Manic Mumbai

GLOBAL DRIFTER

By ROBERT J. FRY

March 2, 2011, 1:56pm

Taj Mahal Hotel Mumbai

MANILA, Philippines - Home to the thriving Bollywood cinema industry, as well as the nation’s emerging financial strengths, Bombay (aka Mumbai) is a great place to soak up modern India. 

The city has a tropical climate, with warm balmy winters and horrendously hot summers. It feels like a big city too, with huge buildings, billboard advertisements, countless apartment blocks and a frantic frenzy that only comes when too many people and too little space meet. In terms of population, it is India’s most populous city, with around 15 million residents.

Compared to other big cities such as Kolkata or Delhi, the streets are remarkably clean and litter-free, although still not immaculate. You needn’t look too hard to find rubble or refuse. For the most part though, especially in the city’s southern district, the streets are swept clean and green growth is abundant. While some may refer to it as a concrete jungle, Mumbai is most definitely a city of trees. There are the coconut and palm trees that line Chowpatty beach, to the long limbed fellows who line the city streets. There's also plenty of public parks and gushing gardens, patronized by those escaping the searing heat, and young lovers averting an unwelcome gaze.

For something a little different, check out the Parsi cemetery while you’re in town. Although it’s strictly off limits to all tourists, a good cab driver will drive you to a lookout spot where you can have a cheeky peek over the fence. Instead of being dressed in their Sunday best and lowered underground in a wooden box, the Parsi people leave the dead bodies in the open, and at the mercy of local wildlife (most notably vultures). A tradition that I’m told by my cabbie, is ‘thousands of years strong.’

To get around Mumbai, you have a lot of options. The train network is well developed and efficient, although a little hot when overcrowded. People push and shove too, so enjoy your cup of hot chai elsewhere, unless you’d rather wear it. The heat can make walking long distances a little tiring, so many travelers opt to hire a taxi for half a day at around 400 rupees. Although this figure isn’t fixed, and with heavy bargaining, you could probably get it done for 300 or less. The Gateway of India is arguably the city’s biggest landmark, and undoubtedly the most photographed. It’s swamped with tourists day and night, although you may just have it to yourself at the crack of dawn, if you’re lucky. It’s big, it’s beautiful and although a little bit cliché - you’d be mad not to check it out while you’re in town. The surrounding harbor is worth a peek too, and if you can afford it, the Taj Mahal hotel which is adjacent to the monument, defines Indian luxury.

You won’t go hungry in Mumbai, with street stalls and vendors selling regional specialties, as well as snacks from all over India. Vada Pav is an example of authentic street food, not to mention a surviving relic of the Bombay of old. Known locally as an ‘Indian burger,’ it consists of a curried potato puff, topped off with some fiery chutney sauce and served in a white bun. Although it sounds simple, it’s a delicious and addictive treat, and before you know it - you’ll have scoffed half a dozen. Vada Pav is served everywhere (especially at train stations and beaches) for about 4 rupees, or US$0.10. Pronounce it ‘waa-dah parv’ to avoid confusion.

Cafe Leopold is a Bombay institution, even without vada pav on the menu. Famous for decades with tourists, and for over a century with locals, it came back into the limelight as a popular hangout for ex-pats and small time criminals in the novel Shantaram. It was also sprayed with bullets by gunmen during the 2008 Mumbai Terrorist attacks. Established in 1871, it’s undoubtedly overpriced and frequently overcrowded, but Leopold’s is still a fine place to sit down for lunch and people watch, especially if street food’s not your thing. ‘Bombay Masala Sandwich’ is a cheesy curry sandwich, that tastes better than it should (or sounds).