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averageindiangirlwanders-blog · 7 years ago

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How I visited more than 10 places in a day in Mumbai

This was the longest and the never-ending day in Mumbai. Thus, this blog post is going to be a long one. Please, bear with me.

I went to:-

Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount (Mount Mary Church)

Bandra Fort

Bandstand and Mannat

Linking road and Theobrama

The Gateway of India

Nariman point, Marine drive

Le 15 café

Colaba Causeway market

The Asiatic library

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (VT station)

Bandra-Worli sea link

Bombay breeze café

Yes, I saw all of these things in a single day. Not because I had time constraint or I was impatient, but there are a few things in Mumbai which you would enjoy the most at night. And, Colaba Causeway market, CST station is one of them. And considering the places I wanted to see and things I wanted to do, I planned it in a very organized way. (Self-impressed)

MOUNT MARY BASILICA, Bandra (1 P.M.)

To reach here, I de-boarded at Bandra station and took a local auto. It is approximately 2.5 km. away. I had studied for 12 years in a convent school and we used to go to the chapel every day. As we grew up, it became difficult to spare some time to go to a church, and this church made me nostalgic and Mother Mary knows how many mixed feeling I was experiencing at that time. The church was truly a feast to the eye. The church has a beautiful and serene interior. It was very peaceful in there. It was truly like coming back home to your mother and finding that internal peace you were seeking for.

I really liked the paintings of various instances of mother Mary’s life on the interior walls of the church. Apart from the beautiful, wooden statue of Mother Mary, what got my attention was the marble sculpture of the last supper by Jesus Christ. This Last Supper is finely detailed and is a must see for visitors.

Bandra fort (2 P.M.)

I walked down for the Bandra fort. It is located at Land’s End in Bandra, and took me 5-7 minutes to reach there. The first reaction for the Bandra fort Garden was that it was a “Lovers’ park”, as we may call in Delhi lingo, because I just saw couples hugging, leaning, kissing and making out behind the trees, on the stairs and just everywhere. Moving forward, I entered the fort and saw the huge stairs and I quickly recognized that many scenes were shot in different movies on this location. I liked the spots from where I could see the Worli-Bandra sealink. It is a good place to relax at. I quickly video called my mom and showed her the place. At one side, you can take advantage of the sea, another side, a nice view of the garden and the fort, and a clear view of the Bandra Worli Sea link. The view was amazing and it was very pleasing to sit by the bay looking at the sunset and listening to the waves, while cold breeze passes by.

Bandstand and Mannat (02:30)

Bandstand is around 1 km. away from Bandra fort. It is like a long walkway along the sea giving a beautiful view.

And not forgetting the elite and glamorous neighborhood.

Yes, if you are Shahrukh sir’s follower, his house Mannat is right opposite this place. After taking a stroll of the Bandstand I decided took move to the next destination and also saw Galaxy apartments where Salman Khan lives, just 1 km away. Well, they had a tough luck meeting me, as I was on a tight schedule. Just Kidding.

Linking Road and The Theobrama (03 P.M.)

I Reached the Linking road by an Auto. This is the main shopping hub in Mumbai. On both sides of the road, there are a number of shops, a mixture of departmental stores, brand outlets, roadside cart stalls and regular shops selling items like shoes, belts, textiles, readymade garments and food items. (Basically, Mumbai ka Sarojini Nagar Market). Since I don’t like shopping, but love to eat, I went into the Theobrama. The decor is nice with a limited seating. I ordered vegetarian mushroom sandwich, red velvet cupcake and macron. However, they serve wide range of sandwiches, croissants, Rolls, cupcakes, pastries, mousse, tea, coffee and some more stuff. The staff was very delightful.

Must have – Red velvet cupcakes/pastries.

I again headed out to check my shopping skills but I truly don’t like to shop so I decided to head to my next place. I think, it is a good place for shopaholics, not for shopaHATEOLICS like me. Definitely, it was not worth spending more of my time. There are other places which are much attractive than this.

The Gateway of India (05 P.M.)

I took a taxi for Bandra station as I was not getting any local autos. For the Gateway, I De-boarded at the Church gate railway Station, and took a local taxi to reach there. I explored the place a bit and then I was accompanied by my Massi (relative). We took a ferry ride from the Gateway; it was ₹80 per person and the ₹20 per person extra, if you would like to take the upper deck seats. It was a short pleasure Ferry boat ride in the sea. We got the view of Mumbai port and the numerous ships that dock there. The best part of the ride was when we were feeding the seagulls, and they were so close to us. It was happening experience.

After the boat ride, we explored more of the Gateway of India. Opposite the gateway, stands the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and another statue in vicinity of the monument is that of Swami Vivekananda.

We clicked lots of pictures there, sat for a little while and then moved on.

Must – take a ferry ride.

Nariman Point (07 P.M.)

I remembered this place from the movie, Munnabhai MBBS and I wanted to see those special shaped rocks. We took a taxi for the place and sat on the rocks closest to the sea. The sky in the evening was blazing with the orange and pink calmness in itself. We were singing songs there when we were called to come out of the rocks by the police official. They don’t let anyone sit on the rock in the dark. We were then accompanied by a friend of my massi and he was such an interesting person to talk to. He told that he was a nerd and shared so many interesting stories about Mumbai. He is a Mumbaikar and truly knew the city at heart, he could actually tell the ditch and corner of the city. He told me that each of these tetrapods weigh around 2 tons and this place has appx. 6000 of these, each costing ₹6000 or so.

We enjoyed ourselves there for around 1-2 hours before moving.

Le15 Café Colaba (08:45 P.M.)

This is a classic Italian/French café. We ordered Truffle Tagliatelle, Burrata, lemonade with Jasmine syrup, sea-salt macaroons, egg-less Chocolate cake and Elderflower lemonade (soda). This was the first time that I was having French dishes so I’d not say that I really loved it but it was nice. The lemonade with Jasmine syrup was tasty. I really liked the jasmine syrup twist in the lemonade. The fragrance and that distinct flavor of jasmine were making me drink it more. What we absolutely loved was the egg-less Chocolate cake. It was a chocolate cake layered with chocolate ganache; a chocolate heaven for me.

Colaba Causeway Market (09:30 P.M.)

This is a commercial street market. The market closes by 10 at night. And I, not being a shopaholic; it just was the best for me. However, I did purchase few Fridge magnets for my friends. Apart from the showrooms and small shops, it has numerous small shops and footpath outlets selling everything from artifacts to shawls, carpets and minor antiques to slippers of all kind, which makes it the Lajpat Nagar of Mumbai. The sellers were adamant on the prices so I’d say that either the scope of bargaining is a little less as compared to the linking road market or it was just a bad time to bargain.

We were a bit tired

We anyway had to a taxi for Bandra-Worli Sea link

Thus, we took a taxi from the market for the rest of the places. We asked the driver to halt the taxi at the places we’d like to explore and he happily agreed (of course he would, his money making meter would still be running)

The Asiatic Society of Mumbai (10:30 P.M.)

I wanted to see this because of its white gigantic pillars, giving it a presentation of a royal court of any Bollywood movie (obsessed with Bollywood). I could not see it from the inside as the library was closed for renovation. Anyway it was late for any library to be opened for public. There were people sitting on the stairs. I also quickly posed for some pictures sat in our taxi and moved.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) formerly known as Victoria Terminus (VT station or CST)(10:50 P.M.)

One would think why anyone would want to visit a railway station of a new unexplored city and that to in the night. My massi told me that the best time to see CST is in the evening. And people, this architectural landmark didn’t look like a station to me at all. It looked like a fort, a fort presenting the city. The lighting were glorifying the beauty more. It is the finest railway station I have ever seen. It was magnificently lit at night.

FYI, this station has been the location of filming the “Jai Ho” song in Slumdog Millionaire; and Ra.One.

And right opposite is the Municipal Corporation building (BMC building). It is also known as the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation Building. It is similar in style and worth the look and the photography. There is a safe staged area in front of the CSMT and the BMC building where people can easily click pictures.

Bandra – Worli Sea link (11:15 P.M.)

THIS IS WHAT I WAS EXCITED ABOUT AND WAITING FOR THE WHOLE TIME. INDIA HAS A SEA LINK. We were in the taxi; windows were down, riding above the sea, cool wind, huge towers and thick ropes above us. It is an architectural marvel of India. I was wondering this 5-6 Km drive, late in the night with friends, would me so much fun. I cannot describe the feeling of experiencing the moment you were waiting for.

The Sea link is not accessible to pedestrians; two-wheeled cycles and three-wheeled vehicles are prohibited as well, so you would have to take a taxi to drive through here.

Bombay Breeze Café (1 A.M.)

We were feeling hungry when we reached home, so we freshened up and took a taxi to the café, in Andheri West. It is a rooftop café, has an open bar, live sports screening, hookah, board games. I had been to some bars, restaurants, cafes now in Mumbai, but I loved the look and the ambiance of this open house café. It had this youthful vibe, not-so-loud not-so-dim perfect music. We sat on the sofa sitting as it gave us some privacy. We ordered cheese balls and some drinks. The staff was courteous and friendly. The food was crunchy-munchy delicious and the mojito was relieving too. We had a cool time there.

It was a 16-17 hours amazingly beautiful and enjoyable day. I wished I could have seen few places in not-a-rush time, but not at all complaining. Because to spend more time, I might have to come here early in day’s time and I’d rather not in such hot weather.

However, there are still few places unexplored, so I will visit this city again soon, but in some other season.

Lovely. Excellent. Long. Exploring Day.

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