Mumbai beckons - Part 2

 We visited India's city of Dreams, Mumbai over the Dusshera celebrations in October. You can get a glimpse of our first three days here.

Day 4 - This day was dedicated to a bit of indulgence. Went for some artisanal bakery items and great coffee at Suchali's. Next we checked out from our cute little airbnb and went to visit Jio World Drive. It was a great experience to see a relatively empty mall as it was a weekday. It had some great international brands and a a very exquisite food court. The decor was very tastefully done. We stopped and spend some time at the apple store and then bid adieu. Next we checked into our hotel Sun n Sand by the Juhu beach. It had a very calming effect and the service was as expected from a reputed hotel. The room was spacious and the in-room dining  experience was great. In the afternoon we walked to the Juhu beach to see the sunset had some beach side delicacies.   Late in the evening we ventured out to sample some Mumbai famous vada-pav. We called it a night after a scrumptious dinner at Alfredo's.

Day 5 - After a great night's sleep, we headed to the breakfast buffet at Aqua Sun n Sand. They had a great spread that included delicacies from all around the world. I thoroughly enjoyed the egg benedict that the chefs prepared from the live counter. As an added bonus, I also got to meet some Bollywood actors at the breakfast table. Next we headed to Juhu Iskcon temple for aarti and Bhog. Well, we came to an end of our 4 day gateway and headed back to airport to catch our return flight. 

Mumbai beckons

ipsita_be 

We decided to travel to Mumbai during Durga Puja holidays. I was visiting Mumbai for the first time as an adult. It was a quickly planned short trip, that included pandal scouting, celebrity spotting , day outs, cafe hangouts, beaches, ferries as well as some work!

Day 1 - We reached around 6 pm and checked in to our airbnb at  Bandra. Witnessed a very well planned interiors of a small 1BHK. Space is crazy small but it had everything ( mostly from IKEA) that's required for a comfortable stay. Had a pit stop at Punjab Lassi House and headed to Bandra Durga Puja. Enjoyed a bit of dhunuchi naach, followed by baul songs. Gorged on some lip smacking sweets (mishti) and had Mumbai style paanipoori for dinner. It was yummy!! Too tired for the night and we crashed.

Day 2 – We started early morning towards Bandra fort only to find it closed for next six months. Moving on, we spotted actor Shah Rukh Khan’s residence, Salman Khans apartment right opposite to Bandra Band stand. We took a sea side stroll and made our way back to Boojee café for breakfast. We went to Siddhi Vinayak temple, followed by celebrity backed Puja in North Bombay and making a stop at Ramakrishna Mission Math, Khar. Had some great pav-bhaaji at Khao-piyo before enjoying a sunset at joggers park. In the evening went street shopping to Linking Road and had great dinner at Khow Chow restaurant.

Day 3 - It was Dusserra, and we headed to Gateway of India after having a Mumbaikar's breakfast at Goodluck cafe. We took a ferry ride to Elephanta caves and spent the afternoon marveling at the sculptures. Evening we headed to the iconic Leopold cafe for some Mumbai masala sandwich. Enjoyed a cool breezy evening by Nariman point and witnessed how the skyline and queens necklace road glittered up. For dinner we went to Fresh catch by Francis, and it was worth the one hour wait. It was a long and tiring but a very enjoyable day.

Day 4 & 5 - coming soon.........