Mumbai

Mumbai is the capital of Maharashtra and the economic hub of India. It's an exhilarating city, fuelled by entrepreneurial energy, determination and dreams. Compared to the torpor of the rest of India, it can seem like a foreign country. Mumbai is the finance capital of the nation, the industrial hub of everything from textiles to petrochemicals,and it's responsible for half the country's foreign trade.

Of all the Indian metropolises, it is the most cosmopolitan and has the greatest concentration of skyscrapers. According to preliminary 1991 census figures, Greater Mumbai (Bombay) has a population of 12,570,000. The city has been designated the Gateway of India because it is India's major port of Western contact. The port is built around a harbour and handles the country's largest tonnage of foreign trade.

Dont's:
When visiting mosques or temples shorts or sleeveless tops are not to be worn. Smoking and the holding of hands, the touching of carvings or statues and the touching of someone's head is not permitted. Removal of shoes prior to entry. These apply to both men and women. In some mosques you will be required to cover your head.

Never point the soles of your feet to another person or statue.

The right hand should be used for all occassions. The left is considered dirty.

When swimming nudity is not allowed, even in remote areas. Women should wear a sarong if they are in public view.

Some animals are considered sacred, please check with local authorities.

Extreme climate, warm inland from April to mid-June falling to almost freezing at night in winter, between November and February. Summers are hot with monsoons between June and September. The climate is pleasant between October and March, blast-furnace hot between April and June, and dripping with humidity between July and September.

Required clothing: Lightweight cottons and linens in summer with warmer clothes in winter and on cooler evenings. Waterproofing is essential during monsoons. Monsoon rains occur in most regions in summer between June and September.