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Mumbai
Maharashtra, India
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January 2020
Mumbai, our final stop in India. We got here on New Years Eve. All I recall from our visit, is the traffic. It's on a whole another level. But it was still nice to take a break from visiting Palaces and Forts.
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel
Situated next to the Gateway of India "The Taj" is a five star heritage hotel, commissioned by Tata in 1903. It is believed that Jamsetji Tata, founder of Tata Group, decided to build the hotel after he was refused entry to, Watson's Hotel, one of the city's grand hotels of the time, as it was restricted to "whites only". It was one of the main sites targeted in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Mani Bhawan
Mani Bhavan is a museum and historical building dedicated to Gandhi. It was the focal point of Gandhi's political activities in Mumbai between 1917 and 1934.
There is a library with a statue of the Mahatma where people offer tributes. A staircase dotted with Gandhi's pictures depicting his life leads visitors to the first floor which has a photo gallery with photographs from his childhood till his assassination.
The room that Gandhi used during his stay is on the second floor, where through a glass partition people can see two of his spinning wheels, a book and his bed on the floor.
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These road side stalls wouldn't pass your food safety standards of the western world, but what the heck, Mumbai was the last stop. Got my hands on various street food; vada pav (highly recommend), pav bhaji, bhel puri, sev puri, batata vada and of course some masala chai to wash it all down.