residents. The city is also considered the financial capital of the country... Arriving in the central district called Colaba, we went to one of the city's main architectural landmarks - Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, formerly known as Victoria Terminus, a name that still persists among locals...

  Inside, it was just as beautiful as outside...

  We then headed to the Gateway of India, located on the seashore near the boat pier, arguably the city's most iconic landmark...

  From there, we took a tour boat to Elephanta Island, known in ancient times as Gharapuri or "the place of caves." The island's modern name, "Elephanta Island," was given by 16th-century Portuguese explorers after they saw a monolithic basalt sculpture of an elephant near the entrance. They tried to take it home but ended up dropping it in the sea because their chains weren't strong enough... This sculpture is now located in one of Mumbai's museums...

  The boat ride offered great views of another of Mumbai's key buildings - the Taj Mahal Hotel...

  The boat was crowded, and it took about an hour to reach the island... 

 Many seagulls gathered around the boat, and people started feeding them by tossing bread crumbs...   

 This allowed us to admire the beauty of the birds up close... 

   Upon reaching the island, we headed to the caves, which contain places of worship and offerings to the god Shiva...  

  After standing in line, we visited the main shrine... Inside the small chamber was a flower-adorned sacred lingam, which pilgrims circled while chanting prayers and making offerings...

  The most captivating aspect was the rock carvings inside the caves beyond the shrines...

  The main sculpture here is dedicated to the Trimurti, representing a triad concept that unites the three principal gods of the Hindu pantheon into a single entity - Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer... The Trimurti is often depicted as a deity with three faces... 

  The Trimurti sculpture stands over 5.5 meters tall...

  Other sculptures were equally impressive...

 Exploring the caves on Elephanta Island was a delightful experience... The entrance to each shrine is very colorful and rich in history...

 Many monkeys roamed near the caves, hunting for food from the numerous visitors...

 We had lunch at one of the cafes, where we ordered the familiar thali...

 Returning from the island, we saw many tourist boats heading in both directions...

  

  Landing back at the Gateway of India, we continued our walk through Colaba...

  A view of the city's most famous hotel - the Taj Mahal...

 The main street of Colaba didn't impress us much... The facade of the famous Leopold Café was under renovation, and there was a long line to get a table... So, we skipped one of the main spots vividly described in the novel "Shantaram"... Instead, we entered one of the local alleys and, instead of the fruit shake we planned to try at Leopold, we had a delicious lassi at a local market...     

  We then walked from Colaba to the Fort area towards Victoria Terminus... 

On our way, we saw a vintage Rolls-Royce...   

  And the famous Enfield motorcycle, which is assembled in India...

 Reaching Victoria Terminus, we once again admired the Victorian-era architecture, but this time bathed in the sun's rays...

 Finishing our city tour, we headed to the suburban train station at Churchgate, from where we took a train to Vile Parle, which was very close to our hotel... The next morning, we flew back home...