"Mumbai - India's City of Dreams " a Mumbai Travel Page by Willettsworld

Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, is India's most dynamic, cosmpolitan and crowded city. Everything happens here except for national government which is based in New Delhi. Mumbai is home to the nations finances and its busiest port and is, of course, home to the world's biggest film industry - Bollywood. It's the city where people from all over the country flock to live their dreams and seek a better life. Because of all of this, the city isn't cheap to stay in with budget places in short supply and those that are around, commanding much higher prices than anywhere else in the country. Mumbai also has some of the best and most diverse food I ate during my 4-month tour around the country and where I found beef on the menu for the first time after 10 weeks!

Mumbai lies in the west of the country and seems to lean towards western practices, culture and influences which probably stem from the British Raj who built the city as a major part of their colonnisation of India. But it was originally the Portuguese who came here first in 1534 and who gave it its name - Bombay from Bom Bahia or "Good Bay". It was then transferred to the British Crown in 1661 who then leased it to the East India Company who quickly saw its potential as an excellent natural harbour in the Arabian Sea. By the 18th century, Bombay had become the major city and shipbuilding yard on the western coast and by the 19th century further development linked all seven swampy islands together through land reclamation. Wonderful colonnial buildings were then built and which remain to this day along with modern skyscrapers, modern shopping malls and opulent neighbourhoods. Along with all this lie the Elephanta Island cave temples which are thought to have been created between the 5th and 8th centuries and are today a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These are not to be missed whilst staying in Mumbai.