Mumbai shopping

Shopping in Mumbai can be quite an experience. You can pay 20 dollars for a nice branded dress in one shop and find that an exact replica of the dress is available for five dollars on the street. You can pick up some chunky chain jewellery off the pavement for 12 dollars and wonder in amazement how the jewellery counter at the mall is selling the exact same thing at 50 dollars.
The whole trick is in knowing where to shop, and knowing when to bargain. Mumbai shopkeepers expect you to haggle with them over every price tag. This maybe not the case in the so-called Malls, but if you want to shop the Mumbai way you would not be going to the Malls anyway.

Chor Bazaar
This is a market that sells secondhand goods; the Indian version of a flea market. The name 'Chor Bazaar' translates as 'Thieves' market' and a lot of the goods that you see there are at throwaway prices because they were stolen. Not all the goods are stolen merchandise by the way and if you rummage through some of the junk that lies piled up outside the shops here you might find some treasures.
Many antique dealers are known to search this market and later sell the bought goods in posh, upmarket shops. It's a great place for a treasure hunt. Some locals refuse to drive and park their cars near the market because it is believed that the 'Chors' from the market will steal their hubcaps by the time they get back! Some actually pay young beggar children to look after their vehicle.

Crawford Market
Although the official name is Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Market these days the market is still known as Crawford market after Arthur Crawford who was the first Municipal Commissioner of the city. There is a pet store at one end of the market and a wholesale market for vegetables, fruits and poultry exists here besides shops which sell household items, cosmetics and gift curios at wholesale rates.
It is housed in a building constructed in 1869 which was donated to the city by Cowasji Jehangir, and has the distinction of being the first Indian building to have been lit with electricity in the year 1882. Even if you have no intention to buy, you will end up picking up something from this market.

Linking Road
This was the original road that linked Bandra and Juhu and helped in expanding Mumbai to the north. It has been renamed Vithalbhai Patel Marg, but if you tell that to your taxi driver he will not respond as well as he will to the old name. Linking Road is a shopping haven where you can get everything from imported goods to clever fakes. Chinese goods rub shoulders with branded outlets, and clothes and accessories of every conceivable nature are available here. There are also a few popular cafes sprinkled along this road. A lot of showrooms for branded stuff and quite a few bank offices are found here.