We stayed at the Taj Mahal in Mumbai on our SS cruise way back in 1998. My impression of Mumbai was not so positive but I think it was because we had just finished our 5-day precruise of India and were dying to get on the ship and the tour people were determined we would NOT get on the ship until 4 p.m! The dirt of the city was impressive with the men sitting around doing nothing! I suppose the caste system prevented them from doing menial work like sweeping the roads, etc.

The "mimes" you saw in Cochin we saw on our Seabourn trip last November. If I knew how to post a picture I could put a couple of them up here. They were simply amazing and not to be missed if you ever get to Cochin. India is a beautiful couuntry in spite of the dirt. When on the SS precruise our group was VERY careful about eating. We never ate the salads and stayed away from "mystery" foods in the buffets and as a result none of us got sick. That trip was one of the hightlights of our journeys and SS was such a wonderful cruiseline. Believe we were on the Wind - Bombay-Athens.