Mumbai, India 🇮🇳

I’m travelling to Mumbai for work but hoping to have some blog worthy experiences in between the office stuff! I leave early Saturday morning and fly through Abu Dhabi. From there it’s only a three hour flight to Mumbai. Unfortunately we’re smack bang in monsoon season so I’m not optimistic about the weather. I am staying at the 5-star St Regis hotel though so that’ll be nice.

Business class on Etihad is really comfortable and I have one of the best meals I have ever had on a plane.

I arrive at 3am and get through the airport fairly easy…. it has a very 70’s feel to it with the decor!

My butler (yes I have a butler service at this hotel) asks if I’d like him to unpack my case but I can’t get rid of him quick enough so I can get into bed. It’s a very comfy room and I can’t believe it’s 1pm on Sunday when I wake up. One of the guys from work has text me so I agree to meet him and go out to explore. We stop at a local eatery first as he’s hungry for lunch. I decline any grub for now as I’ve made a decision to be very careful and hopefully get through the trip without the dreaded Delhi belly!! We’ll see how that goes……

We take an Uber to “The Gateway to India” which is Mumbai‘s most famous landmark. It was the first site to greet travellers to Indian shores during the heyday of the British Raj. It was built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary in 1911.

There are lots of people around but not too many foreign tourists. I definitely stick out as a white western woman and I’m asked to get in some family photos. A man hands me his baby and gathers his family around for a photo with me. Hilarious!

Across the street is the famous Taj Mahal hotel. In 2008 there was a terrorist attack which led to the deaths of approximately 31 people over a four day siege. Gunmen who had attacked and killed over a hundred people at other key locations, seized the hotel with hundreds of people trapped inside. Since I’ve been home, I watched the movie “Hotel Mumbai”. It’s a great watch and it’s amazing to see how quickly the staff and people of Mumbai rallied to get this historic building back to its original glory.

Next we go to the famous train station known as Victoria Terminus. It is an impressive example of Victorian, Gothic revival architecture. Also known as the CST, it is considered the most beautiful railway station in Mumbai.

Opposite the train station is the municipal Corporation building. This building is among the tallest structures in Mumbai and was completed in 1893. It’s a popular spot for photos.

I’m already tired so it’s back to the hotel for some dinner and an early night. My first meal is delicious. I go for butter chicken with naan and it’s just a little spicy.

I’m up and ready for a busy week at the office. Breakfast is spectacular…. There’s so much choice across a range of cuisines. I try something different every morning.

There’s a really nice pool at the hotel and I make it there a few mornings for a swim before work. The locals don’t tend to start super early so it’s manageable.

The food at the hotel really is fabulous, breakfast in particular. There are about eight different stations and every type of food imaginable, this morning I’m trying the dosa and it is really tasty.

I’m loving all this delicious local food but a few days in and I have a touch of the Delhi belly. I think it’s a combination of everything, the spicy food, change in temperature, time difference and just the overall environment. I avoid food for 24 hours, take some medicine and seem to be ok. We’re going out for dinner tonight and I can’t miss it. I have one cocktail (I fully believe some alcohol might kill whatever I picked up) and I don’t go mad but I taste plenty of the food that we order. It’s a Chinese restaurant and it’s all delicious. As if by miracle the next day I feel fine. I avoid breakfast and eat little over the next couple of days, avoiding lunch and having a banana that I’ve taken from the breakfast buffet. This seems to have worked and by the weekend I’m feeling back to normal.

It’s Friday night so myself and my colleague Bharath head to Marine Drive. The reviews say it’s a beautiful walk along a path approximately 3 km long. We head straight from the office with our driver and have him drop us at the beach end of the walk.

The walkway unfortunately is mostly closed. We have to walk on the road which is a significantly busy dual carriageway. After about 2 km. we get to an overpass and we literally have to cross in front of the cars to get to the other side,

Eventually there is about a kilometre of seafront where we get to enjoy the view of what they call the Queens necklace. There are lots of people standing on the wall looking out to sea and the views across the water. It seems to be a very popular meeting place for locals.

We stop at the Dome bar, which is in the Intercontinental hotel and have a cocktail upstairs to admire the view.

Carrying on, we walk to the end of the walkway and look out to the sea. We turn back and walk a few hundred metres to the Bay View where we will have dinner. It’s getting dark now so we can see some of the lights from the restaurant but the views are not great through the monsoon battered windows. We order paneer and butter chicken, which we have with naan and roti and it’s very tasty. I have a Kingfisher beer (my first of the trip) and it goes perfectly. Home time now so I can rise early in the morning as I’ve been invited to join the work crew for their annual monsoon trek. The meeting time is 6am at the office, however I’m fairly confident the bus won’t leave on time so after checking with a couple of the folks who are going they reckon a 6:30am arrival would be more realistic.

On Saturday morning I jump out of bed at 5:55am and I’m out the door in ten minutes. On the way to the office there’s a message in the WhatsApp chat to say the bus has left… I can’t believe it, thought I was being clever now I’m in a panic and wondering can we get to the second pick up place. I call Prachi who I met yesterday and she tells me they’re joking around on WhatsApp and she hasn’t even left her house yet!! Seriously people!!! We get to the office at 6:20am and the buses are there with a handful of people hanging around. There’s still about 70 people to arrive so I’m early!!! A request for ETA’s on the WhatsApp range from “I’m 15 minutes away” to “7am” to “I will reach at 7:15”!!!!!! After signing the consent form and a lot of hanging around we finally depart just after 7:30!

There’s a quick shout out to Ganesh to keep us safe on our journey and finally we are off. We are heading southeast away from the coast to Karjat which is still in the Maharashtra region. It’s about an 80 kilometre journey but takes around 3 hours!! There’s lots of fun on the bus!

I enjoy the views and have lots of fun getting to meet people along the way.

The trek to Bhivpuri waterfall is easy with just a few slippy bits due to the rain along the way. But today the sun is shining and it is not so much a monsoon trek that was expected.

When we get to the waterfall most of the gang go straight in, in full hiking gear, including shoes. Everyone gets soaked and are loving it. I’m a bit reluctant at first, but I go to the smaller of the waterfalls and really enjoy the gust of water that hits my back and shoulders. It feels fantastic and the temperature is so nice as we are hot and sweaty from the trek in the sunshine.

I sit on the rock to dry off a bit, but I’m convinced to continue to the bigger part of the waterfall for more soaking action. It’s really exhilarating, and at one point terrifying, as every so often the water gushes really strong and nearly knocks me over. We are trying to smile for photos, but cannot open our eyes because the water is so strong. It gives a nice massage to the back and shoulders.

It’s a very squelchy walk back to the campsite where we switch into some dry clothes in some very basic changing rooms. It’s worth it though. It was such great fun. Time for lunch now and there’s a buffet of spicy chicken, paneer, rice, and of course paratha.

The bus journey home is the best fun. We play charades which is hysterical – all movies, some Hindi, which is a struggle to partake in but some are in English so I can play along. The singing then kicks off and there is even dancing. I wish I knew some of these songs so I could join in more. This gang loves the craic. It’s after 8 pm by the time we hit home, and I’m happy to get back to the hotel for a shower and order some food.

On Sunday morning after another delicious breakfast myself and Barath head off to explore more of Mumbai. First stop is Dhobi Ghat, the famous laundry area where they wash clothes, and you can see them hanging on many many lines.

Onwords towards the Gateway of India to catch a ferry to Elephanta island. It’s an hour journey on the ferry which is fairly bumpy but good fun and we are very lucky with the weather as there still is no rain.

It’s a bit hairy scary, stepping off those boats as they’re still moving but there is help at hand. There is a small train that takes you to the beginning of the steps up to the caves, and I convince Bharath we can walk.. on first glance, he tells me it’s quite far and we should probably take the train but in reality it’s less than a kilometre and the train is only arriving when we are already at its destination. There are quite a few steps to climb to get to the entrance to the Elephanta caves, and we are very sweaty once we reach the top.

The Elephanta cave temples were carved into the rocky cliffs in the sixth century A.D. They are considered among the great masterpieces of Indian sculpture and are a UNESCO world heritage site.

There are monkeys on this island and although they’re not as bad as those on the rock of Gibraltar, they do pester us a little bit looking for food. At one point one makes a run towards us and I have to throw my water bottle at him.

On the ferry back, the lady sitting beside me tips me for a selfie and tells me it’s friendship day.

I chat to a man sitting on my right and he tells me he’s from Iraq and also just had hair plugs!!! He’s lived in Mumbai for a number of years and his parents are visiting as the health system here is better. He’s a physicist and I have a very interesting conversation with him that makes the journey seem much shorter. As we arrive back, we get a great view of the India gate and the hotel Taj Mahal.

Just enough time for a quick photo bomb with some visitors.

Next we had to Mani Bhavan which is where Gandhi lived and worked between 1917, and 1934. Admission is free, with a request for a donation and the exhibits are really interesting.

There were some very interesting letters that he wrote in particular one to Hitler in July 1939. There were also some letters that he received in particular a really interesting one from Albert Einstein lots of interesting photos and facts about his life and we got to see the room in which he worked.

I would like to visit the famous mosque that is on the water, however, there is a massive queue of Sunday worshippers and the viewpoint across the water is closed off because of construction. It seems like the whole town is under construction. So we call it a day and head back to the hotel. I have a fish curry with naan for dinner but I don’t over do it as I’ve booked myself a massage later this evening before bed. I opt for the traditional iridium massage which is a pretty strong full body massage, honing in on tension and stress points. It lasts for 90 minutes which fly by. The therapist is a small young Indian woman who climbs up on the bed and uses her elbows all the way up my back. Fabulous!

The team of colleagues who we have come to train are a lovely bunch. I’m getting lots of tips for food that I should try while I’m here, one must-try being a wada pau (or vada pav), which is a vegetarian deep-fried ball in a bun. It is considered a snack and although it’s street food (which I’m told to avoid) they tell me it’s safe for me to try and bring some into the office in the afternoon for us all to have. It is delicious with just the right amount of spice, a good kick but not too crazy.

One of the guys from work tells us he is a state champion at table tennis and there is a table in the cafeteria. I challenge him to a game considering I just had some practice recently at the villa in Spain. I’m pretty sure he’s being easy on me, but I give him a good run for his money. He shows me how to do the killer smash shot and I’m delighted with myself when I trash him. 🤪

An opportunity to have a lunchtime dosa….

Tonight we make it to the lobby for 6:30pm for the free glass of champagne that is served to guests each night. Apparently this is a ritual in every Saint Regis around the world at this time. The lobby area really is lovely and the fresh flowers throughout the hotel are stunning.

A couple of staff arrive down the stairs and announce that they will be opening a bottle of champagne with a very large knife…. it’s all very exciting! There’s no sign of the champagne coming which is a bit of a worry but eventually the complimentary glass arrives. We sit and chat for a while and low and behold another member of staff appears to be shaking some cocktails and he appears to be offering them to guests sitting around the lounge. He eventually comes our way and we are treated to a Bombay Sapphire gin cocktail which is very nice and we enjoy with some spicy nibbles.

The hotel is attached to a huge high-end shopping mall that has lots of restaurants. The lads are tired of Indian food and insist we go to an Irish bar for dinner tonight! Apart from pizza at a Jamie Oliver restaurant last week this is the only non Indian meal I’ve had….. I’m sure you can guess what I had!

On my final night we go for a team dinner. The name of the restaurant is TAP. We’re told there will be dancing but I’m anticipating I won’t stay out late enough for that!!!! In true Mumbai style we arrive an hour late! There’s some event at the hotel and it takes the driver 20 minutes to just get out of the hotel grounds. The dinner is secondary to the dancing and I learn a whole lot of new moves.

It’s a slow morning following our night out and most of the team don’t arrive to the office until noon! We finish our training and then are treated to some food cooked by the man who has brought us our teas and coffees each day. It is a type of dahl called khichdi. It is absolutely gorgeous and demolished by everyone. An authentic final meal.

I say goodbye to the team who then all follow me to the car for even more goodbyes…

Overall it’s been a really successful business trip with a lot of fun exploring during the two weeks. My tummy isn’t the best as I head home but it seems par for the course! Until next time Namaste!