D Traveller : Ayela!

A Trip of excesses!!

It was a trip to remember ( as all trips are :p)! Trip for connecting with old friends! Trip to trip on Hukkas,Shakes & Cold Coffees! Trip to binge! It was a trip of excesses!

Trip started with me flying to Mumbai!.. I had just a couple of days with me,and I had scores of friends to meet in Mumbai! The dilemma I had was whom, school friends or the college friends, to meet! As always I decided lets go and then plan! Now the only problem with this plan is- on execution you tend to leave out many important details. And guess what? thats what happened.

I just met 3 of my school friends. But hell ya we had galla of a time! The good part of the trip was we knew that all of us drink (or at least they knew I drink :p, the deal is that you are meeting your school friend with whom you haven't talked in ages) but we have never ever had a drink together. Now I believe that fun factor of drinking lies somewhere there.. like drinking with old friends! or with whom you drank 2 years ago! or with whom you drank in college with!

Trip was more than just about drinks! We checked out Cafe Leopold (which I have been planning to do since I read Shantaram). Their Burger ,Sandwich and Lolly pops were just amazing. What I liked about the place was the continuous chattering noise! the crowd! and the busy yet lazy attitude of the place. Other than this I liked the way they serve peanuts in small plastic cups.
We also checked out Cafe Mondegar and its famous cheese balls, though they were not that great!

Before checking out the eating places and toasting each other's drinking abilities, and capacities we also saw the absurd, weird and interesting photo exhibition, of some French photographer, and the Nariman point.


Sorry about it but the chronology of the trip has been excused few passages earlier.
So coming back to the point that I landed in Mumbai and went straight to my friends house who lives in Vile Parle,where Parle g's biscuit factory is. After reaching and catching up with my childhood friend, whom i haven't met in about 7 years (I have met him in those 7 years but not met Met him . You know what I mean, of course you do) we had awesome lunch.

Then we set out for shopping ! Mumbai is cheap if you know where to shop and what to shop. My friend knew where and what! and that saved a lot of time! After being done with that we went and sat in Phirangi Pani utilizing the happy hours! I am sorry to say this but that was the first time ever, that I insulted happy hours and I was not so happy about it!

After that we went to Amar Juice center and it was there that I met my life's ( till date ) best Cold Coffee. Also it was at Amar's that I ate Butter Idly and their award winning Pav Bhaji. I have had better Bhajis but the Pav part was the best, as it was soaked in butter.

Now talking about the ambiance of the place. I realize I cant talk or write about it. You gotta see and feel it on your own, but just to give you the idea please check out this -- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=153707&id=741888582#!/photo.php?pid=3778657&id=741888582

After all this, time was for bike ride, in Mumbai, during night time. It was just plain awesome. I always use to think that yellow lights look cool in Bangalore but Mumbai experience changed my belief totally. We payed visit to Band Stand, to Juhu beach, and all those cool,traffic free, roads.

On the whole Mumbai experience was much needed experience, for my resume :

Mumbai.
City of a thousand epithets,
City of dreams
City that never sleeps……..
City of contrasts
Glittering, glitzy, glamorous
Slum infested, sweltering, sordid
Large hearted, balmy, gregarious
A tumultuous city…
Slithering snakelike along
the Arabian Sea.
Her spirit shining
Like the light of a million stars

Like a temptress of many moods
At day she is an angel, free and light.
She lets you be…. She lets you live…

by Leena Elizabeth

Where a cycle reaches faster than a car, Where everyone thinks himself to be a star
This is Mumbai my dear, but don’t fear, just cheer, come to Mumbai every year!

http://mumbainews.wordpress.com/category/poems/
http://mumbai-pushpa.blogspot.com/2008/07/poem-on-mumbai.html