Our dream to visit the commercial capital of India was realised on Oct 2015. Landed at Mumbai early morning. The first appearance of the city looked like the mixture of both Delhi and Chennai. Our cab driver so obsessed with ‘bollywood stars’ never missed an opportunity to show us the celebrity apartments. He started with Amitab’s new house ‘Jalsa’ and ended with King of Bollywood Sharukh Khan’s ‘Mannat’. We visited the beautiful Bandra beach which is just opposite to Sharukh’s apartment. Mumbai’s Sea-link is very amazing. We were excited to see such a lengthy bridge in the middle of the sea connecting Western Mumbai to South Mumbai.It is really an engineering marvel. I am surprised to know that the sea-link reduces travel time between Bandra and Worli during peak hours from 60-90 minutes to 20-30 minutes.
Chatrapathi Shivaji Terminal transported us to the colonial era and also reminded us the painful events of 26/11. The passengers were running for cover when terrorists started firing, is still lingering in my memory. Visited Siddhi Vinayak temple, city’s oldest and richest temple. This temple being visited frequently by politicians and bollywood stars.
The Gate way of India, is historic structure facing the sea, is the reminder of British Raj. It has become Mumbai’s favourite tourist destination. Plenty of photographers are roaming around here. The Elephanta Caves are located very close to the Gateway of India, and tourists can travel on motor boats to reach the Elephanta Islands. Statues of the Maratha leader Shivaji and Swami Vivekananda are installed at the entrance of the Elephanta Caves. The view of Taj hotel and Gate of India from the boat while travelling to Elephanta caves was stunning.
The Taj Mahal Hotel is India’s most prestigious and luxurious hotel and is situated close to the Gateway of India. Taj hotel is photographers delight. Tourists never move away from here without taking few snaps having Taj on the background. 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. The scenic beauty of the perfectly lined palm trees offers its visitors an enthralling experience.
Marine Drive is also referred to as ‘Queen’s necklace’, because the street lights make the road look like a string of pearls and create an illusion of a necklace, when viewed at night from any elevated point along the pathway of the drive.In the evening lot of people come here and enjoy the see breeze and also for relaxation.
We visited Chowpatty Beach, which is famous for its bazaars and meals. Hundreds of salesmen walk across the beach to sell different varieties of items. Fast food and snacks such as Bhel Puri, Paav Bhaji, etc are available here. People just come here in the evening and spend their time by roaming in the beach and enjoy street food.