Day 1:
Being from the holiest city on the planet, Varanasi, there has always been an inclination towards Religious Sites, with that in mind, I wanted to cover the most famous religious sites of the city. From Malad Station, I boarded a local, and it was like some other thing. The huge rush, indifference among rich and poor was striking. People were generally very helpful.
Dadar was the first stop. Asking for directions, I reached Siddhi-Vinayak Mandir. It looked beautiful, there was some rush due to holidays, but never mind. The Ganpati idol awe-strucked me. The blessings were taken, I sat for sometime trying to take a feel of the place. The mantra's, chants were on, and it was the closest I felt to home for 6 months, it was relaxing. Next was Mahalakshmi or the goddess of wealth. It is said that Mumbai is blessed by two Goddesses-Mahalakshmi and Mumba Devi. I took the blessings, and then was the main attraction of the day, Haji Ali. Reaching there was not easy, as the first bus that I boarded took me to the wrong direction, somehow I reached there. To reach there, one needs to cross a roughly 1 km foot-bridge, with Arabian Sea on both sides, the winds were extra-ordinary, the place was calm, the famous Bombay crows were there wandering. I offered my prayers, and decided to sit around. Looking at the Arabian Sea, with many distant High-Rise buildings, I was in a different zone all-together. The waves hitting the rocks repeatedly making that sweet sound, occasional water sprays, sun settling in, people offering prayers, it is impossible to worry about anything, one is bound to be contented and just be in the moment.
The sun was settling down, and it was time to depart from there, never knew an hour and half passed by. With a calmer mind, I moved to the next place - Gateway of India. Given to the Britishers, as part of dowry, its a beautiful monument. I boarded a cab, cruising through Nariman Point and Marine Drive, watching big sky-scrappers on the left, mighty Arabian Sea on the right, and beautifully-lit streets was exhilarating. I reached GOI, standing tall in glory, lit with pinkish-bluish colors.
After this was a very famous ferry-ride. It costed a mere 70 bucks for 30 minutes ride, without a doubt, I was on the boat. Although it was dark, but seeing the glowing city from the sea was worth it. On the ride, I met a guy, who wanted a get a snap for his son. We started off talking, and he told some stories about how people lives have changes oernight in Bombay. By the end of the ride, I made a great friend in him. Fayaz, if you are reading this, on my next visit, we'll definitely have that Tea :). Adjacent to it, was the majestic Taj Hotel glowing like a champion. Royal-ness was pouring from every inch of the place. It is said that JRD Tata (the founder of Taj Group) was once declined entry in some British Hotel which had a board saying "No Dogs, and No Indians", infuriated he decided to start his own hotel, and soon the entire clientele of that British place was shifted to Taj. It had to happen sooner or later, as this is the glorious Taj we are talking about. Today, that British hotel is in ruins, with its 1st floor occupied mostly by lawyers due to its proximity to Bombay High Court, and Mantralaya.
I started walking around the place, and the place had a great Victorian feel to it. Be it the British-styled buildings, roads, or the richness pouring from the place. With big-foreign-branded cars around, super-fashionable youth, it never felt as if one is in India, it was more like one is in London. Strolling around the area, I passed an old building when I heard a Hardwell track being played, and I was like WTF, where is it coming from. Turned out, it was an old building, renovated into a pub with a trippy name "Colaba Social". Taking a peek into the place, beautiful girls celebrating the weekend, I continued with the journey, after having some very-Mumbai'an Franky, fully exhausted, I came back to Churchgate station, from where I had to board my local. Finally reached home, told my experiences to my folks, and seeing their amused faces was the best thing, as they thought I was mad to travel solo. Following a light dinner, and planning an outline for the next day, it was sleeping time.
Being from the holiest city on the planet, Varanasi, there has always been an inclination towards Religious Sites, with that in mind, I wanted to cover the most famous religious sites of the city. From Malad Station, I boarded a local, and it was like some other thing. The huge rush, indifference among rich and poor was striking. People were generally very helpful.
Dadar was the first stop. Asking for directions, I reached Siddhi-Vinayak Mandir. It looked beautiful, there was some rush due to holidays, but never mind. The Ganpati idol awe-strucked me. The blessings were taken, I sat for sometime trying to take a feel of the place. The mantra's, chants were on, and it was the closest I felt to home for 6 months, it was relaxing. Next was Mahalakshmi or the goddess of wealth. It is said that Mumbai is blessed by two Goddesses-Mahalakshmi and Mumba Devi. I took the blessings, and then was the main attraction of the day, Haji Ali. Reaching there was not easy, as the first bus that I boarded took me to the wrong direction, somehow I reached there. To reach there, one needs to cross a roughly 1 km foot-bridge, with Arabian Sea on both sides, the winds were extra-ordinary, the place was calm, the famous Bombay crows were there wandering. I offered my prayers, and decided to sit around. Looking at the Arabian Sea, with many distant High-Rise buildings, I was in a different zone all-together. The waves hitting the rocks repeatedly making that sweet sound, occasional water sprays, sun settling in, people offering prayers, it is impossible to worry about anything, one is bound to be contented and just be in the moment.
The sun was settling down, and it was time to depart from there, never knew an hour and half passed by. With a calmer mind, I moved to the next place - Gateway of India. Given to the Britishers, as part of dowry, its a beautiful monument. I boarded a cab, cruising through Nariman Point and Marine Drive, watching big sky-scrappers on the left, mighty Arabian Sea on the right, and beautifully-lit streets was exhilarating. I reached GOI, standing tall in glory, lit with pinkish-bluish colors.
After this was a very famous ferry-ride. It costed a mere 70 bucks for 30 minutes ride, without a doubt, I was on the boat. Although it was dark, but seeing the glowing city from the sea was worth it. On the ride, I met a guy, who wanted a get a snap for his son. We started off talking, and he told some stories about how people lives have changes oernight in Bombay. By the end of the ride, I made a great friend in him. Fayaz, if you are reading this, on my next visit, we'll definitely have that Tea :). Adjacent to it, was the majestic Taj Hotel glowing like a champion. Royal-ness was pouring from every inch of the place. It is said that JRD Tata (the founder of Taj Group) was once declined entry in some British Hotel which had a board saying "No Dogs, and No Indians", infuriated he decided to start his own hotel, and soon the entire clientele of that British place was shifted to Taj. It had to happen sooner or later, as this is the glorious Taj we are talking about. Today, that British hotel is in ruins, with its 1st floor occupied mostly by lawyers due to its proximity to Bombay High Court, and Mantralaya.
I started walking around the place, and the place had a great Victorian feel to it. Be it the British-styled buildings, roads, or the richness pouring from the place. With big-foreign-branded cars around, super-fashionable youth, it never felt as if one is in India, it was more like one is in London. Strolling around the area, I passed an old building when I heard a Hardwell track being played, and I was like WTF, where is it coming from. Turned out, it was an old building, renovated into a pub with a trippy name "Colaba Social". Taking a peek into the place, beautiful girls celebrating the weekend, I continued with the journey, after having some very-Mumbai'an Franky, fully exhausted, I came back to Churchgate station, from where I had to board my local. Finally reached home, told my experiences to my folks, and seeing their amused faces was the best thing, as they thought I was mad to travel solo. Following a light dinner, and planning an outline for the next day, it was sleeping time.
