Day 019: Mumbai, India | West By Sea
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Day 019: Mumbai, India

Posted by on 2013/06/07
Day 019: Mumbai, India
Position: N 18º 55′ 18″  E 072º 49′ 52″
Weather: 32ºC wind westerly force 2, overcast
Last Port: Langkawi, Malaysia
Next Port: Dubai, UAE
Status: In port, starboard side to
From the Navigator
We continued up the west coast of India overnight and this morning at around 0800 we will alter course to starboard and enter the traffic separation line to make our approach to Mumbai. We anticipate boarding our local pilot at 0915 before entering the narrow channel into the bay. We will follow the channel and then alter course to port to make our final approach to tour berth. We will swing the bow to port and we plan to be starboard side alongside at 1100. Once all passengers and crew are onboard this evening we will let go our mooring lines, thrust off the berth and retrace our courses out of the bay. Once clean we will disembark our pilot and initially set westerly courses clear of the Indian coast before setting north westerly tracks across the Arabian Sea.
Welcome to Mumbai

Welcome to Mumbai

 

Tour Overview

Your journey begins at the pier where you’ll drive to the airport. At the airport, board your plane for the two-hour flight to Delhi. On arrival, a narrative drive by orientation of government buildings, the President House and India Gate. Afterwards check-in and relax before dinner served at the hotel. You’d be wise to turn in early, as you’ll be getting a very early start to your day.

On day two, join the Shatabdi Express train for a two-hour trip through the Indian countryside to Agra, once the capital of the Mughal Empire. On arrival in Agra, transfer to your hotel for a buffet breakfast. After breakfast, you will then board your motorcoach and drive to Taj Mahal.

The Taj Mahal is a magnificent mausoleum built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan during the 17th century for his third wife, Queen Mumtaz Mahal. Grief stricken after she died during the birth of their fourteenth child, the king commenced construction of the Taj Mahal in 1632, as a tribute of everlasting love. The queen is interned in the lower chamber. The emperor’s body was later added, reuniting them for eternity.

Taj Mahal was constructed over a period that spanned more than 20 years, employing some 20,000 workers. The entire complex was completed in 1653. Pass through the entryway of its battlement to a structure that rises above the gardens with a mirrored image reflected in the pool. The interior boasts marble walls with inlays of precious stones. A translucent screen of carved marble surrounds the sarcophagi of the emperor and his queen.

Afternoon Check in. Lunch at the hotel.� Relax for an hour and a half before you tour the Red Fort of Agra located just beyond the Taj Mahal. This red sandstone fortress was the seat of Mughal political and military power founded in 1565 by the Emperor Akbar. In a sad bit of irony, Emperor Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb in Agra Fort. The emperor is said to have died in the Musamman Burj, a tower with a balcony that had a view of the Taj Mahal.

Evening�relax to a performance before dinner. Enjoy elaborate costumes, pantomime, music and poetry in “story play,” an Indian art form dating to the 17th century. Dinner will follow the show.

After an early breakfast on day three, board your motorcoach for your four-hour transfer to Delhi. On arrival, enjoy a buffet lunch at a hotel or restaurant in city. Proceed on a guided tour of Old Delhi. Visit Jama Masjid and enjoy a bicycle rickshaw ride in narrow lanes of the Old Delhi market. Before returning to your hotel near the airport for dinner, visit the Raj Ghat – a square platform of polished black marble marks the site where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated on January 31, 1948.

The last day of you tour begins at midnight when you transfer to the airport for your flight where you will rejoin your ship.

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