Travel Diary: A day well spent in Mumbai

Roaming in Mumbai like a Nomad

Disclaimer:- If you are expecting something extraordinary, Please don't read further as it is damn ordinary a way to build life time memories without going beyond the city limits.

Place- Mumbai

It was the eve before the EID holiday and I wondered what to do. Luckily, I asked a friend and she suggested that I can go to meditation centre or amusement park.  She encouraged me to treat myself with fun and eat heartily. It was her idea to try a new restaurant and have my favorite food. Her  ideas really inspired to make the holiday a memorable one.

So, I asked my friend cum roommate to go on a fun outing that night. He asked me to plan and I told that we are going to experience and build memories. The vision was clear but we had no missions, no targets. I wanted to roam like a nomad and really I did that. So, glad to share the experience with all of you.

We decided to keep our plans flexible and not to over plan so we decided that we would tentatively go to Haji Ali ( Dargah of a Saint) , Mahalaxmi Temple, Chor Bazar ( Good for buying antique items) , Dhobi Ghat, Dharavi (biggest slum of Asia- lots of cottage industries are there and it’s a place worth a visit). Also, we decided to try new restaurants and would not mind going to far off places just to experience tasty food at new restaurants and build memories.

We shortlisted Cafe Mysore and Madras Cafe for Breakfast in Matunga and we thought that we would have lunch at Stadium at Church Gate.

Now, when we left our flat at around 10 AM and went to a nearby temple which is just in front of our apartment’s gate. It was strange to know that my friend who worships twice a day has never been to that temple and he is staying in the same area for last 7 years.

I went to that temple for a few times on special occasions like when my parents came, on my birthday, on getting appraisal and things like that. Really, we take things which are around us for granted. We carve to go to far off places and realize that the locality where we live is unexplored. Same goes for people, there are times, we often tend to forget people who are with us always like our siblings, parents, etc and we keep chasing and pleasing everyone but them.

We went to Matunga by Local train and then we walked toward our shortlisted restaurant, Café Mysore. 

On the way we stopped at two Ganesh Mandap and enjoyed it. Also, I saw an artist who was making the idol of Lord Shiva, Maa Parvati and Ganesh ji. I wanted to talk to him but he didn’t knew Hindi or English and I didn’t knew Tamil. We spoke by sign language and I took the photos and thanked him. I appreciated his ongoing work by showing my thumb up and he responded with his smile.

Pic-An Artist making statue

The Café Mysore has a tiny entrance and it looked like “Khoda Pahad nikli Chuhiya” (Dig Mountain to find a mouse). But, trust me the experience was awesome. The Rawa Masala Dosa we ordered was awesome and the sambhar was a class. It was one of the best that I have ever eaten.  The restaurant claims it to be really old and it’s a delight.

And, Filter coffee was awesome. My Mangalorean Friend was showing me how to drink it like a Pro :P

Then we went to Haji Ali and Mahalaxmi temple. 

Pic: The road to Haji Ali which in in the sea. Wow!

The Mahalaxmi Temple had long queue and we were a bit tired so we skipped that and went to a Ganesh Mandap that was awesome. Its theme was “Beti Padhao Beti Bachao” (Save girl child and educate her). The decoration of the Mandap was done with the thermocol art work with beautiful quotes and art work. I was full of energy by seeing all that.

We were so thirsty that we drank lemon water, cold drinks in excess. When I am in office, I don’t realize what thirst is. Really travelling teaches and makes us experience many things. We took rest in a Temple which has benches to sit. It is a good feeling to stay inside a less crowded temple.
We went to Churchgate and there we first strolled to Aquarium. It was a tiring walk as the sun was on our head. But, we wanted to experience to walk rather than taking a taxi (you know Vitamin D :P). In the Aquarium, the long queue for ticket was moving at a snail’s pace. Finally, after a wait of half an hour, we got the tickets.

The aquarium was worth the visit. There were different kinds of fishes in different glass aquariums. The best thing was that the fishes were kept in an environment that resembled their natural habitat. It was a treat to the eyes. It made me realizes that there are many things to learn and experience in this world. The aquatic life is so amazing. All look so different from each other, Horse Fish, Snake Fish, Ribbon Fish, were just some new name added to my dictionary.

After that, rather than dining at any of the good restaurants in South Mumbai, we went to Sion to relish our favorite Tandoori chicken at a Punjabi Restaurant. But, I was duped by the taxi driver and I was poorer by 800 bucks by the dirty trick used by him (Read here How a taxi Driver duped me and made my day memorable?).

We feasted on our favorite items and enjoyed the meal. We came back to our place by 10:30 PM. It was a 12 hour slot full of fun, thrill, adventure, betrayal, happiness, randomness, craziness, etc.

You don't need lots of money to be happy. All this costed 1000 bucks for two people. It was another thing that I lost 800 bucks to white collared robbers.  It was thought provoking, inspiring and real. I wanted to make this a memorable day and I was successful in doing so. It feels great!
 
You don't have to do different things but you can do things differently to make them memorable and interesting. 

Yes, it was outside the comfort zone ( Travelling in Local Trains, walking for 2-3 kms in sun, talking to strangers, finding beauty in small things are all out of my comfort zone) Thanks for your time!