Mumbai, or is it Bombay.......... (Mumbai ( Bombay ))

Member Name: jaygami1986

Product:	Mumbai ( Bombay )
Date:	29/02/08 (81 review reads)
Rating:

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Well in 2005, I went on a 6 week trip to India and Dubai, it was during the summer holidays and my cousin was getting married there so I figured why not go and see the wedding and say hello to my grand mum who I hadn't seen for about 10 years. I visited quite a few different cities in India, but this particular review is about my time in Mumbai or Bombay, which ever you want to call it. I spent a total of 5 nights in this buzzing, beautiful yet populated city. My first trip to Mumbai was when I was about 6 years old, I hated it 100%, however at the age of 18, I found myself enjoying my second trip to this city, and I could actually go to clubs, travel on my own and explore the city with some independence. This review will focus more on what I saw during my time in the city, where I stayed, the places I visited, the culture and lifestyle, whilst also providing useful tips for travels that may one day go there, remember although Mumbai is a beautiful city, its still very dangerous. Furthermore, you will here an encounter of how I and my family were stuck in Mumbai during the dreadful July monsoon storm, which left us trapped in a car for about 26 hours, more about that during the review.

History of Mumbai:

Mumbai has a long lifeline of history spanning almost 500 years ago when the Portuguese came and established the city, then known as Bombay. However, when the British controlled India, this was later changed to Mumbai. The city created cottons, and steel during the American Civil War and after the 1970's experienced a huge shift in global investment and reconstruction, new buildings were being created and foreign countries were taking a great interest in this city. Most people make the common mistake of thinking Mumbai is India's capitol, this however is not true since its Delhi. To day, Mumbai is the largest city in India, and the most populated not only in India, but in the world.

Hotel:

Well Mumbai has hundred of hotels to offer, catering for the super rich, to the affordable to the very affordable, I had always asked my dad that we stay somewhere nice, because past experiences with Mumbai hotels had really put me off coming back, furthermore my cousin that was getting married was actually paying for our stay in Mumbai, and so offered to pay for any hotel.
Having taken all that into consideration, we decided to stay at The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, which is considered to be the best hotel in Mumbai, and perhaps in Asia, excluding Dubai of course.
Now even though we didn't pay directly for the room, I though I would give people info on the price etc, so if they did decide to stay there they would have a rough idea, warning it is pricy.
We hired the standard rooms, as they were the cheapest of course, with two beds in each room, for 4 nights the total worked out to just over £850 this included bed and breakfast, lunch, dinner, use of all facilities and free drinks in the bar, which was a plus.
The hotel was actually really beautiful, there were so many things to love and adore about it, the lobby downstairs almost made us feel as if we were in Buckingham Palace, the elevators with gold buttons, the friendly, and polite and attract female staff, and the rooms were all brilliant. Our room included two single beds, all with silk duvets, and chocolates under the pillow. We had a nice plasma TV, with the basic cable channels, 24 hour room service, a fully air conditioned room, and nice bold red carpets, somewhat the same as those you would find at Hollywood movie premiers. The rooms also came with state of the art showers and bath tubs, take it from someone who knows, bath tubs in India are a luxury and a rare, you hardly ever see them. Furthermore, the swimming pool located downstairs at the back lobby was simply magnificent; it had a standard pool, along with a small children version, with sun decks and a small bar located on the left hand side.

Other facilities:

They provide free laundry service 24 hours a day, which was quite helpful as we wanted to use the service before we flew back home. We also had a small baby with us, and they provided free childcare service, a special unit that had all the kids, a play area is you would, with cartoons, toys and just anything a little child would want. We actually ran out of rupees on our visit, and having our credit cards they were more than happy to exchange money for us, and yes they offered a better rate than what we paid in London. Finally, if you ever wanted to plan a visit to a shopping centre, temple etc, they would book you a cab, a proper cab, with a smart driver and have him take you there and back to the hotel, a professional, quick and helpful service.

The Staff:

Now having been to India a few times, I would be honest in saying some people have no manors, its just the way the culture was bough up back then, but the staff here are brilliant, please and thank you's always helping you with any questions, if you ask for room service, their with you in minutes.

The Hotel Food:

Like most first class hotels, they have there very own dining hotels and food from all over the world, we actually dined here most of the time, either breakfast lunch or dinner, and had a large number of places to chose from. At present the hotel has the following restraints;
Aquarius:
Harbour Bar:
Golden Dragon:
La Patisserie:

The hotel offered anything from English, Indian and American, to Italian Cuisine, and they also catered for your won needs, for instance for breakfast one day I wanted to have a full English breakfast, which was made for me, off the menu.

Attractions:

I actually saw quite a few things whilst in Mumbai; however I would go on all day, so Im simply going to talk about the important and popular sites, also ones that have a special place in my mind.



The Gateway to India:

One cannot leave Mumbai without visiting the "The Gate of India", this was actually right opposite our hotel, and all we had to do was walk across the road to the other side, however even that can be testing at times. The gate of India is perhaps one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen, in terms of architecture and scenery, its presence is made even stronger by its backdrop of the waterfront. The place is of course free to see, however you will find police patrolling it, and monitoring you very carefully, especially if you're a tourist. One must also mention that street beggars, patrol this area in a way of trying to evoke sympathy from the rich tourists, Without sounding rude, don't give any money there, as once you give it to one person everyone will come, and they wont leave until you give them something, and this can spoil the experience of the gateway.
Little history lesson for you readers, the gateway was actually built to commemorate the visit of King George V, and Queen Mary, during the early 19th century, however it now symbolises, peace, power and independence. Furthermore, it's seen as an actual gateway into India, since most merchants and travels i.e. the Portuguese came from boat into Mumbai.

Elephant Caves

To be honest I had never actually heard of this place, although my dad had been like here several times, when he was young and old, its located Mumbai harbour off the coast of Mumbai, and is a place were you get to see sacred statues, and sites that were very historical to the country. It is here you will find carvings of sacred Hindu gods mad goddesses, such as Vishnu, as well as a temple for Lord Shiva, the sculptures are magnificent, and really look detailed. It also gives you a chance to get away from the loud city, and a chance to relax, and become well get to grips with the beauty.
There was no fee whilst we went there, however it is a sign of respect if you leave a small donation, or make a little prayer in the small temples, as you are respecting the culture and history, to be honest it was also the only place I didn't find beggars asking for money, this is how symbolic and respectful this place is.

Juhu Beach:

Well no visit to Mumbai is complete without a visit to Juhu beach, the famous beach of Mumbai. The beach actually spans across most of Mumbai, and is just one of the best places to be to watch a sunset or sunrise, because you get to see everything in its glory. The beach is one you should at times also be careful of, there are three sections of the beach, one were everyone hangs out, and the other two, which is more cleaner and sophisticated. You should be careful of broken glass, and general junk lay around the sand. However, sweeping all that to one side, the beach is a very busy place for traders, they offer a wide variety of street food, which I will be discussing, whilst also offering small donkey rides around the beach, be careful of when you go to the beach, during the night time its very busy and its hard to move, and if your by yourselves this is dangerous.

Shopping Centres:

There are several big shopping centres around the city of Mumbai that allow tourists to pick up a bargain on jeans, or t shirts or book, you name it they have it.
The shopping centre I visited was called Crossroad Mall, from here you can go shopping, eat food, and just chill out and relax, it almost seems as if your not even in India, it's a totally new world. The food is great there, why because they have Pizza Hut, who would have though it hey, and its cheaper and better tasting to, what more can you ask for. They also offer, subway, and Burger King. The price of clothes is actually cheaper there too, and your always better off if you try and haggle, trust me it always ends up paying off. Some shops even offer you drinks, just because you're a tourist and even if you don't buy anything they are still pleasant, and o yes not to mention they have Marks and Spencer's, I was shocked when I saw that. Your best bet of getting there is by taxi, just tell them Crossroads and they will no exactly what you mean.

Street Food:

No visit is complete without having some traditional street food, which you will find sold by every street vendor all over Mumbai. Trick is to eat only one thing, because if your stomach is negative towards spice, then your in some really big trouble, because it can get hot. Some of the traditional foods you can find are, Bhel, Pani Puri, Dubaroti, and Dosa. Its worth giving all these ago if you can because there so tasty and I could eat it all day. Ok so abit about price, most vendors only charge a few rupees, however a tip don't take your whole wallet out because they will see you're a tourist and rip you off, instead only take out the small coins and then ask, them worse comes to worse you will be charged a few rupees more, but don't forget my tip.

Culture and Lifestyle Tips:

This next section is dedicated to educating people about the culture and therefore habits in Mumbai, so if you ever go there you would no what how to be respectful etc.
First thing is first, clothing, most men tend to wear either jeans or trousers, but you can wear shorts because its hot, however even though Mumbai has become more modern and understanding, women should still to a certain extent be careful of what they wear, for instance wearing a small skirt and tight top, will attract you a lot of attention, both from men and women, and yes Mumbai does have its fair share of perverts so please me careful, im not saying you shouldn't wear this or that, just acknowledge their culture and lifestyle.
The street children are out in their masses in Mumbai, and its really sad to see how people especially children are forced to live on the streets and beg for money, namely from tourists. I wouldn't say no to give money, because ive done it, however only give it if there by themselves as bigger crowds mean giving more. Also my dad made me aware that most these kids then have to pass this money on to a street pimp that takes it from them and then gives them a small share, we then instead of giving money offered them food and water, or a drink, it given them a chance to get something inside them, and it wouldn't be taken away from them, which I find to be much more useful.




Transport:

There are a number of ways of getting around Mumbai, the most common one being Taxi, however they can at times rip you off, so please be careful. If your staying in a hotel, ask them to book you a cab to come and pick you up, the cab drivers are picked by the hotels and therefore are the trust worthy ones, I remember leaving my phone in the cab, only for the man to come and run and give it back to me. Other methods include Train and bus, but this isn't recommended if your travelling small distances, just take the cab.

Climate:

Mumbai is hot all year round, however July and August tend to be monsoon seasons, so be careful or you might get trapped in a monsoon like we did. We actually found ourselves trapped in a car for almost 26 hours, because the water was so deep the jeep couldn't drive, traffic was still and we realised we were soon in trouble. We had no water in the car and that's a big no, as well as no food. The rain was so bad that a heard of buffalos located near are car drowned and we could hear them all night long. As morning came, we had to walk in stomach deep water, dirty water I may add, and you didn't no what you were walking on,, hundred of people died, some of which were only a few metres away from us, I guess that was the biggest downside to this holiday.

Anyway, hopefully this review was of some help to the community, will be back with another one on Gujarat soon.

Summary: Mumbai, The gateway to India........