A Local’s Guide to Mumbai (Bombay)

Beaches: For an island city, Mumbai has a non-existent beach scene. Popular beach fronts include Girgaon Chowpatty & Juhu Beach – the waters are alarmingly dirty and the beaches crowded, so you’d totally be within your rights to skip them altogether, but most tourists can rarely resist the temptation.

Religious Places: Befitting a largely religious populace, Mumbai has several world famous places of worship belonging to different faiths. You’ll see massive variety ranging from temples, mosques, churches, Parsi agiaries, and even a few synagogues co-existing side-by-side – a stark reminder of the diversely cosmopolitan nature of the city’s masses. Notable religious venues include the Haji Ali Dargah, a tiny islet located 500 metres from the coast in the middle of Worli Bay – you have to walk the 500 meters on a narrow pavement in the middle of the sea. Siddhivinayak Temple in Dadar is popular and local legend believes the deity to be wish-granting. Other notable places of worship include the ISCKON Temple in Juhu, belonging to the widely known Hare Krishna movement and the Global Vipassana Pagoda, in Gorai – a meditation hall built as a monument of peace & harmony dedicated to Buddha and his teachings is an excellent venue for meditation.

Nightlife:

Mumbai is fondly known as the ‘city that never sleeps’, which is true in most parts. Venture out at 3-4 am in the night and you’ll always find a decent number of people in the main-street areas. Auto-rickshaws & cabs ply their trade around the clock, though public transport usually stalls for a few hours at night. Mumbai has a massive number of bars, pubs & lounges – most remain open till well after midnight on weekdays and oftentimes till 2am on weekends. South Mumbai has several brilliant venues for a drink including a couple of microbreweries in The Barking Deer Brewpub & The White Owl, both situated in Lower Parel. A few notable clubs include Tryst, China House & F-Bar – all of which are upmarket venues. Cafe Mondegar & Leopold Cafe in Fort are renowned venues frequented by a very cosmopolitan mass, including large numbers of foreign nationals.

In the western suburbs, Bandra & Juhu are the epicenters of nightlife activity with a plethora of pubs & lounges to choose from. Mumbai is the most liberal of Indian cities in terms of alcohol consumption, even for women – but just as everywhere else, you’d do well to keep your wits around you while consuming alcohol.

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