Day 5, however, was a much more interesting day. (Once again I apologize for the lack of pictures, I'm having a little technological troubles.) The beginning part of the day was spent at the Bombay Museum. Once again I was dropped off blocks from the actual museum and spent the next 20 minutes actually finding it.
The museum housed a pretty impressive collection of Indian, Tibetan, and South East Asian antiquities. Almost everything in the museum came from the private collections of two of the prominent members of the Tata family (not surprising, but still interesting to see the scope of their wealth.)
From the museum I took a cab a region of the city called Colaba. It's known for it's market and restaurants. I toured the market where one can buy anything from cheap Indian baubles to knock off Ed Hardy t-shirts. I've lost probably ten pounds here so I bought a leather belt for 1$ (so far it hasn't dyed my jeans any odd colors.)
I then visited the famous Taj Mahal Hotel; one of the sites of the 2008 terrorist attacks. Even a year later, I had to go through a metal detector just to walk around the lobby of this very impressive 5 star hotel. The restaurant wasn't open until dinner time so I decided to visit the site where the initial attacks happened; Leopold Cafe.
The Leopold Cafe is a pretty unassuming building. If I didn't know the history that took place inside, I wouldn't have thought twice. The place was packed. I got the last table so I sat down to have a drink and some lunch. Upon a little closer inspection, I noticed that they had kept the bullet holes scattered all throughout the restaurant as a constant reminder. For those who don't know, the attacks of 11/26/08 started at the Leopold Cafe started when Pakistani terrorists opened fire at the cafe. They killed at least 10 people in the cafe and continued shooting at the fleeing customers. It was a very interesting mix of violent history with a laid back attitude.
I walked around more in the market and went home for a nap.
Following the nap, Liz and I went to a bar called Not Just Jazz to see a live band cover classic rock songs. The lead singer was decked out in a tiger print shirt, the pianist had a Jheri Curl, and the guitarist had the requisite eighties hair and clothes. It was very enjoyable and although they looked kitschy they were actually a good band.
The night ended at her friend's apartment. His apartment is very westernized and very nice. The most interesting part about it, however, was the location. It was located in the middle of a very bad slum, but here in this gated off little section was this very nice apartment building. I'm beginning to learn that something like that is very representative in Bombay. The divide between rich and poor is vast, but yet they coexist in such close quarters.
Sounds like things are really looking up for you. Sitting in the Leopold Cafe would have definitely sent shivers down my spine, especially with all the bullet holes still intact. I think it's great that you went and checked that out. It also seems like you are finding some things and activities that kind of remind you in a way of home. I think that is the key to getting used to such a different place. Keep the journal entries coming!
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