Mumbai

Mumbai: Getting Past the Postcard

Mumbai is both easier and harder than first-timers expect. Easier because the city has a workable infrastructure and most people in service roles speak English. Harder because it is genuinely enormous - roughly 20 million people spread across a narrow peninsula and spilling north into suburbs - and the contrasts (sleek office towers 200 metres from Dharavi’s narrow lanes) are constant and striking rather than easy to process. Give it at least four days. Two-day visitors typically see the Gateway of India and leave with a surface impression.

What to actually see

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (Victoria Terminus until 1996) on Dr D.N. Road is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the finest examples of Victorian Gothic architecture outside Europe. It functions as a live railway station handling thousands of commuters daily, which makes visiting it more interesting than most museums. The building was completed in 1887 and the detail - gargoyles, peacocks, tropical flora carved into the stonework - repays close attention.

Elephanta Caves on an island 10km from the Gateway of India are reached by a 65-75 minute ferry (INR 200-220 return). The main cave at Elephanta contains three-faced Shiva sculptures dating from the 5th-8th century CE, carved directly into the basalt rock face. They are formally impressive and the setting - the cave is enormous and largely unlit - is genuinely atmospheric. The ferry journey is good in itself; the island monkeys are aggressive around food.

For a different view of the city, Dharavi in the central suburbs is one of the largest urban settlements in Asia. Tours run through Dharavi, most of them organising guides from local NGOs (USD 15-20 per person). The recycling and manufacturing operations within are genuinely astonishing in scale. Decline if you are offered a “slum photography tour” - the ethical alternative is a tour where photography is restricted but genuine interaction is encouraged.

Where to eat

Mumbai’s street food is reliable and cheap. Vada pav (spiced potato patty in a soft roll) costs INR 15-25 from any of thousands of carts and is the city’s definitive snack. The bhelpuri at Juhu Beach in the evening - puffed rice with tamarind sauce, onion, and coriander - is the same kind of thing but more elaborate. Juhu Beach itself is no great beauty but the beach snack scene at sunset is worth the taxi ride.

For proper Maharashtrian food, Mahesh Lunch Home at CST Road in Fort serves superb coastal seafood: Bombay duck (actually a lizardfish), pomfret, and surmai in hot-sour sauces. Lunch is the better meal; expect INR 600-900 per person. Cafe Mondegar on Colaba Causeway is a 1930s institution serving draught beer and affordable westernised food; it is not fine dining but has atmosphere.

The serious-money restaurant is Wasabi by Morimoto at the Taj Mahal Palace, which is what the Taj dining room costs (INR 8,000+ for two before wine). The afternoon tea at the Taj’s Sea Lounge, by contrast, runs around INR 2,500 per person and is a more accessible way to sit in the building.

Where to stay

The Taj Mahal Palace facing the Gateway is the obvious splurge (from USD 350-600 per night). Its history includes surviving the 2008 terrorist attacks with most of its structure intact. The Abode in Colaba is a well-run boutique hotel at INR 6,000-9,000 per night. Budget travellers do well at Residency Hotel on Rustom Sidhwa Marg in Fort, clean and central at INR 3,500-5,000 for a double.

Travel inside the city on the Western Railway local train - buy a second-class monthly pass or pay per journey at the station window. Air-conditioned first class exists and costs marginally more. At peak hours (08:00-10:00, 17:30-19:30), the trains are extraordinarily crowded. Travel mid-morning if you have flexibility.