Mumbai is a huge megacity that began life on the southern tip of a narrow peninsula. When Mumbaikers say they are going to ‘town’, they mean they are going to South Bombay (SoBo), generally considered to be the area south of Dadar and Mahim Bay. ‘Town’ is where all the interesting stuff happens in terms of food, entertainment, architecture and general culture so for this reason most of my posts in the index below are about the south of Mumbai.
As you can imagine the geographical restrictions mean that getting around is a nightmare and Mumbai has some of the worst traffic congestion in the world as a result. That said, I still prefer to travel in an air-conditioned car so I recommend getting a local SIM card and downloading the taxi apps Uber and Ola. You can then be picked up anywhere and transferred relatively quickly, safely and cheaply, all without any debate about price. It really does save a whole lot of messing around.
To get the SIM, just take your passport (plus photocopies of the photo and visa pages) to your local independent phone shop. I think the SIM itself and the credit came to about £20 for the three weeks I was there. The internet coverage could take a few days to get going but when it does it feels like you’ve achieved freedom!
Having a SIM also means you can access Google maps which is invaluable in a huge city like Mumbai. I’ve put all the places mentioned in my posts on this map for you to use. There’s a key top left and more info in the pins when you click on them.
Anyhow, here’s a list of my posts with brief descriptions of contents…
NORTH MUMBAI – posts primarily for business visitors
In 2018 I was lucky to be based in uptown Juhu Beach (post here).
In 2019 I was less lucky to be based in Thane, a satellite city immediately north east of Mumbai (post here).
SOUTH MUMBAI – posts primarily for tourists
In 2012 I was living in Delhi for a while but I did a few work trips to Mumbai where I was based in the downtown. I also spent my weekends there in 2018 and 2019.
Apollo Bandar:
Gateway to India and tea at the Taj (here).
Restaurants (here).
A walk around colourful Sassoon Docks (here).
Fort:
A look at Parsi food and culture (here).
Good quality restaurants (here).
Victorian architecture (here).
Churchgate:
How to stay for a weekend in the downtown (here).
A tour of Art Deco architecture (here).
Biculla:
A trip to Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Victoria Gardens (here).
Kalbadevi:
The best thali in Mumbai (here).
General:
Some street food experiences (here).
A day trip on the ferry to Elephanta Island (post here).
Various other bits of Mumbai architecture (here).