Last Saturday I finally made it out of the hotel again, this time for some tourist activities. Dave didn't feel like exploring, so I met up with Martin from Irvine and a couple of the guys he's been training, Pratik and Anish. With them as our tour guide, we headed down to South Mumbai to check out the Gateway of India, the Victoria Terminus, the infamous Taj Mahal hotel, Colabra Causeway, and the Queen's Necklace (Marine Drive). Because of the monsoon, it was pouring rain most of the time.
We quickly stopped by the Victoria Terminus, otherwise known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), to check out the architecture. This is actually the main train station and is a great example of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture meeting traditional Indian palace architecture, creating a new style unique to Mumbai. I'm not the connoissour of architecture, but it looked pretty cool from the outside...complete with wood carvings of lions and other animals, pointed arches, turrets, stone dome, etc. It was modeled after the St Pancras Station in London, took 10 years to complete, and was named after Queen Victoria. However, in 1996 it was renamed after Chhatrapati Shivaji, a famous Maratha king of the 17th century and the government of Maharashtra. 
After stopping off to try some Pan, we headed over to the Gateway of India, one of the main tourist attractions in Mumbai. This is the most famous monument of Mumbai and the starting point for most tourists who want to explore the city. Designed by George Wittet, it was built as a triumphal arch to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Bombay. It faces the Arabian Sea. What's funny is that the Gateway was not completed until 1924. When the King & Queen arrived in 1911, they were greeted by a fake cardboard structure instead! 
There are lots of tourists and people selling corn and masala chai around the area now...
...and of course I had to take one of those photos of me touching the Gateway! The rain let up for a second here, but the guys kept laughing at me when the rain would buckle my umbrella. lol
The Taj Mahal Palace hotel is right next to the Gateway. This luxury hotel looks nice from the outside, although I didn't get to check it out on the inside. No worries...cause I got to see the actual Taj Mahal in person! Can't believe this hotel was bombed back in 2008. Gandi, Mick Jagger, and Madonna (among others) have all stayed here.
We stopped off for a little bit of shopping along the Colabra Causeway. I got to try out my haggling skills for some Pashminas and purses.
One of the last stops was to see the Queen's Necklace at night. This is what people call Marine Drive, a 3km-long boulevard in South Mumbai. It's shaped like a "C" and faces the Arabian Sea. A lot of celebrities live here, and many people walk along the
promenade to take in the fresh air and view the sunset. We took a stroll at night. Apparently, when viewed at night at an elevated point, the street lights resemble a string of pearls, forming a necklace. It felt like I'd been couped up in the hotel and work most of the time, so it was nice to actually be able to get out and walk around.
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