Visited In December 2016
Mumbai madhye apale swagat aahe!!
Mumbai, previously known as Bombay - The financial and fashion capital of India. From the slums in Dharavi to the multi million dollar worth Ambani house and beach bungalows...from the lower and middle class working population who depend heavily on the crowded suburban trains to commute to the richest of the rich kids driving super luxury cars...from the dimly lit Red Streets of Kamathipura to the most modern discos, pubs and night clubs...from the street dancers who dance hard for a livelihood to the enormously rich kings and queens of Bollywood...from the most disciplined Dabbawalas to the dangerous dons of the underworld...Mumbai is a bustling fast moving city which is a home to all of them. This is that city in India where people from all over the country come with the hopes to set wings to their dreams of earning money, fame where some succeed, while some fall apart with nobody's notice.
The dwellers of this magical city call themselves as 'Mumbaikar' and there has been several occasion where they have demonstrated the spirit of Mumbaikar to help each other and bring the city back to its charm during havoc of heavy rains and flood or terror attacks, and that is definitely worth a mention.
Day 1 - Chhaiya Chhaiya on Rajdhani Express
We planned our trip to Mumbai along with parents and in laws and the family trip remains a sweet memory in my mind. We started off from Kozhikode to Mumbai in Rajdhani Express Train via the scenic Konkan route and took about 16 hours to reach Panvel station in Mumbai.
Nothing can make it better when you are with your beloved family and the train journey was interesting with a lot of chit chat, fun, food and games.
We took our first suburban train ride from Panvel to CST and then a taxi from there to our hotel near Colaba.
Day 2 - Mumbai Darshan
We stepped out of our hotel after breakfast fully charged for an entire day tour of Mumbai Metropolitan City. We started with CST - Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. This train station is significant for various reasons. The terminus is grand like a palace and is bustling round the clock with commuters. The name of the station built during the British rule was Victoria Terminus which later got renamed after the famous Chaatrapati of Maharashrta - Shivaji. While that is a lot positive about CST, this was one of the unfortunate venues where the deadly terrorist attack that shook the entire city as well the country on 26th November 2008 took place, which claimed more than 150 innocent lives.
We then drove to enjoy the Marine Drive - a more than 3 km stretch of Promenade by the Arabian Sea. Its nice to view the elegant skyline of the city from here.
We have been to several Buddhist temples, but not many Jain temples. So, we decided to visit a Jain temple in Mumbai. The temple is grand and ornate with statues and paintings and golden coloured idols. The ceiling of the temple has a dome painted with the images of gods and goddesses, 'graha' which are as per the Indian astrology.
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As we drove to Haji Ali Dargah, we saw the multi billion dollar house of Mukesh Ambani - Antilia, which stood much taller among all the surrounding sky scrapers.
The Dargah of Haji Ali - a renowned historical mosque that houses the tomb of the Sufi saint Pir Haji Ali is located on the Worli coast. This dargah is located on a tiny island and has Islamic architecture. The pilgrims walk towards the island and all over the way, on both side of the road, there are many shops selling items to offer at the dargah. As I walked towards the dargah, the AR Rahman masterpiece composition 'Piya Haji Ali'... played back in my mind.
The place is very pious and it is mandatory to cover head before entering the mosque to offer prayers. We took our time to pay our respects to the Sufi saint and this is indeed a moment to discover that humanity stands before the concept of religion. India stands for secularism and its unity in diversity. We stood by the same as we visited the dargah and offered our prayers and tied the dhaga (sacred thread) at the mosque to get our mannat (wishes) come true.
It is also interesting to know that the Haji Ali Juice Centre which has branches at many cities inside and outside India was started here and that small juice stall still stand intact.
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A trip to Mumbai is incomplete without a visit to the Juhu Beach and savour the roadside food served in the makeshift shops by vendors - The mouthwatering spicy Vada Pav and Chaats. Juhu beach gets crowded with visitors who get there to enjoy the sunset. A lot of street vendors selling chaats, snacks, ice creams are seen all around. Balloon and toy sellers and mobile henna and tattoo parlours are also seen in abundance!. The luxurious beach bungalows are by the side of the beach.
Vada Pav
This write up will be incomplete without a special mention of 'Vada Pav' which can otherwise be called the 'Indian Burger', a native food of Maharashtra. It is basically a deep fried potato dumpling placed inside a bread sliced almost in half through the middle. There will be a tinge of spicy tamarind and green coriander and mint chutney spilled over it and is accompanied by a fried green chilly. The spicy snack lures you with its aroma and explodes its flavour in your mouth as you bite it...
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After the sunset and snacks,we drove over the Bandra Worli Sea Link bridge. Tired, had dinner and slept off for the next days travel.
Day 3 - Nariman Point and Elephanta Caves
Who would want to miss the calm and beautiful early morning views of Arabian Sea? We set off for a morning walk from our hotel to the Nariman Point. We got beautiful views of the iconic Taj Hotel with millions of pigeons flocking around and The Gateway of India. These are iconic buildings and come to the minds of every Indian when they think of Mumbai.
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Later in the day, we again visited the same area to board our boat to The Elephanta Caves. It is about an hour ride to reach the caves. Our boat was chased by sea gulls and it was an interesting scene to watch.
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Elephanta Caves is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with several cave temples dedicated to the Hindu God, Lord Shiva. There are also a few Buddhist caves in the site. The main cave is absolutely huge with several sculptures of Shiva and shrines dedicated to Him. It sprawls over a 10 km area and the cave temples and magnificent and dates back in history to 5th - 9th century. We have to climb several steep steps to reach the main cave. The climb and descend are both interesting as both sides of steps are occupied by make shift stalls of numerous vendors selling local products, ornaments, street food, tea and coffee stalls etc. I took a lot of effort to waive my attention from the stalls while climbing up, made my mind to spend time for shopping before leaving the site.
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We enjoyed some chaat and bought a wraparound skirt and ornaments from the stalls and rode our boat back to Mumbai city. The views of Gateway of India was excellent from the boat before it docked into the pier.
Post lunch, we visited the National Museum and enjoyed the priceless collection that showcase Indian history, culture and heritage.
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Some funny kido moments at the museum
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We indulged in our shopping spree at Colaba. Colaba is known for shops where you can bargain and get the best price for exotic ornaments, dress, souvenirs etc. Its indeed a shoppers paradise. You get nice cloths and jewellery at cheap price, of course show your bargain skills to get maximum benefit. I was so busy shopping that I missed to click even a single photo while shopping :)
Day 4 - Rest of Mumbai
We started the day with a visit to the Swami Narayan Temple and then to the Mount Mary Church.
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We walked down hill from Mount Mary Church towards the Arabian Coast to have a closer look at Mannat, the Bungalow of the King of Bollywood - Shah Rukh Khan
We spent the evening at beach to view the sunset followed by shopping at Colaba again.
Day 5 - Suburban Train to Thane
This day was dedicated to visit our relatives residing in Mumbai. We took the suburban train from CST to Thane and spent a full day visiting many houses and having good homely food :)
To get the pulse and rhythm of the local lives in Mumbai, a ride in the suburban train is a must. Its always busy and crowded, but the best bet to beat the Mumbai traffic. Millions of commuters choose this option to travel from outskirts of Mumbai to the city for their job. The peak times are heavily crowded, so it will be always a good idea to take immense care of valuables :)
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Day 6 - Mumbai to Pune
Pune is a neighboring city to Mumbai and takes close to 3 hours to reach. There are many scenic destinations in Pune - Lonavala, Khandala etc. You can drive further to Mahabaleshwar which is 150 km from Pune.
These exotic destinations come to their complete charm during monsoon season with pouring rain, lush green Western Ghat mountains and gushing waterfalls all over...
We dedicated a day to visit Lonavala, a beautiful destination at Pune by driving on the Mumbai Pune Express Highway. We had incredible views of the canyons and valleys of Lonavala and later visited the Wax museum.
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Wax Museum and Kids Play Area
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We had our lunch at a village themed restaurant, bought some local snacks and enjoyed the beer after the long drive...
The groundnut and jaggery snack locally known as 'Lonavala Chikki' is very famous and a must try.
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Our next destination was Karla Buddha Caves. These are Buddhist caves near Lonavala from 2nd to 5th century BCE. We had a great time exploring the cave interiors which you will get to know from the photos. See and enjoy for yourselves.
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The kids had an enjoyable evening in spite of the huge number of steps they had to climb to reach the caves
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We wound up the Pune leg of the trip and drove back to Mumbai.
City sights from Mumbai
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Slums of Mumbai
Dharavi Slum is considered as the largest slum in Asia. Within an area less than 2.5 sq.km, resides a huge population over a million!! The dwellers here indulge in several household enterprises like pottery, leather etc.Sanitation and standards of life remain poor in the slum area.
Dhobi Ghat
The Dhobi Ghat of Mumbai is worth a special mention. This place located near the Mahalaxmi Railway Station is an open air laundry space where several people work on cleaning laundry which is used in shops, restaurants, hospitals.
Kamathipura
The Red Street of Mumbai. Unlike the Red Light District of Amsterdam, this place is not touristy. Its shady lanes and dodgy streets are not for a family visit. This is the area where sex workers reside and work. The girls here, majority of whom are victims of human trafficking, work here to earn a life. Its a fact that these girls are heavily exploited and manipulated by the middle men who mint money out of them and their helplessness.
Our family moments in Mumbai
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We left Mumbai with so many everlasting memories of our family trip...
I would like to thank my friend Soumya (former resident of Pune) and cousin Linesh (resident of Mumbai) who have helped me improve this blog with their comments.
Bhetu Ya!!
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