By Niraj Kasar — Mumbai, India
Everyone tells you Mumbai is too much. Too loud, too fast, too many people. They are not wrong, they are just visiting at the wrong hour. This city belongs to whoever meets it before seven in the morning — and this guide is built around that one trick.
Best time to visit November to February. The sea breeze does the air conditioning and the light after 5pm turns the whole city gold.
What to carry Small notes for taxis and chai. An umbrella if there is even a rumour of rain. Your appetite — leave room for the street.
How to dress Cotton, always cotton. Cover shoulders and knees for Haji Ali and the temples. Shoes you can walk a sea wall in.
What to expect Local trains are a sport, not a commute. Say yes to the window seat in a kaali-peeli at least once.
From there, walk the causeway north and let breakfast find you. By evening you want to be on Marine Drive — the Queen’s Necklace lights up around 7pm and the whole city comes to sit on the wall and watch itself.
And when Mumbai lets you go, drive south. The coast road to Goa is the best goodbye this city offers:
Come hungry. Leave before you are ready. That is the only way Mumbai lets anyone go.