Our road is normally very quiet, except when there's a wedding at the pier opposite our hotel. So when we heard a lot of hooting, whistleing and shouting we went out to investigate. Police had descended on the area. There were police vehicles in the road, and policemen with whistles who were gesticulating wildly and, when not actually whistling, shouting instructions to no-one in particular. Because of the extra vehicles, a sizeable traffic jam had bult up, and the police were now trying to unblock it, despite the fact that their very presence had caused it. Added to this, a crowd had gathered to see what all the fuss was about, further blocking the pavements and the road. "What's going on?" we asked someone. "The Minister is coming" we were told. We didn't get as far as finding out which Minister was coming, but it did occur to us that, if he (or she) was looking for a low-key trouble-free visit, then the police had very effectively prevented this from happening.
We decide to take a harbour cruise today. Boats leave from the grand Gateway to India archway, but unfortunately the boats are not in keeping with the grandness of the structure. Like most things in India, they do a good job of just making a mess around the area. The Lonely Planet Guide says we should be able to get a 1-hour cruise for R25. Inflation has clearly been active because we're now offered a half-hour cruise fof R50. However nothing else is on offer so we take it. The wooden cruiser has two decks, but going onto the top deck is extra, so we don't take up that offer. All the other passengers are Indians, so we don't feel that we are being ripped off as tourists - everyone is being ripped off! We head out into the harbour. Mumbai is a big naval base and there are a lot of warships moored at the base and at anchor in the harbour. However there is no information whatsoever about what we're seeing, naval or otherwise. No commentary or handout. We just go out into the harbour, round an island with a fort-like structure on it, and back again. Later we see another cruise boat, obviously in need of some engine maintenance, belching black diesel fumes as it goes out into the harbour. Because it's travelling in the same direction as the wind, it's enveloped in a thick cloud of diesel fumes - not very pleasant for the passengers. At least ours hadn't been as bad.