I went to Mumbai a couple of times. I can still remember my first impression, first time to India, when going out of the airport. The people, the heat, the smell of spices, it was like in the books I had read. Mumbai was called Bombay under the Brits and it changed name in 1995, but the airport code remained BOM as a legacy and souvenir.
I only visit the iconic places with the tourists, around the Taj Mahal hotel and the Gateway of India. After reading Shantaram I had to look at the Léopold café. The intensity, the crowd, the contrasts are stunning. It’s impossible to summarize the city in a few words, it’s too big to have a feeling after only two visits. I must go a third time as soon as possible.
