Breakfast at Kyani & Co. Followed by a Stroll Around Dhobi Talao

TO HELP YOU ACCLIMATISE gently to the pace and heat, the noise and dust, you must rise early. Bombay is at its most beautiful in the morning. The air shimmers. Birds circle endlessly in the sky. The pavements, sometimes freshly rinsed by rain, have yet to become crowded with dusty feet. It is the time when the city feels most at peace.

Resist the temptation to ignore your alarm. Yawn, stretch deliciously as you look out of the window, do a few Surya Namaskars (in India, the sun should surely be saluted) and walk out into the street as the city starts to wake. Start in the neighbourhood of Dhobi Talao.