Arriving in Mumbai

I woke up with my alarm at 5.15am. Sheetal and Ikjot had already left for the long drive to Bangalore. I packed my last few bits and was ready when Umesh came to pick me up at 6am. He was very happy that I had remembered that it was his son's first birthday and that I had got him a present 😊.

Umesh dropped me off at Mopa at around 6.50am. My flight wasn't until 9.35, but I'd rather be early. Check-in was just opening, so I was first in line to drop my case off. Getting through security was relatively painless. I then got myself a coffee and had it with some buscuits I'd brought with me. A healthy breakfast!

The flight took off on time and landed in Mumbai 10 minutes early. Despite having a window seat, I couldn't see anything - the smog over Mumbai had blanketed the entire city. Once on the ground, I discovered that I couldn't get on line - not via my Indian SIM, my Solis, or even the free airport wifi. I've no idea why, but it meant I couldn't summon an Uber as I'd planned. Instead, I ended up paying over the odds to get a taxi through one of the desks in the arrivals hall. It was convenient, though.

The drive to Coloba in the south of the city took well over an hour. The traffic was horrendous! The noise and the pollution was something of a shock after two months in the peace and quiet of Goa!

I checked in to my hotel. It was as expected - certainly not the best, but it was clean and adequate for my time in the city. I don't need to think about the view from my window - I don't have a window! 😂

I dropped my bag and went for a walk to explore the local area. The location is ideal - just a few minutes from the Gateway of India and other attractions. The streets were heaving! It's the start of a long weekend to celebrate Republic Day, so there are thousands of Indian tourists in the city, and hundreds of police everywhere. Security was particularly tight around the Taj Mahal Palace which was the target of a bomb attack in 2008. This 5-star hotel is the second most photographed monument in India after the Taj Mahal itself. It was built in the Indo-Saracenic style in the time of the British Raj and first opened its doors in 1903. It's certainly an impressive looking building.

Across the road is the Gateway of India, an arch-monument, completed in 1924, on the waterfront. It was erected to commemorate the landing of King George V and Queen Mary for his coronation as the Emperor of India in December 1911. The Gateway was used as a symbolic ceremonial entrance to India for important government personnel. It is also the monument from where the last British troops left in 1948, following Indian independence a year earlier. It is located on the waterfront at an angle, opposite the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel and overlooks the Arabian Sea. Today, the monument is synonymous with the city of Mumbai, and is among its prime tourist attractions. The Gateway is also a gathering spot for locals, street vendors, and photographers soliciting services. Within a few minutes of being at the site, I was approached by three separate individuals offering to clean my ears out for me!! I declined! 😂Læs mere