Mumbai and Goa – An India Worlds Apart

The absolute antithesis of each other, Mumbai (Bombay) and Goa, line the same stretch of west Indian coastline and on the map can appear like a hop-skip-and jump away from each other – they’re not. It can take a day to travel between them by train, so the best way to visit them both is to fly.

Tropical Sky offers a great twin-centre package incorporating Mumbai and Goa, which can make that bit in-between a little easier.

To describe Mumbai as busy is an understatement. It is loud and overflowing with people – from suited and booted commuters to street dwellers, and everything smells, sounds, tastes and looks different. Known as the ‘New York’ of India, visitors to Mumbai can feel like they’ve been thrown into a faster pace of life – with absolutely no sense of structure, and it can take a few days to become accustomed to the sheer amount of people getting on with daily life in such close proximity to one another.

However a few steps in the right direction will lead you to quiet respites among the urban chaos. These include:

The Jehangir Art Gallery in the city’s artist’s quarter. It’s managed by the Bombay Art Society in Kala Ghoda and is home to weekly exhibitions that fill four exhibition halls, with natesans (licensed antique dealers) and artists selling their work outside the building under the shade of trees.

The Gateway of India, Mumbai’s principal landmark. This arch of yellow basalt was erected on the waterfront in 1924 to commemorate King George V’s visit to this colony in 1911. Visitors can also enter the cool, marble interior of the nearby sumptuous Taj Mahal hotel, which is where the Queen stays on her visits to Mumbai. It’s a great place to cool down and act like colonial royalty for a few minutes!

A bright and breezy alternative to the sweltering, smelly madness of Mumbai, Goa is unlike anywhere else in India. Depending on the visitor, Goa could be described as either a hedonistic paradise, or a cheap ‘n’ easy place where nothing much happens. Visitors can drink alcohol, eat meat and wear swim suits with minimal controversy, other than a sideward glance from the occasional local.

The miles and miles of golden coastline are the principal lure for many. Delve a little deeper, however, and Goa retains all the traditions of the rest of India – just with a little free spirit thrown in! An early morning stroll along the beach is a great way to see this; locals and visitors alike, taking intimate yoga classes on the sand, men hacking coconuts from trees and fishermen throwing shoddy nets into the waves.

The villages and towns are especially full of life with women selling fish on the side roads, coops of chickens for slaughter and sale, and men wheeling carts of sugar cane juice – an acquired taste but worth a try!

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