On Saturday, I did another sightseeing tour in Mumbai. Initially, I wanted to fly out Friday night, but the only flight I could get confirmed was Saturday night. Seemed quite a few people couldn’t wait to get out of Mumbai that night 😉
Saturday had much better weather then my initial sightseeing in the rain on the Sunday before. Hence, I saw a little more friendly and sunny perspectives of Mumbai. Thanks to my local friend Pankaj and my trusted cab driver Hayat, I saw a few places, the usual tourist might not even get close to.
First we drove from the hotel at the airport to the sea link, a huge suspension bridge through the bay with nice views towards the more posh areas of Mumbai. Eventually we ended up at the Haji Ali Dargah mosque. The most is quite scenic in the bay with a small walkway. We did not enter the mosque, due to the crowd, but the walk to the mosque was already a very interesting insight into the local culture. I have barely seen a tourist there, but mostly poor people trying to earn a living from the visitors to the mosque.
Next stop was Gandhi’s old house in Mumbai. Though he was not born there, he did spend some time in that house. It is a very solid, multi story house in the old English quarters of Mumbai, mainly displaying Gandhi’s life in photos and a little ‘puppet show’. Nevertheless, his life and story is quite interesting.
From there we went to Colaba, having a look at the Gateway of India and the Taj Mahal Hotel. I have been there the weekend before, but it was raining. This time I was able to see it during sunshine. It also made it easier to take photos as I didn’t have to fight the umbrella while trying to get a decent shot (still difficult with the iPhone).
We walked down the street on our way to a nice pastry shop along hundreds of small stalls. Unfortunately, my skin color misled the local shopkeepers for a ‘wallet with legs’. Where the average Indian can have a stroll, look at the display and bargain for souvenirs, the foreigner is a welcomed ‘victim’. I learned not to make eye contact or look longer then a split second at the displayed merchandise – only the slightest interest and you’re being approached to exchange money, buy souvenirs or donate money to the poor.
Getting to the end of the road we came to the pastry shop. I believe it was French, next to a doughnut store. I have to admit, the cakes were divine. I haven’t had such good chocolate cakes in ages and Mumbai was the last place I would expect to find that.
After surprising our taste buds we headed back to the Taj Mahal hotel, walking along the sea promenade, away from the busy main road. Once we got back to the cab, the driver suggested we should have a look at some of the Bollywood star houses and do a stopover at Juhu beach.
I have to admit that some of the Bollywood star houses are up to par with villas in other parts of the world, however in Mumbai the fences and walls are probably a little higher, so that one cannot see much of what is behind the walls. Obviously, the locals know who lives where and the area is quite busy on a Saturday afternoon. After all, it’s not that spectacular as none of the movie stars came out to walk the dog.
We finished the evening with a visit at Juhu beach. We saw a nice sunset on the beach among probably another 10.000 Mumbaikers. Unfortunately, the beach is not the cleanest, so bathing forbids itself but it is still a nice sight compared to the all so hectic and chaotic streets of Mumbai.
Overall I cannot say that Mumbai is a touristic attraction. Not if you are used to cities like Paris, London or Singapore. However, it is nevertheless interesting to navigate Mumbai, to see parts of Mumbai the ordinary tourist would never get to and to see the everyday life of the Mumbaiker. I have enjoyed my visit in India and see a few things with a different perspective now…