Here's a few pics of Mumbai as promised. What a mega-city! With its population of about 14 million, Mumbai is India's most populous city. It is a cosmopolitan multi-cultural mix of slums, Gothic buildings from the British rule, large parks, skyscrapers, temples from a wide range of religions- Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Jain, Zoroastrian, Christian, Sikh... A varied city indeed.
We had only a day, so we prioritized and took a trip to the Elephanta caves in the Elephanta island, an hours boat journey from the Gateway to India. Unesco World Heritage Site, these caves contain very beautiful reliefs, sculptures and a temple dedicated to Shiva.
Mini-train to the caves.
Before entering the caves we had to fight to keep our belongings from the monkeys residing around the temple, who extort all visitors to give them their soft drinks and snacks. They bare their teeth and hiss and most tourists give it up straight away. Lii managed to keep her Coke. :)
The most important sculpture is that of the three-headed Shiva. From right to left the faces represent the three aspects of Shiva- the creator (Brahma), preserver (Vishnu) and destroyer (Shiva).
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