Day 1 – Mumbai

After a night of rest and a breakfast fit for a champ I headed out into Mumbai with the help of Sachin, a private tour guide I arranged through the Taj Vivanta. He was an amazing driver and very proud of Mumbai. We headed out on a busy hot day with lots of traffic, honking drivers and dare devil jaywalkers.

My first stop was Gandhi’s house/museum where he lived from 1917 to 1934. It’s a simple three story house with a great collection of photos, letters, posters and personal items. The second floor is split between a display of where Gandhi slept and fasted and the other half is a series of miniature dioramas illustrating his life and the struggle for India’s independence.

After Gandhi’s house I made my way up to the Hanging Gardens on top of Malabar Hill. Everything was in full bloom and I saw some nice views of Mumbai and the harbor.

I’m always a fan of a good boat ride so took the hour long ferry to Elephant Island to view the caves. I was greeted by an adorable group of monkeys hiking up to the caves.

The caves did not disappoint and were full of old Indian sculptures carved right into the cave walls.

One the way back to the boat I ran into this guy. He was big and I don’t think I’ve been this close to a cow without a fence between us.

I took the hour long boat ride back to the mainland passing by a rainbow of docked ferries and enjoyed watching the sunset on the Gateway of India.