The City that never Sleeps - Mumbai Masala

Alive and buzzing with the energy of over a million residents, Mumbai formerly Bombay, the Indian city that never sleeps draws in the first time visitor in more ways than one. Well I have been to this fabulous city several times. But this time I got to act as a Tour guide to my friends who were visiting the city for the first time as a tourist.

The home of Bollywood and the financial capital; Mumbai is India’s most important city and the 14th largest city in the World.

This metropolis is called home by a vast array of different people from many different backgrounds and cultures. A true melting pot; a visit here will immerse you deep into a chaotic world, full of excitement and new experiences.

Here are our travel experience of two days stay at this amazing city.

To start we stayed at a friends place in Navi Mumbai which is an extremely well-planned township of Mumbai and is gaining popularity in recent times.

The special mention will be for the Rains in Mumbai since we visited this city in this Rainy season. We were almost blown over by the rains (literally) and we could hardly hold our umbrellas which was not providing much help.

1. Local trains : The travel to main Mumbai city from any suburb is best done through the local trains. These trains are called as the Life Lines of Mumbai. We took the Panvel-CST local to reach CST station on first day. CST is one of the busiest train stations in India so plan carefully if you need to use this form of transport at any time. Travelling at rush hour is not recommended as it normally gets chaotically busy during these time.

CST Station

Bandra Station

2.  Sight Seeing:  As with any large city, Mumbai has a great deal of options for spending your time (and money). I took my friends to these popular places in the time crunch we had.

Gateway of India: First up a visit to Mumbai would not be complete without a visit to the Gateway of India. This magnificent arch commonly referred to as the Taj Mahal of Mumbai was the first thing that many visitors to India ever saw; now it is certainly one of the finer attractions in this city. Built in 1924, this grand building is not a bad way to start your tour. So I took my friends to this historical monument. You can easily get a taxi to Gateway of India from CST station.

Gateway of India

The Taj Hotel: Yes you heard it right. This Taj Mahal Palace hotel is also a tourist attraction. It is five-star hotel in the Colaba region next to Gateway of India and owned by the Tata group.

Marine Drive: Known world over as Marine Drive, this tourist spot has also been called Sonapur by the locals of the city. Large crowds of people come to this place to stride along the beautiful walkway and to view the stunning sight of the setting sun at dusk treating your eyes to the majestic Arabian Sea. Marine Drive is also referred to as 'Queen's necklace'. The end of this path is Nariman Point and is one of the posh areas of Mumbai.

Marine Drive

Bandra Worli Sea Link: Spanning across the arc of Mumbai's coastline, this sea link is a civil engineering wonder that reflects the modern infrastructure of the city of Mumbai. It is easy to reach the link from either side of it. Bandra serves as the nearest bus depot (2km) and Bandra Railways Station serves as the nearest railway station (5 km) to the link. Other than that taxi and auto-rickshaws are also easily available. Just for a word of caution you cannot stop your vehicle at this bridge so please abide by laws.

Bandra Worli Sea Link

Street Shopping at Colaba Causeway market and Linking Road in Bandra: If you are bunch of girls you should not miss the street shopping at these markets. These markets are in the heart of the city and has diverse items like jewelleries, bags, shoes, and so much more.

The Mannat: Yes, my friend is a crazy fan of bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan and she told me she won’t leave Mumbai unless she sees his House. So I took her to the famous Maratha Mandir where the movie DDLJ still runs even after 21 years of its release. And of course Day 2 was spent around Bandra in places like Bandstand, Pali Hill, Carter Road etc. just to see the famous Bollywood's actor's houses. 



Shahrukh Khan's House

I could only do justice to these many places amidst the time crunch my friends had and the extraordinary Rains all over.

Apart from these places I had previously visited to Haji Ali Dargah, Hanging gardens, The famous Leopold Café, Juhu Beach etc, on my earlier visit to the City.

3. Mumbai Food: Food n Mumbai is rather unusual compared to other cities in India; when visiting another Indian city you can expect to try unique local dishes featuring flavours that are not so prevalent elsewhere. Whereas in Mumbai, many of the popular dishes have their own take on the local cuisine of other areas that have been modified and sometimes transformed. The must try foods are Vada Pav, Keema Pav, Kanda Bhajiya, Chicken Frankies, Kebas and Chicken Tikka Roll at Bademiya, Kolhapuri Mutton, PuranPoli, Pao Bhaji, Dabeli, Brun maska and other Parsi and Iranian dishes, the list continues..


Source: Google

My friends were very impressed with the awesome Kebas we had at Bademiya. A glorified open-air kitchen on wheels, Bademiya sits in a backstreet directly behind the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. Waiters in red aprons appear from a cloud of smoke and hand over plastic menus, but the chicken tikka rolls and kebabs are the best option.

Well this was it for our two days stay here in this City of Dreams. Mumbai has an infectious energy and everyone is always running after something be it after Trains or their dreams. The mix of culture and tradition in this part of the country is tremendous, which makes the life in Mumbai stand out amongst other metropolitan cities in India

Until next time to Mumbai.

Big Love!

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