Continued from Goa
Many cities have an iconic feature. For Mumbai, perhaps it’s the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. It became famous worldwide because of the terrorist attack of 2008.
There are few other features to rival it. The new international airport has a gorgeous interior. However, on the way in from the airport the traveller will notice the extensive slums and shanty towns. They contrast with the international feel of the large hotels, office blocks and apartments downtown. The sea and cricket also play their parts.
There are plenty of lovey colonial buildings: in the downtown shopping streets, the university area, the museums and the railways.
There are two unique tourist attractions in Mumbai. One is Dhobi Ghat where you see the laundry being washed and dried from the bridge above. The other are the dabbawalas who are part of an extraordinary lunch collection and delivery system. Another experience is to catch a train!
Our food experiences in Mumbai, regrettably, were limited as our travel agent had made prior arrangements. We did eat well, including trying some street food from vendors that our travel guide could vouch for. But we only had one real opportunity to eat at a restaurant of our choice. We chose Khyber, not far from our hotel, and we had a magnificent meal in a spectacular setting. The dish of the night was tandoori cooked skewered eggplant strips. We have tried to recreate it at home but have not gone close! The photo below is from their website.
The Taj Palace Hotel is where we stayed in Mumbai, and we were fortunate enough to be in the heritage palace wing. It meant special access to certain cafes and lounges, all of which were entered off the main staircase. The hotel is sumptuous in every aspect, from the balconied floors, to flower arrangements, to the swimming pool. We spent the last three days of our Sri Lanka – India trip there and it could not have been a more extraordinary ending.
