Mumbai

Travel to Mumbai

We flew to Mumbai from Goa on the 6th April via Go First airlines. The flights were £50 which included 15K hold luggage and 7K hand luggage. We were over in weight by 3k and had to pay £25. They didn’t weigh our hand luggage unlike Air Asia. This was a much more pleasurable flight than the flight to GOA with Air Asia.

When we arrived in Mumbai our cases were promptly off the plane therefore we were able to exit the airport very quickly. Due to this being domestic flight we did not need to go through customs.

Transfers

We booked our transfers on line with a company called . On our information regarding pickup we were advised that someone will be in arrivals with a sign with our name on it which they wasn’t. Due to having no signal at arrivals and not being able to connect to the internet we were unable to make contact with the driver. Finally we managed to contact the help line for the company who advised that we need to speak to the driver. They did not appear to understand what we were saying. After 1 hour we decided to get a taxi as we were waiting in 33 degrees heat. The taxi cost less than booking direct. We tried to contact the company on our return but have not been able to do so.

Accommodation

Finally we arrived at our hotel Gordon House which is located in the Colaba area of Mumbai. The hotel is ideally situated within yards to the Gateway of India and the famous Taj Mahal . There were renovations on the outside of the hotel. When we entered the hotel we were greeted by a member of staff and a porter. Access to the hotel rooms is via a lift. We were on the second floor.

Our rooms had a Mediterranean theme. The rooms were clean, spacious and nicely furnished. The bathroom was of a decent size and included toiletries. In our room there was 2 lovely slices of cake and “welcome to Gordon House” written in chocolate icing. This was a lovely touch.

The dinning area where they served breakfast was nice. It is also an Asian restaurant by day. The breakfast is waiter service and included a full English if this is what you require. Cereal, cakes, pastries are all help yourself. A very good breakfast to set you up for the day. The staff in the hotel were very attentive, polite and helpful.

Mumbai Tour

On our first full day we were stopped as we were walking by the Gateway of India and the Taj Mahal Hotel and asked if we wanted a tour of Mumbai which we agreed to do at a cost of £30 for both of us. We were taken to a taxi who drove us to the destinations. His English was relatively good and he provided some information regarding the area’s of interest.

Laundry Site

Our first stop was where over a 1000 people was clothes by hand each day. The clothes etc are often laundry from hotels etc. Most of the washing takes place early morning therefore there wasn’t many people washing when we arrived. The drying of the clothes was evident though with items of washing hanging on lines.

Fisherman’s Slum

At the fisherman’s slum there were many men repairing a boat. The water and the land was covered in waste of bottles, packaging etc. It was as the name suggests. Being in India this is something we had expected therefore was not shocked. It was a shame as when you looked out to sea it looked quite nice with the little fishing boats and the sun shining on the sea.

Marine Drive and Chowpatty Beach

We were then taking to Marine Drive and Chowpatty Beach. The guide spoke to us about the Trident Hotel and how it was hit by the terrorists in 2008. Having read about Chowpatty Beach and how busy it is at night it was strange to see it practically empty during the day. Although the beach is lovely it is not like your typical beach as it nobody is sun bathing, in the sea etc

Sikh Temple

Our next stop was a Sikh Temple. You do not have to pay to enter but they except donations. Everyone has to remove their shoes before entering. Also women have to cover their shoulders and legs. They will provide wraps if you are not covered up. The Temple is only small but very ornate. It wasn’t too busy when we went which was good. Due to its size it didn’t take long to walk around.

Hanging Gardens

From the temple with went to the hanging gardens. Our driver gave us some information about the gardens. It was a lovely day when we visited the garden which made all the more impressive with its lovely plants, flowers and hedges cut in to various shapes. The view from one side of the gardens is spectacular where you can see the whole of Mumbai. There is also the iconic giant boot which the children are able to play in.

Mahatma Ghandi Museum

The next destination was the Ghandi Museum. Although we have read about Ghandi there is so much more interesting information in the museum. If you were to read everything in there it would take you a lot of hours. There are many items that were owned by Ghandi in there including wooden shoes. There is also the original room where Ghandi would pray.

Chhatrapati Sivaj Maharaj Terminal

Although we did not go in to the building we stopped outside for photo’s. This was a hive of activity with lots of people coming and going. The terminal is a UNESCO world heritage site. It is an impressive building

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation

Our final stop was the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. The BMC which it is often known has is opposite the terminal. This building houses the civic body that govern Mumbai. It is said to be the largest civic organisation in India.

Street Food Tour

We booked the tour with Get Your Guide at a cost of £15 each for 3 hours. Our guide met us at Burger King outside the train station. Unfortunately we can not remember his name but he spoke excellent English and is the only guide that does this tour.

The first stop was within the train station itself at a little stall. We had Vada Pav which is also known has the Mumbai Burger. We do like meat dishes but although this was a vegetarian dish it tasted so nice.

Our guide then took us on a train to Chowpatty beach. The train itself was an experience. The doors on the train never close. Our guide advised that in peak times there are people hanging on the outside of the train. He also advised that some people jump on and off when the train is moving. The only health and safety sign was “don’t travel on the roof”.

Chowpatty Beach

Our next stop was Chowpatty Beach. This was a stark contrast to what we had seen during the day. The beach was full of life with many food stalls and families, couples and friends all having a great time. We tried various dishes from different stalls. As you are trying so much food the guide only ordered food to share which abled us to try a lot more food. Outside the food stalls there are various rugs where you can sit and eat your food. This was lovely over looking the sea. The cost of the food is really cheap with roughly 100 rupees to a £1 food cost less than a £1.

Khau Galli

We then got back on the train and went to Khau Galli. This was a street lined with various street food venders selling traditional Indian food, Pizza’s and Kebabs. There are a lot of places in Mumbai where food is very cheap but this was the cheapest we had seen. Every stall had lots of people sitting on small stools outside. We had a form of chicken wrap, curry and rice. After we had a mango smoothing which was lovely. At this point we were feeling extremely full.

Colaba

This was our final stop. Our guide took us to a Kebab stall called Bademiya which already had so many people waiting to be served. The guide advised that this Kebab stall is open 24 hours and 365 days a year. It has the reputation for being the best Kebab stall in Mumbai. Unfortunately, we were too full to eat the kebab therefore the guide asked for it to take away. It was delicious and extremely good value for money

Food and drink in Mumbai

As we were only in Mumbai a few days we did not manage to eat out at many of the restaurants. There is a good choice of places to eat from street food to nice restaurants. We found a bar called Effingut which is very near the gateway to India . It is an interesting bar with lots of unusual things on walls and ceiling including a motor bike suspended from the ceiling. On an evening it gets quite busy.

The food is good too which is very reasonable priced. Our favourite was the butter chicken curry which was amazing. A typical meal cost around £4.50. One of our curry’s came with lamb on the bone. After informing a member of staff that we didn’t want this they quickly changed it and apologised.

Another bar we went to was called Woodside Inn which had happy hour 4 – 8pm. The cocktails were lovely here and very reasonably priced during happy hour. This is a lovely bar with good service. We never ate here but food did look good.

Summary

We would definitely recommend visiting Mumbai there is so much to see and do. There are some lovely beachside hotels in Mumbai if your staying longer. As we were only in Mumbai for a few days we wanted to stay in the main area of Colaba. There are so many hotels to choose from to meet all budgets. Be prepared to be stopped in the streets an asked for photos as there isn’t that many western people in Mumbai. Obviously there is a lot of poverty in India also be prepared for this. Before we went to Mumabi we were advised to see the elephant caves but unfortunately we did not have time to do this. It was an amazing experience.

Things to do

• Visit Colaba area
• See the Gateway to India
• Visit the Elephant Caves
• Visit Mahatma Ghandi museum
• Do a street food tour
• Visit Chowpatty Beach on an evening
• Visit the causeway market
• Take a tour of Mumbai

Top Tips

• Although there is rules on driving in Mumbai nobody takes any notice. Crossing the road you have to just walk out and keep going hoping the cars will stop.
• Be careful with belongs especially handbags an phones
• Take hand sanitizer and toilet tissues with you especially away from the tourist area’s.
• Ensure you have plenty of mosquito repellent.
• Tipping is not essential but considering their wages have small notes for tipping.
• Book taxi at the airport and ask the hotel to book your return in advance. We were let down by our pre booked transfer by Cartrawler from the airport and have not been able to contact them to complain or get a refund.
• Check out the weather below for best time to visit Mumbai
• Check out the government safety advice before travelling to Mumbai https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/india
• Check out over places with have visited in India. Click on the following links New Delhi
• Check out our general travel tips. Click on the following link Travel Tips

Weather

Temp – Celsius Rain – mm	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
High Temp	30	31	32	33	33	32	30	30	31	33	33	32
Low Temp	18	18	21	24	27	26	25	25	24	24	22	19
Rainfall	10	10	10	10	10	560	640	520	320	90	20	10
Number of days	2	1	1	1	4	20	28	27	19	5	1	1