Arrive at Bombay 10.00 am. We go on shore and take a garrie and drive around the town. It is a very dusty place and the natives are constantly employed with hose pipes which are connected in the middle of the roads. The main roads and streets are very wide in the European part of the town. Most of the natives only wear a loin cloth, the heat is intense just now, as the monsoon is now likely to break any day, but we are hoping to reach Aden before it breaks.
There are some most magnificent buildings in Bombay. Victoria Station struck me most as the best and I should say it is the best and grandest Railway Station in the world. Nothing I have seen in London can approach it. The municipal buildings are also very grand.
The Mohammaden mosque situated in the native quarter is also a magnificent building and covers much ground. The large bath or pool where the Mohammadens wash their hands and feet before they enter the mosque to to worship removing their shoes in the first place.
We employed a guide to show us around the native quarter and explain things to us in general. We returned to our ship dead beat and tired out. Some of the Australian troops were knocked over by the sun and had to be carried on board. Our ship had been coaling all day and things were very uncomfortable when we returned. All the portholes were closed and cabin doors locked and you could scarcely keep your hand on the ship's side. Inside the cabin the temp was 102 degrees, so Hedley and Fred slept on deck and myself upon the cabin floor right underneath the electric fan and nude. We are longing for the ship to leave port to cool our cabin down and get a breath of air.
There is also a splendid fruit market here, but what surprised me was the size of the town and its magnificent buildings.
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