Travelmole on tour: a week in Mumbai

Travelmole’s associate editor Dinah Hatch takes a trip to bustling Indian metropolis Mumbai….

I knew this was going to be an interesting week when it took 25 minutes and two near-death experiences to cross the road.

Mumbai  has no time for pedestrian crossings and Mumbai drivers have no time for pedestrians. You want to get from one side of the road to the other? Then march boldly into the oncoming traffic, hold up your arm in a “halt!” type way and forge ahead. A small prayer might also be useful.

One of the largest cities in the world with an estimated 20 million inhabitants, Mumbai is never boring. Yes, you might spend hours stuck in traffic in a taxi or autorickshaw, but the theatre of city life around you will keep you fascinated all day long.

From the heart-breakingly perfect english spoken by small boys and girls after a few coins at the traffic lights to the glamorous spectacle of a Sikh wedding reception taking place in a downtown hotel, a journey through this huge city is an activity in itself.

Just being in the city and experiencing everyday life is jaw-dropping. Yes, you can head off down to the Gateway of India, opposite the grand Taj Mahal Palace hotel, now infamous for the Mumbai terrorist attacks in 2008. And by all means tackle the jamun wallahs selling their salty fruits as you wander the ancient Elephanta Caves.

But the real fun’s to be had walking the streets. Head to South Mumbai where the British set their sights on building the docks and the city, the result of which are some colonial buildings that take your breath away. I strolled down to the vast Churchgate rail terminus, across the road from the cathedral-like government buildings, where thousands of locals arrive each morning from the suburbs to head to their offices in south Mumbai.

Pleasingly, I got there just as the dhaba wallahs did. Some 5000 of these guys arrive by train each mid-morning from the towns and villages outside the city carting 200,000 tiffin (packed launch) boxes, hot meals prepared lovingly by wives and destined for workers in the offices of the city. With many of the dhaba wallahs illiterate, a complex system of colours and numbers tells them which lunch goes where.

Afterwards I stopped in at Colaba Causeway in Colaba. The market’s aimed at tourists but is a lot of fun, once you have firmly told the map sellers you don’t need a framed depiction of the Maharashtra state and that you’ll pass on the name-on-a-piece-rice offer too.

Take a break for lunch 15 minutes away at the grand Khyber restaurant in Kalaghoda – no tandoori chicken has ever tasted this good (think £4 a head without alcohol). I sat there all of five minutes before I overheard a Bollywood conversation. Oh yes, you can’t sit still for long in Maximum City without hearing the word Bollywood.

Mumbai is home to the biggest film industry in the world and the city’s inhabitants are in thrall to the soap opera that is the lives of its actors and actresses.

If Amitabh Bachchan goes out to dinner, everyone knows where, courtesy of the breathy news reports that appeal in the Mumbai Mirror the next day. Does Shilpa Shetty regret buying a share in the Indian Premier League cricket team Rajasthan Royals? An in-depth report on this burning issue will almost certainly be aired on news channel TV9.

Mumbai manages to be a thoroughly modern city, complete with ever multiplying shopping malls, cinema complexes and corporate tower blocks whilst simultaneously and determinedly retaining its old world feel. Outside gleaming newbuilds, sharp suited business men will still pause for a drink and a chat at the tapri (tea stalls) that proliferate around the city.

Mumbai may have a Comedy Store franchise (where UK and Delhi acts alike have the house in stitches), a ton of new department stores and more designer boutiques than you can shake a Jimmy Choo shoe at but it’s still undeniably and fantastically a thoroughly sub-continental experience this westerner will never forget.

Package it: British Airways operates a double daily service to  Mumbai from Heathrow with flights leading in at £530.

Mole stayed at: The 264-room Thistle Heathrow in order to make a smooth transition to the airport for the 11am flight. The hotel is minutes from the airport, has onsite parking, wifi access and a convivial little bar where night-before gin and tonics went down very well. There’s also a very decent restaurant with great views for plane watchers over Terminal 5. Mole has the highest praise for its excellent breakfast.  The Hotel Hoppa bus runs from right outside the front door (£4 one way). An eight-day park and fly premium package leads in at £69 (www.thistle.com, 0871 376 9021).

by Dinah Hatch