Mumbai Life - Part 2

Mumbai is the India's most expensive city to live in. Mercer's 25th Annual Cost of Living Survey (Mercer is American HR Consulting firm) indicates Mumbai is among the top 20th most expensive cities in Asia.
Just to give you an idea - here a maid servant earns 25k on an average per month, also these people have their own flats in this city. After knowing this I was wondering why do at West Bengal we have so many engineering colleges. For those who are not able to connect between engineering college and the income level of the Mumbai maids, let me tell you an engineering fresher earns less than 25k in hand per month.
I was not only shocked but also in awe after listening to their stories. The secret to their wealth is:

In Mumbai, probably the easiest way to get ownership of a real estate is to live in a chawl. The reason being, a construction developer would evacuate the chawls for the purpose of building flats. Usually the developers come up with two types of flats at the same spot separated by boundary wall - one is for sell out purpose and the other one is called SRA where the chawl people are given flats to stay.
The chawl people mostly do not stay at these flats, rather they rent out these flats and stay at a different chawl.

Mumbai people know two things pretty well:
1. How to earn money
2. How to party harder

I will continue on the "money part" in my next blogs. For now lets look at the other side of Mumbai.

Talking about parties, Mumbai is a city which is full of pubs, night clubs, bars and restaurants. Most importantly, this city never sleeps, the shops never shut down. And this city is completely safe for a woman to travel, roam freely even post midnight.

If you are planning to visit Mumbai then you may cover the following:

  • Marine Drive - The most beautiful spot of Mumbai. If you have few hours to explore the city then probably this is the only place you should visit. Preferable time of visit - evening when you can watch the 'Queen's Necklace' - its a stretch of light along side the drive. People of different age groups spend time here either alone or with "the one" or with friends. Mumbai has been built at the coastal areas and this is the place where you get that vibe. You just need to sit at the Marine Drive do nothing, enjoy the sea breeze and watch the people as they take a stroll here or run or take their dogs for a walk here. Do not forget to have ice cream at Bachelors post midnight - one of the must do's in Mumbai.

         Thats's me in front of Taj Mahal Palace

  • Gateway of India - Through this spot the first British Monarch visited India. But this is not the reason why you should visit this place. This place is exactly beside the sea and the famous Hotel Taj Mahal Palace is just beside this. The Taj Mahal Palace is known for the terrorist attack on 26th Nov, 2008. Also there are famous age old restaurants which are worth a visit - Leopold Cafe (when the Mumbai attack took place in 2008, this was one of the first places that was targeted), Cafe Mondegar (the inner walls of this restaurant was painted by the famous Indian cartoonist Mario Miranda) and Bademiyan (it is an iconic restaurant, established in 1946 and though it is known for its seek kebab, I personally like the "Mutton bheja fry dish" that they serve). Leopold cafe and Cafe Mondegar are 'the' places to hang out with friends and you may try out going on dates or all alone to Bademiyan, the cost of eating is pretty low.

         Gateway of India on the eve of Independence Day
  • Elephanta caves - There are ferries from Gateway which will take you to this island sort of place in an hour. Once you get down from the ferry you may take a toy train ride or walk upto the actual cave stairs. There are 125 stairs to the caves and on those stairs you would find plenty of small shops to eat or if you want to indulge yourself in buying souvenirs. Elephanta cave trip will take you 4 hours total.
          View of the Elephanta Cave from ferry
  • CSMT - Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus is the railway station of Mumbai. From Gateway it will take 15 minutes to reach this spot, a shared yellow cab will charge you 30 rupees. Try to visit this in the evening as you would get to see the spectacular view of this heritage spot under different lights post sunset. Also there is a museum inside the station which you may visit. 
  CSMT Station in the evening

Talking about museums and art gallery - there are 2 must visit places near Gateway of India - Chattrapati Shivaji Vastu Sangralaya (this will take half a day to cover) and National Gallery of Modern Art (it will take 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on your interest level). It you are interested in music, dance, theatre, film, literature and photography then there is NCPA - an iconic place to be. It is 10 minutes away from the Gateway.
  • Bandra - Places in order of importance are - SRK's home Mannat, Bandra bandstand (its a sea beach but do not expect sand, its a rocky beach, there is a park along side), Bandra fort and yes the iconic Bandra Sea link which connects Bandra and Worli. Do not forget to visit the Hard Rock Cafe in the evening - you would get to see the Mumbai night life!
         The famous Sea link

  • Juhu - Main attractions are: Big B's house "Jalsa", Juhu beach and the famous Prithvi Theatre. Anybody from Kolkata would be in a shock at Juhu beach after seeing the prices of the chaats at the beach which starts from Rs 100. At Kolkata you would get the chaats at Rs 20. Try visiting this beach on a weekday to avoid crowd. Prithvi theatre is walking distance away from the beach. Its year of establishment at Juhu is 1978. There are many legendary actors who have performed and still performs here. Along with the theatre there is the famous Prithvi Cafe. Must try dish of the cafe - its iconic irish coffee and stuffed parathas.
For those who like to visit religious places - Siddhivinayak temple and Haji Ali are must visit places for them. In Mumbai, the biggest festival is Ganesh Puja and Siddhivinayak temple is like the ultimate place for the people who seek blessings from God. Haji Ali is for those who want to walk through the sea for a while over a stretch of land and then reach the mosque and witness - irrespective of religion people from different parts of this country flock here to seek blessings of the Almighty.



Haji Ali

Mumbai is incomplete without its train lines and weekend getaways. For these details please stay tuned.
For part 1 of Mumbai Life please visit : https://twisadandapat36.blogspot.com/2020/02/mumbai-life-part-1.html?m=1

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