24-hour chemist
Parel Chemist
Mumbai Medico
Hospitals
Sushrusha Hospital
Asian Heart Institute
Breach Candy Hospital
Lilavati Hospital
Nanavati Hospital
Consulates
Saudi Arabia
Australia
Canada
Germany
Malaysia
Brazil
Singapore
Thailand
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
Apart for the ones listed above there are consulates of a number of nations which can be can be found in the yellow pages directory (http://yellowpages.webind...).
Bai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit Hospital for Animals
pay phones
Phone booths can be found all over the city. Though they are coin operated, there is usually someone to run the place. Typically the phones are attached to a roadside shop. You need to keep putting 1 rupee coins into the slot to extend the talk time, so keep a change of 1 rupee coins handy with you. The person running the booth will usually have them. If you find a booth marked STD/ISD, you can call internationally or anywhere within the country. Fees will be charged according to the time spent and a meter runs to keep track of your time. You pay when you have finished your call. Often it is difficult to find one that is open early in the morning or late at night.
landlines
The area code for Mumbai is "22" prefix "+91", if you are calling from outside India. Phone numbers are eight digits long, but on occasion you will find a seven digit number listed. That is probably an old listing. They made the changeover from seven to eight digits a few years back, when they allowed private service providers to offer telephone. Just prefix a "2" to the number and it should work just fine.
radio
There are twelve radio stations in Mumbai, with nine broadcasting on the FM band, and three All India Radio stations broadcasting on the AM band. Mumbai also has access to commercial radio providers such as Sirius and XM.
www & cybercafes
Cybercafes are located at virtually on every street corner and the rates are quite low. Do note that they have probably not kept pace with advances in hardware or software, so if you find yourself in one of them, don't be surprised if you are stuck with a really small monitor, Windows 98, and Internet Explorer 5.0. Also data security could be an issue. As a caution, change your password after you use it at a cybercafe.
newspapers
Local newspapapers can be handy and reliable sources for day to day updates about the city. The city has number of newspapers and other publication that list local happenings. The Times of India (http://timesofindia.india...) has a supplement called Bombay Times. There are also other papers like The Asian Age (http://www.asianage.com), DNA (http://www.dnaindia.com), Indian Express (http://www.indianexpress....), Hindustan Times (http://www.hindustantimes.com) and Free Press Journal (http://www.freepressjournal.in). For the business updates, check Economic Times (http://economictimes.indi...).
There are three very good local city tabloids called Mid-Day (http://www.mid-day.com), Mumbai Mirror (http://www.mumbaimirror.com), and Afternoon. These papers are city focused and cover a lot of gossip, local news, and have plenty of entertainment listings. One could refer to these papers for any specific activity. In addition, Time Out now has an excellent Mumbai edition each month which can be picked up on street bookshops. It is a little more eclectic than the others listed here. Most newspapers would not cost more than Rs 3. All of these papers have information on arts, dance, eating out, food festivals, events, exhibitions, lectures, movies, theatre listings, concerts, seminars, and workshops.
There are also many local newspapers in regional languages such as Lok Satta (http://www.loksatta.com) marathi, Maharashtra Times (http://maharashtratimes.i...) marathi, Saamna (http://www.saamna.com) marathi, Navakal (http://www.navakal.com) marathi, Janmabhoomi gujrati, Mumbai Samachar (http://www.bombaysamachar.com) gujrati and Navbharat Times (http://navbharattimes.ind...) hindiwhich cater to local and regional interests and tastes.
mobile phones
Cell phone coverage in the city is excellent. There are many service providers offering a wide variety of plans. Among them are The MTNL (http://www.mumbai.mtnl.net.in), Vodafone (http://www.vodafone.in), Loop Mobile (http://www.loopmobile.in/), Airtel (http://www.airtelworld.com/), Dolphin (http://dolphin.mumbai.mtn...), Reliance (http://www.relianceinfo.c...), and Tata Indicom (http://www.tataindicom.com/). It might be a good idea to buy a cell phone and use one of those prepaid plans to get yourself connected while you are in the city.
All mobile numbers, are 10 digits long and begin with a "9", "8" or "7". Do not dial the city prefix for mobile numbers. If you don't get through to a mobile number, try adding a "0" before you dial it.
Due to security threats, in order to purchase a SIM card you will need to provide formal identification.
itineraries
Two days in Mumbai - your guide to spending two days in the city.
talk
Mumbai is India's melting pot â a confluence of people from various parts of India, but dominant are people from the west, then north, and followed by the south. Marathi is the state and city official language used by State Government agencies, municipal authorities, and the local police, and also the first langauge of most locals.
However, being India's largest city and main commercial centre, Mumbai is now also home to migrants from other parts of India who do not speak Marathi. A local variant of Hindi, with strong Bollywood influence, called Bambaiya Hindi serves as the "lingua franca" and although almost everyone can understand normal Hindi, you may get an interesting reply from some. Most educated locals will be trilingual in Marathi, Hindi and English.
English is widely used in the corporate world and in banking and trading. At most places, you will be able to get by with Hindi and English, as most people you will encounter can communicate in broken English at the very least. However expect to hear more regional languages including Gujarati, Kannada, Tamil, Sindhi based on work & location.
diagnostic center
List of Major Diagnostic, health care and Polyclinics:
Soningra Polyclinic
Since 1984, catering the nation since last 25 years effectively and efficiently. B - Helal Bldg, Dr. Mascarenhas Rd, Mazgaon, 400010, +91 22 23715963/2749662Super Religare Laboratories Limited formerly Ranbaxy SRL
(http://www.srl.in/) - Largest clinical reference laboratory network in India and in South East Asia. Plot 113, St 145 MIDC Andheri E, 400093, +91 22 28237333/30811111-99Wellspring
(http://www.wellspring.in/-) Another premier diagnostic laboratory owned by the Piramal group. Ganpatrao Kadam Marg, Near A to Z Industrial Estate, Off Worli Naka, Lower ParelW, 400013. Along with the above they have other centers as well throughout the city.
lgbt options
There is already a lively late night, if somewhat subterranean, scene for gays, as well as social and political networks. However, you need to do your homework before arriving, as LGBT gathering spaces and organizations are not published or available at local newsstands. However, Bombay Dost Bombay Friends the only magazine catering to the community, after 7 years of running was closed and relaunched in 2009. Much of Mumbai's LGBT scene is coordinated using social networking sites and groups. Use extreme caution; robberies, hustlers, and even police entrapment are not unheard of, though a July 2009 judgment legalizing homosexuality should save you from the last one.
postal & courier services
Also for sending the letters, parcels etc one can choose from the Indian Postal service (http://www.indiapost.gov.in/), to private courier companies such as DHL (http://www.dhl.co.in/publ...), UPS (http://www.ups.com/conten...), TNT (http://www.tnt.com/expres...) (http://www.dtdc.biz/etc).
The Indian Postal service's head office is housed at GPO, a magnificent colonial architecture on its own., next to C.S.T. railway station. The other main branch office can be found at DadarE on Ambedkar Rd.
know the city
City Map
Eicher has an excellent city-map of Mumbai with detailed listings. Familiarize yourself with it before you begin, or alternatively trace your route on it. Rs 30.BEST Route Map
Thanks to the density of bus routes in the city, the map is quite hard to decipher. Although bus routes are listed in the itinerary, you may have to find out about a few others if you plan to mix/match the order of the sights. People are very helpful in general. Check the BEST Route Finder for detailed information on the routes. The map is available at news stands. Rs 10.
tips
For a city of its size and global importance, Mumbai is quite safe. However, as with any foreign city, it is best to err on the side of safety and act according to your local environment. Here are a few basic safety tips:
Keep your money and credit cards safe at all times. Always carry some cash as many places won't take cards.
Do not display 500 and 1000 rupee notes in public.
Beware of pickpockets on buses and trains.
Also beware of mobile, chain, or bag snatchers who operate in densely populated places, such as railway stations, busy roads, and traffic signals.
Women traveling by train, especially on off-peak routes should travel in the second class where at least a few co-passengers are also found.
Women especially Westerners should avoid crowded places, you might well get groped. Cases of men pinching or touching women are common in crowded public places, including nicer nightspots. Create a scene if this does happen to you, there will be enough people around that will come to your defence. In general, in Mumbai, if you are ever worried about your safety, make a loud scene. It is an extremely crowded city, and somebody is always around and willing to help.
Women should never ever take lifts from strangers. Western women tourists should note that if they visit a disco or pub in Mumbai or India, don't take lifts or even get too friendly with strangers. You will almost certainly get conned, if not worse. Many Indian men presume that if you're foreign you must be easy.
Don't ever let an auto or taxi you are traveling in pick up any more people, or pull over before your final destination.
Police can sometimes be almost as shady as criminals in Mumbai. At night, women should ensure if they are ever stopped by police, there needs to be a female police officer present or they are well within their rights in demanding the presence of a woman cop.
Violent crime in Mumbai is more or less like any other large Indian city. Most notably, terrorists have staged several murderous attacks in Mumbai, targeting banks and the stock exchange in 1993 killing around 300, commuter trains in 2006 killing over 200 and top hotels including the Taj Mahal Palace and Oberoi in 2008 over 170 dead. The last of these saw foreigners, specifically Americans, Britons and Israelis, explicitly targeted for the first time.