Mumbai!

After Goa, flew to Mumbai just for the weekend. It was my second visit to the city. The first was a flying visit just to attend a Dance Show and that was years back...more than 10 years. This time I vowed to see the city!

Flew in to the city, late Saturday evening, 3rd of Jan. Sunday morning, hired a car for the day and told the driver to show me around.

I had to of course visit the famous landmark of Mumbai, "The Gateway of India" which was undergoing massive renovation. The statue of Swami Vivekanand I spied at one corner in the area around the "The Gateway of India". From here motorboats were ferrying people to the Elephanta Caves. Would have loved to go to see the cave carvings but alone in that crowd I was not much up for it and so I skipped.

Nearby The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower Hotel looked real majestic. It is indeed an architectural marvel. Indeed very cruel that some bad elements had to blast a corner of it a couple of months back.

The Driver showed me other places of interests like the huge Lord Shivji's temple and Haji Ali another religious place but it was all from the outside that I saw. I couldn't have afforded to wait in the never ending queues! Being a Sunday the place was all the more crowded.

The next stop was to Bombay Chowpatty. A trip to Mumbai would be incomplete if one did not visit this famous beach in Mumbai. This is a beach for eating and not for anything else. The place is popular with all age groups. Food kiosks lines the entire length of the beach!

After Chowpatty, we drove past the mansions where the rich & the famous, the Bollywood Stars lived. The Driver reeled off names and pointed out who lived in it. There was Shahrukh Khan's "mannat", very appropraitely named for the beautiful place that he bought at an exorbitant price I believe. Somewhere along the way there was the place where Salman Khan lived!

Next, went to check a couple of the malls. Saw a whole lot of International Brands which was now available in India. I found a pretty blouse for myself!

Had planned to meet someone I knew...but then did not....could not get away....traffic... Mumbai people seem to be very busy and they seem to hate commuting. A little distance is very far! Came back to the hotel and my friend from Delhi called to join them... but then I was not going to be travelling in the middle of night in a taxi, all alone. I have had a long day touring Mumbai and the next day I was flying back to Delhi!