Bombay Dreams

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Well well well. Mumbai was certainly not initially high on our list of places, but Prit suggested we visit, and it made sense for the route. Boy, were we pleased we went. What a great city.

If, like us you have an image of Bombay as being really dirty, smelly, busy etc etc. then think again. Yep there are hundreds of very sad and dirty slums, especially in from the airport, but once you hit 'downtown', it's a really lovely place. It's the commercial centre of India, and has a real buzz around it. The buildings are majestic, the traffic is reasonably well behaved, and smart suited business men buzz around from their BMWs into the glamorous chromed bars and restaurants.

However, the old bits, including Crawford market, still retain the classic 'Indian feel'....great fun.

We took a trip from India Gate to Elephanta Island...to look at some caves....bit of a crap tourist trap..especially for the four hours it took...but we got a nice view of the Gate and the Raj hotel from the sea.

We took a walk amongst the locals on Cowpatty beach as the sun set, but there were more 'head massagers' than locals. Still great though, as the sun set over the tower blocks of Marine Drive.

Oh..and restaurants...one of the best yet. Trishnas is the Times of India Best Seafood retaurant...and it didn't disappoint. Steve's Kashmir Fish Tandoori was sublime, Prit's butter crab was fantastic (brought snapping to the table), and even the Dhal Makhini was top. What a find !!

Anyone travelling in India...try and get here for a few days...you won;t be disappointed.

Kerala here we come..

S&L
xx

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