India: 12 hours itinerary in Mumbai

I reached Mumbai at 5.25am on a Thursday morning. My flight left Melbourne at 7.30 pm on Wednesday and had a two hour transit in Changi Airport. Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, the primary international airport in Mumbai is the first airport I encountered which segregates immigration check by flight class instead of foreign or local passport. Yes, if you are one of the many who traveled on an economy class, you get to queue with your fellow flight passengers.

I was picked up from the airport to the apartment that I bunked, courtesy of Little P. It was way too early in the morning, so I had a shower and a nap while she was hard at work. :P

Knowing that I would probably sleep the better part of the day away, I set an alarm and dragged myself out of bed to see Mumbai. Technically, I was in Mumbai for close to 2 days but only day 1 was spent doing the touristy bits. Whilst I did spent day two sightseeing, I was nowhere near the tourist centre of Colaba, in fact I was about an hour's drive away.

I took a cab to Gateway of India.

Gateway of India was built during the British Raj in Mumbai  overlooking the Arabia Sea. It is located on the waterfront in the Apollo Bunder area. This monument was erected to commemorate the landing of their Majesties King George V and Queen Mary when they visited India in 1911.

This gateway was right next to the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel and symbolises "power and majesty" of British empire.

A bomb was planted in a taxi which exploded near the gateway in 2003 and was the disembarkation point of the terrorists participating in the November 2008 terror attacks of the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower.

One could take a boat ride here to get to Elephanta Island, the boat ride itself take about an hour. I gave this a miss as the island itself would take half a day though it does look very interesting. This is actually one of the few things I had listed down as I would want to check out.

I had a walk around the area and stopped for lunch at Leopold Cafe. Leopold Cafe sits on Colaba Causeway and was one of the first sites attacked during the November 2008 Mumbai attacks.

I ordered a garlic naan (Rs 90) and half size chicken tikka masala (Rs 400) for my lunch, washed down with a glass of cold coffee. I made a rookie mistake of forgetten to request for less sugar or sweet for my coffee (Rs 70).



This was yumm....

The sweetest coffee I had to date... even after watered down

After a fulfilling lunch, it was time to walk off the calories. I turned left from Leopold Cafe and walked along Colaba Causeway. Colaba Causeway is officially known as Shahid Bhagat Singh Road and house many stalls selling souvenirs, trinkets, jewellery, etc along it's walkway. Me being the boring one, only walked away with two pieces of Mumbai magnet.

Up till this time I do no have a map with me, so I popped in one of the hotels off Colaba Causeway and grabbed a free map. I then realised my next intended stop was at the opposite direction, so I retraced my steps and passed Leopold Cafe again, towards the other side.

I probably walked for another 30-40 minutes, passing Regal Cinema, one of the oldest and now rare stand alone theatre left in Mumbai till I reached Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST). Strangely I think I only saw probably just another couple of foreigners along the road at that time. I am curious as to why they commute as I did see other foreigners at the tourist site but not when I was walking. Shrug.

CST was formerly known as Victoria Terminus (and definitely easier to pronounce) and was so named in honour of the Queen and Empress Victoria. It was opened on the date of her Golden Jubilee in 1887. CST is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and serves as the headquarters of the Central Railways. It was renamed as CST in March 1996, in memory of Chhatrapati Shivaji, the great Maratha Warrior King.

At the time of my travel, entry was not permitted to these part of the building. I only took pictures from outside of the gate. There was a security guard standing just next to the gate. In the midst of me taking shots of this beautiful building, two school girls came up and asked if they could have a photo with me. Mmm.. I can't be that exotic looking, especially considering my hair is still black in colour. Anyway, I obliged and they wished me "Welcome to India" :)

Female carriage

Despite being in the train station, I didn't board on any train as the next stop I wanted to go was on a different train line. Otherwise, it would work out perfectly. I flagged down a taxi and told him I wanted to go to Mahalaxmi train station. Seeing that I was a tourist, he asked if I wanted to go to Dhobi Ghat. This massive outdoor open air laundry place is just next to Mahalaxmi train station, 6th station on the Western Line from Churchgate. I paid Rs 73 for taxi fare from CST to Dhobi Ghat.

According to this webpage, this dhobi ghat is a registred organisation, called the Dhobi Kalyan and Audyogik Vikas Co-op Society. It was initially formed in 1890 to service the city's English and Parsi population.

From here, I walked for another 30 minutes of so, heading towards Haji Ali Dargah. Again, I have not met any tourist during my walk, maybe they took a cab instead? I'm unsure but 30 minutes isn't a long walk, really it isn't. Mmm.

Haji Ali Dargah is both a mosque and dargah (tomb). According to legends, Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari (R.A.) once saw a poor woman crying on the road, holding an empty vessel. He asked her what was the problem and was told by the woman that she stumbled and accidentally spilled the oil she was carrying. If she was to return home with an empty vessel, she would be beaten by her husband. The Saint asked the woman to bring him to the spot where she split the oil. At the spot, he jabbed a finger into the soil and oil gushed out. The woman, overjoyed, filled up the vessel and went home.

Thereafter, Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari (R.A.) had a recurring and disturbing dream that he had injured Earth by his act. Full of remorse and grief, he became seriously ill and decided to travel to India with his mother's consent. Years passed and before his death, he advised his followers to drop his shroud in the ocea and it should be buried by people where it is found. Haji Ali Dargah was built at the very site where his shroud came to rest, on an islet off the coast of Worli in the Southern part of Mumbai.

The accessibility to the dargah is very much dependent on the tides. It is only accessible during low tide. There are many stalls along the causeway leading to the dargah.

 

That, was my last stop for the day one in Mumbai before hailing another taxi and made my way back to the apartment for the night. If I had a little more time on day one, I would love to check out the Thieves Market too.


Side note: Pocky is dangerous....