Mumbai (Bombay) travel guide

Background

Hinduism made its mark on Mumbai long before the Portuguese and British transformed it into one of India’s great cities. The caves on the island of Elephanta were excavated under the Kalachuris (AD 500-600). Yet, only 350 years ago, the area occupied by this great metropolis comprised seven islands inhabited by Koli fishermen. The British acquired these marshy and malarial islands as part of the marriage dowry paid by the Portuguese when Catherine of Braganza married Charles II in 1661. Four years later, they took possession of the remaining islands and neighbouring mainland area and in 1668 the East India Company leased the whole area from the crown for £10 a year, which was paid for nearly 50 years. The East India Company shifted its headquarters to Mumbai in 1672.

Isolated by the sharp face of the Western Ghats and the constantly hostile Marathas, Mumbai’s early fortunes rested on the shipbuilding yards established by progressive Parsis. It thrived entirely on overseas trade and, in the cosmopolitan city this created, Parsis, Sephardic Jews and the British shared common interests and responded to the same incentives.

After a devastating fire on 17 February 1803, a new town with wider streets was built. Then, with the abolition of the Company’s trade monopoly, the doors to rapid expansion were flung open and Mumbai flourished. Trade with England boomed, and under the governorship of Sir Bartle Frere (1862-1869) the city acquired a number of extravagant Indo-Gothic landmarks, most notably the station formerly known as the Victoria Terminus. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1870 gave Mumbai greater proximity to European markets and a decisive advantage over its eastern rival Kolkata. It has since become the headquarters for many national and international companies, and was a natural choice as home to India’s stock exchange (BSE). With the sponsorship of the Tata family, Mumbai has also become the primary home of India’s nuclear research programme, with its first plutonium extraction plant at Trombay in 1961 and the establishment of the Tata Institute for Fundamental Research, the most prestigious science research institute in the country.

Mumbai is still growing fast, and heavy demand for building space means property value is some of the highest on earth. As in Manhattan, buildings are going upward: residential skyscrapers have mushroomed in the upscale enclaves around Malabar Hill. Meanwhile, the old mill complexes of Lower Parel have been rapidly revived as shopping and luxury apartment complexes. An even more ambitious attempt to ease pressure on the isthmus is the newly minted city of Navi Mumbai, 90 minutes east of the city, which has malls, apartments and industrial parks, but little of the glamour that makes Mumbai such a magnet.

The latest project is the controversial redevelopment of Dharavi, a huge chunk of prime real estate that’s currently occupied by Asia’s biggest slum – home to one third of Mumbai’s population, in desperately squalid makeshift hovels originally designed to house migrant mill workers. In addition, an uncounted number live precariously in unauthorized, hastily rigged and frequently demolished corrugated iron or bamboo-and-tarpaulin shacks beside railways and roads, while yet more sleep in doorways and on sheets across the pavement.

In recent decades, the pressure of supporting so many people has begun to tell on Mumbai. Communal riots between Hindus and Muslims have flared up several times since the destruction by militant Hindus of the Babri Masjid in 1992, and the disastrous 2005 monsoon, which dumped almost a metre of rainfall on the city overnight and left trains stranded with water up to their windows, laid bare the governmental neglect which had allowed drainage and other infrastructure to lag behind the needs of the populace.

The unprecedented attacks of 26 November 2008, when Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists held staff and foreign guests hostage in the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, have been widely read as a strike against the symbols of India’s overseas business ambitions. They further served to illustrate that money cannot buy protection from the harsh realities of Indian life. Yet the citizens did not vent their anger on each other, but at the government that had failed to deal effectively with the attacks. Within weeks the front of the Taj had been scrubbed clean and tourists were packing out the Leopold Café, while CST station emerged from the bullets a cleaner, calmer, less chaotic place. Somehow, whether through economic imperative or a shared mentality of forward thinking, the city always finds a way to bounce back.

WBombay, named after the Portuguese for good harbour (bom bahia), was in 1996 rechristened Mumbai after Mumba Devi, a Koli goddess, following fierce lobbying from the Shiv Sena.

** In Late November 2008, terrorists of unknown origin have attacked numerous upscale hotels and The Jewish Welcome center. Please read the local news and stay aware before traveling to Mumbai in the coming weeks.

Mumbai

In addition to the national Hindu and Muslim festivals there are the following:.

Getting around

The sights are spread out and you need transport. Taxis are metered and good value. Ask for the rate card for conversions. There are frequent buses on major routes, and the two suburban railway lines are useful out of peak hours, but get horrendously crowded. Auto-rickshaws are only allowed in the suburbs north of Mahim Creek.

Ins and outs

Getting there

Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport is 30 km from Nariman Point, the business heart of the city. The domestic terminals at Santa Cruz are 5 km closer. Pre-paid taxis to the city centre are good value and take 40-90 minutes; buses are cheaper but significantly slower. If you arrive at night without a hotel booking it is best to stay at one of the hotels near the airports. Long-distance trains arrive and depart from several distinct stations in the centre and suburbs: Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), close to the hotels of Colaba, and Mumbai Central, a few kilometres north, are the most convenient, while Dadar, Bandra and Lokmanya Tilak all involve a lengthy trip into town by taxi or local train (only feasible outside rush hour). State-run MSRTC buses terminate at Mumbai Central Bus Stand, opposite the railway station. Private interstate buses might drop you on the road outside, but those from Pune and other parts of Maharashtra tend to stop way out in the suburbs, at Dadar, Bandra, Andheri or Borivali.

To get Bombay's feel, watch the movie "Salaam Bombay."

Mumbai

Banks

ATMS are now ubiquitous in all parts of the city, including at the airports and stations, and most take foreign cards. For other services, branches open Mon-Fri 1000-1400, Sat 1000-1200. It’s more efficient to change money at the airport, or at specialist agents, eg Bureau de Change, upstairs in Air India Building, Nariman Pt; Thomas Cook, 324 Dr DN Rd, T022-2204 8556; also at 102B Maker Tower, 10th floor, F Block, Cuffe Pde, Colaba; American Express, Regal Cinema Building, Colaba. Credit cards American Express, Lawrence and Mayo Building, Dr DN Rd; Diners Club, Raheja Chambers, 213 Nariman Pt; MasterCard, C Wing, Mittal Tower, Nariman Pt; Visa, Standard Chartered Grindlays Bank, 90 MG Rd, Fort.

Embassies and consulates

Australia, Maker Tower East, 16th floor, Cuffe Pde, T022-2218 1071. Austria, Maker Chambers VI, Nariman Pt, T022-2285 1066. France, Datta Prasad, NG Cross Rd, T022-2495 0918. Germany, 10th floor, Hoechst House, Nariman Pt, T022-2283 2422. Indonesia, 19 Altamount Rd, T022-2386 8678. Israel, 50 Deshmukh Marg, Kailas, T022-2386 2794. Italy, Kanchenjunga, 72G Deshmukh Marg, T022-2380 4071. Japan, 1 ML Dahanukar Marg, T022-2493 4310. Malaysia, Rahimtoola House, Homji St, T022-2266 0056. Netherlands, 1 Marine Lines Cross Rd, Churchgate, T022-2201 6750. Philippines , Sekhar Bhavan, Nariman Pt, T022-2281 4103. Spain, 6 K Dubash Marg, T022-2287 4797. Sri Lanka, 34 Homi Modi St, T022-2204 5861. Sweden, 85 Sayani Rd, Prabhadevi, T022- 2421 2681. Thailand, 43 B Desai Rd, T022- 2363 1404. UK, Maker Chamber IV, Nariman Pt, T022-2283 0517. USA, Lincoln House, B Desai Rd, T022-2368 5483.

Emergencies

Ambulance T102. Fire T101. Police T100.

Internet

Internet cafés are increasingly strict about demanding photo ID. There are several on the back streets of Colaba near Leopold Café: I-way, corner of Colaba Causeway and Barrow Rd (near Kamat restaurant), has many terminals and fast access; you must first register as a member but it’s well worth it, and there are branches throughout India. Infotek, Express Towers, ground floor, Nariman Pt. British Council, A Wing, 1st floor, Mittal Tower, Nariman Pt, T022-2282 3560, 1000-1745, Tue-Sat. Cybercafé, Waterfield, Bandra, enjoy coffee and cake while you surf, take government- issued ID to access free Wi-Fi; a number of bars and cafés now offer Wi-Fi access free or by prepaid voucher, including Woodside Inn, opposite Regal Cinema, Colaba, and Banyan Tree Café and Bakery, opposite Podar Hospital, Worli (north of Haji Ali), T022-6452 7222.

Medical services

The larger hotels usually have a house doctor, the others invariably have a doctor on call. Ask hotel staff for prompt action. The telephone directory lists hospitals and GPs. Admission to private hospitals may not be allowed without a large cash advance (eg Rs 50,000). Insurers’ guarantees may not be sufficient. Prince Aly Khan Hospital, Nesbit Rd near the harbour, T022-2377 7800/900, Jaslok Hospital on Peddar Rd, T022-6657 3333; Hinduja Hospital T022-2444-0431; Lilavati Hospital in Bandra (W), T022-2642 1111 are recommended. Chemists: several open day/ night especially opposite Bombay Hospital. Wordell, Stadium House, Churchgate; New Royal Chemist, New Marine Lines.

Post

Nagar Chowk, Mon-Sat 0900-2000 (Poste Restante facilities 0900-1800) and Sun 1000-1730; parcels from 1st floor, rear of building, Mon-Sat 1000-1700; cheap ‘parcelling’ service on pavement outside; Colaba PO, Henry Rd, 2 blocks south of Taj Mahal. Counter at Domestic airport.

Useful contacts

Commissioner’s Office, Dr DN Rd, near Phule Market. Foreigners’ Regional Registration Office, Annexe 2. Passport office, T022-2493 1731.