I fulfilled one of my long desired fantasies last weekend – that of being a guide to Mumbai J
I had quite some colleagues (ladies to be precise) in Mumbai for the first time and of course all of them wanted to go around the city, shop, - basically experience Mumbai.
Mumbai offers something for everyone. We do not have historic monuments a plenty which most Delhities can boast about, but we do have some really interesting things that you can do here.
Revel in history with a walk around colaba (churchgate), Victoria Terminus station and the Gateway of India. Experience majestic, heritage structures being put to modern age commercial use. The place is a treat for photographers, sea lovers, people watchers and architects.
There is a café which features in my must see lists - café mondegar. The café heralds the beginning of the colaba causeway. A beer café with an old style jukebox, a must see place even if you don’t drink beer. The place has an airconditioned bar inside – I have never been inside. Sit outside and enjoy an evening of vibrant atmosphere, great music and the clutter and chaos typical to Mumbai.
Pump up your adrenaline with a speed boat ride at H2O near Girgaum Chowpaty. This is right next to Salt water grill and also offers other exhilarating water sports like Jet ski, parasailing etc.
For a more relaxing ride, take the colaba cruise from the Gateway of India. This is a 30 minutes ride in a ferry with locals. Take the ride towards twilight and you will amazed to find how beautiful chaos can be.
For the flea market shopalcoholic, the colaba causeway aka colaba flea market is the best place for a great bargain. Shop for trinkets, artifacts (you even get old world, working gramophones here), woolen stoles, trendy footwear, bags, casual clothes here. A bargaining tip – Start with 50% of the cost informed by the shopkeeper. You never know, you might just get the stuff in that rate. I have bought stuff like that.
For beautiful sterling silver trinkets shop at Curios. This shop is just across Café Mondegar. It is run by a friendly Gujarati Uncle who will give you a discount if asked for.
A huge footwear and trinket market awaits you at Bandra Linking Road. Get the latest footwear for as low as 100 rupees. Don’t expect them to last longer than a couple of months. Look at the brighter side – you can wear new footwear after every three months ;).
Looking for a classier place to shop. Hit the Lower Parel Phoenix Mills or Inorbit Mall at Malad. There is a shop called In Touch in Inorbit Mall. This one sells only bags. You will be amazed by the sheer number of designs on offer. Browse through Bandhej, AND (yes, that’s the name of a shop) and Rhu stores in Phoenix Mills for ethnic clothes in cotton.
If you do not like touristry places try these. Dhobitalao – a huge washing place right outside Marine Lines station, Chor bazaar – you can find any kind of antique here for peanuts (I have never been here till date), Zaveri bazaar – A precious jewelery bazaar where you can find any kind of precious jewellery for less.
This is the way I would enjoy Mumbai. Let me know how would you!
Technorati Tags: Dhobitalao, Colaba, Bandra, VT
