Mumbai (Bombay) Hotels

The Mumbai Rundown

A city of Mumbai’s capacity and scope is a challenge to comprehend, let alone take on as a tourist. It takes time, patience and a hearty disposition to grasp India’s mother metropolis of Bollywood film icons, ceaseless slums, feverish street-level entrepreneurship, billionaire capitalists, wan colonial-era landmarks and shiny contemporary skyscrapers.

All this, and so much more, defines the capital of Maharashtra. Mumbai, alpha world city and economic engine of India, delivers all of the inherent contradictions that mark the country as singular; contradictions that baffle, bewilder and astonish countless new visitors on a daily basis and, indeed, more than a few return visitors as well. Rampant poverty and extravagant wealth, old and new, spiritual and secular, austere and wanton, Western and Indian; to the casual observer, Mumbai’s very soul seems caught in a perpetual tug of war.

The city arouses a powerful reaction that seldom borders on indifference. How can you possibly feel blasé about a cradle of culture, a holy, glorious mess of a metropolis, that swells with over 20 million people? Mumbai is complicated but, alas, dangerously addictive.

Mumbai’s Top 10

Mumbai Local

A metropolis with over 20 million people must, inevitably, contain more than a few neighbourhoods of interest and, indeed, a few best left off the travel itinerary. Mumbai is no exception.

Fort is a business precinct famous for street vendors, book stalls and legacy architecture.

Nariman Point is the flagship Central Business District of India and, as such, the financial pulse point of the country. The precinct contains a dramatic high-rise skyline and punctuates the south end of Marine Drive.

Colaba district is the affluent and historic home of the Gateway of India, Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Cowasji Jehangir Hall, Cathedral of the Holy Name and hip shops and restaurants galore. Many rich, household-name industrialists call Colaba home.

Prabhadevi is a wealthy area of Mumbai with a notable landmark in Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Mandir temple.

Worli spans Prabhadevi precinct and Haji Ali Dargah mosque and was one of the original islands in the township that became the city of Mumbai. The locality is a fashionable target for new residential projects and hotels.

Bandra is Mumbai’s “Queen of the Suburbs” and a trendy choice for upscale professionals and tourists in the city. The cosmopolitan area is home to many important attractions, from Mount Mary Church to the Bandstand Promenade. A number of Bollywood actors, Shahrukh Khan chief among them, live in a tony seaside enclave of Bandra.

Navi Mumbai was built as a twin city to Mumbai in the early 1970s to alleviate urban sprawl in the state capital. Then, and still, the most ambitious “New City” in the world, let alone India, the purpose-built urban expanse on the west coast of Maharashtra is now home to close to 3 million people.

Thane is a city and significant part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Area. The major urban precinct has a population of well over 1.2 million people and is most famous as Maharashtra’s “Lake City”. Talao Pali lake, in particular, is a prominent recreation spot.

Mumbai Eat & Drink

Food is a vital component of the cultural mosaic that is Mumbai. From omnipresent street food carts that hawk staples like vada pav to sleek clubs that masquerade as restaurants (with guest lists that mirror a Bollywood film’s credits), the metropolis has it all.

Mumbai Events

Important religious festivals in Mumbai include Diwali in October/November, Holi in February/March, the Jain holiday of Mahavir Janma Kalyanak in March/April, and Eid ul-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy Islamic month of Ramadan in August/September.

Two important holidays specific to Mumbai and the state of Maharashtra include Maharashtra Day on May 1 and Gudhi Padwa, the Marathi name for the Hindu lunar new year in March/April.

The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival comes to South Mumbai in late January, with a diverse programme of events that lasts for nine days.

The Banganga Festival also takes advantage of clement weather in January to present two days of music at the historic Walkeshwar Temple Complex in Malabar Hill.

As the home of Bollywood, Mumbai hosts major film events throughout the year. The Mumbai International Film Festival in February, however, is the big one.

Mumbai is the nerve centre of LGBT culture in India. The annual Queer Azaadi March takes place at the end of January.

The vibrant Mumbai sports scene revolves, naturally, around cricket, with no less than three class ovals - Brabourne Stadium (Churchgate), Sheshrao Krushnarao Wankhede Stadium (Marine Lines) and DY Patil Stadium (Navi Mumbai) - to take in a match.

Cultural performances take place on a regular basis in Mumbai. The most important concert halls in the city are the National Centre for the Performing Arts (Nariman Point), Dinanath Natyagruha (Vile Parle), Prithvi Theatre (Juhu), Shanmukhananda Hall (Matunga) and the Prabhodankar Thackeray Theatre (Bandra).

When To Go

Weather is a perpetual topic of discussion and derision in Mumbai. The city’s tropical savanna climate brings two sharply diametrical seasons. One, the dry season, features relatively little rain from October to May and temperatures from 61°F (16°C) to 91°F (33°C).

The wet season, conversely, lashes the city with incessant waves of heavy precipitation from June to September. July, the peak month for rainfall in Mumbai, typically waterlogs the metropolis with close to three feet of rain.

A cursory glance at Mumbai’s festival calendar tells the story. January is far and away the most comfortable month to live in and, indeed, visit the city.

What To Miss

Beware of fraudulent holy men, city guides, tour operators, cab drivers and pushy street performers in Mumbai. Keep a cool, open mind in the massive city but never forget that a metropolis with this much poverty and people will, inevitably, incite certain survival instincts in some. Foreigners, as a result, can fall prey to the harsh consequences of Mumbai’s chasmic economic disparity between rich and poor.

Other aspects of Mumbai to miss out on include vintage transport (horse carriages, double-deckers et al.), seaside promenade vendors and restaurants, trendy Ibiza-ish supperclubs and Western-style malls.

Slum tours are a perpetual source of controversy in Mumbai, particularly in Dharavi. One of the world’s foremost mega-slums, the Mumbai ward is home to 750,000 people - perhaps much, much more - and has a colossal, informal economy in the range of £400 million. The decision to visit Dharavi as a tourist observer is a deeply personal choice fraught with moral overtones.

Getting Around

Together, Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International AirportI and Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport manage over half of the air traffic in South Asia. As befits an alpha world city, Chhatrapati Shivaji International provides service to a host of major destinations, such as London, New York, Tokyo, Paris, Frankfurt, Cairo, Seoul and Dubai.

From the airport, a prepaid coupon taxi is the most efficient, hassle-free way to navigate the 30 km ride to Mumbai proper.

Train access to Mumbai is safe, affordable and widely available from countless destinations within India.

In the titanic traffic morass of the city itself, public transport comes in many forms. For a singular adrenaline rush, try the auto rickshaws on for size. Private cabs offer a measure of comfort and luxury amid the congestion. Phase I of the Mumbai Metro - a leviathan public infrastructure project - is underway and will, upon completion, offer a welcome alternative to the weary suburban railway and bus system.

HC Blog

Mumbai (Bombay) official guide

2011

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