Mumbai

We were on a plane to Mumbai (aka Bombay) and as the plane made its approach to land, we flew over one of the world’s largest slums - Dharavi, with over 1 million people crammed into 2.1 square kilometres - a very sobering moment.

Flying in over the huge Mumbai slums

We grabbed a taxi from the airport and the ride took us alongside the slum area, then through the economic heart of Mumbai with its many high-rise buildings, before reaching old Mumbai with its heritage buildings. 

Our accommodation was here in old Mumbai, at Hotel Elphinstone. We pulled up outside the hotel entrance and our hearts dropped as we saw the outside façade – just a dirty looking doorway leading directly to worn stairs.

There were lots of men sitting around the entrance and 5,000 (it seemed) motorbikes parked outside. But we plastered on a smile, said namaste to all, and lugged our suitcases up two flights of stairs. 

Happy feet

At the top we arrived at a doorway that led into a smart, tidy hotel reception area – whew! We received a lovely welcome and were lead to a smallish but neat and clean room. Marg wasted no time in trying out the electronic foot massage machine in the foyer!

The next morning, we went for a walk in old Mumbai. What a fascinating place.

Just up the road was the Chattrapati Shivaji Railway Terminus, formerly known as the Victoria Terminus, built in gothic style between 1878 and 1888.

Chattrapati Shivaji Railway Station (UNESCO)

This beautiful building is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and still serves as one of Mumbai's main railway stations. It is really quite stunning, and also huge.

This was only the first of many amazing buildings we saw in Mumbai.

We were staying in the Fort area so it is was an easy yellow and black taxi ride to see the area called ‘The Victorian and Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai’, another UNESCO site.

Mumbai UNESCO art deco building

The ensemble, is a collection of 19th century gothic style and 20th century art deco style buildings, all in a cluster around a giant park called The Maidan. We saw some beautiful buildings including the High Court, the Museum and the University among many others.

Some of the art deco ones seemed to be rather tired and not looked after, compared to the Gothic ones. But they were all spectacular. 

We spent quite a bit of time wandering around this lovely area of Mumbai. Then, a couple of days later, we took a ferry out to the Elephanta Caves. 

Elephanta Caves (UNESCO)

These are Hindu and Buddhist caves carved into basalt rock on an island in the Arabian Sea, off Mumbai. The caves are also a UNESCO site, and date back to the 2nd century BC.

From the ferry, a little train transported us to the bottom of a very long flight of steps. Then we followed a pathway through many, many wee shop stalls, until we reached the entrance to the caves.

The temperature was in the high 30's but we stuck it out to see some great sights.

Afterwards, the ferry dropped us back in Mumbai, beside the spectacular Gateway of India monument. This is a giant arch built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary in 1924.

Gateway of India monument, Mumbai Harbour

Close by is the imposing Taj Palace Hotel which is a very grand building. We popped into the Taj for a cooling drink but ended up having a very fancy high tea. 

There were so many cakes and they were not so little - but it was so delicious. Not good for either the stomach or the credit card.

From there, the views over the bay were lovely.

Views of the boats in the Arabian Sea from the Taj Palace Hotel, Mumbai

Later we wandered along the waterfront to view the spectacular sunset with hundreds of locals, then found a nice restaurant for dinner.

We liked Mumbai. It’s full of character and interest, easy to get around, and quite vibrant. But it's also huge - our focus was on the historic side and we didn't really get to fully explore the modern side. But driving through it was daunting as it is so big and busy.

Sunset in Mumbai

So, after several days of visiting the historic sights, museums and monuments, and dodging street sellers and cows, it was time to move on. Our next stop will be Aurangabad and some UNESCO sites in central India.

The above blog is part of our 2 month tour of India. The first blog on this tour is called "Off to Delhi".