Mumbai is a reasonably off the beaten path location in India for foreign tourists making it a great destination to experience local daily life and culture.
GENERAL INFO
Getting there: A prepaid taxi from the airport into Fort costs approx. 800 INR
Accommodation: Prepare to spend a bit more on accommodation than you usually need to in the rest of India. We stayed at the Traveler’s Inn in the Fort area but would not recommend it. The rooms were dirty, the windows let bugs in and there was a really weird guest hanging out on the roof terrace. The staff were nice though!
Food: I always worry about food options as I am a bit of a hygiene freak but we found plenty of good places to eat in Mumbai. Highlights were the cold Kingfisher beers at Cafe Universal down the road from our accommodation; the Mutton Kebabs at Bademiya; and the Biriyani at Leopolds Cafe. Avoid the coffee and don’t touch any Indian wine.
Top Tip: If you are blonde or a redhead be prepared to be constantly harassed for photographs. I found this to be the case much much more frequently in Mumbai than in anywhere else we traveled in India. At one point while at the Gateway of India I had a queue of 30 people lining up to take their photos with me. Some would ask my husband if this was OK rather than asking me.
DAY 1
The best way to get to know a city is to walk it! A great place to start is with the Lonely Planet walking tour of Mumbai (we did this backwards to end up at the Gateway of India). The Lonely Planet walking tour includes interesting spots such as the Oval Maiden recreational ground and the Khala Ghoda neighbourhood (there is also a pavement gallery of emerging artists here that is worth checking out!). If there’s time visit the Chhatrapati Shivaji Museum.
Continue the walk after some lunch by wandering the Causeway market stalls, watching the fishermen work at Sassoon docks and then heading back up towards the Gateway of India. Spend the evening recuperating at Leopold’s Cafe in Colaba- an institution in Mumbai since 1871 but more recently made famous by the book Shantaram.
DAY 2
Walk to the beautiful Chhatrapati Shivaji Railway Station and then on to Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Mandai Market (also known as Crawford Market). Explore the endless array of market stalls. In the late afternoon wander down to the Gateway of India area to take a launch to Elephanta Caves.
Info: Boats run every half an hour from 9am-3pm and the last boat back is at 5:30pm. Cost for the boat is 150 INR return and tickets to the caves are an extra 500 INR each. Only the 2 main caves are worth seeing – can also walk up to Cannon Hill if time.
When you arrive back from Elephanta Caves, you could have a drink at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel’s Harbour Bar ($$$ Splurge: if your budget allows this!) and then to save some money on dinner I suggest dinner from Bademiya (a street food stall selling fresh grilled kebabs and tikka rolls – open 7pm-3am: there is also a sit down branch).
DAY 3
Early morning taxi to Haji Ali Dargah Mosque. This is a floating mosque 500m off-shore. Pictures of the mosque are more impressive when its surrounded by water but you can only walk over to the mosque itself at low tide so plan your trip accordingly.
After the mosque, make your way to Mahalakshmi Train station. There is a bridge just outside the train station that is a good viewing point to see the traditional laundry process taking place at Dhobi Ghat. If laundry doesn’t sound that interesting to you take a look at the amazing photo below:
Next, hop on the western line to Churchgate station from Mahalakshmi (need to purchase a ticket beforehand at the ticket counter, try to avoid taking local trains during rush hour – it may be better to take a taxi at this time of day). If you are trying to catch the train in rush hour keep the below tips in mind:
- Make sure you are waiting at the correct place on the platform to get on.
- Don’t wait for people to get off just start pushing and only push on if you are in the first wave or you may get pushed off
- Keep away from the door as people sometimes get pushed out
- Hold valuables close as pick-pocketing happens
- If you are a female you can get on the ‘female only’ carriage
Aim to arrive at Churchgate station by 11:30am. You are here to see the Dabbawalas. These are people whose job it is to collect home-cooked lunches from worker’s homes, delivering them to their offices and returning the packages once lunch has finished. Mumbai is the only city in the world that does this. The system doesn’t use any technology but rather a complicated colour coding system yet mistakes only occur at a rate of 1 per 6 million lunches. To see this amazing spectacle in progress; wait at the train platforms until the Dabbawalas start to appear then follow them to see where they go to redistribute their packages.
Spend your last evening in Mumbai at Chowpatty Beach – wander Marine Drive and watch the sunset. The lights you can see when looking back along the harbor are the reason for its nickname ‘The Pearl Necklace’.
Have more time? If you have time to spare after completing this itinerary you can take a tour of Bollywood or even be an extra in a Bollywood movie!
Erika xx
THE ONLY ERIKA IN THE VILLAGE 