Mumbai to Goa

(Image: Central Mumbai tour gang)

Following our amazing stay in Blue Beds, Jaipur, we jetted off to Mumbai via Air India. As the fight was only 1 hour 40 minutes we assumed we wouldn't get food so bought a snack at the airport – about 45 minutes later we were served a tasty veggie curry on the plane – we know for next time ;-). We got chatting to the young guy sat next to us who happened to be the comms manager for Vivo (mobile phone manufacturer) who was heading to Mumbai for a phone launch. Turns out journalists in India are very similar to those in the UK, they also love a free meal and drinks.

We got to Bombay Backpackers hostel and were slightly concerned as it was behind a public bus stop on a main road and didn't seem very secure. Having contemplated moving to a different hostel we decided to give it a go and ended up going out for street food with some guys in the dorm next door. We had vada pao, aka the Bombay burger – it's deep fried mashed potato with onions and spice served in a bun. Sounds a bit gross but tasted great!

(Image: Vada Pao, the Bombay burger)

The next day we woke up and got a 20 minute train to central Mumbai. As you can imagine it was packed but we paid for first class tickets so it was a little less cramped. I hung out of the side to take some video when our carriage was a bit quieter. We then grabbed an Uber intending to head to the Gateway of India – our driver had other ideas, taking us to the other end of Mumbai and trying to drop us at some petroleum corporation. Given the blindingly obvious fact that this was not the Gateway of India we made him follow our directions on Maps Me and got us there safe – a 1 hour ride that should have been 20 minutes.

Following that minor stress we wandered around the Gateway and the harbour, then headed into the Taj Mahal Palace. The Gateway itself was closed off as the Indian Navy were doing drills in preparation for a show the following week – abseiling down from the top of the Gateway with guns and crossbows.

(Images: Gateway of India, Navy personnel abseil from the Gateway)

The Palace hotel was absolutely incredible. Believe everything you hear because it is truly remarkable. We strolled through the hotel, popping into the Louis Vuitton, Mont Blanc and Dior shops as if we had cash to burn before heading to the Harbour Bar (the first licensed bar in Mumbai) for a drink.

(Images: Taj Mahal Palace, you can make out the difference in colour from L– R where the building had to be repaired and repainted after the terrorist attack in 2008, Bombay Blazer cocktail, Kingfisher and incredible bar snacks, cheers!)

Following the palace we got an Uber to the Four Seasons Hotel as we'd been told they had a rooftop bar and you could get amazing sunset views of the city. Unfortunately the rooftop had been hired out for two nights for a private function, however we bumped into two friends from the hostel in the lobby so had a couple of drinks with them then went to another rooftop restaurant to watch the sunset.

(Image: Watching the sunset from Asilo rooftop restaurant)

On our last day in the city we took our new dorm mates Joe and Val to meet up with Adwait and his friend Priya who had very kindly offered to show us around Central Mumbai. We met Adwait on our first night when we went for street food, he is a Doctor in Mumbai and stays at the hostel when he's on call. Our first stop was Matunga Lunch House which was a local foodie hotspot in the backstreets by the train station. It was a sort of public lunch canteen, it didn't look like much from the outside (or the inside to be honest) but the food was incredible – a real local delight!

(Image: Mol and I enjoy lunch with some locals)

After filling up on an assortment of curries, rice and breads we headed out towards the Bengal Club, where world famous cricketer Sachin Tendulkar learnt his trade. Adwait explained that it was a real honour to train and play here given its heritage so we were grateful to watch some of India's potential prodigies in action. From there we visited the stunning Siddhivinayak Temple, had a spot of ice-cream then headed back to the hostel before catching our night bus to Panjim, Goa.

(Image: The Bengal Club – watching potential future stars)

Mol and I shared the bottom bunk/section at the back of the sleeper night bus, which was an hour and a half late. It was a crazy, bumpy, sleepless 16 hour journey but we made it to Panjim by about 1pm the next day, where we recuperated then went for dinner in the restaurant opposite our hostel (Old Quarter). As a city Panjim is majorly influenced by Portuguese culture, and this was hugely reflected in the backstreets by our hostel – if you didn't know it was Goa, you felt you could have been in any little Portuguese town.

Feeling revitalised, we took the coastal route around the outskirts of the city towards Miramar beach, stopping by a nature reserve on route. On our travels we were stopped by a handful of people on scooters who pulled up to take photos with us – one guy basically handing his little boy over to us.

(Image: Miramar beach – someone's excited we finally got to a beach)

That night we went for dinner at this little family restaurant that had been recommended to us by staff in the hostel called Viva Panjim and invited Manuel, our Spanish dorm mate, to join us. Following a delicious veg biriyani and Goan veg curry we went to Joseph bar for a drink. This place was brilliant, the bar was about 8 x 8 ft and we sat out on the street with some locals for a few before heading to Route 66, where they were playing Christmas music.