Mumbai during the monsoon season

Hey all,

I'm only in Mumbai for 3 nights (29th June, leaving 2nd July), so a full monday, tuesday and wednesday... and i want to know if there will still be some markets open to browse around?

Anything else i should know about going to mumbai during the monsoon season? (other than it's likely gonna be wet wet wet!)

I'm staying at hotel supreme at Colaba, and so far the only thing i've planned on doing is waking to the gateway of india, and catching a ferry to the elephanta caves. any other reccomended ideas?

there's a good thread here: http://www.indiamike.com/india/mumba...mumbai-t22512/
but it's a little too much for me, i'd sort of like less advice/suggestions, but in more detail because i don't know where half the places are or what they are, if that makes any sense

thankyou!

Oh, and my interests are:
- things to photograph
- bars to drink and i suppose eat at
- anything crazy

Monsoon is not a good time. India does not have drainage system. So all roads get flooded. So only those shopkeepers who own dolphins come and open their shops. Some traders own houseboats in Mumbai and peddle their warez for there. I suggest you rent a whale or a boat during monsoon, and visit the aquatic bazaars.
However do watch out for elephants. They sometimes swim underwater and can overturn your whale/boat. Having a bigger whale usually solves this problem, but parking is a problem, and if your whale eats a smaller whale you have to pay the guy riding the smaller whale

Change the silly heading of the thread pronto otherwise you will get a barrage of posts from indignant mumbaikars.

I believe the Bandra worli sealink would be open by then. You could take a ride on it and look in on mumbai from the sea.

A photo of the almost complete sea link as of last month :
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...postcount=1080

hmmm ok i didn't see anything silly about it.
i'm going to goa the few days aftwards and all the touristy stuff closes down, so i just wanted to get an idea of what mumbai is like during the monsoon season... so serious answers will be appreciated (though i did get a chuckle out of the swimming elephants knocking me off my whale)

Ok serious answer.
Goa has temporary seasonal shacks on the beach which close down when tourist season gets over.
However Mumbai is open mostly all year around, and there is no specific season for close.
However during monsoon it rains a lot and unless you like going out in the rain, you will be annoyed.

All the markets in and around the Colaba area will be open on weekdays. Unless it is raining so incessantly that all the streets are flooded [unlikely], everything will be [monsoon] normal.

You can stroll up and down Colaba Causeway, there is the famous Cafe Leopold which tourists love. Plenty of shops and stalls selling all kinds of wares. Bargain hard here!

The Elephanta ferries do not ply in the monsoons.

You can photograph the monsoon seas, the harbour area from the Gateway side, the heritage Indo Saracenic buildings of Fort & CST [VT], so much more ... Visit the Museum and the nearby art galleries if interested.

Browse through the Mumbai forum for more specific ideas.

I thought the Sea Link had already opened? I could be wrong though.

Not yet, keeps getting postponed. I think I read end June in last weeks newspapers.

There is a date today which look s like a probable opening date for the sea link that happen s to be 24th june !! Waiting for Mrs Sonia Gandhi to give an appointment for opening of the sealink let s hope it is the date after 8 yr s !!!! It is hardly a 5 minute drive !! The practicality is nt addressed yet it shall create a nice bottle neck at the worli end !! LET s see !!

To be frank In Mumbai you dont have anything to see. If you want to blow money ok you can enjoy in Malls, night clubs (closes before midnight) and few artificial rocks . In rainy season its more of a problem to roam around, because the rain is also not like rainy season, it just floods for sometime and then again sunlight and everything dry again.

South Bombay does not get flooded during monsoons as they have superior drainage system as compared to the suburbs. Have a leisurely walk at Marine Drive soaking in the energy and rains, then have some "Gola" & Bhel at Chowpatty. Bade Miyan's at Colaba serves some real nice kebabs in the evening. Try out other eating joints like Leopold, Picadilly's, Food Inn etc. Visit VT (now CST) and Churchgate stations to marvel at how people manage to pack themselves in tin cans like sardines. Visit chor bazaar to get some antiques and depending on your bargaining power, some real neat discounts!

Also you can go to Pagoda and Sanjay Gandhi National Park at Borivali,

There should not be any problem in monsoon untill and unless it is a heavy rain for long.

Do not worry too much of the monsoon as your hotel is in South Bombay and that area never gets flooded and it has a competent drainage system. However cant say the same about some low lying areas. You can check out the beaches, museums. Do a bit of street food/shopping etc in the Fort area nearby. You can hop into some of the malls if you wish too.
For a bit of adventure you can travel in the " local trains " to some of the suburbs like new bombay and check out the place. Mumbai is the safest city here in India, so you can pretty much move around freely.

The ferry to elephants may not be functional if it is raining heavily or the sea is choppy. (even in the summer the sea can be really choppy)


101 things to do in Mumbai gives you the address of the places and phone numbers so you can find your way there.

You can also take the guided Bombay Heritage Walks tours or walk and find these places your self with the information about heritage building here

For food the Gastronomic pilgrimage in Mumbai is one of the best links around

For the best night life you can check the party happening which list the parties for the week

For photography there is the Mumbai Weekend Shoot (MWS)

The Indian meteorological authorities announced the beginning of the Mumbai monsoon as of June 24th. It did rain that day, and it's rained most days since then.

The real monsoon though arrived today, July 4, 2009. It started raining at 7:00 am, and it's been pouring non-stop all day and now into the night. It's that steady pounding rain around the clock that announces the true arrival of the season.

You could see the arrival of the season around the city today in the smiles on peoples' faces. Even ordinarily grumpy sorts of people couldn't help but crack a rare smile. The rains have come!!