Adventures continue ....

...  yesterday morning I told you, very briefly, that we'd been to Chor Bazaar on Saturday!  We set off quite early in the day, to try and avoid the worst of the heat and humidity.  We were dropped off in an area that is much poorer than the one we're staying in.  I know that there are some slums very near the hotel, but we don't see them too much. However, going to the market meant that we were in an area of considerable poverty.

There's an amazing and somewhat eclectic selection of goods obtainable at the Bazaar.  In one area there's furniture; in another bits of old cars - tyres, bumpers, all sorts; fabric; vegetables; spices; meat - living and dead; just about anything you could desire.  I got some fabulous shots of different types of stalls - here's a few to try and convey the sense of noise, colour and excitement.

One of the many bangle stalls on the market - so bright and cheerful!

We spent a couple of hours walking around taking photos and talking to the local people.  Some, as can be seen above, were happy for us to take their photos, but others were really not keen.  By 11.00am it was really very hot and the market smells were becoming extremely pungent!  Kathryn was beginning to find it rather difficult to cope with.  While we were approached a couple of times by people asking for money, it wasn't that common, but Kathryn didn't like it at all.  So we decided to head back to the hotel and some cool air.

After a restful time at the pool, we decided to go out again.  It was cooler and Jonathan decided he wanted to get some sunset shots over the beach.  We got a taxi to the Hanging Gardens - a park at the top of Malabar Hill.  I think the taxi driver took us by a somewhat circular route, but we got there eventually.  It's an amazing place - so much greenery in such a hot and dry place!  We had a lovely time walking around and taking photos of the flowers - some familiar like Bizzy Lizzies and other less so.

We crossed the road to Kamala Nehru Park - which is a super place where lots of people go to play.  It's very popular with families, and we spoke to lots of different people.  Many of them wanted to take photos of us (although I can't see why anyone would want a photo of me!) and they were more than happy to have us take photos of them too.  

We found the kids playground - swings, slides, climbing frames - it was such fun!!  We didn't get to the beach for Jonathan to take any photos - but we did have a super day!  After a much quicker return taxi trip to the hotel, we went out to a local restaurant, which we've nick-named "The Tornado" - the fans go at full blast, for a super tea.  A lovely vegetarian meal which was tasty, filling and reasonably cheap.

That's all for now.  It's now 10.30am (Mumbai time) and Kathryn is keen to visit the pool.  Today I've decided not to swim or sunbathe.  I'm simply going to take my book down with me and read while Kathryn swims.  I'll post again later today - with some pictures of our trip to Colaba on Sunday.