Travel
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Mumbai
I'm being sent to Mumbai for 6+ weeks for work. Anyone have any suggestions for good breakfast/lunch restaurants, shopping and day trips? We will only have 1 day off a week so local tourist stuff is best.
Meine Welt... Meine Welt...
Und die Liebe die wird rot
Und der Hass schwarz wie der Tod
Ich mach' das so wie's mir gef
Re: Mumbai
It's hard with just a day because traffic is so awful it can take an hour just to get to a different neighborhood. There is a newer mall called Palladium that has some nicer Western stores as well as a few Indian clothing shops with cute things. Khar (a neighborhood) also has some good shopping.
Juhu Beach has some fun restaurants -- we had a good outdoor dinner at a place called Vie. The JW Marriott is also nice.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.
Mark Twain
My Travel Blog
We already have a hotel set up; one of the Taj properties
I know that there are some Buddhist caves outside of the city and there is also Elephant Island. Mumbai just doesnt seem to be a tourist destination.
We will most likely be working 7pm-3:30/5am Mon-Sat. That gives us Sunday and a good portion of Monday to play tourist.
I think that most of the people on here who have been to India didn't spend any time in Mumbai!
We go because my husband still has family there so we spend most of our time visiting, but I also get the impression that it's more of a business city and not so much for tourists.
I figured you already had a hotel, but the Marriott is really new and is just nice for a meal or for hanging out (one my husband's aunts has a gym membership there). We also went to dinner at the Hyatt the last time we were there and it could be worth a dinner to have a look, too (brand new, felt like a Vegas hotel).
Knowing that time frame I think you might be able to do the Taj Mahal as a day trip with the new airport in Agra. Lonavala (a hill station not too far away) could also make a nice overnight, but I've only stayed in a private house there so I can't recommend any hotels.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.
Mark Twain
My Travel Blog
I stayed at the Taj in November 2009. While it was nice enough, I thought it was overrated and not worth the price. Granted, this was on the 1st anniversary of the attacks, so part of the hotel was still under reconstruction. I bet those newer rooms are nicer than the ones we were given. Since work's putting you up, I wouldn't worry about it too much. It was clean and suited our purposes just fine, it just wasn't all that luxurious or worth the inflated price.
I was only there for a few days, so I don't have any recommendations for where to eat. Elephant Island was cool and worth the trip, but don't use a guide, as they will likely try to rip you off. We didn't listen to the advice to forgo a guide, figuring we'd be giving towards the local economy. Our guide quoted us a price for a tour he estimated would take about an hour, than dragged it out for half the morning, and more than tripled the price at the end. He offered to hold my husband's backpack near the end, too, so we had to pay him what he asked because he refused to give it back. He also raised his voice and made a scene, and before we knew it, we were surrounded by a crowd of other tour guides.
Also, a similar thing happened at the airport. We tipped someone for helping us with our bags (something like $5 or $10). The guy said we were cheating him and, since he and his friends surrounded the cab and they were tying a few of our bags on the roof, we asked him how much he wanted. He said $20. My husband, just wanting to get out of there, gave him the $20 (all amounts in US dollars). THEN, they guy said he meant $20 EACH! The bags were tied on, the cabbie was uncomfortable and trying to stop the guys, and my husband and the cabbie jumped in, made sure we had everything, and drove the hell off. Just be careful, don't show cash, and get all prices upfront and clarified.
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If you're staying at the Taj in Colaba, it's a block or two from Leopold Cafe, which is a decades-old institution and does have a decent western breakfast. I wouldn't say that it's outstanding, but it's not bad. And if you're outside at the right time, you can get a gig as an extra in a TV show or Bollywood production the next day. Kind of an interesting experience, but it's a long day, and you'd probably get more out of trying to see more of the city.
For restaurant suggestions, I'd pick up something like the latest Time Out Mumbai to get up-to-date listings and ideas. You can get some pretty good seafood, and the street food is fantastic if you're adventurous: ganna (sugarcane) juice (try to avoid hearing locals' horror stories of other things going into the preses), pani puri, etc.
For shopping, there are some decent chains in/around Colaba. I love Metro for sandals and Westside at Kala Ghoda for tops and more contemporary salwar kameez styles. There are some other similar shops in Kala Ghoda as well if you're just browsing. I tend to buy clothes in Dadar, but it's a bit of a trek and not the most tourist-friendly area. Colaba has lots of sidewalk vendors selling kitsch, but I found some nice bangles once when I wasn't really looking for the real thing. If you are looking for nicer stuff, there are some great silver and goldsmiths, and pieces are usually sold by weight with only a small (if any) surcharge for the work involved.
Elephanta Island is definitely worth the daytrip, since it's so easy to get there. In Bombay itself, I love the British Colonial architecture (especially the neo-Gothic Victoria Terminus) and you can find self-guided walking tours of the area around Oval Maidan and the university in guidebooks. I thought Chowpatty Beach was kind of overrated, but Marine Drive is a nice walk. Shamefully, I've never been to see the Dhobi Ghat even though I spent 6 weeks at my in-laws' apartment which is only 20 minutes away!
It might be tough to visit Ajanta or Ellora Caves on a daytrip, but you could look into it. You might also consider a trip to Nashik to do some winetasting.
We will be in Bandra at the Taj property there.
Leopold Cafe was a popular hangout for my coworkers prior to the attacks a few years ago. I don't think anyone has been back there since.
The company is coordinating all of our travel between the hotel, work and the airport. We are coming over in waves so there will be 10-20 of us travelling together
Do not tempt me with jewelry!! My industry is part of the jewelry industry and I get distracted by sparkly things...I want to save my cash for my trip to Germany this fall.
I will have to look into the wine tasting thing; I am sure that I can convince a few coworkers into doing that.
I am going to attempt to take a day off to see the Taj Mahal and if I can swing it a short trip over to Kerala (we have family history there).
Thanks for the suggestions