Trip down memory lane - Bombay

Memories from Dec 2019

I visited Bombay again last year, for a few days in December, and spent most of my time catching up with old friends and reliving old memories. I stayed in Bandra and met friends in the nothern suburbs. And I saw a side of Bombay I hadn't experienced much when I had lived there for 2 years. It was interesting, rediscovering a side of the city I thought I knew. Am penning down a few scattered thoughts from those days

Bandra villages

I stayed in Bandra with my friends over the 5 days and explored it like I have never done before, on foot 😊. Bandra feels like a small island in the sea called Bombay. It has always been different and has still retained its uniqueness and charm till now. With its catholic history and population, small villages and large churches in between the modern markets, the old bungalows and lack of high rises, lot of narrow winding roads and the slow pace of life it somehow has still managed to retain. Bandra also has a huge Christian population which was all too visible in December with the Christmas decorations and shopping going on all around.Its very difficult to explain how it is different from the rest of the city, only a Bandra-ite can feel it.

Jesus statues on corners

When meeting friends within Bandra, I generally walked to those places and enjoyed the views all around while walking. I once went through a village around Chapel Road which still felt like a village. With its narrow single lane roads and the old bungalows with English names, in need of repair but still standing as proud remnants from a different age. Those bungalows are so pretty, with their huge glass windows, green surroundings and an old colonial feel. I was also surprised to see that each turn of the road had a statue of Jesus Christ, wearing a flower 'mala'. Clearly, Jesus had been indianised here 😊. I also saw a lot of bungalows while walking from Carter road to Band stand, on the side and easily missed. Their beauty never fails to surprise me.

Bandra bungalows

Bandra also has awesome restaurants. With specialty dessert shops and international cuisines. And I loved spending time at Carter Road and Band Stand as usual. The houses on these roads have grown in height now, with the rich building up and up all the time. These sea side roads were quite popular haunts of mine during my time there. And walking there in the sea breeze is something I will always remember Bombay for. And this time I relived that feeling again, for old times sake 😊.

And on this walk, I saw the reality of Bombay again. As I walked back, I saw handicapped people on the streets at night, begging. And the clash between the rich and the poor of Bombay is something I never got used to when there. And till today, I can't deal with it. So I took an auto and came home rather than see this on the streets and feel helpless.

I made the one obligatory trip to Sobo one day, how can I leave Bombay without going to Nariman Point 😊? We went from Bandra to Sobo late at night so the traffic was bearable. And I loved the charm of old Bombay at night, driving in speed on the sea link, watching the newly developed skyline of Worli and Lower Parel and the beautiful new bungalows on Worli sea face, the old money of Pedder Road and of course, the cool breeze while speeding on Marine Drive. How many times have I driven here, with the windows open and friends around. The feeling I get when being here is of a simpler and younger time, when the world felt within reach. And it still feels the same!

I loved all the buildings of old and the vibe of Bombay, even at midnight. We then went to Gateway of India and walked around that lane. The Taj was twinkling and the road was lined with small old hotels from an old era. At the end was the fisherman village and their boats flapping in the sea. I think visiting Sobo is a must do for me always, for nostalgia sake. And it never fails to deliver. Being here, next to the sea always makes me feel alive and fresh.

On this trip, I also visited areas like Powai and Kanjurmarg where I had never been before. These places don't feel the same as Worli or South Bombay or Bandra, areas I spent all my time in and around. The two Bombays feel a world apart, as if they are from two different planets. One is from the old times, with grand buildings, the sea, lot of space and greenery and a poshness to it. The other is modern, filled with high rises, no space, lot of people and a hurriedness to it. Though Powai felt different. The drive was on Eastern Highway which was quite green. And Powai was also very green, with its modern high rises and green spaces.

Each of these suburban areas have become self-sufficient now with lots of restaurants and other activities, to keep people busy, so that they don't feel the need to step out (given how bad traffic still is). And restaurants have become a big part of people's lives. Even BKC has become a happening place now, with tons of eating places. I remember when I had once gone to BKC in the 2010s, we had to walk around a lot to ultimately only find a cafe to sit in. Restaurants have really bloomed now. There are awesome places everywhere, each chain has a restaurant in every area now it seems. I ate at a lot of restaurants and loved the ambiance there. My north Indian palate missed the north indian tinge to the food though!

View from Madh

One of the days, I wanted to get out of the city and we all managed to go to Madh Island. It is kindoff within Bombay but feels a long way off given all the driving you have to do to get there. But once there, you feel you have left the chaos of the city behind. We spent a full day in a hotel on the beach and it was lovely. Quiet, relaxed and not a lot of people around. The beach had yellow sand, some waves and lot of palm trees, to give it a real holiday feel. I would recommend anyone in Bombay to go to Madh when looking for a quick break. Its not out of the world, but definitely a convenient oasis within chaos.

And just like that, my trip was over. When I left, I had the same bitter sweet feeling I get every time I visit the city 😊. I don't like it but I still love so many things about it. The vibe of the city, its people and its sea. Its safety. It has so many layers, its sometimes difficult to understand how it all stays together. There is a positivity and earnestness all around. And perseverance and enterpreneurship, which is tough to find at a lot of other places. But the infrastructure and inequality always puts me off. And that feeling hasn't changed over the years. With the rich and the poor living in contrast together. Its tough to live with all this. And nothing is changing. In fact it may be getting worse.

But I do look at the city fondly now, always reliving the amazing memories it gave me over the awesome two years I spent there...


Memories from Dec 2014

I don't like Bombay!

Its a truth that I have said out loud many times before, but in some corner of my heart I always wanted to re-confirm my views. And they are confirmed again..

I visited Bombay this winter for a couple of days - a place I spent an amazing two years of my life, filled with friends and parties and restaurants and horse races and and rains and the lights at night and the sea faces and late night drives and mountain drives and ghats and the sea and the beaches and travels and so on... Every time I remember those two years of my life, I remember the great moments.. But all of them are not enough to pull me back!

The city

As my flight landed, and I spent the next three days in the city, I realised that nothing has changed at all, for the better or worse! The highrises were going higher and higher, still co-existing with the slums, the well to-do were still living their lives oblivious to the poverty around, Mumbaikars are still as helpful as before, the city still as safe to walk around, the buildings still look as dirty as before, its still hot in winters 😊, people still are running for their daily lives, women still walk around without worrying about their safety, slums havent reduced and the traffic remains as frustrating!!!!

As I said, nothing has changed at all. I don't know why I was expecting it to change either as its just been 4 years but I was...

The city

It did feel nice to be back, remembering the names of places we used to hangout at, the sea face, Phoenix Mills, Atria mall, CCD at Carter Road, Marine Drive, Bachelors, Lower Parel.. Trying to remember again the best ways to beat the traffic.. Getting frustrated with the traffic and going to Mahalaxmi Race Course for a lunch at Gallops - still makes you feel you are in a different world, away from Bombay, away from the madness.. Bandra with its beautiful bungalows and tree-lined roads from a colonial era... Looking at Colaba and Marine Drive, wondering what a pretty city it must have been at some time..

The good parts of Bombay remain, you just come to the city and then you feel as if you always belonged here. Nobody questions where you are from.. Nobody cares.. All these good things are still there.. But then there is the infrastructure which just kills it all for me. You waste more time in traffic than anything else. Its just these things which make me feel happy to not be back. Someday when that changes, I may want to go back to Bombay, but for now, I don't...

Hidden beaches of Madh and Aksa

Mumbai weekend getaways - 1

Mumbai weekend getaways - 2

I was pleasantly surprised to see that such nice places exist in Bombay itself which I had never explored before... (Well you can debate whether Madh and Aksa are really within Bombay or not but at least they are quite close!!)
I went to Aksa beach more on a driving test on a nice monsoon day, rather than for the place, but it turned out to be quite a pleasant and enjoyable day-out in itself:).


The weather surely helped: intermittent not so heavy rains and breezy cool interludes in between. What more can you ask for, for a day spent in town?

We first went to Aksa beach (the drive from the western express to the beach being a bit of a downer though!). The beach was surprisingly clean (compared to bombay standards that is!), not too many people around, cool, wet, windy, with rocks to sit on just next to the sea, some small waves coming in once in a while,

the palm trees on the shore swaying to and fro in the wind, clean and fresh air, no buildings (save one) in sight, the open sea, roaring waves.. Just visualising it all makes me smile and feel happy and relaxed.. Imagine what being there after just an hour's ride from your home would make one feel.. ?!! Just beautiful, calming, relaxing, elevating...

There on we drove on the road that goes towards Madh Island.. Narrow winding road, with vibrant green trees covering the road, and again the fresh and cool air and the pleasant breeze..
And the road goes on and on, with some bungalows once in a while on the sides, fishing villages on the way, fishing boats moored next to it.. Is it really in Bombay? Felt more like Kerala backwaters or the goan roads. Was it for real? I felt I was in another isolated world, in a small town in the rains, in the ghats.
Was just fun to drive there, up and down and left and right on the winding road, just taking in the sights of rural (?) life.. We stopped at a beach on the way too.. Just difficult to describe the experience in words or even pictures.. Relaxing, far away..
Perfect for some good quality time within the city borders...

Mumbai Weekend Getaways : 2

Mumbai weekend getaways - 1

Hidden beaches of Madh and Aksa

RAIGAD FORT : SHIVAJI'S BIRTHPLACE

In summer desperation of not being able to go out anywhere during the Great Indian Summer (and a very very long one this year!!), we did a short one day trip to Raigad, a fort near Mumbai.

Surprisingly though, the short relaxed trip turned out to be a packed one. It was HOT and sunny the whole day, but surprisingly we enjoyed:). And as with any weekend trip outside Bombay: it was short and sweet and cheap too!

The usual start, leaving early to get out of Mumbai fast, eating at dhabas on the way, driving through the Marathi countryside, yellow and dry at that time of the year..

Our first stop was river-rafting in Kolar. It was tough to find the place where river rafting happens in season as we were there in the wrong season anyways. So we just somehow landed up at the lake where the rafting ends. It was peaceful, calm and an oasis of coolness in the hot summer.

We found a deserted pump house next to the lake where we could just rest for sometime.. and then into the water!! Took a short nap also on a tree bark, it was soo quiet and cool. you could even hear people talking 100 mtrs away! Imagine anything close to that in Mumbai:))))

After that we landed up at the Raigad fort and were pleasantly surprised to see that there was a ropeway going up to the fort!!

Why are such places not marketed by the tourism department? Imagine we were living just 3 hours away from the place, and we had not even heard about it all! The ropeway up was scary though, with views of the ghats below.

The fort was interesting too with a lot of history. Spread out in a huge area, good architecture, and though mostly in ruins, there were still some structures still standing strong!

Raigad is also the birthplace of Shivaji and there is a monument within the fort erected in his honour.

On the whole, the fort was a good place to spend sometime looking at the views around. (And wonder, how did they manage to build such places ages ago!! ) There is also an MTDC resort at the top of the hill near the fort, a must-stay I would say. Anyways we spent some time at the fort, roaming around the ruins and then were back to the city life, quick enough:)

KHANDALA

Khandala and Lonavala, however much people may crib about theseplaces being ordinary, sometimes they end up being the only choices for escaping Mumbai. And frankly, quite beautiful escapes too (at least during the rains)! The drive on the expressway being a pleasure, driving through the clouds at high speeds, rain all around, the hills lush green all the way, what more would you want (or need) when looking for a break?

We had another a recent weekend out at the Duke's retreat at Khandala. The resort is nice, at least the rooms. They have a breathtaking view of the cliffs of Khandala and the table-top. The cottages are not that great though!

Duke's offers one of the best views of Khandala and that is reason itself for staying at this resort! The pool, the events during the day to keep kids busy, the puppet show, the games at night, the pretty views from the cafe and restaurant.. surely a great place for relaxation.
Rest of course, is the same at Khandala as Lonavla.

A trip to Bushy dam, stop at the lakes, eat butta and enjoy the greenery around. Totally relaxing and heavenly!




HAJI MALANG

Haji Malang is a short trek near Mumbai that you can go to [when the weather is good, that is:)]. Its located quite close to Mumbai, nearer to Kalyan and takes about 2-3 hours to reach. The road till there is quite bad in patches though.

Midway during the trek is the Haji Malang majaar. The way till there has stone steps. So its good as well as bad. Good since its easier to walk and you can't lose your way! Bad because there are lots of crowds on this trek as the majaar is well revered. Also, there are lot of vendors selling all kinds of things all the way, so that does get tiresome and irritating.

After the majaar though, the trek is good and the view from the top pretty. There is also one part of the trek where you cross across the stones on ropes. We did not do that part of the trek, but apparently that's quite fun and dangerous too!

BHANDARDARA

Bhandardara is a huge huge lake located near Igatpuri, off about 40 kms or so from the Mumbai Nasik highway. Somehow it is not a well know tourist spot near Mumbai, but it surely is one of the most stunning and serene places around: perfect for a weekend getaway from Mumbai.

The drive from Mumbai till Bhandardara is impressive. First on the Mumbai Nasik highway, amazing (for India) three-laned roads, through hills and ghats and green fields and forests. Even though we started on a hot afternoon from Mumbai, the weather just got so much cooler on the highway. It was a very pretty drive, with green hills on both sides, , chilly cool air and of course the awesome highway.

Once you get off the highway, there is a 40 km drive across the countryside, single laned road through villages and hills, forests and plains. Its just so relaxing to drive here, it feels so fresh and pristine!!

Once at the lake, you can stay at either the MTDC resort or

Anandvan. The location for both the resorts is pretty, just next to the lake with a fascinating view of the whole lake and the hills beyond. MTDC resort is reasonable but poorly maintained. Anandvan is much more expensive though.

But this place definitely needs two days to be able to enjoy yourself. Enjoy a morning walk next to the lake, trek on the Kalsubhai peak nearby (the highest peak in Maharashtra) and generally enjoy time out for youself!

The perfect place to spend a nice weekend out of Mumbai.

SULA WINEYARDS

Its funny how I forgot to write about the Sula wineyards in the blog! And only realised it 3.5 years later!!! So here it is..

To start with, it was funny how we landed up in Sula in the first place. We left one morning from Bombay to trek somewhere on the way to Nasik, but then changed our plans to go watch the movie 'Kaminey' in Nasik. After the movie, we felt guilty of having wasted the day, so spent a couple of hours at Sula just to make up for the movie with some touristy stuff!

Sula is one of the first wineyards in India, and they've tried to capture the essense of wineyards there. The grape wines extend till wherever you can see, on undulating land. There is a small restaurant where you can taste the wines, as well as eat very tasty cheese snacks with the wine. We did not do much that day, but as I understand, there is a wine tour as well as a yearly wine festivals which is celebrated there. You can even stay at the wineyards overnight, and since the weather is pleasant all year through, its quite a good weekend getaway for wine-lovers.

CHOKI DHANI

An advantage of going on treks north of Mumbai towards Kalyan is that you can get to have dinner at Choki Dhani!!

This is a Rajasthani theme based eating place where you can spend a nice evening out. It opens from 7pm itself, and has enough of things to do to spend a couple of hours with friends here. You can see the Rajasthani dances, puppet dances, get mehendi done, sit on the camel, take photos in Rajasthani costumes, play the local games etc etc (the usual toursity experience of Rajasthani life!!) and of course have a nice tasty Rajasthani meal, all for Rs. 500!

Again a must go for Bombayites...!

Mumbai Weekend Getaways - 1

Mumbai weekend getaways -2 
Hidden beaches of Madh and Aksa

I love going out of Mumbai, anything to get away from the crowd and the city-life! It just feels a different world all together, and the outskirts of Mumbai offer just that, a completely different world. You can go either towards the east, on the Pune highway, or the north on the Nasik highway, or the south side next to the coast. You can get whatever you want, beaches or mountains (Sahyadris and the Ghats) depending on your mood and the time of the year!! Its quite a good variety actually!

Also as it turns out, weekends outside Mumbai are sooo much cheaper than within Mumbai. You drive around a lot, eat some vada-pau and poha and butta everywhere, exercise a bit and you are done for the weekend! A couple of small trips have done in the last year are detailed below.

ALIBAUG-NAGAON

A hop away literally from Mumbai: take a ferry from the Gateway of India, which drops you on the Indian mainland (in an hour or so) and thereafter take a (rickety) bus to take you to the Alibag town. The drive is almost as if driving through a jungle (a real one, not the concrete ones like Mumbai!) and you actually ask yourself, how can such a place exist just an hour away from a city like Mumbai!! In fact, a lot of the rich crowd from Mumbai actually have a country house in Alibag on the beach, to go and relax in, on the weekends.

Anyways, once in Alibag town, you can walk till the beach. Its not a great beach actually, as in the sand is dark, and the crowd very touristy, with the typical tonga driving you along the beach:). Its not even very clean. There is a fort like monument a distance from the beach, inside the sea. You can actually walk till there, the sea is so shallow!

We also went to the Nagaon beach nearby, took an auto from Alibaug. Nagaon beach was actually better, and less crowded! Again quite shallow, and the water clean enough to go for a swim. Also, the auto drive from Alibaug to Nagaon goes through villages and cottages and palm trees and small roads. Quite an enchanting ride, and quite similar to the drives in Goa too.

HAMLA BEACH

Its a small beach within Mumbai, near where the Essel World ferries leave. Is actually a private Navy beach, and so is completely empty, as good as having your own private beach. The Navy has shacks on the beach itself, great place to stay (that is if you can get reservations!) as its always fully booked!

KASHID-MURUD

This beach stretch south of Mumbai along the coast is quite a nice drive actually. Takes about 3 hours or so to reach the first beach, but then onwards the road is along the sea, and you get breath-taking views along the way.

The first beach we stopped at was the Kashid beach, a nice stretch with white sand. The water was clean too. Its important to go to these places during cooler season though, otherwise the heat irritates you so much, that you end up not spending enough time there.

Driving on from Kashid, is the Murud beach, and also the Jazeera fort. The Jazeera fort is in the middle of the sea, built again by Shivaji! You can take a boat also till the fort (which we did not).







The views there are marvelous too, here is one photo of the landscape and village below:




On the way to Murud, you can also see this old haveli kind of place, built on a cliff. The beach in the photo is the Murud beach, and there are a couple of resorts there also to stay.


Again good drive, good beaches, but you need the weather in your favour to enjoy it!

LONAVLA

I think this is the most popular Mumbai weekend getaway and lot of Mumbaites have a second house there to go to on weekends to enjoy fresh air! Also, don't know why, but Mumbaikars love to crib about this place too (landing up there quite often too, but still cribbing!)! There are too many people there I agree, but then not everywhere. And there are lots of different things to do there!

I actually have been there thrice and done different things everytime. The first time was after the Mumbai attacks when we just wanted to get away from the tv and news! Was an impromptu trip, just left on the weekend for Lonavla. The drive as always is refreshing, and with the Pune-Mumbai expressway, a pleasure to drive on. Lonavla was actually too hot that time of the year.

In the morning, went to Kamshed for Parasailing. They actually have foreigners staying there for long stretches, to get parasailing training and practice. And there is a huge lake there too for tp (again!).

The drive takes you through rural India, and there are lot of good shots to take:) Here is one with me trying my hand at rural landscape photography!

The next trip was the first day of the monsoons this year. And Lonavla looked completely different then, green and fresh! Sometimes, its tough to believe that both the places are the same!!

We actually welcomed the monsoon before it came to Mumbai! It was raining all the way, and the drive was fully green. We stopped at Bhusi dam where again it was raining, we had bhutta, and then drove off to Amby valley where we were not allowed in:(. Dinner at a resort (there are countless resorts there!!) with a valley view and then back to Mumbai.

The last trip was actually more touristy! Went to this MTDC resort, next to a stream. With the monsoons there, the place feels heavenly, with clouds, rains, green and water everywhere. Next we went to the Bhaja caves, again 2000 years old! Old Buddhist caves with tasty poha and bhutta around.







And last we went up to Singhad fort. The trek is about 2 hours or so, so we couldn't do it. The fort merges so well with the mountains, that its difficult to separate the two!


And the view of the valley from the Singhad fort was pleasant to the eyes again, lakes and green and heavenly!




MALSHEJ

Malshej Ghats is located about 2 hours from Mumbai, and the road goes via Kalyan. The drive once you get out of city limits is green, fully (in the monsoon seasons especially!). Though in the monsoons, half of Mumbai is there too! We stopped at a stream flowing there, and generally trekked up next to it! Was interesting, going up next to the stream itself, and trying to avoid getting wet. And avoiding water snakes too!

Once you reach Malshej though, there are hajaar waterfalls there, with multiple hajaar people! Its actually crazy, how everyone is there in the waterfall, with not enough water to even cover those many people! Its actually putting off also!

The Malshej Ghats is a small stretch of the roads where you get a view of the hills around and there are numerous waterfalls around, and all Mumbaikars are there, dancing in the rainfall with music and drums. There actually was a road jam also in the small stretch on the hills. The view from there is good though, and you can actually see waterfalls spraying into the air and vanishing as clouds!

The whole area is covered with clouds everywhere, on the road, on the pathways, everywhere during monsoons. There is a MTDC resort also located at the top on a meadow type flat area. The resort had horrible food though! But when we were there we had to wait an hour for the lunch, wherein we walked around and it rained from above and below and there were clouds and rains, and so we loved the food too! The walk through the rains and clouds was good, but too cold. There are a couple of treks to do nearby, Shivneri fort and Harishchandragad, but since we did not have enough time, we couldn't do that. Last we went to this lake, serene, calm and with green views around. All in all again a nice weekend out of Bombay:)


RATANGAD

This trek is on the Nasik highway, near Igatpuri. Its about 2-3 hours away from Bombay if you leave on time. There is an old south Indian temple at the start of the trek (surprising to find a South Indian temple in Maharashtra). You can also get someone to cook tasty poha and vada pau for you there:). There is also a step well there, something similar to what have seen in Ahmedabad.















The trek is about two hours or so and at the top of the trek is an old fort. I actually did not complete the trek, was too hot and sunny:( (that too in winters!!). But is a nice trek with good views around and with the small fort on the top.

While driving around, you can see the the lake of Bhandardara. The lake is huuuuge, you can spend hours just driving around it (we did that too!). There are a couple of good resorts also located around the lake. The views around of the mountains are breathtaking, though am sure it would be even better and greener in the monsoons.

VIKATGAD (trek near Matheran)

We did this trek near Matheran, one of the best I have done near Mumbai. Vikatgad is another Shivaji fort, supposed to be difficult to get to ('vikat'). The trek starts from below the point where you drive up to Matheran and during the monsoons, this place is completely green.

We thought we could trek up ourselves, and so started across the meadows, getting lost within no time. Thankfully we met some kids who were willing to take us up there. We asked them to take up through the short cut, which turned out not the best thing to do! Well they did take us up the short cut, which was short just for them, not us! We actually just climbed up next to a waterfall, over rocks, and with the rain it was all slippery and with no concerns for our clothes, or shoes we just kept climbing! Was actually fun, finding our way through nothing. The climb was steep and we had to sit and crawl and climb anyway we could. Wah re Shivaji, you did know how to make it tough to reach there:))

Well we did it all thinking, that from the fort, there was a shorter way to come back via Matheran itself, from where we could have come back in an easier manner. Little did we know. While on the way up, we met a group of kids (collegiates actually) also lost. So we took them also along with us, up.

The trek was awesome, along steep hills, on a narrow path with gorges on both side, rocky waterfall sides, everything. Unfortunately when we reached the top, there was this huge rock which could not have been climbed without rock climbing instruments! The kids went up easily but we couldn't, and that's when we realized that we would have to come back the same route we went back and without reaching vikatgad! It had actually got cloudy and dark at the top and we had actually thought of getting helicopters to rescue us! While coming back, it was quite a risky trek though. One guy was actually slipping such that he had to be caught off by another, else he would have gone down the hill. Anyways the view from the top was amazing, so, actually making the risk worth it!

On the whole though, a very very tiring but fun trek. Would love to do more of these, don't think everyone shares this enthusiasm though!