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Monday 4 August 2014

One trip every year - Mumbai 2014

Hello pretty people!! Okay, so many of you who follow me on instagram have already seen a lot of pictures from my Mumbai trip, like where all I went, what I ate, including the huge shopping haul and OOTDs. Yes, it was fun..more than what I had expected, trust me! Well, the trip ended a week back and today I’m sitting at home writing this for you. It was nice to know that the waters in the city are so explorable.

Image source : Google


Did you know, Mumbai is the wealthiest city in India, majorly because it has the highest number of billionaires and millionaires than any other city in the country?

The architecture of the city is a blend of Gothic Revival, Indo-Saracenic such as Gateway of India, Art Deco styled landmarks that can be found along the Marine Drive and the west of the Oval Maidan, and other contemporary styles. Mumbai has the second largest number of Art Deco buildings in the world after Miami. In the newer surburbs, modern buildings dominate the landscape. Mumbai has by far the largest number of skyscrapers in India too. 
To talk about the culture, Mumbai has a blend of traditional festivals, food, music and theatres. The city offers a cosmopolitan and diverse lifestyle with a variety of food, entertainment and night life, available in a form and abundance comparable to that in the other world capitals. Mumbai's history as a major trading center has led to a diverse range of cultures, religions and cuisines coexisting in the city. This unique blend of culture is due to the migration of people from all over India.
As we all know, Mumbai is called the 'city of golden dreams'. It is mostly because thousands of people come here to get into film-making or try their luck into acting/films, and this is because Mumbai is the birthplace of Indian cinema. It has the largest number of cinema halls that feature Bollywood, Marathi and Hollywood movies. The Mumbai International Film Festival and the award ceremony of the Filmfare Awards, the oldest and the most prominent film awards given for Hindi film industry in India, are held in Mumbai. 

So much so about Mumbai, I shall tell you more about my trip to the city now....
Mumbai welcomed me with open arms it seemed like, from landing at the airport and going to my cousin's place to stay, on the way I saw some of the tallest buildings, which looked really really sexy, (which I really don't get to see in Lucknow). The widest roads I've ever seen, anywhere, are in Mumbai. Since I was to stay in Malad, just about a few kilometers away from the Film City, I was really excited to visit it too. From my place, I could easily see the hills that I'd always seen in TV shows (the jungle and 'khaai' types). Plus, it was the rainy season so much more excitement about watching the Mumbai rains which are too hyped (yeah).

To start with, all the TOURIST SPOTS I went to :

I went around seeing various tourist places in the city of golden dreams.
The Gateway of India - Being a fan of great architecture, I didn't miss clicking intricate pictures of the place.
* The Taj Palace Hotel - You just can't ignore its beautiful architecture or reminiscence 26/11. 
* Marine Drive - The most amazing place I'd ever seen along the coast, which is a natural bay.
* Bandra-Bandstand - again alongside water.
* Juhu beach, & Chowpatty - and once again, water water. Well, being a waterbaby, I loved writing my name in the sand on the beach and a typical picture with my slippers was a must. 
* Ambay Valley City in Lonavala - to mention, visiting the place was a great idea and I really want to thank my dad for arranging a quick trip on such a short notice (within a day) to the place with all the necessary permissions by the Sahara people.
* Bandra-Worli Sealink - This bridge connects the Western Suburbs to Nariman Point in Mumbai's main business district. You can see the beautiful city along side the sea while you are on the bridge.

Juhu Beach

The Taj Palace Hotel

The Taj Palace Hotel

Marine Drive (end)

Gateway of India (clicked by the ready-to-print machine)

Bandra-Worli Sealink

Bandra-Worli Sealink

Juhu Beach

Chowpatty

Bandstand

Bandstand

David Dasson Library (saw while driving)

Ambay Valley (Lonavala)

Marine Drive


All the SHOPPING I did :


The first 4 days I just went around brand shopping in most of the malls in the city (sometimes the same mall, twice a day). Haha! It feels so funny that I only shopped in the malls from various local and international brands and to find out, I was surprised that I didn’t like anything from ZARA except for a polka dots tee which you must have seen me wearing with the H&M pink shorts on instagram…but FCUK was good enough, I got a good number of lingerie pairs from LaSenza too. AND is my favourite and I shopped really good pallazo pants, croptops, dresses and scrafs. Bossini, Vero Moda & ONLY were beautiful. Talking about Forever21, it was awesome (as always) and let me tell you, anything you see NewYorkers wear is available at the F21 stores in India too. I really recommend all these brands if you want to carry a good taste of hi-fi fashion.

5th day, It was all about visiting local shopping places.
* Colaba causeway - The best place to buy imitation and junk jewelry.
* Fashion street - Clothes
* Hill Road (previously called Linkin Road) - The best for shopping clothes, bags, shoes. You get branded stuff in local dejected clothe type.
You should just know some really good bargaining skills, and you are done. If you want to spend less and yet be a fashion onlooker, you should go to these places, for sure. 


Day 1 : FrenchConnection | Westside | Zara | Marks&Spencers | LaSenza

Day 2 : Shoppers Stop

Day 3 : Zara | Marks&Spencers | FCUK

Day 4 : Forever21 | AND | Colorplus

Day 5 : Lifestyle store | Blur Accesories | Zara

Day 6 : Colorplus | BeingHuman | Lifestyle | Bossini

Day 7 : Forever21 | AND 

Not to miss, FOOD IN THE CITY :

Go to Mumbai and not eat any of these, then nothing worth going to the city. I basically dragged my cousins to any eating point I saw in the city. Here's what all I ate (mostly street food, because restaurant food you get everywhere) :
* Pavbhaji
* Vada Pav
* Pani Puri
* Bombay Bhelpuri
* Channa Bhatura
* Kala khatta (ice candy)
* Missal Pav
* Ragda Pattis
* Idli-Dosa
* Kaanda Poha - If you go to Mumbai, none of these should be misses, seriously!
Also, tried some brands which we don't have in Lucknow yet : STARBUCKS, DUNKIN DONUTS, MAD OVER DONUTS, not to forget the awesome South Indian food at SWATI SNACKS (must try).

 Paani Puri & Bhelpuri

 Missal Pav

Kaala Khatta (ice candy)

Dunkin Donuts

Dunkin Donuts

Starbucks
   
To end, the trip was really amazing, and I felt really nice knowing the people there too. To much disappointment, I did see the actors' houses like every Bollywood fan, but could see none of the beings LIVE, ah!! :p Also, IT IS A DAMN BIG CITY, there are a lot of places I still had to see, but didn't get time. No worries, will go there next time.. :)
Well, at the end it was time to go back home, Lucknow was waiting, you know!. :) So here I am back, telling you to visit Mumbai at least once in your lifetime!! The city is truly, purely, magical.

~xoxo~

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