Mumbai at two in the morning

The best thing, which is probably also the only thing to do is to take a cab to your prebooked hotel.
you cannot really lounge or shop around at mumbai intl airport.
What is the agenda after you have arrived? plane/train to catch to some other place or hang around in mumbai?
what kind of hotels, budgets?

Maybe the tourism dept should open a movie theatre within the airport premises. Small one so that travelers who have a connecting flight can just catch on some movies.

Hi

Another alternetive is to hang around in the airport until its becomes light, this is a better option if you don't have a reservation for a guesthouse. Unless you have a booking at a hotel its unlikely that you'll be able to book in until sevenish, the night janitor doesn't perform tasks such as checking folk in, thats the role of the desk manager.

Stopping at the airport is not as bad as it may sound. You'll be able to freshen up a bit, take some tea and get a lung-full of Indian air before the day starts.

Cheers

Thankyou so much for your replies, excellent suggestions, I particularly like the idea of the movie theatre being a film graduate!
We are on a low budget, flying in from Nairobi, it is our first and only stop in India and we are there for twelve days.

1)We want to experience as much as possible while we are in India, How feesable/cheap is it to travel towards Goa to witness a different kind of India, can it be done in a week?

2)Are there any Hostels that you could reccomend for us, we are a couple looking for a basic, clean, friendly place to stay whilst in Mumbai?

3)Any must sees in Mumbai itself, other than the city centre/gateway and elephant isl?

4) Which temples would you reccomend?

5) How much are we looking at, daily expenditure, (Food/a drink or two/hostel/getting around?)

Thanks again

Alex

ah goa.
well there is a early morning 5 AM train that leaves for Goa and gets you there by midday or thereabouts.
It departs from Dadar TT platform 6 or 7.
details can be obtained at http://www.indianrailways.com<BR>Look for Mumbai (CST) to Madgaon

So in theory you can get our of the airport by 3:30 and still make it to dadar before 5. (25 min journey at that time of the night). May cost around 250-300.

Alternatively, take the night train to Goa at 2259 hours. Its called the konkan kanya express. Train number 0111.

Which means you need to spend most of your day in a hotel. Make sure that they do not charge you for another day since check-in check out time is around noon.

Last september I arrived in Mumbai at 1 in the morning. Mu luggage was lost so by the time everything was settled and I could leave the airport, it was 3 in the morning. I had nothing booked but I had some phonenumbers of guesthouses written down, so I started calling guesthouses to see if they had a room for me. After 3 or 4 calls I found a room, I bought a ticket at the prepaid taxi booth, went to the guesthouse and finally enjoyed a much needed sleep!
As for your other questions: I'm not an expert on Mumbai-must sees, but I heard that the dhobi-ghats are very interesting.
Another interesting experience-if you have the chance- is to be an extra in a Bollywood-movie! I did it last year, in the movie "Namastey London". If you have any interest in Bollywood movies and moviestars, it's a great thing to do and you even get paid! Touts are always looking for Westerners to play in movies, in Colaba-district.
It is easy to travel to Goa from Mumbai, the trainride is 12 hours.
Whilst the rest of India is cheap, Mumbai is quite expensive; the cheapest room I could find was 300 rupees, and then we are talking about a windowless box with cardboard partitions that don't even reach the ceiling. For a nice room I think 1000 - 1500 rupees would be the minimum.
To get around you could take the city-buses; they're the cheapest way and very simple to use. People in Mumbai are very helpful and will gladly point you out where to take the bus to any destination.
Happy travels!

Thankyou thats great,
I think we'll arrive in Mumbai, try and call some guesthouses, head down to Goa after a couple of days, a week in Goa then back to Mumbai for the musts before we fly out,
Any further info on my questions would be great

Alex

Find a place to stay before you go. Whatever you do, don't use the hotel booking kiosk at Mumbai International. I have a terrible experience with them. They'll tell you that every hotel in Mumbai is full but that they can find you somewhere 'for a fee.' It's usually a grim flea-pit that even the most hardened junkie wouldn't dream of staying at. Get a pre-paid taxi to your hostel. As the LP suggests, write down the number plate of the vehicle and give it to a copper, making sure the driver sees you doing it.

After all that, Mumbai is a wonderful place (although it has changed much since I first visited the place in 1979) and you will have a great time there. Just take the same precautions that you would in any big city and you'll be all right. If you get a rickshaw to take you sightseeing, insist on a price first and make it absolutely clear to the driver that you do not want to visit any shops or emporiums (unless, of course, you want to go shopping) during the trip.

Hi Alex,

2) There are a few options for hotels to stay at:
- Salvation Army (may be closed when you arrive - I think the curfew is somewhere around 11pm).
- Hotel Prossers (nice place - open til late). Located on corner of Henry & Apollo Bunder Rds Colaba Ph. (India country code) 91 (Mumbai area code) 22 2817548 /2834937 If you go there, look only at the "deluxe" rooms. Not much more expensive and a whole lot bigger and safer.
- Final option... do a search on this forum, there's often queries about hotels in Delhi & Mumbai. Keep in mind, Mumbai is the single most expensive city in all India.

3) Any must sees in Mumbai itself, other than the city centre/gateway and elephant isl?
Mahalaxmi dhobi ghat; sassoon fish markets (go very early in the morning when the boats come in (no photography permitted); a walk through the city itself to see the architecture created during the occupation by the British Raj; Victoria Terminus railway station; the many markets

5) How much are we looking at, daily expenditure, (Food/a drink or two/hostel/getting around?)
This will largely depend on where you stay. Prossers is ~rp700 per night for 1 person & at a guess, a little more for 2. The price of accomodation is really hard to define, given the variations betwen establishments.

Food - if you eat at the side of the road or hole in the wall dhabbas with the locals, you'll pay minimal rp and probably enjoy it a lot more than eating at places like Leopolds or the Taj Intercontinental.

Getting around: taxis are all fitted with meters (that work). When you reach your destination, ask to see the "conversion card". As prices go up, it's too costly to calibrate the meters, so cards are produced, which show the latest (and accurate) charges. Generally, I've found that it's very cost effective to use taxis in Mumbai. Also, the local railway is very good (although crowded during peak-hour).

Finally, if you want to experience the "real" India and you have a week to do it, I'd forget Goa and take a visit instead to the caves at Ajanta /Ellora (close to Aurangabad) and the antient ruins of Hampi.

Cheers
Zoltan