What happens when two friends, on a Saturday afternoon, relaxing at one's place, without their wives around?
An impromptu journey begins.
Casually he asked me, "Chale Mumbai, Ghumke aate hai." I thought he was just joking but in no time we had hit the Pune-Mumbai expressway. Nothing planned - What will we do? When will we come back? More importantly, we were supposed to have our lunch at his place which was now forgotten. The whole exhilaration of a spontaneous trip was driving us crazy, in a positive way.
We entered Mumbai around 4pm and in no time we were part of the famous bustling traffic of Mumbai. Seeing the traffic, we moved off the road and took the SeaLink route to Bandra, which was one of our best decisions.
Bandra-Worli SeaLink (5pm)
A direct connectivity from Worli to Bandra, this SeaLink is a masterpiece of creation and the first cable-stayed bridge on the open seas in India. The view from the SeaLink was mesmerizing and amazingly beautiful. There was not a single point where you don’t want to click pictures of the scenic beauty of the sea, sunset and the bridge. Cars cruised like in a race, however we enjoyed the sunset, going a bit slow with soothing music and clicking photos.
BE-AWARE: Stopping your car on the bridge and taking photos is banned.
Finally we reached the Bandra Station and picked up one of our friends. She was all excited and thrilled. We discussed and finally decided to start from the Mount Mary Church which was approx. 3kms away.
Mount Mary Church (7pm)
One of the iconic churches in Mumbai well lit, peaceful, calm and divine. The structural design of the church is one of the best incredible architectures. The pictorial representation of Jesus story inside the church was an insight, one should not miss. Quiet, serene atmosphere takes your mind and soul to a completely different place where its only you with all the positive thoughts, without any disturbance. An unforgettable celestial experience. Items created by wax (house, cars, money, etc) are sold outside which can be purchased and kept inside the church. It is said, what you keep it there you will soon have it. We prayed and left clicking the pictures of the church.
Bandstand (8pm)
Walkable distance was Bandstand. A fascinating and beautiful place to relax with your loved ones or friends or family. Sea-side view, sitting on the rocks and enjoying the cool breeze takes you away from all your worries. Over and above, listening the sound of waves hitting the rocks with the band playing guitar, singing in a group, just amazing. One of the most soothing, wonderful moments when you want to forget everything and just live the moment with a hot black coffee in your hand. We stayed there for an hour or two and our entire tiredness of the trip till now had taken a back seat. We were refreshed and headed to our next destination.
We reached linking road, just to check out as it was one of the famous places in Mumbai for shopping. We roamed around shop to shop looking at the shopkeepers who were luring public to shop. Not much we did there and continued to Juhu beach which was a 30mins drive.
Juhu Beach (11pm)
We reached Juhu beach around 11pm. It was a pleasant change, after a hectic drive in the traffic of Mumbai. The night was dark with stormy winds. The moon gave a stare through flimsy clouds and went back yet again. We could clearly hear the waves hitting the rough sand. It was a high tide night and probably because of that it was less crowded. We strolled for an hour or so, everyone so silent, enjoying the cool breeze and the quietness. Later we sat at one of the food joints, famous for Pav Bhaji, which was about to close, but he served us. Finally we left happily feeling charged to get some more out of Mumbai.
We then decided to visit Gateway of India, however it was already 2am and we were somewhat sure it would have been closed. Our guess was right so we entered Hotel Taj Mahal Palace's Shamiana, which was at a walking distance, to have a hot cup of coffee. We chit-chatted with our coffees for around an hour or two, discussing the craziness we were up to from one place to another, laughing, enjoying the soft music.
Marine Drive (4am)
It was 4am and we were still thrilled to keep this trip going on. No stress/No Tiredness. We reached Marine Drive, an arc shaped promenade at the beach of Arabian Sea. We reached on time and could witness the famous - Queens Necklace created by the street lights giving the feel of the pearls. Cool Breeze, Sea Side, Queens Necklace, stunning view of South-West Mumbai was all awesomely stunning. It was about dawn and time for Sunrise. Joggers on the track, Chaiwalas around the boulevard near interesting, observing the people and commenting and laughing. Finally, sun rose beautifully from the opposite side coming up from the tall buildings of Mumbai, fascinating.
We left around 7am, back to Pune. One of the best night outs and the first Mumbai experience. Its truly stated for Mumbai as,
The City that never sleeps..!!!
