Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Food, atmosphere, book shops |
| Disadvantages: |
Always busy ! |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
We visited Mumbai last month as part of a longer trip in India. We only had 2 days to see the main attractions and thoroughly enjoyed it. Below is a short guide of how to do Mumbai in 2 days.
Guidebook: Lonely Planet's Best of Mumbai does the trick. Short, concise and well written. Also, buy yourself the local Timeout which is a great source for finding out what's on in the city.
Staying: Marine Plaza on Marine Drive. Very good service, right on the corniche looking out over the sea.
Travelling: You must experience the Ambassador Black/Yellow taxi cabs - with their neon lights and leopard print seat covers, they are a fun ride. Most taxi cab drivers will be more than happy to offer you a daily rate and will drive you to wherever you want to go and wait for you to return. I recommend this if, like us, you only have a short amount of time in the city.
Food: I highly recommend the Khyber Restaurant in the Kala Gora area. Fantastic sub-continent food, superb fresh fish, lovely setting and great hospitatlity. Khyber is at the pricier end - however, in sterling, it worked out to be about £10 per head. During peak times, the restaurant is packed with local businessmen and you need to make a reservation. We were lucky in that we went at about 10pm and managed to get a table, although it was still busy and this was a Monday! Once you finish your meal at Khyber, immediately outside the restaurant is a 'Paan' seller and for 10 rupees you get to taste the best paans that I personally have ever tasted! We also tried the Olive Bar & Restaurant in Pali Hills - seems to be more trendy and the food was good International fusion dishes. Do try the non-alchoholic cocktails as they are very good.
Shopping: Fab India sells fantastic ready-made kaftans, kameezes, shalwars, churidar pyjamas etc. Reasonably priced and a wide selection, so you can do a pick-n-mix with the tops and bottoms. Sizes range from small to XL. One thing to note is that the price tags only show the price exclusive of VAT - so be prepared to do your sums before you get to the check-out counter. Zaveri Bazaar is great for gold jewellery. Be prepared to haggle and take your time.
Sites: In 1/2 day, our taxi driver - Mr Pandey - gave us a whistle-stop tour of the main sites:
1. Gateway to India
2. Taj Palace Hotel
3. Hanging Gardens
4. Drive by the entrance to the Towers of Silence
5. Mohammed Ali Jinnah's residence in the posh Malabar Hills area
6. Mani Bhavan - residence where Gandhi stayed
7. Haji Ali Darga - be prepared to have change to give to the beggars
8. Churchgate area
9. Chowpatty Beach
Manage your expectations before going and be prepared that there will be poverty, pollution, noise, beggars and an endless stream of people trying to sell you tourist guides, but in amongst all that hustle and bustle is a lovely little city with a lot to see and do.
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