We spoke to a lot of people who had started their trip in Mumbai and hated it. 'Its dirty, smelly and expensive' they said. Others couldn't handle the sheer volume of people and the hectic, organised chaos of the place. I decided to heed the warnings of others and instead whole-heartedly embrace the picture of Bombay that is beautifully painted in Shantaram (my current read), and therefore couldn't wait to arrive in Colaba and drink the place in. Here's how we spent our 2 days.
Sleeping.
We'd pre-booked a hotel on Colaba causeway. Accommodation is expensive in Mumbai and hostel and guesthouse options aren't any cheaper than the budget hotels available online. We'd been highly recommended Anjali Homestay, but it's located near the airport and therefore a good hour away from the area we planned to shop/eat/explore. The Travellers Hostel was an alternative, located in Fort which is closer to the hub of activity, but dorm beds were 1,600rps a night (no breakfast) and availability was limited; Alice and I would have been in seperate dorms had we opted to stay there, which wasn't really ideal for our last two nights in the country.
We booked at Hotel Everest, a 2-star corporate hotel located on the 4th floor of an apartment block just a 10 minute walk away from the centre of Colaba. It was around 2,000rps a night, which is ridiculously expensive, but included wifi and breakfast so saved us a bit of money in the long run.
Our guide later recommended Hotel Bengal near Crawford Market, which is resonably priced and has a pretty good rep.
Shopping.
Mumbai is great for shopping, with bazaars and markets popping up on every other street. If you barter hard you'll get yourself some good bargains here. We started in Colaba street market and made our way up passed Leopold's café, buying the occasional gift as we went.
Crawford market isn't far away and we paid 60rps in a Mumbai cab to get to the locals wholesale market from central Colaba. You can buy anything you could possibly imagine in Crawford market, and although to a foreign eye the place seemed completely chaotic, it's actually highly organised; each section sells different wares so if you know what you're after it's pretty easy to find.
From pets to baby clothes, school stationary to chai masala tea; kilos of cashew nuts to knock-off mac make-up, it's got it all. It's madness, but a pretty amazing place to explore.
Fashion street is just up the road from Crawford and is also worth a visit if you're after a new wardrobe. Shop 10 is all knock-off topshop and Asos (I got me a £46 dress for £4), there's shoe shops, jean shops, sunglasses, hats, belts, bags, you name it. The vendors are notorious for ripping off travellers (I got a hat for 100rps when he originally asked for 750rps!), so have your wits about you and barter hard. Don't take any notice of the 'fixed price' signs, chances are you'll be their "first customer of the day" so they'll offer to "give you a good price."
Sight-seeing.
There's lots to see in Mumbai, but in all honesty by the time we got there we were all templed out.
The Victoria station in Fort is worth a visit because, despite the fact it is just a railway station, it is really very beautiful. The British influence on the architecture of this city is everywhere and many of the buildings, from churches to courthouses to colleges, were built in the British style.
Many visited both the Prince of Wales museum and the Ghandi museum; we didn't because of time but if you've got a few days they might be worth adding to the itinerary.
The gateway to India is situated on the harbour, and marks the entrance to the city. Not dissimilar to India Gate in Delhi, it's a large archway which is heavily engraved and a magnet for tourists. Take a look and get a photo, but don't expect anything too spectacular.
Chowpatty beach is the most famous beach in Mumbai. We popped down for some bhel puri, a famous street food that is at it's best here, but didn't stay too long. It's not a beach for sunbathing, but the views across the harbour are lovely.
Eating.
There would be a 'drinking' section in this blog too but there are 3 dry days in India every year and 3 more during every election, somehow we managed to time our trip across those 3 additional ones so weren't able to experience the infamous Mumbai nightlife.
The food in Mumbai is diverse, expensive and bloody great. Colaba is notorious for it's inflated prices, but if you shop around you can still find the more authentic local canteens with the best food at the budget prices.
Many people head straight to Leopold's in Colaba, in the hope of finding the bar so famously described in Shantaram. We went and were desperately disappointed. Two Sprites cost us 200rps and the menu prices started at 150rps for an appetizer. You'll end up spending over 500rps on a curry if you're not careful. The atmosphere was flattened by the merchandise stall covering one side of the dated, crowded restaurant and not one local took a seat inside. My advice? Wait til late - post 10pm - and head straight upstairs.
We crossed the road and went to the coffee house opposite. We were the only women, let alone westerners, in the place and the food was some of the best we had. Chana masala, mixed veg, curd, roti and rice; complete with chai to finish, all came to 170rps. Amazing.
Colaba restaurant is also cheap, on the corner of Colaba market. If you're happy to pay Mumbai prices head to Delhi Durbur, also opposite Leopold's; Trisha for amazing seafood or head towards Crawford market for huge Thalis from Vitality.
If you're looking to treat yourself, head to the Taj Palace hotel on the harbour. It's five star, it costs more than most of my backpack's contents put together, but it's also pretty fabulous. We planned to go for bubbles, but due to the dry day issue ended up staying for afternoon tea. £14 got us unlimited hot food, finger sandwiches, mini desserts and cakes, tea, coffee and vol-aú-vents.
Try and get a seat by the window because the view is quite special.
Slums.
Visiting the slums of Mumbai was an unforgettable experience. It's taken me a while to sit down and write about the 2 hours we spent in the Shantaram slum, next door to the world trade centre in Colaba, mainly because I've found it hard to describe to people when I speak to them, let alone put it into written words.
There are two slums that are commonly visited in Mumbai, Shantaram in Colaba and Dharavu near the airport. The latter is the largest, housing over 1 million people, and is famed for its appearance in Slumdog Millionaire. We opted for the small though, Shantaram, with a guide named Ali who had been recommended by a friend.
A highly organised labyrinth of thin, cobbled passageways form the streets of the slum, which houses around 12,000 people. Between 5-6 people live in each 'house' and they pay around 400rps rent per month, with additional bills for water and gas. Most have electricity and running water.
The houses are tiny, that's the only way to describe them. Our guide, Ali, proudly showed us his home; an upstairs room on the edge of the slum. He boasted that he lived there alone and that his father owned the small room. What struck me the most was that the people seemed genuinely very happy. Everywhere we went, it wasn't like a film showed for comic relief, but normal, happy people going about their day to day life, just living. "The people are happy" Ali told us, "this isn't a bad place to live." But it was poverty, really quite extreme poverty, even if those living there didn't know any better.
Fires burn the rubbish produced by the slum
One of the most interesting stories Ali told us was of his friend that he had studied commerce with at night school. His friend has a well paid job in the city. He owns his house in the slum, but has also bought a house outside the slum which he rents out. He chooses to live in his tiny house in the slum because it's where his friends and family are. It's in a good location, accordingly to Ali, and it isn't a bad way of life. 62% of Mumbaites now live in slums.
The visit left me amazed, and simply in awe of the resilience and optimism of these people. We don't know how lucky we are, don't realise how much we have and how much we take for granted. And sadly it's not until you see a 21 year old woman with four children, the first of which she had at 16 after an arranged marriage, living in a 2x2 metre room with her family of six that you really see how unacceptable this is, but how normal it is out here. She felt lucky to be in her position; living in the city and the community of the slum.
It was mind blowing, and something I'll never forget.
We leave india tonight - onto New Zealand!
L&A x
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