After traveling through New Delhi, Agra, and Varanasi we were surprised at how modern and western Mumbai felt. Skyscrapers, trendy restaurants, and an upscale shopping district set Mumbai apart from the other cities we’d visited in India. While we’d love to say we hated Mumbai and longed for the craziness and cows of Varanasi, that would be a lie. It was nice to end our time here in a city that felt a bit more familiar, though certainly with some Indian twists.
Mumbai, also known by its British colonial name Bombay, is the largest city in India with a population of 12.4 million – and many millions more in the metropolitan area. It’s also the wealthiest city in the country, though the gap between rich and poor is quite wide. While the city boasts many beautiful skyscrapers, there are also huge numbers of people living in slums (think Slumdog Millionaire).
Where to Stay
There are lots of great hotels in Mumbai, but if you’re looking for an Airbnb or a more “local” neighborhood, we recommend checking out Bandra, which is where we stayed. It’s a hip “suburb” (think Brooklyn) and has good train / city access. We had some great meals and cocktails there, and we always felt safe walking around at night. A friend of a friend also calls Bandra home, and she loves it, so the locals recommend it too!
Things to Do
The Gateway of India and Taj Mahal Palace Hotel
These are two of Mumbai’s largest landmarks and are at the top of our “can’t miss” list. Fortunately, they’re right next to each other. The massive, and beautiful, Gateway to India was completed in 1924 and commemorates King George the V’s and Queen Mary’s visit to India in 1911. When India gained its independence in 1948, the last British soldiers left through this gate, providing additional resonance to this site.
As for the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, it’s a 5 star accommodation that first opened in 1903, and as the name suggests, it takes much of its design inspiration from the Taj Mahal. Many famous people, including the Clintons and Obamas, have stayed here and as you might imagine it isn’t cheap. It is great to look at, though, inside and out. Note that it was also the site of a terrible terrorist attack in 2008, and as such security is tight (which is true of all large hotels in India). Expect to go through a metal detector upon entry.
Elephanta Caves
After you visit the India Gate and the Taj Mahal Palace, hop on a ferry to the Elephanta Caves, a UNESCO Heritage Site which is about an hour’s ferry ride from Mumbai. A travel blogger friend recommended this to us and we thought the caves were totally awesome! The carvings date back to the 5th and 7th centuries and depict different Hindu gods, the largest of which is a three-headed Shiva. Sadly, despite the name, there are no elephants (John was disappointed). The island also has tons of chachki vendors and is a good spot to pick up a few gifts.
The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Train Terminus
The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Train Terminus (say that five times fast!) is a gigantic old Victorian Gothic train station. It was built in 1887 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s jubilee. It’s one of the busiest train stations in India (so that means it’s really, really busy) and it’s absolutely gorgeous. You can hop on the Mumbai Metro here as well.
Sunset at Bandra Fort
This a very popular local thing to do and if you catch the weather (and smog) just right the sunset is beautiful. The park closes early, but you can watch the sunset from the beach next door (you have to walk through a small slum to get there, but it’s totally safe). Although there are always lots of people there we had a hard time explaining to our tuk tuk driver exactly where we were trying to go – even when showing him a Google Map – so go early and good luck!
Dhobi Ghat Laundry
The Dhobi Ghat Laundry is the largest human powered laundry in the world. It’s one of those scenes that make you feel like you’re really in India, with white sheets, colored clothing, and jeans hung on clotheslines for as far as the eye can see. You can easily visit this site by taking the EMU metro line to the Mahalaxmi stop and then walking across the bridge (the best view is from the bridge). You can also hire a tour guide to take you, but we thought taking the metro was easy and it was a lot cheaper.
Mani Bhavan Gandhi Museum
Probably the most important political figure in modern day India is Mahatma Gandhi, whose decades of peaceful protest eventually led to the decolonization of India. We didn’t know much about this great historical figure until arriving here, but learned a ton at the Gandhi Museum. Housed in the building that Gandhi used as his Mumbai headquarters for 17 years (from 1917 to 1934), the museum offers a portrait of his life from birth until his assassination. The museum contains various artifacts, including his famous spinning wheel and tons of pictures.
Getting Around the City
We generally like taking public transit in the cities we visit, and we especially enjoyed it in Mumbai. The train system here is quite large – and incredibly inexpensive – and it’s how we got nearly everywhere. The trains themselves have no doors, giving them a very “India” feel, and we loved hanging out of the train car, feeling like adventurers. That said, during rush hour the trains are CRAZYTOWN, so maybe try to stick to off-peak hours. Tuk tuks are a great alternative to the train and are also a great local experience, though they’re a bit more expensive.
What to Eat
There’s so much good food in Mumbai, we’ll let you find places on your own. But the one street food we strongly recommend trying is Panipuri, a crispy shell filled with chickpeas, potato, Indian spices, and water (it sounds weird but it’s really, really good!). Elco Restaurant in Bandra is one of the few places in the city that uses filtered water, so we recommend going there!
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