I flew into Mumbai from Delhi on Saturday (11/14). My brother did not make it in, until very late that night. Because of this, we just rested and woke early to explore the 
city. Our hotel was in the Colaba neighborhood very near to the harbor. We walked down to the Gateway of India which is right near the Taj Mahal hotel which was attacked by terrorists just over a year ago. In this area and throughout much of Mumbai, we were hounded by touts, beggar kids and deformed people. We did our best to ignore them, but every now and then you find yourself answering one of their questions. I believe this is because, as a westerner we find it difficult not to be rude to other people. In this way, as in many poor countries, the touts and beggars are using our courtesy against us. So as not to encourage the behavior, we did not give out any money.
From the Gateway of India, we followed a walking tour I had in my guidebook. We went by the Sailor’s Home, Majestic Hotel, Institute of Science, the Prince of Wales Museum, the University of Mumbai, the Ambassador hotel and a large park where 
everyone was playing cricket. It was hot and considering, it did not smell much different than most big cities which are on the ocean. Nevertheless, the traffic is crazy and there dogs and people everywhere. For some reason, Erik thought he’d be alright wearing pants, even though I warned him. Sure enough, after about 2 hours of walking, he could not believe the heat and we headed back to our hotel. On the way, we went inside the Taj Mahal Hotel (the Taj) to check it out. The hotel is air conditioned and has a few high-end shops. There are also nice restaurants and a great looking pool. It is a typical 5 star hotel, made even more famous since the terrorist attacks last year.
After Erik changed, we played some cards on the rooftop of our hotel, then went down to Leopold’s Cafe to eat some food. Leopold’s is a landmark restaurant in Mumbai where they say all travelers find themselves at one point or another while visiting. 
This cafe was also attacked last year, and a bullet hole can still be seen in the marble at the front entrance. The place was packed, while the food was multi-cultural and very good. After eating, we haggled with some street vendors over various souvenirs and ate some street food. We eventually ended up back at the Taj drinking beers. There we met some nice Indians, who were working there, who told us a little about the city and where else we should go. We tried to play some more Gin Rummy, but by the time we had dealt the first hand, a waiter came over and told us, this was not allowed. We later found out that it is illegal to play cards in public in India because everyone assumes you are gambling. That night, Erik and I did some bar-hopping and experienced the fairly low-key Colaba neighborhood nightlife. We were surprised that we did not run into more westerners or backpackers.
The next day, we hired a car to drive us around Mumbai and show us some more sites, after talking down a tout near the Gateway of India. He first drove us to the Dharavi slum, which is the largest in all of Asia. I have read that it has quite a significant economy going, producing various textiles and reworked metal among other things. We really only went to the edges, but it is what you would expect a slum full of people to look like. There we saw, a huge center for laundry, Dhobi Ghats, where out in the open amid concrete basins, they hand wash clothes, then hang them to dry. I was told this is where much of the laundry of the city is done and was probably where the laundry I turned into my hotel had been sent.
From Dharavi, we went by Sassoon Dock, Mumbai’s Ghandi museum, The Oberoi Hotel, Chowpatty Beach, Mahalaxmi Temple, and Nehru Park on Malabar Hill. We also went by the Parsi Tower of Silence, however, tourists are not allowed in. When the Parsis die, their corpses are laid out here in the open for vultures to feast on. After the tour, Erik was still feeling jet lagged, so we went in for a nap. That night, we again went out, dodging the people and families sleeping on the streets along with the rats and dogs. We went in fairly early though, because the next morning we were taking a 4:55 am flight down to Goa.
Goa is a famous beach area of Indian and about an hour’s cheap flight south of Mumbai. The beach town was made famous back in the 60s and 70s when hippies came here along with their drug and peace-loving culture. Goa is probably the most liberal are of India, which is a very conservative country. As so, it’s okay to play cards in public and show some skin with your bathing suit. From the airport, we had a crazy 45 minute taxi ride to our hotel on Calangute Beach. The driver made Erik fairly nervous, showing him third-world driving at its best, passing at high speeds, having close calls with oncoming traffic. I thought it was pretty entertaining. Arriving so early in the morning, Erik and I had an entire day to kill. We checked into our hotel, which thankfully let us into our room right away and also had a pool.
Erik and I went straight to the beach, which is very large with nice beige sand. The water is a little brown and brackish, probably due to a few rivers flowing out nearby. We walked south along the beach and were offered jet ski rides, boat rides, parasailing, clothes, drugs and food. There were all kinds of Indians; tourists and townies hanging out, enjoying the beach and the boats, with most fully clothed from head to toe. We walked into a restaurant and had an early lunch, then proceeded to explore the town. The town is a beach town, but it’s India, so there are stores, restaurants and markets along with cows, dogs, chickens, touts and people all over. Needless to say, Goa is not the party town Erik and I had imagined.
North of our hotel we saw a lot more Europeans enjoying their holidays. We stopped into a few places for drinks, but realized we had both developed the “Delhi Belly.” I would describe this condition as a mild case of food poisoning, which we probably developed from by eating street food or drinking melted ice. Fortunately, I had some antibiotics with me. Because of the “Delhi Belly”, we did not stay out too late that night, but definitely got a good feel for Goa.
The next morning, we went swimming in the Indian Ocean and our hotel pool, enjoying the warm tropical weather. We then checked out of our hotel and took another crazy taxi to the airport for our afternoon flight back to Mumbai.
We stayed ne last night in Mumbai where Erik had used his hotel points to book us at the 5-star JW Marriott on Juhu Beach. There we hung out at the pool and checked out the beach where very few people were swimming. We ate some great food and saw many rich Indians. With a nice sleep, the next morning, we jumped on an Emirates flight over to Dubai in the UAE.
