Salaam Bombay

Bombay owes its huge diversity to many layers of history and culture that it has accumulated over millennia. It is now positioned as a state-of-the-art megalopolis and the economic, commercial and financial capital of the Indian peninsula. Mumbai is a prime example of a land of contrasts.

Nothing would dampen the eagerness of our colleagues to fly to Bombay - now Mumbai: neither the crew seats rush nor the prospect of stifling heat, dust and the noise which all form an intrinsic part of the city. A reason may be that this beacon city of millenary India is also an explosion of colours, folklore, of tastes and flavours and especially for our women colleagues, a shopping paradise sometimes revealing unforeseen treasures around every corner.

We visited the Crawford Market, an elegant Flemish-style colonial building where the products are sold in the midst of total hubbub. The city’s restaurants offer a huge variety of dishes, from luxury gourmet to dodgy restaurant stalls akin to the feeling of eating in someone else's kitchen. Vendors selling mithais (traditional cakes) which blew us away by their refined preparation. Good bargains are everywhere in Queen Street: from the champals (Indian sandals) vendor’s on the pavement, to the saris and churidars boutique where one is served tea while the shop assistant insists on showing the entire collection.

Any tourist first setting foot in Bombay will be awestruck by the tense and relentless stream of traffic, where fuming trucks, crowded buses and frail rickshaws honking away their horns causing a cheerful cacophony. Fortunately, we knew how to find our way. We grabbed the typical yellow and black taxis and drove off to the traditional tourism destinations of the city centre, and also to the shopping malls. These few pictures will no doubt give you an overview of Bombay, but it is by wandering along the sultry meandering streets of such a city that you may discover its pleasures.

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