Mumbai Mayhem: A Botanist's Unexpected Adventure (and a LOT of Humidity)
okay, so. mumbai. wow. i didn’t exactly plan on ending up here. my research grant for the cloud forests of Ecuador fell through (long story involving a rogue monkey and a very expensive spectrometer), and i was staring down the barrel of a very boring summer. then a friend mentioned a rare species of mangrove thriving in the backwaters near here, and… well, here i am.
I’m usually knee-deep in ferns and moss, not dodging scooters and trying to decipher street signs. It’s… intense. The air is thick, you know? Like breathing through a damp sponge. I just checked and it’s hovering around thirty-three degrees, feels like thirty-two. Humidity’s a solid twenty-eight percent. My hair has declared war on me. I’m pretty sure my glasses are permanently fogged.
I’ve been mostly sticking to the quieter areas, trying to find these mangroves. Apparently, they’re incredibly resilient, adapting to the brackish water and the constant human encroachment. It’s fascinating, honestly. A testament to nature’s stubbornness. I spent a good chunk of yesterday wandering around the Bandra-Kurla Complex, which is… a lot of concrete. Not exactly prime botanical territory. I did find a surprisingly lovely little park tucked away though - the Otter’s Boat Park. It’s got a decent view of the sea, and a few surprisingly hardy plants clinging to life. Check it out on TripAdvisor: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g307272-d12837883-Reviews-Otter_s_Boat_Park-Mumbai_Maharashtra.html
Someone told me that the food stalls near Mohammed Ali Road are insane. Apparently, you can get anything you want, anytime of day. I’m a little intimidated, to be honest. My usual diet consists of things I can identify and categorize botanically. Street food is… a leap. But I’m trying to be adventurous. I did try some vada pav yesterday. It was… an experience.
I’m staying in a little guesthouse in Colaba. It’s… rustic. The plumbing is questionable, and the wifi is even more so. But the owner, Mrs. Patel, is lovely. She keeps offering me chai and trying to set me up with her nephew, which is… sweet, but no. If you get bored, Pune and Nashik are just a short drive away, both with their own unique charm. I’m thinking of taking a day trip to Nashik to check out the vineyards - a change of scenery might do me good.
I overheard some guys arguing about the best place to get pav bhaji near Crawford Market. Apparently, there’s a decades-long rivalry between two vendors. One guy was really passionate about it. He said, “Look, the secret is in the butter. You gotta use real butter, not that margarine nonsense.” Drunk advice, probably, but I’ll keep it in mind. I might need to check out Crawford Market itself - Yelp says it’s a sensory overload: https://www.yelp.com/biz/crawford-market-mumbai.
I’m still searching for those mangroves. I’ve been consulting local forums - this one looks promising: https://www.indiamike.com/india/maharashtra-forum/mangrove-forests-near-mumbai/. A local warned me about the tides, though. Said they can be unpredictable and dangerous. Apparently, a few tourists got stranded last year. So, yeah, gotta be careful.
Honestly, it’s a bit chaotic. But it’s also… exhilarating. It’s forcing me to step outside my comfort zone, to experience something completely different. And who knows, maybe I’ll even find those mangroves. And maybe I’ll learn to love vada pav. Probably not, but a girl can dream.
For more on Mumbai's flora, check out this resource: https://www.mumbaimonsoon.com/flora-fauna/