Ever since I got back from Mumbai (my first trip ever there)…a lot of people ask me about my impression of Mumbai and I do end up talking a lot about it!! I guess the city does leave a lasting impression…ummm…good and bad both. Part of the reason why I didn’t write about my trip to Mumbai earlier was coz I was making up my mind about whether I liked the place or not! And to put down the negative aspects would mean another serious fight with Suchi (my best friend!)…she completely loves the city…!!!
My first impression of Mumbai is it’s crowded…so sooo sooooo crowded!! Everywhere u go there are people…people…and more people. It’s overwhelming to say the least. Yes I know the statistics…and I know people who live in the city love it despite the sheer number of people on the streets. The second thing that struck me is that unlike Delhi localities didn’t seem much defined…dunno when one ended and the other began…the whole city looks the same?! Ummm…though u can’t miss the difference between what one in Mumbai calls town and suburbs! And yeah new Bombay….hmmm!
Then there was the horrific experience of the local train! Less said the better…though I knowww when I talk about it, it amuses people around me a whole lot. I’d just quote my cousin on this “You asked for it!!” (Coz I kept cribbing ek baar toh jaana chahiye!)…. it was truly scary and I’m sure I’m never gonna get on one of them ever again! But I do feel mighty brave for attempting to be on one during peak hours! Esp. since I’m the type who never gets on to a bus in Delhi…well not since I finished college anyway!! And for all the people who told me that “trains are crowded in Mumbai but men are decent”…..now I know for a fact u never went on a train ever (for the women) and for the guys…u’d never know!!
There was this funny experience with ATM’s…every time we looked for a particular bank ATM we’d never seem to find it and when we did finally and got the desired amount out, we’d see ATM’s of the same bank in every damn place!!!!
I think my most fun moment was when I was cribbing away about not seeing a single movie personality…or for that matter a TV personality…ya ya…u may say u don’t give a shit but I know u expect to at least see them in a normal state somewhere in the city! Sooo Suchi, Rajiv and I were having ice creams at naturals…I forget the name of the place…hill road I think…and ohh yes i must say... another big positive the ice cream there is yummmm:-) (Though I’ve always maintained…mother dairy ice creams r the best!! But then I’ve always been very pro dilli!)… Anyway back to what I was saying. So I cribbed and r says ishi turn around…u got your wish…& I’m like no way who is it??? I had serious doubts okkk…coz I know that grin of his ok…evil to the core…lolzz….and I turn around and see … oh hell… u know that guy in govinda flicks…the really funny guy…long face…sparse but long hair! I didn’t even know the guy’s name….well till r told me right then…pappu kanghi…I’m like…oh good lord! All these days in Mumbai and I get to c is this guy!!! Suchi & r had the time of their lives looking at my expression… (No offense to Mr. Pappu Kanghi … I think his comic timing is gr8! But…I was quite obviously looking forward to seeing someone more happening!)
It’s fun being a tourist in Mumbai…but better still when u have people to stay with and to show u around…coz that’s the best way to experience the city. And most of the people I came across in Mumbai were friendly and helpful and people there aren’t inquisitive about you…they let u be. And now to what I liked best about Mumbai…the autos and the cabs! In Delhi I don’t take cabs unless I’m going to the station or to the airport! They’re way too expensive here for regular rides. And people know what autos here (in Delhi) are like. In Mumbai an autowala would never refuse to take u and I didn’t come across any autowala who argued about the fare or didn’t go without the meter. In fact if u suggested that, they looked at u like “what r u talking about?!” .which left me with the look “are u for real?”… And I remember the cab driver who took us to Worli from Andheri east…he really did show us around…all he had to know was we were from out of town. We kinda got to know his life history by the time we reached Worli!! And at the end of it all he says…arrey aap log kitna baat karte hai…mai raasta bhool jaata toh?!...lolzz!!
I enjoyed three car trips around Mumbai. The first one was courtesy a cousin of r’s who took us from our relative’s place in Panvel to Linking Road…aahh:-)…what a place… I luvvv shoes u know…sandals…shoes…u name it….and this place is definitely a shoe lovers paradise!! I luvvd linking road and I shopped there too…not on that very day but I was there later again with Suchi. Anyway next our cousin drove us to bandstand and of course we got a look at Shahrukh’s house…and Salman’s too. Had sum bhel…took sum pics. That was the day we moved to Suchi’s place after having spent two days at r’s relatives at Panvel.
My second car trip was the best…a friend took us around in his new car. I was excited all through this trip because we went to gateway, marine drive, Haji Ali, drove past Hanging Gardens, Mount Mary church and saw sum nice spots…markets…business centers…and yeah Amitabh’s houses! Oh yes Juhu beach too. Mumbai’s really very different from Delhi…Delhi’s all spread out. And there are parts of Delhi where traffic is kind of decent like around India gate and the embassy areas…and Delhi has green spaces…no high rises. So for someone like me, Mumbai was all cluttered….bustling with activity…people, people, people! And the traffic really got crazy at times! If you’re wondering if I’ve been to Chandni Chowk or Karol Bagh…I have like maybe twice!!
At Haji Ali, we had lunch at Café Noorani and the food was simply scrumpilicious :-)...followed by lip smacking Fruit Cream at the Haji Ali Fruit Center. I’d recommend this as a must have to people who love desserts and are not calorie conscious. That same day rather evening, I enjoyed sipping my tea as I watched the sun go down at marine drive.
My third car trip was with my cousins. We were all from out of Mumbai and were actually there for yet another cousin’s wedding. A day after the main ceremony, the whole lot of us hired a quails and did the same trip all over again. This time I got to play the guide! And oh yes lunch was at Café Noorani and fruit cream was a must!
What I long to go back and do in my next trip is drive down to Pune (heard a lot about the expressway) and also visit places like Lonavla, Panchgini, Mahabaleshwar, etc. I’ve been told the drive to Goa is fun too and if time is a constraint, then Alibaug is a nice place to be in. I was in Goa for around 4-5 days before I got to Mumbai. I guess next year I’ll go back around Christmas / New Years. I talked to a cousin yesterday in Mumbai and he said they don’t need woolens yet! And I’m sitting here with three layers of clothes and still shivering!
Before I end, I must mention that off late when cousins visit us here in Delhi, they insist that all they want is to go shopping or visit the malls! There are a lot of places to see here in Delhi and as a child I remember going to places like Red Fort (esp. the sound and light show), Qutub Minar, India Gate, Jantar Mantar, Lodi Gardens, Humayun’s tomb, Purana quila, and the Delhi zoo, etc…Shopping would be limited to CP, SN or Karol Bagh / Lajpat Nagar. Going around Mumbai during this trip and seeing places there, made me long to do a similar trip back home…in Delhi. Maybe I will sometime when I take my son around…skip the malls and the Cineplex’s…just like before….
There’s a lot more things I did in Mumbai…a lot of it pertaining to the wedding and therefore quite personal…which is why there’s no mention of it here. Phew…this is a rather long post. I wonder if anyone’s gonna read it all :-)… But hey I quite enjoyed writing. I haven’t written so much in a veryyyy long time!
Take Care & God Bless…
Ps: btw since I mentioned malls and my son. Welll every time we take him to play at the play pen at EDM … he yells all the way in the car “chalo chalo ‘mere mall’ mei chalo!!” And if we’re taking him to Metropolitan in Gurgaon (where my in laws are), he yells “chalo chalo siddhu ke mall chalo!!” (Sid is his cousin there!) …Lolzz… I wish malls sahi mei apne hotey!
And oh yess…this space has been lucky for me coz it helped me get in touch with a long lost friend…if u read my blog on my days in Assam, u’ll see I’ve mentioned him… Mohit. I just talked to him like an hour back…and I’m just really happy and excited about this!
And lastly, I saw Bluffmaster recently and I was quite excitedly pointing out places I’d been to in Mumbai…he he he…I did some thing like that last when I watched “while you were sleeping” (the one with Sandra bullock)…after a trip to Chicago!
My first impression of Mumbai is it’s crowded…so sooo sooooo crowded!! Everywhere u go there are people…people…and more people. It’s overwhelming to say the least. Yes I know the statistics…and I know people who live in the city love it despite the sheer number of people on the streets. The second thing that struck me is that unlike Delhi localities didn’t seem much defined…dunno when one ended and the other began…the whole city looks the same?! Ummm…though u can’t miss the difference between what one in Mumbai calls town and suburbs! And yeah new Bombay….hmmm!
Then there was the horrific experience of the local train! Less said the better…though I knowww when I talk about it, it amuses people around me a whole lot. I’d just quote my cousin on this “You asked for it!!” (Coz I kept cribbing ek baar toh jaana chahiye!)…. it was truly scary and I’m sure I’m never gonna get on one of them ever again! But I do feel mighty brave for attempting to be on one during peak hours! Esp. since I’m the type who never gets on to a bus in Delhi…well not since I finished college anyway!! And for all the people who told me that “trains are crowded in Mumbai but men are decent”…..now I know for a fact u never went on a train ever (for the women) and for the guys…u’d never know!!
There was this funny experience with ATM’s…every time we looked for a particular bank ATM we’d never seem to find it and when we did finally and got the desired amount out, we’d see ATM’s of the same bank in every damn place!!!!
I think my most fun moment was when I was cribbing away about not seeing a single movie personality…or for that matter a TV personality…ya ya…u may say u don’t give a shit but I know u expect to at least see them in a normal state somewhere in the city! Sooo Suchi, Rajiv and I were having ice creams at naturals…I forget the name of the place…hill road I think…and ohh yes i must say... another big positive the ice cream there is yummmm:-) (Though I’ve always maintained…mother dairy ice creams r the best!! But then I’ve always been very pro dilli!)… Anyway back to what I was saying. So I cribbed and r says ishi turn around…u got your wish…& I’m like no way who is it??? I had serious doubts okkk…coz I know that grin of his ok…evil to the core…lolzz….and I turn around and see … oh hell… u know that guy in govinda flicks…the really funny guy…long face…sparse but long hair! I didn’t even know the guy’s name….well till r told me right then…pappu kanghi…I’m like…oh good lord! All these days in Mumbai and I get to c is this guy!!! Suchi & r had the time of their lives looking at my expression… (No offense to Mr. Pappu Kanghi … I think his comic timing is gr8! But…I was quite obviously looking forward to seeing someone more happening!)
It’s fun being a tourist in Mumbai…but better still when u have people to stay with and to show u around…coz that’s the best way to experience the city. And most of the people I came across in Mumbai were friendly and helpful and people there aren’t inquisitive about you…they let u be. And now to what I liked best about Mumbai…the autos and the cabs! In Delhi I don’t take cabs unless I’m going to the station or to the airport! They’re way too expensive here for regular rides. And people know what autos here (in Delhi) are like. In Mumbai an autowala would never refuse to take u and I didn’t come across any autowala who argued about the fare or didn’t go without the meter. In fact if u suggested that, they looked at u like “what r u talking about?!” .which left me with the look “are u for real?”… And I remember the cab driver who took us to Worli from Andheri east…he really did show us around…all he had to know was we were from out of town. We kinda got to know his life history by the time we reached Worli!! And at the end of it all he says…arrey aap log kitna baat karte hai…mai raasta bhool jaata toh?!...lolzz!!
I enjoyed three car trips around Mumbai. The first one was courtesy a cousin of r’s who took us from our relative’s place in Panvel to Linking Road…aahh:-)…what a place… I luvvv shoes u know…sandals…shoes…u name it….and this place is definitely a shoe lovers paradise!! I luvvd linking road and I shopped there too…not on that very day but I was there later again with Suchi. Anyway next our cousin drove us to bandstand and of course we got a look at Shahrukh’s house…and Salman’s too. Had sum bhel…took sum pics. That was the day we moved to Suchi’s place after having spent two days at r’s relatives at Panvel.
My second car trip was the best…a friend took us around in his new car. I was excited all through this trip because we went to gateway, marine drive, Haji Ali, drove past Hanging Gardens, Mount Mary church and saw sum nice spots…markets…business centers…and yeah Amitabh’s houses! Oh yes Juhu beach too. Mumbai’s really very different from Delhi…Delhi’s all spread out. And there are parts of Delhi where traffic is kind of decent like around India gate and the embassy areas…and Delhi has green spaces…no high rises. So for someone like me, Mumbai was all cluttered….bustling with activity…people, people, people! And the traffic really got crazy at times! If you’re wondering if I’ve been to Chandni Chowk or Karol Bagh…I have like maybe twice!!
At Haji Ali, we had lunch at Café Noorani and the food was simply scrumpilicious :-)...followed by lip smacking Fruit Cream at the Haji Ali Fruit Center. I’d recommend this as a must have to people who love desserts and are not calorie conscious. That same day rather evening, I enjoyed sipping my tea as I watched the sun go down at marine drive.
My third car trip was with my cousins. We were all from out of Mumbai and were actually there for yet another cousin’s wedding. A day after the main ceremony, the whole lot of us hired a quails and did the same trip all over again. This time I got to play the guide! And oh yes lunch was at Café Noorani and fruit cream was a must!
What I long to go back and do in my next trip is drive down to Pune (heard a lot about the expressway) and also visit places like Lonavla, Panchgini, Mahabaleshwar, etc. I’ve been told the drive to Goa is fun too and if time is a constraint, then Alibaug is a nice place to be in. I was in Goa for around 4-5 days before I got to Mumbai. I guess next year I’ll go back around Christmas / New Years. I talked to a cousin yesterday in Mumbai and he said they don’t need woolens yet! And I’m sitting here with three layers of clothes and still shivering!
Before I end, I must mention that off late when cousins visit us here in Delhi, they insist that all they want is to go shopping or visit the malls! There are a lot of places to see here in Delhi and as a child I remember going to places like Red Fort (esp. the sound and light show), Qutub Minar, India Gate, Jantar Mantar, Lodi Gardens, Humayun’s tomb, Purana quila, and the Delhi zoo, etc…Shopping would be limited to CP, SN or Karol Bagh / Lajpat Nagar. Going around Mumbai during this trip and seeing places there, made me long to do a similar trip back home…in Delhi. Maybe I will sometime when I take my son around…skip the malls and the Cineplex’s…just like before….
There’s a lot more things I did in Mumbai…a lot of it pertaining to the wedding and therefore quite personal…which is why there’s no mention of it here. Phew…this is a rather long post. I wonder if anyone’s gonna read it all :-)… But hey I quite enjoyed writing. I haven’t written so much in a veryyyy long time!
Take Care & God Bless…
Ps: btw since I mentioned malls and my son. Welll every time we take him to play at the play pen at EDM … he yells all the way in the car “chalo chalo ‘mere mall’ mei chalo!!” And if we’re taking him to Metropolitan in Gurgaon (where my in laws are), he yells “chalo chalo siddhu ke mall chalo!!” (Sid is his cousin there!) …Lolzz… I wish malls sahi mei apne hotey!
And oh yess…this space has been lucky for me coz it helped me get in touch with a long lost friend…if u read my blog on my days in Assam, u’ll see I’ve mentioned him… Mohit. I just talked to him like an hour back…and I’m just really happy and excited about this!
And lastly, I saw Bluffmaster recently and I was quite excitedly pointing out places I’d been to in Mumbai…he he he…I did some thing like that last when I watched “while you were sleeping” (the one with Sandra bullock)…after a trip to Chicago!
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