Doug and I took our own tour today (instead of the ship’s) to the Elephanta Caves. We grabbed a taxi and had to be pretty firm about not stopping at two shops before we were let off at the Gateway of India. Lots of taxi drivers like for you to shop at their family’s stores, and this is one way to do it. He said he would be there when we got back a few hours later, and he would take us to the ship or go to a few markets.
We took the ferry to Elephanta island – about an hour’s ride. The water was littered and dirty. But the ride itself was pleasant in the shade. There were lots of other boats coming and going and it seemed like we came pretty close to some – almost like the taxis!
View of the Taj Hotel and Gateway of India from ferry on way to Elephanta Island
Once there, we took the little train to the entrance to the caves. We did this because it was so hot already. We also knew that the entrance was just the beginning of a long uphill climb.
The caves are really very old temples carved out of the rock between 450 BC and 75 AD. Very little is known about the history of these caves. The Portuguese named the caves after they found the large stone elephant near the place their ships docked. Inside are many sculptures of the different Hindu deities in their various forms. But the main emphasis is on Shiva, considered to be the Supreme Deity. Many of the sculptures have been weathered and defaced, but some are still in good condition.
The main cave is an unusually large excavation of almost 130 square feet. It is supported by rows of massive pillars. In front is a verandah and on either side are two other smaller caves with a verandah in front of each.
View looking into the main cave from the entrance to it. It was massive.
We bought a little book (instead of using a guide) so we could go at our own speed and explore the inside. One of the main sculptures inside is the 3 headed Shiva, called Mahesamurti.
Depicts the 3 aspects of Shiva – creation, preservation, and destruction – the Hindu trinity
This was the main thing to see here. There were other small caves, but it was so hot we decided to skip seeing them. On the way out, we saw lots of monkeys. We had been told they know how to grab your water or soda bottle and unscrew it to drink it themselves! So, we had to keep our water hidden in our backpacks. They can be mean and hiss at you, but we didn’t see that.
This was quite a sight to watch this monkey family – no hissing here!
We stopped at several of the little stalls on the way down and bought a few souvenirs. But we were glad to get down to the bottom and head back on the ferry to Mumbai and the ship. We were about two hours later than we had thought we would be. Our taxi driver wasn’t there nor did we expect him to be, so we took another taxi back to the ship.
Back at the pier, we decided to do some last minute shopping before getting showered and ready for dinner. While we were there, lo and behold, our taxi driver came running up to us saying how sorry he was that he wasn’t there. Then he asked if we got chocolates on the ship, and could we get some for his children. So, I headed back to the cabin to grab a handful for him. On the way down the gangplank, another man stopped and asked for just one. When I gave my handful to our driver, he looked and said - “is that all?” I was so taken back I couldn’t even respond.
After cleaning up, it was past our dinner time, so we just had dinner in the Lido. I wanted to see the movie, Couple’s Retreat, and Doug opted for the comedian on stage. Met back at the room after the night’s entertainment, and had no problem going right to sleep after a long and hot day.
No comments:
Post a Comment