Preface: Well, I had planned to put Petra (Jordan) up next, however, after spending better than a day in Mumbai, decided to post it while I still remembered some of my thoughts.
Arriving in Mumbai, we looked out from our balcony to see the terminal building. Being in a rather tattered state, it certainly didn't set high expectations for the city!
Off the boat and waiting to get through immigration. India officials had come on board for face-to-face immigration check. Regent had given us our passports back along with a copy of the main page and a "Landing Card". India officials stamped the landing card and the passport and gave them back to us. When we got inside the terminal, guards checked our passport copies against the landing card and if they matched, sent us on our way. But, as you can see from the line, it was a lengthy process. Folks were backed up all the way to the gangplank, ur uh, make that gangway!!
At least two places in town for crew members to access free WiFi! Pictures were taken from a moving bus, thus are a bit off center.
Our first stop was at the Gateway of India. It was quite impressive however, hard to get a picture of because the morning sun was behind it. The entrance is on the other side, the water side and thus we couldn't get an image of the whole gate without getting out on the water. NOT going to do that!
A bit of the front side. Getting the whole structure would have involved getting in the water, not something I wanted to do in an area where the water is so polluted, the natives won't even get in it!
A group of young folks learning and chanting about Indian patriotism. The young man with the "white" hair represents Mahatma Ghandi, the man who led the movement for Indian independence in 1947.
The Taj Mahal Palace hotel and tower. The hotel was built during the British Empire days. It opened in 1903. The tower was built more recently, after the independence, opening in 1973.
One of the many buildings that has been abandoned and left to ruins.
Driving by the sea, the Arabian Sea portion of the Indian Ocean. A young couple is sitting on the wall just like young folks do everywhere… a little courting going on!?!! In this picture, you can see how smoggy the air is. It is close to the levels we experienced in Beijing a couple of years ago.
One of the many city buses. Note the open windows! There is no air conditioning. This day, the temperature reached 95°F and, the humidity must have reached 90%! The nice thing about the high humidity, my skin looked 10 years younger!
Many of the buildings built in the colonial days had covered sidewalks to protect from the extreme beams of the sun and, in monsoon season, to protect from the rain.
Dhobi Ghat, the outdoor laundry, the largest in the world, where many hotels and hospitals send their linens for washing. Laundry done here costs only a percentage of what it costs in a traditional modern laundry. Clothing is flogged on the stone then hung to dry. Guess where stone washed jeans came from!!
Back on the bus, we look out to see the cutest little girl giving us a coquettish look through the barricade bars. She, her mother and brother were living/selling goods next were the buses stopped on the railway flyover bridge.
Just one of the MANY street vendors that inundated us everytime we got off the bus. This one was selling little handbags.
Antilla in Mumbai is said to be, at over $1 billion to build, the most expensive single family home in the world. It takes a staff of 600 to maintain it. The family owns 30 cars which all park in the building, there's space for 168! The least expensive car is a Lexus! Tough life! Note the slum buildings just in front of the home. It surprised us that the owner, Mukesh Ambani, didn't select property with a better view!
And, sometimes they put the cart before the ox!
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Off the boat and waiting to get through immigration. India officials had come on board for face-to-face immigration check. Regent had given us our passports back along with a copy of the main page and a "Landing Card". India officials stamped the landing card and the passport and gave them back to us. When we got inside the terminal, guards checked our passport copies against the landing card and if they matched, sent us on our way. But, as you can see from the line, it was a lengthy process. Folks were backed up all the way to the gangplank, ur uh, make that gangway!!
At least two places in town for crew members to access free WiFi! Pictures were taken from a moving bus, thus are a bit off center.
Our first stop was at the Gateway of India. It was quite impressive however, hard to get a picture of because the morning sun was behind it. The entrance is on the other side, the water side and thus we couldn't get an image of the whole gate without getting out on the water. NOT going to do that!
The inscription at the top on the back side tells the story of its building. India was first ruled by Portugal then it became part of the British Empire from the mid-1800's until 1947.
A bit of the front side. Getting the whole structure would have involved getting in the water, not something I wanted to do in an area where the water is so polluted, the natives won't even get in it!
A group of young folks learning and chanting about Indian patriotism. The young man with the "white" hair represents Mahatma Ghandi, the man who led the movement for Indian independence in 1947. 
The Taj Mahal Palace hotel and tower. The hotel was built during the British Empire days. It opened in 1903. The tower was built more recently, after the independence, opening in 1973.
Below is another building in the Gateway area that certainly is reminiscent of the colonial days.
Some of the often seen happy murals/graffiti on walls around the city.
Continuing our drive, we passed a waiting ambulance (below). The attendant looks totally disinterested. There were other emergency vehicles around so something must have happened.
One of the many buildings that has been abandoned and left to ruins.
Driving by the sea, the Arabian Sea portion of the Indian Ocean. A young couple is sitting on the wall just like young folks do everywhere… a little courting going on!?!! In this picture, you can see how smoggy the air is. It is close to the levels we experienced in Beijing a couple of years ago.
Continuing our drive, we spot our first street cow. Cows are sacred in India so you might see them anywhere!
One of the many city buses. Note the open windows! There is no air conditioning. This day, the temperature reached 95°F and, the humidity must have reached 90%! The nice thing about the high humidity, my skin looked 10 years younger!
Many of the buildings built in the colonial days had covered sidewalks to protect from the extreme beams of the sun and, in monsoon season, to protect from the rain.
Dhobi Ghat, the outdoor laundry, the largest in the world, where many hotels and hospitals send their linens for washing. Laundry done here costs only a percentage of what it costs in a traditional modern laundry. Clothing is flogged on the stone then hung to dry. Guess where stone washed jeans came from!! 
Hanging things to dry does not involve clothespins! The items are slipped between twists in the line. When dry, it's easy to, with a quick snap, to remove the now clean and dry laundry.
Back on the bus, we look out to see the cutest little girl giving us a coquettish look through the barricade bars. She, her mother and brother were living/selling goods next were the buses stopped on the railway flyover bridge.
Just one of the MANY street vendors that inundated us everytime we got off the bus. This one was selling little handbags. 
Antilla in Mumbai is said to be, at over $1 billion to build, the most expensive single family home in the world. It takes a staff of 600 to maintain it. The family owns 30 cars which all park in the building, there's space for 168! The least expensive car is a Lexus! Tough life! Note the slum buildings just in front of the home. It surprised us that the owner, Mukesh Ambani, didn't select property with a better view!
Traffic was perhaps the worst we've seen in all our travels. It was so crowded and packed, even scooters had trouble getting through. We were quite late getting back to the ship!
And, sometimes they put the cart before the ox!
Next stop, Mani Bhavan, the Mahatma Ghandi Sangrahalaya (Museum). This was Ghandi's headquarters for about 17 years. The museum houses Ghandi's study library, a statue of Ghandi, in numerous photos and newspaper clippings and, most importantly, clean WC's!!
This vendor selling women's apparel attracted a woman and what looked like might be her daughters. She must have bargained with him for half an hour or so. She bought several of the tops and probably paid less than half what he was originally asking! A way of shopping in India!
Tom went with the guide and other passengers to the inside of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, previously known as the Prince of Wales Museum, primarily to find a "WC".
I stayed on the bus in the cool air and watched the street vendors! I was amused at the fact that many had their wares displayed on the sidewalk in from of the "sulabh", the local word for "WC"! Having been to a couple of such places, I felt sure Tom made a wise decision!
I stayed on the bus in the cool air and watched the street vendors! I was amused at the fact that many had their wares displayed on the sidewalk in from of the "sulabh", the local word for "WC"! Having been to a couple of such places, I felt sure Tom made a wise decision!
In this photo, the guy on the left was selling toys that from a distance looked like the "Made in China" type! The guy on the right was selling what looked like a pile of rags. It turned out it was a heap of polo shirts! Time to get new glasses!!
This vendor selling women's apparel attracted a woman and what looked like might be her daughters. She must have bargained with him for half an hour or so. She bought several of the tops and probably paid less than half what he was originally asking! A way of shopping in India!
We had planned to go out for an evening tour, Bombay/Mumbai by lights, but after a long sweltering day in heavy traffic and seeing the smog getting worse we turned in our tickets and stayed on board! We learned later we made a couple of people quite happy! There was quite a wait list for that tour!
Day 2, we had planned to stay on board and we did just that! One day and one outing in Mumbai was plenty!
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