Hello there, You might be wondering why Mumbai? There are a lot of places in India which is more beautiful than of Mumbai, Some of you have also said/suggested there is nothing in Mumbai to see.
So let’s start with the idea how Mumbai was added to my bucket list. I have been a kid who watched a lot of Movies and in most of the movies Mumbai was there, I was curious about Mumbai and the crowd, the local trains and its rushes. One of the recent famous movie dialogues about Mumbai is “Powerful people comes from powerful places”. There is also another reason, You guys know my friend Bindi, we become friends during my visit to Meghalaya and kept in touch afterwards. (Those who haven’t read about my Meghalaya articles here is the link: Nongriat, Shnongpdeng)
So this year I was planning to spend my birthday in some other place rather than my home, after a long search I had shortlisted down to two places: Igloo stay in Manali and Mumbai. When I said my plans for my birthday to Bindi she asked to visit Mumbai, She was always sending me pictures of street foods in Mumbai which I have always wanted to try.
I was staying in Mumbai for 3 days and told Bindi to help me out with the planning, I had only very limited knowledge of places around Mumbai, So she sent me a list of places and I choose from that. I booked my stay at Zostel, I highly recommend Zostel to the other travelers out there.
Day 1:
I reached Mumbai: Lokmanya Tilak Terminal around 4:00 am in the morning. I was planning to take a train from Tilak Nagar to Andheri, My stay was at Andheri, unfortunately the train service only started after 6 am. So I talked to the auto rickshaws guys they asked for Rs. 500, I told no and bargained it to Rs. 300 and they happily dropped me at Zostel. When I reached Zostel the receptionist told me that the auto-rickshaw guy has looted me. Also the regular check-in time was at 12 pm. I told them I had reservations and have to reach Essel world around 10 am. Zostel guys made some adjustments and let me check in early.
I got some sleep and woke up around 7:30 am got ready, I had to meet Bindi at her place by 9 am, so that I can drop my things at her place and leave to Essel world. I took an auto from Zostel to Andheri railway station. I had to catch a local train from Andheri to Borivali. I was really nervous, I was worried if I will be able to get into the local train as it will be crowded. The station entrance was crowded, I got a ticket to Borivali. The station was so crowded and there were trains coming and going in every two minutes, I went to the platform and waited when the train came, I asked the person nearby will it be going to Borivali and got into the train. When I got down at Borivali I called Bindi and she told she was running late and told me to reach at her place and wait. I walked from Borivali station to Bindi place and she came there after some. We left my luggage there and got a auto-rickshaw to boatyard where we will get a ferry to the famous Essel world.
Essel world is an amusement park which has many adventurous rides and it is in the top 10 places to visit in Mumbai. We got into almost all the rides, there was one ride “Shot & Drop” we very much liked it and got into the ride 6 times. Around 6 pm we got out of Essel world took the ferry back to Borivali and witnessed an amazing sunset.
We took a bus and went to Borivali railway station, Nearby there was a Dosa place where we went and tried Masala dosa with two different flavours. The Masala dosa was not the same that we get here. It was very much different. Bindi told Mumbai has many cultures and people around India is been there. People in Mumbai like to experiment/mix food with different types of cultures traditional foods. So when you order your favourite dish in Mumbai, “Forget what it tastes like in your mind or at your place. It will be totally different.”’
Day 2:
Today I was going to the South Mumbai, Bandra and Church gate was in my list. I took a local train from Andheri to Bandra. I got down at Bandra and my first destination was Mount Mary church it was around 2km away I decided to walk and explore this time and walked towards the church, On the way I got to see some amazing streets. The church was beautiful and was filled with some tourists, I spend some time in the church and after that I went to Bandra Bandstand and Bandra fort. Bandra fort is filled with couples, We can also see the famous Bandra Worli Sea link from here.
After some time I got a bus to Bandra Station and got on a train to ChurchGate to my next destination. I walked around Churchgate and saw the Mumbai High Court, The beautiful Gothic architecture buildings. My first destination was Jehangir Modern Art Gallery, The place had some awesome collections of art, After that I went to the Prince of Wales museum. When I got out of the museum Bindi called and told that she will meet me at Churchgate I told her we can meet at the Mumbai Gate. We spent some time there and walked to our next destination Marine drive. Marine drive was filled with people and we sat there and enjoyed the sunset. Today we were going to eat at the restaurant Sardar which is famous for its pav bhaji. We had to stand in a queue to get in, it was amazing how they were making pav for the entire people at the restaurant at a time. On the way back I figured it out that there was a metro connecting from my place to Andheri railway station.
Day 3:
Today I was going to Elephanta Caves for that I have to go back to Church gate and to take a ferry to the island, the ticket costs around Rs. 205 with return. The journey to the island is around 1 hrs. There are snacks and juices available in the ferry. People started to feed the birds with the snacks and the birds started to fly over to get their food. There is a toy train which will take you to the starting point of the Elephanta caves. I Skipped and decided to walk towards the caves. There is a two entry fees we have to give when we reach. One is an entry fee to enter the island which is Rs 5 and another is around Rs.100 for the entry to the elephanta caves. The caves was so crowded. Avoid Elephanta caves if you’re visiting Mumbai for a short time as it will take your half day or entire day if you don’t plan well. I reached back at church gate and went to the fashion street which is in the marine lanes. Fashion street has everything you need and if you’re good at bargaining you could get some good items at a very low price.
My next destination was Juhu and Bindi was joining me there, We were going to the famous Pritivi cafe to have some aloo parathas, As usual we had to stand in queue to get a seat at the cafe. The cafe has some amazing interiors with food. We went to the Juhu beach and went back to Borivali. There was a night market at Borivali and Bindi helped me to buy some kurti for my Mom and sweets for my colleagues.
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