We arrived in Mumbai earlyish after an overnight train from Kota. It’s a bustling metropolis and surprisingly clean. Traffic, of course, was crazy—but this is India.
I only spent the one night in Mumbai, and I wish it could have been more. It has a lovely vibe—reminiscent of Athens or Naples—because of its location on the Arabian Sea and all the pink and orange bougainvillea and European influence. Of all the cities I have visited so far, I like Mumbai the most.
To be honest though, after a short tour of the city which included Ghandi’s house, the Farsi quarter and some spectacular examples of Gothic architecture, I just wanted to go back to my hotel, have something to eat, drown in a shower and go to bed.
The overnight train, while an experience, is not conducive to a good night’s sleep, even though I slept better than most of my group. And the train trip to Goa (the next stop on my tour) requires a very early start—4am, in fact. The previous day (Jaipur to Kota) was a big travel day, and I was just plain buggered.
So I will have to add Mumbai to the list of places that I’d love to return to one day and spend more time in. Mumbai joins such worthy company as Shanghai (China), Hue (Vietnam), Izmir (Turkey), Zagreb (Croatia), Sarajevo (Bosnia), Hiroshima (Japan), Assisi (Italy) and all the Greek Islands.
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