Getting Around in Mumbai

It darts like a long narrow tongue into the Arabian sea, a mere 200 square kms that is home to over 13 million people! Hopelessly crowded and choked with traffic, Mumbai is nonetheless a civilized city, and getting around is fairly easy, if you follow certain rules. There is an excellent public transport network - big red double-decker buses ply efficiently about like their cousins in London, along with the zippy black--and -yellow taxis. Both are fairly cheap, will get you from any point to any other, and the rates are strictly standardized. Mumbai also has a suburban train system that works practically around the clock except from 1 am to 4 am. Street signs, however, keep changing from older British names to newer local ones, but if you ask around, obliging bystanders are extremely helpful. Some hints: don't drink water straight from a tap, try the bottled variety instead, avoid street food unless you have a sturdy constitution and beware of pickpockets, touts and illegal foreign exchange dealers.

Most of the tourist attractions are located at the southern tip of the island, which is where the best hotels and restaurants are. The northern suburbs have their own charm such as the deeply forested National Park and Film City, while the western coast is dotted with beaches and lined with elegant sea-facing apartment blocks, the homes of Mumbai's elite. With an equable climate and temperatures hovering between 20 degrees C and 35degrees C (in summer) you could do with a suitcase of comfortable cottons. June to September is lashed by the southwest monsoon so make sure you add on a sturdy umbrella.