Nomad
48
HourS IN
MUMBAI Squeezing Mumbai’s sights and scenes into just two days is a tall order. Upon first glance the city seems stubborn to slow you down – cabs crawl through traffic-clogged streets, straphangers lean out the doors of brimming local trains, and sidewalks, when present, are hectic to say the least. But with careful planning, it’s possible to get a full feel for the striking disparities that make Mumbai the ‘city of dreams’ for so many hopeful migrants from every corner of India. From garish to gritty, historic to heart-wrenching, here’s what to do during 48 hours in Mumbai. Words by Elspeth Velten.
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Day One
7:30am Best visited early in the
morning, the Dadar Flower Market is one
1:00pm Head down into town and
of a staircase on an overpass, where row
splurge on a Mangalorean seafood lunch
upon row of laundry flying in the wind
at Mahesh Lunch Home in Fort. The small
make for a colourful photo-op. If you
restaurant’s menu is full of the familiar and
decide to venture down into the laundry
the less familiar – choose from tandoori and
labyrinth, beware of scammers requesting
various curry preparations of prawns, crab,
payment and remain sensitive and smart
lobster, squid and fish including surmai,
when taking photos. This is not only the
pomfret and bangda. Adventurous? Try the
Dhobi workplace, it’s also their home.
infamous fried ‘Bombay Duck’. It’s not duck at all but lizardfish, native to local waters.
7:00pm After a day of drooling
smelling – places. The colourful streets
2:30pm Switch into shopping
over tempting street food that seems like
mode and take a walk through the Chor
Karai Estate for a meal of street-style
around Dadar station brim with roses,
Bazaar at Mutton Street. Known as the
snacks in a trusted environment. This
marigolds, jasmine and more all day long,
‘thieves bazaar’, lore has it that stolen
buzzing eatery is popular with local
but the action peaks between 5am and 9am.
items from all over Mumbai end up on sale
families and it’s a great place to try street
10:00am Head north from
here. In reality, the bustling streets are
foods that, elsewhere, are usually unsafe
more reminiscent of London’s Portobello
for foreign stomachs. Try pani puri, a
Dadar to Dharavi. One of the largest
Road Market – everything from (fake)
crispy, hollow dough ball served with
slums in Asia, the area is home to over a
antiquities to Bollywood posters and
fillings and chutneys; or panki chatni,
million people in the space of just over
random remote controls are available,
paper-thin rice pancakes steamed in
two square-kilometres. Slum tours can
but don’t dare make a purchase without
banana leaves. Order several small
seem a polarising proposition, but a guided
haggling unapologetically first.
dishes at your own pace and wash it all
walk around Dharavi’s industrial and
4:30pm Grab a ride over to
down with a sweet sugarcane juice.
Walks led by young men from Reality Tours
people called ‘dhobis’ work full-time
drink (or two) at the InterContinental Hotel’s
of Mumbai’s most photogenic – and best
residential areas gives a true insight into how the majority of Mumbaikars live.
Dhobi Ghat at Mahalaxmi Station. Here,
forbidden fruit, head to Swati Snacks at
8:30pm See the day out with a
(realitytoursandtravel.com) meet at nearby
in a giant open-air laundromat to wash
Dome rooftop bar. The bar boasts panoramic
Mahim Station before heading into the slum
the clothes and linens from homes and
views over the Arabian Sea and the
and the company invests 80 per cent of
businesses all over Mumbai. A bird’s-eye
arching Marine Drive, a popular waterfront
profits back into the Dharavi community.
view of the area can be had from the top
hangout for Mumbaikars come nightfall.
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Nomad
Day TWO 9:00am Start the day with a meal
11:30am Before lunch, spend
3:30pm North of the train station,
stalwart that’s an historic and popular
exhibits of antiquities and art from India,
Mumbai’s most famous – it’s British-designed
hang-out for Indian and foreign tourists
China, Nepal and Tibet at the Prince of
and features friezes and fountains by John
alike. Aside from its age (144 years old)
Wales Museum. The gallery is housed
Lockwood Kipling, Rudyard Kipling’s father.
and atmosphere, the café is famous for
in an impressive building known for
The market is still active today and eager
extensive mention in Gregory David
its Indo-Saracenic architectural style
vendors sling everything from fresh produce
Roberts’ novel Shantaram (a favourite of
marked by Islamic, western and Hindu
to poultry and exotic pets.
travellers across India), and infamous
influences. This style was popular with
as one of the locations of the November
British architects in the early 1900s and
2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
is seen in various other buildings around
at local favourite, Persian Darbar. This
10:00am It’s time to knock
Mumbai from the colonial period.
unassuming joint in Byculla is known for
1:30pm A walk north to the
its mutton kepsa – a succulent preparation
beautiful, tree-lined Ballard Estate
enough biryani rice to feed four. To wash
on Colaba Causeway and then head
business area brings you to Britannia &
down the fall-off-the-bone meat, it does
around the corner to the Gateway of
Co. restaurant – a Mumbai favourite that’s
a particularly nice fresh lime soda.
India, a seaside monument built in the
been serving Parsi and Iranian food since
early 1900s to welcome British colonial
1923, and a sign of Mumbai’s flourishing
leaders arriving by sea. Cross the street
Zoroastrian migrant community. You’ll
city’s sites during a Mumbai by night
to admire the majestic and historic Taj
likely be greeted by the charming 92-year-
tour, offered by many tour companies
Mahal Palace hotel. This impressive
old Boman Kohinoor who inherited the
in the city, including the reliable
accommodation opened in 1903 and
restaurant from his father, Britannia & Co.’s
Reality Tours. Stops include Chowpatty
has since been a base for the city’s most
founder. He may even slowly scrawl down
Beach, where families gather to eat
elite visitors. Even if you can’t foot the
your order of mutton berry pulao – the
and socialise around sunset, a view of
bill for a stay, visitors can browse the
restaurant’s famous rice dish – and rose
Marine Drive from Malabar Hill, a drive
luxury shops on the ground floor or visit
raspberry soda himself. Afterwards, walk
past the Antilia building – a monstrous
for a meal or a drink. Finish in the area by
off the meal with a stroll past the nearby
27-storey home to one of the country’s
heading back up to the Oval Maidan playing
Mumbai General Post Office and the Victoria
wealthiest families – and a busy red
field where you can watch a cricket game
(Chhatrapati Shivaji) Terminus – two more
light district that’s sure to leave you with
and gaze at the impressive Bombay High
striking examples of colonial architecture
conflicting feelings about a city that’s
Court building.
built between the 1870s and 1920s.
characterised by glaring highs and lows.
at Leopold Café, the Colaba Causeway
historic – and touristy – Colaba off the to-do list. Stroll past the souvenir shops
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an hour or two browsing thousands of
the crumbling Crawford Market is one of
5:00pm Have an early dinner
of spice-rubbed meat cutlet served with
7:00pm Tick off the rest of the