We were in Mumbai – the Maximum City – over four days this week and had planned to look around, take walks and generally experience life in a metropolis – a city that never sleeps.
We were hoping for some rain just to experience what it was like during the monsoons but were assured there would be little, if at all, this time of the year, especially after the Ganesh Chaturti festival.Though this wasn’t my first trip to India’s commercial capital, it was one during which I hoped to spend the maximum time on myself. But that was not to be.
A walk in the Fort area was planned; I wanted to go inside the historical Victoria Terminus Station and ho around the famous Horniman Circle to explore the old buildings. Of course, a walk around the Gateway of India, the Marine Drive, the iconic Taj Mahal Hotel and a drink at the well-known one 150-year old Leopold Cafe were planned as well.
But the rain started to come down a couple of hours after we landed and it was still pouring buckets when we left four days later, which meant we were drenched wherever we went in spite of investing in rather flowery, but flimsy, umbrellas at the Gateway of India.
I did not, however, miss my favourite haunt – the booksellers at the Fort – and invested quite a packet in procuring a few invaluable publications. A visit to the Gateway of India and the Marine Drive also happened and so did the drink (a cold coffee) and Fish and Chips at the Leopold Cafe.
We missed out on Mumbai’s legendary street food, the traditional markets as well as a fun ride in the Mumbai Local on a Sunday.
Perhaps, soon, a visit during the “winters” is on the cards when, of course, it won’t be as wet and the weather will also be somewhat “cool” without the rain.