Gateway of India - Mumbai

The Gateway of India is meant to be the starting point for most tourists who want to explore the city. Funnily enough there weren't a lot of tourists around on the day that we decided to check it out

The fact that there weren't a lot of tourists made us easy targets. I was approached by a group of people that wanted to have their picture taken with me. Another celebrity moment and like in Vietnam I still find this very amusing. Or should I say they find us amusing.....
We were blessed by a local holy man that tied sting around our arm, painted our third eye and gave us sugar to eat for good luck. We figured it's more a case of - the bigger the donation the luckier you'll be

Taxi old and older

The Queens necklace through the smog

About the Gateway of India

Mumbai's most famous monument. It was built as a triumphal arch to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary, complete with four turrets and intricate latticework carved into the yellow basalt stone. Ironically, when the Raj ended in 1947, this colonial symbol also became a sort of epitaph: the last of the British ships that set sail for England left from the Gateway. Today this symbol of colonialism has got Indianised, drawing droves of local tourists and citizens. Behind the arch, there are steps leading down to the water. Here, you can get onto one of the bobbing little motor launches, for a short cruise through Mumbai's splendid natural harbour.