So last Friday, April 27th I made my maiden trip to Mumbai. There -
I've said it. Yes, I've never been to Mumbai city all my life! Strange,
but true.
The primary purpose of our visit was to catch up with our good old friends from Pittsburgh - Naman, Mithila and their little bundle Vihaan. Mithila and I tracked parallel pregnancies and when she announced she was having a boy, I declared I was having a girl! And so it was. And ever since we two mommies have been planning the big event of our boy and girl meeting each other ... jokes apart, we were eager to see each other and the kids, who are just 6 weeks apart!
After a somewhat eventful morning at the airport (caused by a missed flight!), we landed in Mumbai around noon. Now I'd heard and read about this city, watched it in many a Bollywood film, but decided to go with an open mind, meaning, no expectations either way. So my first impression was - wow, this isn't crowded at all?!? I'd heard horror stories of traffic and congestion but our first stop was to be a 20 min cab ride from the airport. Not bad at all. Along the way I saw dilapidated buildings and normal ones. I couldn't really get a pulse of the city yet. So we reached our destination - an apartment complex at Mallad (East). Then was the thrill and joy of meeting our friends and each other's kids, Antara and Vihaan finally met! We spent a lazy, wonderful day with friends, just catching up and watching our kids ignore each other, playing each on their own. It was still fun, comparing notes, watching their antics and mannerisms. Food kept flowing, as did the conversation, and after a dinner with other guests of our hosts, we retired back to our apartment for the duration of the trip, located amidst a charming group of buildings (Hiranandani gardens) at Powai.Even through my sleepy eyes, I saw that the city seemed alive at night.
The next morning after a relaxed breakfast at the apartment, we hopped into a cab again to the other end of town - Mira road where an old friend of mine just bought her apartment. 'It's Saturday morning so the roads are free', informed our cab driver. Again, it seemed to me not bad at all, I am used to much more traffic on Hyderabad roads. The hot weather and a full stomach made the cab rides ideal to catch up on sleep, though I did try and also catch glimpses of the city when I could. We arrived at my friend's bright new apartment and it was once again food, conversations and watching Antara at play.'If you want to shop at Mumbai, you need 4 days', said my friend and I left with a promise to be back one day on just a shopping trip. We left then to undertake what our friends thought was a brave journey - to the other end of town at Napeansea Road. It was only in a cab, so not a big deal. Admittedly, it was a lot of distance but no real work so I had no complaints. A short nap and then I was woken up to see the Bandra-Worli sea link. This was beautiful. A toll bridge that looked like a mini version of the Tappanzee bridge at NYC, except this was on the sea! It was a gorgeous drive even on a hot summer afternoon. I savoured the view, watching the sea as you ride on the road is new to me, I've only done it on vacations at Vizag before. The ride along Worli seaface was wonderful. We arrived then at our next stop to visit friends who just had a baby. It was something else holding a newborn baby and showing her to Antara, remembering what we did 14 months before. Food and drinks kept flowing and we were treated to the 'best brownies in Mumbai' as claimed by our hosts. I struggled between trying to enjoy the dessert and not feel guilty for having broken my recent discipline of 'no desserts'. The room we spent the evening at had a superb view of the Worli sea and I regret not having taken any pictures, as also of not sitting by the beach even for a few minutes. The day ended with a sleepy cab ride back to Powai with a quick stop by the Gateway of India and The Taj hotel. I saw the decorated, bright and blingy horse carriages - I am told the rides are quite fun actually. And how can I not mention driving on Marine drive - would've been nicer in an own car with our favourite music, but it was still beautiful to see the skyline.
Sunday morning was reserved to meet yet another friend but unfortunately there was a last minute change. We now had the day to ourselves and so decided to get at least some Mumbai experience. We hopped right into a cab and went to the Gateway of India, spotting a few famous and noticeable buildings along the way. Now I must say I was damn impressed with the one-minute-photo guys at the Gateway of India. We went for it - each picture was Rs.30 and it was printed instantly with a color epson printer. I don't know why but that fascinated me. Maybe because I've paid $30 for instant photos on vacations in the US!! We then took a boat ride in the sea - it was quite nice and touristy actually, although a little hot! It was a short, 30 min ride, and getting back we had a beautiful view of the Gateway of India and the Taj hotel. A few pictures later, we asked for directions to the famous Leopold Cafe. Walking toward it, I suddenly chanced upon my cousin brother and family at a bookstore on the pavement. What are the chances!! We would've spent the afternoon catching up but they had tickets to watch The Avengers, so we parted ten minutes later after merely exchanging pleasantries. We managed a table in the ever crowded Leopold Cafe. I'd only known it to be (in?)famous for the shooting 2 years ago, but learned now that it was also the central location for 'Shantaram' - which has been on my reading list for about 2 years now. Food was good, service was quick, and with the little one in tow, we weren't sure we had time for much more. A visit to the Taj hotel would've been nice, but we wanted to get back in plenty of time, so we rode back to Powai. This cabbie turned out to be the most interesting one yet, and as we drove, he gave us a tour of all the famous people's houses along the way - the new Ambani residence, Lata Mangeshkar's house, Raj Kumar's house etc. He also threw in his opinions on the Worli sea, the 100 crore apartments and what not! As if that wasn't enough entertainment, I was quite impressed to see a television screen with movie choices in the cab (Tab Cabs!). So we had '3 idiots' running in the background for the ride back. Our trip was coming to an end, and I was rather happy. We'd met many friends and travelled quite a distance to do so. Maybe this isn't the 'real Mumbai' as a Mumbaikar would see it. But it was something! It was fun, relaxing and a good start.
The primary purpose of our visit was to catch up with our good old friends from Pittsburgh - Naman, Mithila and their little bundle Vihaan. Mithila and I tracked parallel pregnancies and when she announced she was having a boy, I declared I was having a girl! And so it was. And ever since we two mommies have been planning the big event of our boy and girl meeting each other ... jokes apart, we were eager to see each other and the kids, who are just 6 weeks apart!
After a somewhat eventful morning at the airport (caused by a missed flight!), we landed in Mumbai around noon. Now I'd heard and read about this city, watched it in many a Bollywood film, but decided to go with an open mind, meaning, no expectations either way. So my first impression was - wow, this isn't crowded at all?!? I'd heard horror stories of traffic and congestion but our first stop was to be a 20 min cab ride from the airport. Not bad at all. Along the way I saw dilapidated buildings and normal ones. I couldn't really get a pulse of the city yet. So we reached our destination - an apartment complex at Mallad (East). Then was the thrill and joy of meeting our friends and each other's kids, Antara and Vihaan finally met! We spent a lazy, wonderful day with friends, just catching up and watching our kids ignore each other, playing each on their own. It was still fun, comparing notes, watching their antics and mannerisms. Food kept flowing, as did the conversation, and after a dinner with other guests of our hosts, we retired back to our apartment for the duration of the trip, located amidst a charming group of buildings (Hiranandani gardens) at Powai.Even through my sleepy eyes, I saw that the city seemed alive at night.
The next morning after a relaxed breakfast at the apartment, we hopped into a cab again to the other end of town - Mira road where an old friend of mine just bought her apartment. 'It's Saturday morning so the roads are free', informed our cab driver. Again, it seemed to me not bad at all, I am used to much more traffic on Hyderabad roads. The hot weather and a full stomach made the cab rides ideal to catch up on sleep, though I did try and also catch glimpses of the city when I could. We arrived at my friend's bright new apartment and it was once again food, conversations and watching Antara at play.'If you want to shop at Mumbai, you need 4 days', said my friend and I left with a promise to be back one day on just a shopping trip. We left then to undertake what our friends thought was a brave journey - to the other end of town at Napeansea Road. It was only in a cab, so not a big deal. Admittedly, it was a lot of distance but no real work so I had no complaints. A short nap and then I was woken up to see the Bandra-Worli sea link. This was beautiful. A toll bridge that looked like a mini version of the Tappanzee bridge at NYC, except this was on the sea! It was a gorgeous drive even on a hot summer afternoon. I savoured the view, watching the sea as you ride on the road is new to me, I've only done it on vacations at Vizag before. The ride along Worli seaface was wonderful. We arrived then at our next stop to visit friends who just had a baby. It was something else holding a newborn baby and showing her to Antara, remembering what we did 14 months before. Food and drinks kept flowing and we were treated to the 'best brownies in Mumbai' as claimed by our hosts. I struggled between trying to enjoy the dessert and not feel guilty for having broken my recent discipline of 'no desserts'. The room we spent the evening at had a superb view of the Worli sea and I regret not having taken any pictures, as also of not sitting by the beach even for a few minutes. The day ended with a sleepy cab ride back to Powai with a quick stop by the Gateway of India and The Taj hotel. I saw the decorated, bright and blingy horse carriages - I am told the rides are quite fun actually. And how can I not mention driving on Marine drive - would've been nicer in an own car with our favourite music, but it was still beautiful to see the skyline.
Sunday morning was reserved to meet yet another friend but unfortunately there was a last minute change. We now had the day to ourselves and so decided to get at least some Mumbai experience. We hopped right into a cab and went to the Gateway of India, spotting a few famous and noticeable buildings along the way. Now I must say I was damn impressed with the one-minute-photo guys at the Gateway of India. We went for it - each picture was Rs.30 and it was printed instantly with a color epson printer. I don't know why but that fascinated me. Maybe because I've paid $30 for instant photos on vacations in the US!! We then took a boat ride in the sea - it was quite nice and touristy actually, although a little hot! It was a short, 30 min ride, and getting back we had a beautiful view of the Gateway of India and the Taj hotel. A few pictures later, we asked for directions to the famous Leopold Cafe. Walking toward it, I suddenly chanced upon my cousin brother and family at a bookstore on the pavement. What are the chances!! We would've spent the afternoon catching up but they had tickets to watch The Avengers, so we parted ten minutes later after merely exchanging pleasantries. We managed a table in the ever crowded Leopold Cafe. I'd only known it to be (in?)famous for the shooting 2 years ago, but learned now that it was also the central location for 'Shantaram' - which has been on my reading list for about 2 years now. Food was good, service was quick, and with the little one in tow, we weren't sure we had time for much more. A visit to the Taj hotel would've been nice, but we wanted to get back in plenty of time, so we rode back to Powai. This cabbie turned out to be the most interesting one yet, and as we drove, he gave us a tour of all the famous people's houses along the way - the new Ambani residence, Lata Mangeshkar's house, Raj Kumar's house etc. He also threw in his opinions on the Worli sea, the 100 crore apartments and what not! As if that wasn't enough entertainment, I was quite impressed to see a television screen with movie choices in the cab (Tab Cabs!). So we had '3 idiots' running in the background for the ride back. Our trip was coming to an end, and I was rather happy. We'd met many friends and travelled quite a distance to do so. Maybe this isn't the 'real Mumbai' as a Mumbaikar would see it. But it was something! It was fun, relaxing and a good start.
We will go back for sure as there is much more to see and do. But yes, its a start.
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