Just a quick post with some of the pictures I took during the trip to Kolaba Fort yesterday…
The tide was out so we could walk across the sands to the fort.
Inside the fort there was a beautiful temple here is a small detail
On our way back to the ferry the sun was setting over the beach
Finally we arrived back in at the Gateway to India
Today we got a small taste of the life of a Mumbai commuter. Our host wanted us to experience more of India so he asked us if we would like to try public transportation â?? and we all were delighted. Actually this is not the real commute since most people are struggling on overfull trains to get into Mumbai while we were going out. In addition to this we were traveling first class (which means we did not have bare wooden seats). The best view was hanging out of the door so I struggled to maintain this position. It was a very nice experience.
We started by taking the buss to the station, then we seemed to be moving upstream against an almost constant flow of people â?? this was even worse than London rush hour. Buying the tickets and finding the platform was easy (because we had a guide).
The trains are full â?? in particular the way into Mumbai. People ride in overfull carriages, hanging out of the doors and even on the roof of the trains.
The ride to Mankhurd was a pleasant one with lots of new impressions. In particular we noticed on the walk from the station that people are less use to tourists and more interested and curious about strangers.
Since yesterday was spent sitting in an indoor meeting between nine-eight (including transport) today I decided to skip breakfast for a walk. Even though it is Sunday we will have a full days meeting so the walk was necessary â?? both to see more of Mumbai and to get some exercise.
The on the walk I came across this â??Dead Slowâ?? sign with a Mumbai crow perched on it.
this was followed by the elegant barbershop â?? no customers yet but the chairs are very elegant
Parking is a problem in all cities. The question of how to deal with them is usually quite complex. Around the corner from the hotel they have hit upon a novel solution to the parking problem â?? itâ??s close to vandalism butâ?¦
Since yesterday was spent mainly indoors, no real pictures of interest can be provided. Neither have I experienced anything particularly fascinating about India. I did manage to catch two scenes during the buss ride to the meeting.
The first is another balcony scene. The balconies of Mumbai are used in a more efficient way than in European countries, they are also a lot more colorful.
The second is a fleet of moped cabs (donâ??t know the official name), these small almost brittle constructions weave through traffic with a contempt of danger which few can muster. Also look at the digital display. Some traffic lights in Mumbai have a digital countdown until the lights turn green. But I have also noted that most vehicles tend to start rolling forward 5 seconds before the time â?? a habit which not only defies the purpose but also threatens traffic.
The day was a long one and it is difficult to choose pictures which show something of the city. The first is the fire-fighting readiness at the petrol station on our road. The area is both residential and highly trafficked.
The second is a ordinary block of flats -washing hanging to dry adds color and an exotic flavor in comparison with the Nokia sign below.
The third is the sign at a restaurant notifying that no alcohol is served on this day. Today was the day of independence and to avoid any risks of public drunkenness – no alcohol may be served.
The fourth is a night image of a taxi rushing by. The light and movement is what Mumbai seems to be all about…
Naturally I cannot post them all but here are three of my impressions from the first day in Mumbai. The first is a shrine in a shop selling mobile telephones – the contrast seems to me to be typical India. Only been here one day so I don’t know if I should be using words like typical – yet.
The second is a street scene full of life and color.
The third is the barbershop on the pavement. It is so unusual that I almost feel like having a shave there…
What a silly question really! What is a train station? But at the same time the purpose of the station has become different to the one which was intended. The vogue for some time now is that places should be exciting meeting places instead of functional and streamlined.
Therefore to enable this the main hall of the Stockholm train station was turned into a tennis court a few weeks ago. On several occasions the stations at both Stockholm and Göteborg have been turned into virtual conference and exhibition halls. On other times the stations have been used by talk show hosts and as locations for fashion shows.
Yesterday in Stockholm there was a decorative piece intended to signify that the station was more than a station. It was a floating dinner table.
The problem with all this is that the events occur at the expense of function. I don’t want to be met, challenged, entertained, amused, educated, dined or sold – I just want to catch a train! In their haste to renew themselves the train station is forgetting that it is basically a function to facilitate mass transportation.
Don’t get me wrong. It is a privilege and an adventure to be able to travel. But it is also – occasionally – a real pain. Things like lost bags, missed connections, annoying people, sad food etc have a tendency to bring even the most positive of travelers down. My trip to Belgium has been an easy and comfortable one for me but all around me there were less happy people.
It began early when disembarking I noticed a bag which had been dropped
Someone’s toothbrush will not be following them home. Despite this my bag was not lost so I moved happily along. The hotel was nice, friendly and clean but the wifi was a bit too flakey so most of the time I either had difficulties or was unable to go online.
Travel has been made even more annoying with the new rules at the security check. Actually it is not too difficult but strangely enough too many people have not yet understood that if they do not attempt to have metal items on them – it makes you wonder whether people enjoy being fondled by security.
Just after the security I saw this wonderful sign in a window. What do you think? Is it a recruitment campaign or simply a way of adding insult to the security insult of not being able to carry liquids?
I think its Belgian humor…
The university in Namur is a large concrete building in the middle of town. Despite the building material it is not a very ugly building â?? in fact its bare concrete finish (inside and out) has a very retro feel to it. Usually I do not have any such feelings towards concrete.
The meeting room was at the dept. of informatics in the Alan Turing room â?? I do like when peoples names are used for rooms, even if this could be considered a dubious honor. Alan Turing is a bright room with a high ceiling, blue carpet and windows on three walls. No big surprise here. What is more than a bit unusual are three rings mounted in the ceiling intended for climbing…
Apparently the rings are not used by abseiling computer scientists (as I had hoped) but are rather there to be used by the window cleaners. Once again reality spoils a really good theory.
Oh no – it’s a grey rainy day in Namur so not really a flattering for the city but it looks like a very nice town with lots of small cobbled streets.
The first analysis of Belgium is that there are plenty of bars, not many cafés, people seem to ignore umbrellas but like dogs (too many pitbulls). The good news is that the hotel has wifi.