Mumbai in a word is mesmerizing. In another, it’s enigmatic; as a foreigner without an insider guide, you’ll barely lift the lid for a peek into this Pandora’s Box, yet even if you stand still just observing and absorbing the city’s unbelievable energy – almost certainly with eyebrows raised and mouth ajar – you won’t go home feeling you’ve missed a thing.
There’s no way to escape complete immersion. Incessant hooting, beeping and street hubbub will keep you up into the early hours, but drag yourself out of bed at 5:30am for a real taste of Mumbai’s kaleidoscopic character with these absolutely baffling and unmissable early-morning mind-blowers. Snooze, you lose – walk by the same areas at 8am and you’ll find no evidence at all of the morning’s hustle!
CF Top Tip: Although absolutely worth visiting, these areas are not tourist hotspots. With that in mind, dress appropriately as all eyes will most certainly be on you!
1. The Newspaper Vendors
This sounds about as glamourous as it actually is… not very! But an impressive show it certainly is watching hundreds of newspaper vendors sitting cross-legged in the shadows of the Times of India VT Office, their speedy fingers hurriedly sorting pages and pages of foreign language papers before the sun rises. Weave past the newspaper mountains, taking a step back in time to the days before technology; in India, it’s man power over machine power.
2. Dadar Vegetable Market
This vegetable market is unlike any other. Don’t expect neatly organised stalls and nice walkways for shoppers, rather, prepare yourself mentally to be swallowed up by the market itself. Imagine walking against a crowd of commuters leaving the Tube at rush hour, or thousands of homebound fans right after a concert, just that here everyone is carrying *giant* potato sacks on their heads, colourful trucks are squeezing their way through, and the air is chokingly thick with cilantro and spice. Fight back the first sneeze or you’re done for and don’t get distracted by the many fantastic photo opportunities; Dadar, almost like a real-life video game of runaway vegetable-cart dodging, is not the place to stand still.
3. Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat
Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat, or open air laundromat, is one of the most gobsmacking experiences you could hope to have in India. With 4,000 “washermen” working here, each vigorously beating the dirt out of grubby clothes in their little laundry compartments, it’s a fascinating spectacle, and a concentrated example of India’s caste system which categorises people (here dhobis) according to traditional occupations. Forget separating colours, welcome to Mumbai’s human-powered washing machine – untraditional and absolutely unforgettable sightseeing!
4. Sassoon Docks
It would be totally natural to feel dubious about visiting one of Mumbai’s largest fish markets, and doing so could well put you off fish curries for the rest of your visit. However, if you do have the stomach, drive through these historic docks (shoe suicide if you step out for even a second) for an inspiring lesson in how to stay perfectly put together whatever the circumstances. You’ll pass by group after group of young women sitting on what must be a very slimy floor de-shelling prawns in their immaculate colourful saris, and you’ll wonder how it is that you can’t even get through one meal stain-free in India!
5. The Laughing Club
As dawn breaks, head to Chowpatty beach and standing in a circle you will find a group of locals twirling their arms in the air like birds trying to take off. They take their cue from Kishore Kuvavala, a man with a smile as wide as the Ganges, and the leader of the Chowpatty Beach Laughter Yoga Club. Laughter yoga now has thousands of devotees. The session is book-ended by prayer and breathing sessions, and its main objective couldn’t be simpler – to set your giggling, howling, chortling and smirking instincts free. It relies on physical comedy: stirring an imaginary bowl of lassi, laughing at yourself in an imaginary mirror, and pretending to be an aeroplane are all part of the forty-five minute Chowpatty beach session. It’s hard to let yourself go, but look around at the hordes of men and women roaring without restraint and soon you’ll be producing laughter of a volume and tone that would get you thrown out of most bars. Laughter really is the best medicine.
5. Roadside Chai
Decompress after a mind-blowing morning with a nice hot glass of sweet, aromatic masala chai. Find an approachable roadside chaiwala – meaning “one who sells tea” in Hindi – and have him whip you up a fresh milky brew with green cardamom pods, lemongrass, ground cloves, ginger, pepper and a whole heap of sugar which you can sip on while watching the crescendo of Mumbai street activity. If roadside vendors go against your fine dining hygiene standards, rest assured that the chai will be so boiled to death that no exotic bugs could ever survive! There you have it: authentic chai latte at a fraction of the price of Starbucks with a whole lot more flavour!
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