Oh Mumbai.. Why So Beautiful??

Isn't Mumbai called the city of Dreams?? or is it a city of Freedom?? or is it something else?? Whatever, my words won't do justice. 

This post is a collection of photos taken across Mumbai and is a token of love to one of the beautiful cities I have been to so far ..

So let me take you through some snaps..

This is one of the most photographed building in India, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT). There are many good things done by British when they came to India, one of such deeds was construction of architectural beauties and adorable streets. Sometimes when looking at the Mumbai streets, I was like 'Am I in a foreign country ???'. Most of the buildings here are in European style architecture and cars are orderly parked on the sideways as we see in English movies.

Gothic architecture never fails to impress me. Here too. Sometime back I remember visiting one of the largest Gothic church and a palace built in this style in Telangana.

With all the lighting and high end ceiling, we never feel the packed up crowd in this railway station. I wish I could go back and do a heritage walk there.. 

And opposite to the Victoria terminus in the junction stands up the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) (check the first image). How lucky are these government officers to work inside these marvelous structures.

Mumbai mein street food nahi Khayega tho kya khayega?? hei na?? 

Try out Pav bhaji, Vada pav, Pani puri, Bhel puri, Batata vada... Its an unending list of street foods..

Next time on my visit, ice cream sandwich and Vodka panipuri are on the list. Have you tried any of these?? If you know other yummy special street food in Mumbai, let me know pleaaaaseee..

Leopold Cafe , Mumbai

Leopold cafe and Mondegar cafe tops the chart of must do 'Bombay things'. It's a place where friends and families come to chill out or to have a conversation over a beer with continental dish. Don't forget to look at the paintings on the walls depicting the cool Mumbai life. 

Cafe Mondegar, Mumbai

And let me warn you, both the cafes were crowded when we went, hardly having gaps between seats and tables.

But the food here was amazing.

These cafes are in the Colaba Causeway. Colaba causeway is the best for street shopping, you will get anything like clothes, bags, shoes, jewellery, antiques, books and many things. Don't forget to bargain, if you are inn for the street shopping here.

Could you identify the place in the picture here?? Guess it before scrolling down.. No cheating please..😋

It's the Bandra-Worli Sea link. Did you guess it right??

This bridge connects the Mumbai's suburbs to South Mumbai. But to the sad note, stopping on the road and entry for pedestrians, 2 wheelers including cycle and three-wheelers are prohibited. Is it true that the length of steel wires if we put together used to construct this architectural marvel, will be long enough to cover the earths circumference?? 😱

If you have been to Hyderabad tourist attractions, you can see many shops lined up in the narrow roads crowding up and no space for peacefully enjoying the monuments. But in Mumbai the case is different. You can enjoy the Gateway of India and The Taj Hotel with ease. And at night, people enjoy the pleasant weather sitting on the embankment near the iconic monument. Still there is no thronged up crowd there..

Even in metro cities pigeons the symbol of peace is finding peace. And sometime back there was news that the population of pigeons were increasing here. It is a common sighting near the Taj Hotel, people taking pictures of doves eating out of their hands with the monuments at the background.

We went to the Haji Ali Dargah in a hope to hear the Qawwali, a devotional music. Dargah is built up on a small island which is connected to the road by a causeway. In times of high tide, the causeway which is built up on the sea becomes submerged and it will be inaccessible to the pilgrims. The walk to the shrine through the causeway was a different experience, with water splashing on us, though we couldn't experience Qawwali.

Why you need Ola and Uber when 'Kaali-peeli' cabs are everywhere. When you are in Mumbai nothing to worry about transportation as taxi cabs are available in every nook and corner of the city. And they run by meter. So no extra charging..

You can see no honking sign boards everywhere and people follow the same. No unnecessary horns. I wish people follow such good things in Hyderabad too(I know it's a long far dream 😔)..

How the Mumbai trip is complete without travelling in a Mumbai local train. Mumbaikars can't think of a life without these. And the expected crowd was absent on sunday when I took the train. So if you are first in the city, better to have the traveling in local experience either on sundays or non-peak hours. 

One of the many Sky scrappers through the windows of local train..

I had a very good experience in the train. While we were travelling, a transwoman entered into the compartment and as usual she began to bless people in return of money. A guy sitting opposite to me, was searching for money in his pockets, and got some coins, which looked like that was the only money he was probably having. She just smiled and left with an action 'rehen dho'. And many were not even caring she was there, still she was calm and polite, taking money from only who gave her. Things I heard about them were so untrue. Or in Mumbai it is this way??

And far away from the hustles and bustles, awaited the Elephanta Island. The cave temples here are recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It might be boring for someone who doesn't want to sit on a boat for a total of 2 hours to reach there and come back. But the time we visited was during monsoon and it was covered with all greenery making it pretty.

Scenes from Elephanta Island

Scenes from Elephanta Island

Mumbai have a handful of heritage sites and buildings and the perfect weekend getaways.

The automobile free hill station Matheran located on Sahyadri Mountain ranges is 80 KMs away from Mumbai. Monsoon trek over Sahyadri mountains is a must do in once lifetime. Though we got completely drenched in the rain, the view of green blankets and waterfalls from the mountain wiped out all the difficulties to trek over these muddy red laterite paths.

We were expecting huge crowd on buses, train and on roads as shown in Movies. But surprisingly in every lane and road, vehicles were going smooth... Is it because of our weekend trip?? Whatever the reason be, Mumbai had stolen a part of me.. 

So dreamy .. Mumbai is really the city of dreams.. Isn't it?

If you know other attractions or special food items in Mumbai let me know.. Definitely I will be visiting this pretty city again sometime soon...

Am stopping here with Lots of Love For Mumbai...  💓