Mumbai

My trip was originally planned for South East Asia but I was kindly invited by my good friends Rob and Zak to join them on the back of their 3 week holiday in India which I took them up on without hesitation.

Landing in Mumbai at 5:30am and taking a taxi to my hotel in South Mumbai gave me the opportunity to see the sunrise above the city while hundreds of people were dressed in their whites either practicing in the nets or playing a friendly game of cricket on a Tuesday morning. I must have passed 15 to 20 fields from the airport to my hotel (16km) which goes to show that cricket is a religion in India that the majority of the population follow.

A shower, nap and quick bite to eat and I was ready to tackle the busy and chaotic streets of Mumbai. Rob and Zak checked in around 2pm just as I had woken up and within 30 minutes we were in an Uber to the Gate of India. By the way Uber’s in India are about a quarter of the price that they are in South Africa, so it made sense that the 3 of us split it. Taking the metro can be a little uncomfortable but definelty a must experience that everyone should do when traveling to India for the first time.

Our stay in Mumbai consisted of major tourist attractions such as the Gate of India, Taj Mahal Palace, Ghandi museum, Spice market, Zoo Bar (Bollywood dancing), Haji Ali Dargah Mosque, street markets, an authentic butter chicken at Delhi Darbar (my favourite Indian restaurant in Johannesburg) and drinking bubbles on the rooftop of our hotel while watching the sun set over the city which was absolutely spectacular.