Mumbai the City of Dreams | Mumbai Travel Blog

by Shivani Bansal Garg · July 10, 2018

Mumbai earlier known as Bombay is the capital city of the Indian state Maharashtra. Mumbai is one of the most populous cities of the world. In comparison with the rest of the country, the city is quite liberal and is the most cosmopolitan city in India. I had heard a lot about Mumbai from friends residing there and had read a lot about this place, so I always wanted to go there and I got a chance to visit this different but beautiful city in June 2018. Mumbai has got everything, it offers you nightlife, sightseeing, and great food, guys trust me I have been to many places, but the kind of food and variety you get in Mumbai, it’s unmatchable.

We reached Mumbai through a direct flight from Chandigarh, and we had prebooked a car through zoom cars, we took our car and started our journey, we had lunch at a famous chain of Indian restaurant named Shiv Sagar restaurant, you will find their franchises all over in Maharashtra. Then we went to our hotel and took a quick shower as we were excited to explore Mumbai asap. As Juhu beach is the most hyped place in Mumbai and is known to be one of the most-visited beaches of India, we decided to go their first, guys I had never witnessed so much crowd on single beach before, though it was irritating Chowpatty street food made our day, we tried famous Kala Khatha Gola, Pav Bhaji and Sev Puri.

Bandra Bandstand

Afterwards, we took our car and started driving for the Marine drive, I always wanted to see this place after I saw the movie “Wake up Sid”. Though we reached there in the night, as it took us almost 2.5 hours by road from Juhu to marine drive because of traffic, the place was beautiful. One can never get over with the view. So serene and peaceful. This place looks awesome during night time, With lights around. U can sit and relax with a cool breeze and the waves hitting the stones looks awesome.

Marine Drive

Next day in the morning we got ready and started our day to witness the most visited and famous place, The gateway of India. Gateway of India is India’s most valued structure, which was built in 1924. We clicked so many pictures in front of this monument and Hotel Taj as this is the hotspot of Mumbai. A unique experience offered here at the Gateway is that of ferry rides, through which you can enjoy the view of this monument right from the sea. These boat rides are short leisure rides and take you on a voyage of all the attractions nearby including Hotel Taj Palace and Mumbai harbour. After this, we went inside the Taj to have coffee as I always wanted to do that since my childhood.

After this we started for Bandra, in the midway, we crossed Bandra Worli sea link, This sea link is an identification of Mumbai and India. It has a great view across and its a suspension bridge which has been built a few years ago. It connects the Bandra and Worli through the sea link. Only cars are allowed here and bikes are not allowed so please make this note. Afterwards we went to see Mannat (Shahrukh Khan residence), though we could not see it properly because of huge gate outside but managed to click few selfies and trust me it does not look less than a palace, then we went to the Farmers café in the Bandra, we precisely went to this café because I read somewhere that many celebrities come to this place, but my hard luck, we didn’t see any. Then we went to Colaba market for some shopping, Colaba Market is a place for good bargains especially for domestic and foreign tourists who throng this place.

Bandra Worli Sea Link

One needs to be able to bargain well with the street side vendors lining the streets here. The place is conveniently located in South Mumbai and not too far from iconic landmarks like the Gateway. Great to spend 3-4 hours in the markets and various restaurants in the vicinity.

Next day in the morning we went to see Siddhi Vinayak temple, A tour of Mumbai cannot be complete without visiting the iconic Siddhivinayak Temple. This is a beautiful temple dedicated to Lord Ganesh. The vibes you get here are so positive, that you feel refreshed after a visit. Afterward, we went to see infinity mall and did a quick lunch at the food court, it’s a very simple mall, you will find better malls in Chandigarh and Delhi. So one can miss visiting this place.

As it was our last night in the Mumbai, we wanted to make the most of it, we went for dinner and a long drive to see Mumbai as much as we can, we saw CST Chhatrapati Shivaji station formerly known as Victoria Terminus (Railway station in Mumbai). It is also a ‘World Heritage Site’ declared by UNESCO in 2004, state central library and many more heritage sites.

Accommodation:

We booked our hotel only for the first day near the airport as it was convenient, afterwards we used to book our hotel according to our location as you avoid travelling to Mumbai because of traffic, so there is no hard and fast rule for accommodation in Mumbai, as it is very easy to get rooms in good hotels over there.

Best time to travel: June to October

This is the famous monsoon season in Mumbai which sees continuous rainfall, particularly in the months of July and August. It’s a beautiful time in Mumbai, especially by the sea. While traveling during these months can seem difficult, you will realize that life never stops in Mumbai once you’re there. What’s more, the monsoon is an excellent time for you to plan weekend getaways or road trips to various hill stations around. Some of them are Matheran, Igatpuri, Lonavala, Lavasa, Khandala, and Mahabaleshwar.