Hotels/places to see in Mumbai

Mumbai Hotels, Hotels in Mumbai, Ahmedaba places to stay

Mumbai – the capital of Maharashtra and the commercial hub of India – is a land of diversities where the modern and the old go hand in hand with exemplary ease, something one cannot view anywhere else in the world. It is the most populated city in India, and the largest conurbation and the sixth most inhabited agglomeration in the world. It is also the city where most of India’s wealth is concentrated, a fact underlined by the sum of income tax paid by the city residents in a year, and the amount of foreign trade that is carried out through its sea and airports. If there is a happening, cosmopolitan city in India, that is Mumbai only.

For a tourist, there are many things to see, visit and enjoy in Mumbai. The popular tourist spots in the city include Gateway of India, Mumbai Fort, Flora Fountain, Jijamata Udyan Zoo and Sanjay Gandhi National Park, and Marine Drive. The popular hangouts in the city are Juhu Beach, Chowpatty Beach, Hanging Gardens, Chota Kashmir, and Kamal Nehru Park. Fantasy Land and Essel World are the two fantasy parks lying within the city limits.

Mumbai hotels are one of the best in India, and the accommodation options ranges from seven star apartments to as rooms for as low as 100 rupees for a night’s stay. The popular high end hotels in the city include Hilton Towers, Hotel Marriot, Hotel Hyatt Residency, Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, Oberoi Towers, Le Royal Meridian and hotels by the Sheraton chain. Most of the top-end hotels have online reservation facilities and airport pickup.

There are scores of 4-star and 3-star hotels as well in the city. Cheaper lodges are available in the areas near Kurla, Chembur, Bandra, and in the city outskirts.


Shopping in Mumbai

Mumbai shopping, shopping in Mumbai, Ahmedaba places to shop, textile industry in Mumbai
Like every other thing in Mumbai, shopping in the city is also an interesting experience, especially if you shop from the street vendors, like in Fashion Street or Colaba Causeway. The ultimate prices for which one could buy a commodity would depend much on his/her bargaining skills, but most of the apparel items are above par and will endure few months or more than what one would expect in the first sight. For those with an ability to discern chalk from cheese, it would be a worthy shopping. Hence, it is advisable that you could go for the street with somebody who knows the place very well.

For those looking for extravagant shopping, there is no dearth of upscale shopping plazas either in the city. Eternia at Breach Candy and Shopper's Stop on S.V. Road in Andheri are two posh shopping arcades. The showrooms lining the glittering Linking Road are also meant for the elite in the society, who can spend few thousands more than a common man might shell out for a commodity. Heera Panna, Cross Road, and Peddar Road are other prominent shopping hubs in Mumbai.

Those looking for arts and crafts can find their favorites in the main government emporium, near the Gateway of India, and also in the handicraft and silverware shops, and antique showrooms in the street opposite the emporium.

Books and CDs of low cost can be obtained from the many street stalls near Flora Fountain and along all the major shopping streets. There are also scores of excellent bookshops in all major centers in the city.


Restaurants in Mumbai

Mumbai restaurants, dinning in Mumbai, Ahmedaba places to eat, restaurant industry in Mumbai
True to the image of a potpourri of cultures, Mumbai’s restaurant and its cuisines represent virtually every part of India. Whether one is from South India or the far flung areas of northeastern states, he/she won’t find any difficulty in spotting a restaurant that serves the food of his/her native state. It is just about finding the right restaurant or eatery.

The North Indian restaurants in Mumbai offer a variety of victuals, from the traditional Mughalai cuisine to Rajasthani, Gujarathi, Kashmiri, Oriya or Bihari. There are also few restaurants serving NWFP and Persian cuisine.

South Indian restaurants are plenty where there is a sizeable South Indian settlement. Like South Indian cuisines, Bengali delicacies also have a lot of patrons in the city, the reason why there is an assortment of Bengali restaurants and sweet shops in various parts of the city.

And the interesting aspect in the restaurant scene of Mumbai is that – in the city - the restaurants catering to different tastes of the various states in India easily outnumbers the restaurants offering the native cuisine. This is due to the fact that the migrant population of the city is sizeable as opposed to the real Mumbaikers. Further, it is these migrants who depend on restaurants for their daily meals.

For those non-desis, who wish to have some international cuisine to Indian delicacies, they could find at home in the many Continental, European, Japanese, and South Asian restaurants, located in the different parts of the city. There are also a couple of Iranian and Mexican restaurants in the city. To spot the right eatery, follow Lonely Planet or any other reliable travel guide published by the Government of India.


Jobs/career opportunities in Mumbai

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Mumbai and its economy offers livelihood for millions of people, the reason why migration to the city has never ceased since India’s independence. Thousands of educated youth from the nearby districts and states flock into Mumbai to make a career for oneself, and surprisingly rather, Mumbai’s economy has managed to fulfill the dreams of many an aspirant all through these years.

Government employees are the majority in the city, but of late, the intake by government organizations has fallen to a trickle. It no longer is a leading employment provider. Educated youth find lots of opportunities in technical and strategic industries – such as BARC, Information Technology, and medical research – while unskilled and semi skilled workers – mostly migrants – find employment in small scale and partly in big industries, unfortunately for a much lesser pay. But, it is these classes, who man small scale industries, are most in numbers, for small scale industries outnumber its bigger counterparts in thousands. White collar jobs are far lesser compared with that.

The shipping industry, financial services and banks, venture capital firms, catering and hotel industries, consumerist businesses such as superstores, malls, and retail chains, ship building and savaging, and energy sector (renewable and non-renewable power) are other major employment providers.

Entertainment industry – comprising of movie making and television program production – is another major job provider that employs directly and indirectly, many artists, technicians and semi-skilled mumbaikers. Television channels and numerous publishing houses based in Mumbai also offer internships and lucrative jobs to trained journalists and other specialists.


Mumbai education/university

Mumbai university, education in Mumbai, Ahmedaba schools, universities in Mumbai
Educational scene of Mumbai has always been the most vibrant and one with the highest qualities, even form the days of British administration in India. Some of the prestigious colleges in Mumbai – and in India itself – dates back to those periods. For example, the prestigious St Xavier’s College carries the legacy of that era.

Most of the professional colleges in Mumbai are affiliated to University of Mumbai, which makes it one of the biggest universities in the world in terms of annual graduation rates. SNDT Women’s University is another university having its center of administration in Mumbai.

But the professional education scene of Mumbai is not complete without referring to the two coveted institutions in India – the Indian Institute of Technology and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. The IIT Mumbai – alongside the other IITs in India – is a world famous brand in engineering education, while TIFR is the hunting ground for talented researchers in various domains, who wish to make it big in the international scene with their inventions in their subjects of expertise.

Most schools in Mumbai either follow the Maharashtra State Board syllabus or the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) and Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) board curriculum. Most private schools follow the latter ones – CBSE or ICSE. There are also few international schools, which follow the American system or International Baccalaureate system of education.

The admissions to professional institutions are based on the marks obtained in the entrance test and interview, while for non-professional courses, it is the marks secured in the qualifying exam that matters.