24 hours in MumbaiImage Jasmine GordonTravel specialist•5 min read Snapshot: Our favourite way to see Mumbai in a day- Tour before dawn: fish, vegetable, fruit and flower markets- Visit the Gateway of India, Oval Maidan and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus- See the lunchbox dabbawallas at work and the Dhobi Ghat city laundry- Sunset along Marine Drive- Eat vada pav and street food snacks- Time for chai: leave space for those moments in between Travel specialist Jasmine recently spent 24 hours in Mumbai – here’s how she did it.Mumbai. Bombay. “Maximum City”. Where the horn is used more than an indicator, and where 33% of India’s income tax comes in. The home of Bollywood and an economic centre: it’s loud, busy, and ultimately energising.When travelling India, it’s important to get your pacing right, and the right guides make all the difference. The best ones will cover the headline sights at a decent clip, but still slow down for the in between moments that bring Mumbai to life. 5am – Mumbai’s morning hustleIt’s 5am. I’m wearing plastic shoe covers. It smells strongly of fish.I wouldn’t want to start my day in Mumbai anywhere else.“Welcome to Sassoon Docks”Adi, our guide for the morning is chipper. He’s been doing tours at the fish market here for over a decade. His energy matches the market’s.A massive marlin wheels past, two metres long. Sleek, sprightly stray cats slip between the feet of traders, snacking on scraps. Shrimp, tuna and the city’s favourite, pomfret, are stacked up ready for sale. Auctions are already in full swing.Women sip tiny paper cups of chai between calling prices of fish.Getting up early is a Mumbai lifestyle. Adi himself is an engineer by day and a guide by dawn. This hustle culture is part of the city’s DNA, and it’s a point of pride for Adi.“People say that Mumbai is the New York of India. But it’s not. New York is the Mumbai of America.”Image The man sorting papers on the pavement doesn’t do this all day, adding in the supplements and stacking ready for sale. He’s a taxi driver by day – an e-rickshaw standing by for after his shift.Every minute of the day and every square inch of the city is used. Illegal early morning vendors set up as we glide along roads that will be choked with cars by 8am.“They’re not technically allowed to be there. But in Mumbai, we have a system... It’s called corruption.” Adi smiles. “So, there’s an ‘agreement’, and they’re gone before 9am”.As the sun slowly rises, we make our way through the fruit market. Skinny pineapples, globular gooseberries and shiny Himalayan apples pile along the rows.At the vegetable market we pad over piles of cabbage leaves, soft and squishy underfoot. The smell of coriander overrides it all.We’re welcomed into the flower market with a jasmine bracelet tied around our wrists. Crate upon crate of chrysanthemums and roses are stacked, destined for hotels, smaller vendors and, of course, weddings. The smell is even better than the sight of it all. By the time we emerge, the sun is up, the roads are busy, and Adi has to get to work.READ MORE: Field Notes: India – through its peopleImage 10am - The Gateway of India and a tale of revengeOur guide for the rest of the day, Hilario, takes us first to the Gateway of India. It’s one of the city’s most visited spots, but there’s a relaxed holiday vibe. Indian and international tourists snap photos. Boats set off for Elephanta Island. A group of young women ask us to take a photo with them, admiring my nose stud (“so Indian!”) and showing off their rings and bindi, symbols of dedication to their husbands.Hilario was born and bred in Mumbai (Bombay, as he still calls it). His family roots trace back to Goa, shaped in part by Portuguese missionary history – he’s a great person to unpack the Portuguese influence on the city.“Before it was Mumbai (after Mumbadevi, the patron Hindu goddess of the Koli community) the Portuguese named it Bombay – roughly translating as ‘good bay’.”Around here, Mumbai’s colonial past is built in. The Gateway of India and the grand hotels and historic institutions nearby are reminders of how the city was shaped under Portuguese and then British rule.Hilario points towards the opulent Taj Mahal Hotel. Today, it’s widely considered the best hotel in Mumbai. And its history comes with a backstory of revenge.“‘No dogs. No Indians.’” That’s what the sign said, he tells us.“Jamsetji Tata (of Tata Industries) wasn’t allowed into Watson’s, the grandest hotel of its day. So, he built this instead – something so impressive that even the British would want to stay.”And they did. And many more. Now, Watson’s is no more, Tata’s Taj is Mumbai’s top hotel, and dogs are allowed to relax on the entrance patio.From here, Hilario and our driver take us through the Mumbai’s roads. I quickly zone out from the beeping, and even the narrowest gaps are squeezed through without a scrape. We stop at the Oval Maidan, where a couple of cricket teams are playing just for fun. The equivalent to a lunchtime kickaround in the park.As we approach midday, Hilario asks: “Have you heard of the dabbawala? The lunchbox delivery service? Would you like to see them?”.Image 11:45am – The dabbawalas We arrive just in time for the pre-lunch rush.Bikes are parked up, fabric bags loaded with tiffin boxes stacked with curry and paratha. Each has numbers and symbols chalked onto them. One for where the owner lived, another for where they worked. Dabbawallas were getting ready to hand-deliver people’s lunchboxes from home to work.If you’ve seen a morning train into Mumbai, the reason for the dabbawalas becomes clear. You’re lucky if you squeeze all your limbs on. No one wants dal on their freshly pressed shirt.“Mumbai workers’ wives make lunch and have it ready for the time their local dabbawalla arrives at their door. And if anyone is late, asking for just “five more minutes”, the walla is gone. The system works on precision. Without a QR code or phone in sight, the entire system is offline.“They deliver 200,000 lunch boxes a day with 99.9% accuracy. Business schools study the system.” Hilario explains. Image 1pm – Vada pav at the stationAs the bikes pedal off to feed the working masses, we too make our way for lunch.Aram Vada Pav is the best place to stop for Mumbai’s most famous sandwich, the vada pav. Originally a quick, convenient snack to fuel the textile workers of the 1960s, a deep-fried potato patty (vada) is sandwiched between a soft white bread bun (pav). Layered with green chilli-coriander chutney and spiced with masala spices and green chilli, it’s a bit like a spicy chip butty (but better).Its train station location is no mistake. Picked up by commuters hoping for a quick bite.The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), formerly Victoria Terminus, is Mumbai’s Indo-Gothic primary train station, influenced by London’s St Pancras station. I’m braced for chaos, with travellers running back and forth, crowds streaming off trains. But there are no crowds to be seen. It’s open, quiet and calm, with a bit of a Parisian Gare du Nord feel. Image 2pm – Laundry and loungingCalm isn’t necessarily what I expect to find in Mumbai, nor am I expecting it to be at a laundry.Mahalakshmi Dhobi Ghat is the city’s biggest open-air laundry, cleaning clothes, sheets and everything in between for the city’s large institutions, from hotels to hospitals. The dhobis (washers) scrub, wash and press over 100,000 items daily.Each section has a speciality – jeans washed and dried in the section in front of us, bed sheets to the side. There isn’t a machine in sight. Just flogging stones, wash pens and taut ropes hanging with t-shirts and tablecloths swaying in the breeze.With an early rise, a mid-afternoon nap is crucial. We return to our hotel, the Trident Nariman Point, and relax by the pool. Pauses are an important part of exploring Mumbai, and the rest of India, at the right pace.READ NEXT: Discovering India – The InsideAsia wayImage 6pm – Sunset and snacksOne of the most popular sunsets in the city is just across the road – Marine Drive. We squeeze in to watch the sun set over the Arabian Sea, the city skyline to the north turning silhouette. Male and female police officers casually patrol, chatting and laughing – present day and night. Marine Drive stays busy late, groups of friends end big nights here.And while we’re not up for a big night out, but we’re keen to eat well.A firm InsideAsia office favourite is Swati Snacks. Just a 12-minute walk from our hotel, proud of their hygienic food preparation they serve street food snacks along with traditional dishes, all under one roof.We load up. Samosa chaat, paneer lifafa wraps and dahi sev puri (crispy yoghurt bombs). The place is packed, and for good reason. It’s all delicious, and it’s our last chance to try as much Indian street food as possible.We order one more vada pav for the road.Image Image Build in your day in MumbaiA trip to Mumbai, along with the experiences mentioned above, can be added on to any itinerary, like Jungles, Tigers & Wildlife Safari, Golden Triangle with Udaipur & Shahpura Bagh and Classic Kerala (with a twist). It’s particularly convenient to fly in or out of, with direct flights to London Heathrow. Speak to a travel consultant to start planning.