November 16, 2009 – Day 325 – Mumbai, India

Whether you call it Mumbai or Bombay, this city is a really happening place! It boasts the richest neighborhoods and most famous people in India but it also holds Asia’s largest slum. From both extremes, Mumbai is a place you will either love or hate. It is India and it is not. The people are different, the food is different, the prices are high and the city is abuzz and never sleeps. At any hour you will hear traffic whizzing and honking its way through the streets below your hotel room. You can always find a snack stand open and there is no shortage or high-end establishments to spend your hard-saved Rupees.

In the streets of Mumbai

A strange thing about Mumbai is that (in certain neighborhoods, of course) it looks and feels a lot like Rio de Janiero. Maybe it is the highly visible European influences and leftovers; maybe it is the palm trees and lush greenery around the city. It is definitely a strange little (or big, really) universe within India.

Busy Mumbai

People are more Western in manners and although someone at the next table in the restaurant or on the bus will still want to chat with you, they will at least make a point to “check” your responsiveness before launching into a barrage of questions or comments that inevitably ends up being about sex (and every Indian you will ever meet will blame Westerners for being the “sex crazy” ones).

Though Mumbai is a relatively expensive city when compared to the rest of the country, there are still bargains to be had. We found a room for Rs. 600 (we had a double room with TV and fan, shared bath; we stayed in the Colaba district—very nice!) when everyone we asked said we would never find anything under Rs. 1000. We ate good food for very cheap (well, again, cheap for the city) for usually about Rs. 60-70/person.

I don't know where they find this fabric but its everywhere

As far as transportation, there is no place better than Mumbai for cheap taxis! The city government regulates taxi fares and every taxi runs the meter that tells how many kilometers you have travelled. When you reach your destination, the driver checks his fare card (just looks like a small square paper) to match a Rupee amount to the kilometers travelled. Though we are not sure of the exact price, we can say that 5 kilometers is about Rs. 85. If you get into a taxi and the driver says the meter is broken, get out of the car right away. There will be plenty of other taxis zipping by and you can find one that will use the meter instead of lying to you to try to get more money for the fare. Also, beware that some taxis (usually those who say their meter is broken) will tell you that some mall/restaurant/whatever that you are wanting to go to is closed that day. Unless it is some kind of national holiday (which will be obvious because every small shop will also be closed), he is almost certainly lying. In these cases, the driver wants to take you to a commissioned shop/cafe/place. As you might imagine this will lead to massive amounts of hassle (how could it not?!) and problems so just get out of the car and get yourself another taxi. Do not let anyone bully you into paying unfairly or going somewhere that you do not want to go.

Almost forgot about our bus from Udaipur.

So far, we really love Mumbai!