Mumbai - India

EARLY ARRIVAL
Mumbai is the capital of the Indian state Maharashtra and lies on the east coast of the country. It is the most populated city in India with approximately 16 million people and is known as Bombay by the locals. We arrived at 4.30am on Wednesday 27th January after a midnight flight from Bangkok. It was a bit of a hairy landing and as we made our way along the landing strip we noticed that a large slum ran the length of the tarmac on the right hand side, it was massive! After we waited for the hoards to fight each other off for their bags on the carousel we finally popped our rucksacks onto our backs and headed for the taxi booking counter.

We booked our car and were herded out to our taxi which was a tiny little heap of metal with only space on the roof for our bags. Once we were tightly tucked into the car we headed to The Grand hotel in the hope that they would check us in early so we could catch a few winks. The journey was about half an hour’s drive and luckily there was no traffic at that time. The most heart breaking sight along the way is the huge numbers of people sleeping on the streets, in every doorway and around every dark corner among mounds and mounds of waste and litter.

We arrived at our hotel and were greeted by the reception manager. It was a lengthy check in process as there was not a computer in sight. Rather every detail of our booking was carefully written in the neatest of handwritings in large thick leather bound books. We initially weren’t able to check in so early without having to pay a large fee, but after a few minutes of sitting in the lobby the manager took pity on us and sent us off to bed as we experienced our first traditional Indian head wobble from the man. Once we were all rested and out of bed we took a short stroll down the street to see if we could find somewhere for lunch, but the boys weren’t all that keen on the only vegetarian option (it’s hard to find meat in a country which has the largest vegetarian population in the world) in our vicinity so we headed back to the hotel where we ordered room service while we planned our walking tour for the day. Shortly after lunch Lara and Leise arrived. Once they had freshened up and grabbed a bit to eat (while we watched a Bollywood movie being filmed outside our window) we set out to explore.

CITY WALKING TOUR AND LEOPOLD CAFE
We started off with a bit of shopping on Fashion Street. As us girls needed to do our best to cover up and not offend any locals we took the opportunity to buy a new top or two and a head scarf each. From there we walked along through crowded streets to see the Oval Maiden, which is a large playing field which sits in front of The High Court and is filled with locals young and old, mostly playing cricket but there was a bit of football and we even spotted some rugby. Across from the Oval Maiden we saw the University of Mumbai. This along with the High Court are two incredibly impressive Victorian buildings which tower above passersby.

We then carried on to the Flora Fountain and then Horniman Circle. Along the way we stopped at St Thomas’ Cathedral, Town Hall and Maharashtra Police Headquarters and finished at the Gateway to India. The Gateway is an incredible monument which stands right on the edge of the Mumbai Harbour. Across from the Gateway was the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, which was the hotel which was seized a few years ago. It is now undergoing massive reconstruction following the fires that resulted but it is still a sight to behold. A mention must be made to Leise who was approached half way through the walk and asked whether he would like to appear as an extra in a Bollywood movie which was being filmed the next day!!

We ended our walk with a few drinks in Leopolds. For anyone who has read the book Shantaram, this is the spot Gregory David Roberts mentions on a number of occasions in his writings. Once our tummy’s started to rumble we popped around the corner to a restaurant which was a top pick in the Lonely Planet called Baghdadi Cafe. It looks awful from the outside and we even considered turning around and looking for something else, but we decided to be brave and were so glad that we did. We had some of the best curry ever in this great friendly establishment, and tucked in happily with our hands in the traditional Indian way of eating!
After dinner we popped back into Leopolds for a quick night cap and then headed home in a little cab for a well earned rest.

CHOWPATTY BEACH AND MANI BHAVAN MUSEUM
We woke up on Thursday morning and the priority on the breakfast meeting agenda was how we were going to get to Agra. We were currently wait-listed on the overnight train from Mumbai to Delhi and then we hoped to get to Agra from there but with an estimated 18 – 20 million people that travel on the trains a day we weren’t hopeful that we would get on. So after much discussion and research we settled on a flight later that evening to Juipur.

Once we had made the necessary bookings and checked out of our hotel we had a few more hours of sightseeing available to us so we jumped into a taxi and headed for Chowpatty Beach. This is a massive stretch of beach with fantastic views over the Mumbai Skyscrapers to both your left and right but we had to beware of the sea water..... It’s pure toxic. We watched with heavy hearts as the shallow surf churned up a black sludge onto the sand.

From the beach we then took a short walk through the crazy city traffic to the Mani Bhavan Museum which was the home to Ghandi when he visited Bombay on his missions. It’s a great little tribute which features photographs and writings from Ghandi’s birth right through to his death in 1948. What an incredible story... a man I certainly would have loved to have met.
By the time we had finished in the Museum our tummies were rumbling....surprise surprise! Greg who is another fabulous guide on this trip walked us to a great little eatery which was on the first floor of a massive book shop. There we tucked into all sorts of treats and ended the afternoon with a browse through the bookstore....you can never have too many books to read on tour!

From there we jumped into a taxi back to the hotel to make our transfer to the airport. Along the way our driver not only had to contend with the usual all day manic traffic but had to ask at least four passersby where our hotel actually was....seemed everyone else knew except him!! On our way to the airport we passed through some of the Mumbai slums which are huge and leave you with a feeling of sadness for the millions who live in these conditions – 60% of the Mumbai population live in slums.

Mumbai is a crazy amazing place. It seems time has stood still in this vast city. We’ve had a great stay here, though it was far too short. Here are our highlights and lowlights:
- The slums are vast, though it must be noted that a number of them are large industries generating huge sums of money through the trades that take place there and most homes are now equipped with water and electricity
- The poverty is extreme but the begging is certainly nowhere near as bad as some that we have experienced previously
- Some of the most beautiful architecture throughout the city, especially the Government buildings and Bombay University
- This city is dirty! Chowpatty Beach is a prime example and such a waste of a beautiful stretch of sand and sea
- The best curries ever!