This article should be about the beautiful capital of India! But it is more about our first meet. Mumbai travel guide tittle may sound as if I had a great time from beginning to end. But unfortunately, my arrival at Mumbai wasn’t very pleasant. Me and my friends landed on the country, got off the plane. Informed about that everything I have had been lost in Bahreyn during flight transfer, started waiting to get our bikes, packs and stuff to be found for a day long. After, spending the whole day waiting in the airport, I decided to continue my challenge online and left the airport.

Why did we stay in the airport for one day? What have we been through? Long story. After a day in the air-conditioned lounge of the airport, it was a bit tragic to step on the streets we had been watching through the windowed walls and to meet the hot weather. As soon as we were out, we said “Let’s go back inside. It’s too hot!”. First couple of hours passed while we were searching for a bicycle repairer to find the missing parts of our bicycles. Having found the repairer, we went to buy an India number. There was nothing much to do around because the region of the airport is not a central destination in Mumbai.  

WHERE TO STAY IN MUMBAI?

After biking and dining a while, we started to look for a place to stay. Unfortunately, Couchsurfing and Warmshowers were helpless for that night. Nonetheless, we found the cheapest hotel around. Bear in your mind that there is no cheaper hotel than Skywave if you need a place to stay near the airport. We paid 1200 Rupee, i.e. around 65 Lira, per night for two. It was a room which includes air conditioner, shower bath, toilet and TV. Because of the hot weather in India, there are two options: air-conditioned rooms and rooms without air conditioning. Depending on the hotel, rooms without air conditioner are usually 500 Rupee cheaper. There are ceiling ventilators in the rooms without air conditioner but they are not as efficient as air conditioners.

You can click here and check Airbnb rentals around Mumbai. If you are looking for a uniqe place to stay or traveling with family and friends Airbnb offers quite affordable prices. If you click the link above and make a reservation, I may may earn a commission without no additional cost for you. Hope you enjoy your stay!

My First Visit in Mumbai

The next day, we rode our bikes nearly 25 kilometers to the other end of the city to go the house of our friend we had met on Warmshowers. We came across an Indian wedding on the road and wanted to take a look inside. After the hosts said “Come on. Join in”, we went in without a second thought. We’re very much interested in Indian weddings since they involve traditions from a culture we are not familiar with. But frankly, it becomes a bit boring after some point. They have neverending rituals. Especially compared to our weddings with a lot of “halay”, Indians seem motionless. You can find a footage of the wedding on our Youtube channel.

Indian Wedding

When we stopped to watch the wedding, Ashish was passing by with his car. He saw our bicycles and stopped because he is also a bicycler. After a little chat, he invited us for the lunch. We accepted  this offer with the excitement of getting started to explore India quickly. After the lunch with Ashish, we went to Anmol’s house, our friend who was going to put us up. Our 1 week we spent with Anmol, her mother Salma, father Rajesh and dog Holmes had begun. Thanks to them, we had the chance to meet lots of nice people, see new places and taste delicious dishes. We uploaded the videos of Indian dishes we tasted in Mumbai on our Youtube channel.

The dishes are delicious but too spicy at the same time. Even spicy for people who normally can eat spicy. Although we ask for non-spicy food, whatever they serve is spicy. Be careful.

TRANSPORTATION IN MUMBAI 

Auto rickshaw

There are three ways for economic transportation in Mumbai. Bus, train and auto rickshaw, which we know as tuk tuk. Auto rickshaws are quite reasonable for short distances. You can go 2-3 km for 30 Rupee, i.e. 2 Lira. If you travel with a limited budget like we do, public transport is more reasonable. Bus is very cheap. You can go 20 kilometers for 20 Rupee, i.e. about 1 Lira per person. We recommend you to take the bus at least once even if you don’t need to.

Mumbai buses

Speaking of interesting trains of India, sometimes they can be cheaper than even the buses. You can cover a distance of 20 km drive in a normal wagon for 10 Rupee, i.e. 55 Kuruş, per person. I say normal wagon because there is also first class wagon. But don’t imagine a luxurious one. This is the same as the normal vagon but there are less people in this one. By the way, we’re not sure if it’s really necessary to buy the tickets. Because the trains are crowded and we haven’t seen anybody who chekcs the tickets. After we noticed that, we traveled in a first class wagon without any tickets. Nobody checked. By the way, let’s correct a misinformation: trains are not crowded as metrobus. I mean traveling by train is quite easy.

MUMBAI TRAVEL GUIDE

South Mumbai

South Mumbai, with its British architecture, is very different from India. If you would ask us, you don’t have to go and see there to know India. But we’re sure that most of the things you’ll see there will attract your attention. We didn’t visit the historical places in Mumbai much. Rather, we walked the streets with our friends and cycled but let’s share a few historical places we’ve seen with you. South Mumbai is one of the must see places for Mumbai travel guide 

India Gate

It’s an architectural work built by British. At one time, it was used as the gate of the city. There are lots of domestic and foreign tourists and photographers who take pictures of them. Right across, there is The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, one of the symbols of Mumbai. Mumbai travel guide

The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel

Needless to say, this is an extremely expensive place. Its glamorous architecture is the reason why it’s so famous. You’re allowed to take a look inside of the hotel and walk around the entrance. If you’d ask us, we felt a little pity for the extravagance. Therefore, we weren’t impressed much.

The Queen’s Necklace 

This is a bay with a walking path on the beach. It’s named as Queen’s Necklace because its bird’s-eye view looks like a pearl necklace. In the evenings, people sit here, crack their seeds and drink their tea with milk. It’s a fun place to walk or cycle.

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