Enjoy various visual arts, theatre, film, music, literature, dance, heritage, and children's events as part of the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival from the 3rd to the 11th of this month in Mumbai.
Visit the Web site of Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2007 in Mumbai for a schedule of arts, heritage, culture, dance, music, film, literature, paintings, writing, and other events.
Find flights and compare airfares to Mumbai (BOM) on Mobissimo India. Search, find, sort, compare, and book hotel rooms and accommodation in Mumbai with Mobissimo's Hotel Search engine.
Experience a new way of sightseeing in Mumbai.
Be a part of Bombay Heritage Walks.
The Bombay Heritage Walks group organizes walking tours around Mumbai (Bombay) and aims to raise awareness of the people of Mumbai and visitors, about the city’s architecture and heritage monuments. These walking tours showcase architectural styles and ornamental details and trace the social and cultural history of the city through its monuments.
Take a heritage walk around Banganga Tank at Walkeshwar this Sunday, as part of Bombay Heritage Walks.
- Date and Time: Sunday, 21st January 2007 from 4:45pm to 7pm.
- Fees: Rs. 100/- per person.
- Registration: By email.
To register for the Heritage walk please send an email to registrations (at) bombayheritagewalks (dot) com with 'Banganga Walk' as the Subject.
- Starting Point of the walking tour: Walkeshwar Bus Depot, Mumbai.
- Directions: Coming up via the Walkeshwar slope from Chowpatty, take the straight road to Teenbatti Junction.
From Teenbatti, go further ahead to reach Walkeshwar Bus Depot. Banganga Tank and Temple complex is a 3-minute walk from Walkeshwar Bus Depot.
List of airport codes of the cricket-playing nations of the West Indies.
A ready reference guide of airport codes for booking tickets to the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies. Find airfares to West Indies on Mobissimo India.
Airport Code - (Airport Name), City, Country
ANU - (V.C. Bird International Airport), St. John's, Antigua
BGI - (Grantley Adams International Airport), Bridgetown, Barbados
GEO - (Timehri Airport), Georgetown, Guyana
KIN - (Norman Manley International Airport), Kingston, Jamaica
KTP - (Tinson Airport), Kingston, Jamaica
MBJ - (Sangster International Airport), Montego Bay, Jamaica
SKB - (Golden Rock Airport), Basseterre, St. Kitts, St. Kitts & Nevis
NEV - (Newcastle Airport), Charlestown, Nevis, St. Kitts & Nevis
SLU - (Vigie Airport), Castries, St. Lucia
UVF - (Hewanorra Airport), Vieux Fort, St. Lucia
SVD - (Arnos Vale International Airport), Kingstown, St. Vincent, St. Vincent & the Grenadines Islands
POS - (Piarco International Airport), Port of Spain, Trinidad Is. [Piarco], Trinidad & Tobago
The biggest cricket event of the year, the ICC Cricket World Cup, takes place in the West Indies from the 13th of March to the 28th of April. March and April would be the time of sun n' sand, calypso and cricket in the Caribbean islands.
The International Cricket Council's (ICC's) Cricket World Cup (CWC) commercial manager Stephen Price has urged Indian cricket fans to buy tickets to the 2007 Cricket World Cup only from authorized official travel agents (OTAs) appointed by the ICC.
"Fans are advised to deal with CWC’s Official Travel Agents which are spread out across the world. They are the only ones who have the authority to sell tour and travel packages for this event – nobody else. There are five of these in India to cater to the large cricket fan base there."
Here's a list of Official Travel Agents (OTAs) to buy tickets for the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup (from 13th March to 28th April) in the West Indies.
SOTC Sports Abroad,
4th Floor, RNA Corporate Park,
Near Collector's Office,
Kala Nagar,
Bandra (East), Mumbai - 400051. India.
Phone: + 91-22-6710-7460
Web site: http://www.sotc.co.in/
Mumbai is always happening, but it is all the more so this month. Be a part of the Mumbai festival from 13th to 28th of this month and enjoy activities like sports, music, paintings, exhibitions, and performing arts.
Find street level (road) maps of major Indian cities on Google Maps.
See links below to view street level maps of major Indian cities. So the next time you're online and looking for roadmaps, street level maps, and directions in India; you know which Web site to visit to find the information.
Street Level Maps of Major Indian Cities on Google Maps.
There's a meal for each pocket in Mumbai. From the ever-present Vada Pav and tea at a roadside eating joint to dinner at The Oberoi at Nariman Point. Mumbai offers a variety of cuisines and eating options.
Have you tasted an unlimited Gujarati Thali in Mumbai?
A wholesome (eat as much as you can until you've had enough and once you've over-eaten about five times above your normal capacity you say please stop I can't eat a morsel more) authentic Gujarati meal.
Here are a few places that you may visit to taste Gujarati food during your next visit to Mumbai.
Rajdhani Restaurant—The Thali Place
Opp. Mangaldas Market, Masjid Gulli, Crawford Market,
CST (VT), Mumbai - 400002.
Phone: 022-2342-6919/ 2344-9014/ 2344-9016
Serves Gujarati, Rajasthani, and Marwadi food
Timings: 11.00am to 3.15pm and 7.00pm to 11.30pm
- Samrat at Churchgate.
Samrat Veg Restaurant
Prem Court 119, J. Tata RoAd, Churchgate,
Mumbai - 400020.
Phone: 022-2282-0022/2282-0942
Serves Gujarati thali and Punjabi dishes
Timings: 12:00 noon to 10:30pm
- Golden Star Thali near Charni Road station.
Golden Star Thali
330, Raja Ram Mohan Roy Road,
Opp Charni Road Station,
Mumbai.
Phone: 022-2363-1983/ 2367-1952
Serves pure vegetarian Gujarati and Marwadi cuisine.
Timings: 11.00am to 3.00pm and 7.00pm to 10.30pm
- Panchavati Gaurav near Bombay Hospital.
Panchvati Gaurav
7, Barak Road, Near Bombay Hospital,
Mumbai - 400020.
Phone: 022-2208-4877
Serves Gujarati thali
Timings: 11:00am to 3:00pm and 7:00pm to 10:30pm
- Thackers at Birla Krida Kendra, Chowpatty.
Thackers
Birla Krida Kendra, Chowpatty,
Mumbai
Phone: 022-2364-9300/2364-9301
Timings: 11:30am - 2:30pm and 5:30pm - 10:30pm
Chetana
34 K. Dubash Marg,
Kala Ghoda, Mumbai.
Phone: 022 - 2495-5075/ 2495-5055/ 2285-6316/ 2202-3592
Serves vegetarian cuisine.
- Aaram opposite St. Michael's Church in Mahim.
Aaram Restaurant
Opp St. Michael's Church,
Mori Road,
Inside Mahim Bus Depot ,
Mahim, Mumbai - 400016.
Phone: 022-2444-1358.
- Friends Union Joshi Club in Narottam Wadi on Kalbadevi Road.
Turn left from Princess Street junction. The place is located on the first floor in an old building in Narottam Wadi—a 10-minute walk on Kalbadevi Road.
- Shree Thakker Bhojanalaya in Dadiseth Agiary (fire temple) Lane at Kalbadevi.
- Rasoi near Mulund (West) suburban station on Central Railway.
Tip: Eat an unlimited (you may eat until you say Enough, please stop serving) Gujarati Thali late in the afternoon. The heavy food takes care of lunch and dinner . So you need not have another meal until late at night, and that too, if required.
Take care to see that you don't indulge in gastronomic delights of Gujarati Thali on a working day, else see to it that there's not much work to do in the afternoon, as a siesta goes hand-in-hand with an unlimited (bottomless, never-ending, keeps on getting re-filled again and again) Gujarati Thali.
Never eat fast at a Thali restaurant, else your Thali would keep on getting filled even faster and before you know it you would be tired of eating .
No matter how hard one tries, one always ends up over-eating an unlimited Thali.
How many of these places have you visited in Mumbai? What's your favourite place for a Gujarati Thali in Mumbai? Let us know through the 'Comments' link on this page.
The Forbes Traveler 400—a colourful visual journey of the world's hospitality industry. The world's most amazing hotels and resorts of 2006 according to the Forbes Traveler. A selection of absolute best places to stay in different parts of the world.
Imagine a 250-year old white marble palace that floats on water, and turn that to reality with Taj Lake Palace floating in the still waters of Lake Pichola, as if by magic! Isn't it time for a romantic rendezvous in Udaipur, India?
If you are in Mumbai and you want a streak of adventure and an adrenaline rush, try hanging out a fast local train. For those of you that are not from Mumbai, have you ever tried hanging out a fast Mumbai local train? How was your experience. Let us know.
According to the Taxi Survey 2006-2007 conducted across 11 major cities around the world by Pointsec Mobile Technologies; thousands of cell phones, hundreds of handheld devices, USB drives, and laptops are forgotten in taxis every day.
So, if at all you forget your cell phone, forget it in a Mumbai taxi, and you would be assured of getting it back. Taxis are a safe place to lose your cell phones in Mumbai.
Popular hill stations in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra that were made famous by the Aamir Khan-Rani Mukherjee starrer Ghulam that had the super-hit Bombay street-lingo song, "Aati kya Khandala" (Are you coming to Khandala?). The hill stations of Lonavla and Khandala about a 2-hour drive (110-km) from Mumbai are best to visit during the monsoons to enjoy the ride on the 6-lane expressway with greenery, mountains, and waterfalls for company. Even this time of the year, the onset of winter, is a nice time to visit Lonavla, Khandala, Bhushi Dam (a 25-minute drive) from Lonavla, and Karla Caves (10-km from Lonavla).
- Panchgani, Mahabaleshwar, and Pratapgad fort
The hill stations of Panchgani (266-km from Mumbai) and Mahabaleshwar (20-km from Panchgani) offer an ideal getaway for a couple of days with opportunities for sight-seeing and shopping. If you go to Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar don't forget to taste Strawberry and Mulberry jam and related food products that are available in most shops. Pratapgad, 25-km from Mahabaleshwar, offers a picturesque view of the countryside. Be enthusiastic and fresh to climb the 400 odd steps to enjoy the view from atop Pratapgad fort.
- Pune
Pune is about a three-and-a-half to four-hour hour drive from Mumbai (190-km) on the 6-lane Mumbai-Pune expressway. Pune is an ideal weekend retreat for Mumbaikars (Bombayites) that are looking to eat, party, and enjoy the restaurants, multiplexes, shopping malls, and popular hangouts of Pune.
If you're in Pune don't forget to spend a Saturday evening taking a walk on M.G. Road, which is now a 'Walking Plaza' from 4pm to 10pm on weekdays without any vehicular traffic. Also visit the various eating joints on F.C. Road.
~ Places to visit at M.G. Road in Pune
# Marz-o-rin for chutney sandwiches and chocolate shakes
# Kayani bakery for special Kayani bread, Shrewsberry biscuits, and Mawa cakes
# Barista coffee shop at the beginning of M.G.Road, opposite Hotel Aurora Towers
# The paanipuriwala near Hanuman Temple on Centre Street, a 5-minute walk from M.G. Road
# WestEnd theatre for a movie with friends, although its charm has dwindled with Inox multiplex a couple of kms. from M.G. Road.
# Hotel Ramakrishna and Coffee House for pure vegetarian food on Moledina Road near M.G. Road
# If you're interested in reading, then the pavement book-seller near Coffee Shop. Lots of good bargains to get from there.
# Kakde Mall, a new shopping mall, opposite Coffee House on Moledina Road, a 5-minute walk from M.G. Road.
# Leather lounge on Main Street (that's another name for M.G. Road)
# Aqua lounge at Hotel Aurora Towers
# The Place, near WestEnd theatre, for sizzlers
# Thousand Oaks for a pitcher or two on East Street
~ Places to visit at Koregaon Park, Pune
# The numerous restaurants that offer a variety of cuisine from Punjabi, Mughlai, Hyderabadi, Gujarati, and fast food to Chinese and Mexican. There's Gold Adlabs multiplex a kilometre from Koregaon Park with Kalyani restaurant opposite Gold Adlabs for pure vegetarian food.
# Osho Ashram and Nalla Park
~ Places to visit at Fergusson College Road (F.C. Road, Pune)
# The numerous South Indian restaurants on F.C. Road. Roopali, Vaishali, Deepali, Amrapali, Lalit Mahal.
# The Punjabi eating joints Chaitanya, Manmeet's Chaat, and Horn OK Please
# Wadeshwar for an evening out with friends
# Barista coffee shop on F.C. Road
# Corn Club near Agriculture College Signal for a variety of American Corn dishes
# Hotel Shravan opposite Police Grounds for a family dinner
# F.C. Road is a nice place to hang out with friends
~ Places to visit at Dhole Patil Road in Pune
# It's a student hang out with lots of options for eating
# Chaitanya's Punjabi food
# Madhuban restaurant
# Bombay Brasserie and Mainland China for those looking for good food at any price. These are among the costliest eating places in Pune.
# If you go to Dhole Patil Road in the afternoons then you may try the Buffet Lunch at Hotel Sun-n-Sand on Bund Garden Road, which is a kilometre from Dhole Patil Road.
- Nasik and Vineyards near Nasik
Get a spectacular view of the vineyards and the lakes and hills surrounding the vineyards near Nasik. Visit TrimbakeshwarJyotirling located at a distance of 30-km from Nasik. Visit Saputara hill station in Gujarat. It is located at a distance of 80-km from Nasik, which is the nearest railway station to reach it. Mumbai to Saputara in Gujarat is a 185-km drive.
- Surat
If you're looking for a weekend to gorge then Surat—the city of textiles, diamonds, and food (6 hours by train from Bombay Central) is the place to be in. Enjoy Surti specialities like Undhiyu, Locho, Raswala Khaman, Ghari, Fafda, Jalebi, and Handvoh. Try the Gujarati Thali for Rs. 85/- at Hotel Kansar near R.T.O. Ring Road in Surat, Gujarat.
- Goa
A visit to India is incomplete without feeling the beauty and old world charm of Goa. Enjoy evenings on popular beaches like Calangute, Anjuna, and Aguada. Spare time to eat authentic Goan cuisine in Panjim, then dance and party the night away. Goa is 580-km from Mumbai by road. Search for flights from Mumbai to Goa on Mobissimo India.
Matheran is a popular hill station near Mumbai. Alight at Neral railway station on the Mumbai-Pune railway route and take the 2-hour toy train journey from Neral to Matheran. Matheran is an unspoilt place as vehicles are not allowed on the hill station. The adventurous types may trek from Neral to Matheran. Either walk to visit tourist spots or use horses, which are the preferred means travelling in Matheran.
- Ganapatipule
Ideal for a 3-day holiday. About 380-km from Mumbai by road. Enjoy a quiet, peaceful vacation among the beaches of Ganpatipule in Ratnagiri district of Konkan in south-west Maharashtra. You may find time to try Malvani cuisine and visit the forts and religious places close by.
- Alibaug
A 3-hour drive from Mumbai. Spend a quiet weekend nestled among the fort, beach, and hills of Alibaug in Konkan.
- Shirdi
Shirdi, synonymous with Shirdi ke Sai Baba, is a pilgrimage center and one of India's most popular religious places. It is located off Pune-Nasik highway, about 275-km by road from Mumbai. Devotees throng Shirdi on all weekdays, but Thursdays are the most crowded.
Mumbai—Bombay, the name brings different images to different people.
The urbs prima in Indis, premier city in India; home to Bollywood—India's Hindi film industry, the financial capital of India, city that turns dreams to magic and makes them come true; one that never sleeps, which dreams even when awake, that's always under threat but ever resilient and on the move, one that shows the way, that leads the pack, and is the barometer of what India is to the outside world.
A place that takes three hours to reach by air from the Middle East, and two hours to reach the 5-star hotel in town at Colaba from the airports in the suburbs of Andheri and Santacruz.
A city of contrasts, of attitude, of the power of money, of time and talent, of rich and poor and their co-existence that seems almost surreal, where time is money and money a lot more, where 9:16am means 9:16am and not 9:45am or 10am, where a 2-hour commute to work is normal for more than half the working population, where local trains are the lifeline of the city, where fortunes of Bollywood film stars rise and fall each Friday, and where cricket is a religion for the masses and its star Sachin Tendulkar more than a mere mortal.
Welcome to Mumbai—the city that never sleeps.
The sentiments expressed in Frank Sinatra’s New York, New York would be a perfect example for Bombay too. Bombay, Bombay, If I can make it there, I'm gonna make it anywhere…
The crowds and the pace of Mumbai comes as a surprise to the first time visitor, let alone tourists from abroad. You can feel the energy once you step outside the airport or alight at the railway station. Each city has its specialties that go beyond the usual tourist spots of museums, parks, entertainment zones, beaches, popular restaurants, nightspots, and happening places in town.
To savour those specialties one has to feel a city. Explore the surroundings, take a walk around your hotel, observe people, find variety in the sights, sounds, smells, colours, mornings, afternoons, and nights of the city.
Here are Five 'Must Do' things when in Mumbai.
A visit to Mumbai is incomplete without:
- Tasting street food: Vada pav, pav bhaji, kala khatta gola, bhelpuri, panipuri
- Using local means of commuting: Auto rickshaw (riksha), taxi, double decker bus, slow local train, and fast local train
- Wining, dining, pubbing, and partying: In town, South Mumbai, and the suburbs of Central and North Mumbai
- Visiting tourist attractions
- Playing, watching, or discussing cricket: In bylanes with kids, in the parking space of housing apartments, on the Maidans (grounds), and in office at work. Any time is the right time to discuss cricket in Mumbai, even while hanging out a local train
You haven't seen Mumbai even after all the sightseeing, eating, wining, dining, pubbing, partying, and working; if you haven't:
- Eaten a vada pav from the stalls outside N.M. and Mithibai colleges at Vile Parle
- Experienced the flavour of pav bhaji at the eateries on Tardeo, Nariman Point, and Fountain
- Gorged on the delicacies at Bade Miya near the Taj Mahal hotel in South Bombay.
- Feasted on Reshmi Kabab biryani at Cafe Noorani, followed by Ganga Jamuna at Haji Ali juice centre
- Drowned a pitcher at Café Mondegar and Café Leopold at Colaba Causeway
- Bought antiques from Chor Bazaar
- Spent an evening watching the sun set from the parapet of Nariman Point
- Stood on the terrace of a Nariman Point highrise apartment and wondered how exorbitantly priced the small, matchbox-like flats seem
- Enjoyed a late evening ride in a Victoria (an open horse drawn carriage) from Gateway of India to Chowpatty seaface
- Bargained hard for clothes at Fashion Street and Linking Road
- Jostled with Dabbawallas while waiting for the Churchgate fast.
- Given way to Koli fisherwomen shouting 'Macchhi ka paani', fish water, on the staircase of any suburban railway station
- Been to Haji Ali, Mahalaxmi, Mahim Church, Siddhi Vinayak, and Mount Mary
- Been a part of the faithfuls thronging the variety of meat and sweetmeat shops that are a gastronomer's delight during evenings and nights of the holy month of Ramadan (Ramzan) at Mohammed Ali Road, Minara Masjid, Fort
- Spent a lazy weekend sitting on the parapet at Marine Drive watching the changing colors of the evening sky with the sun's rays glistening like diamonds on the crest of waves reaching the shores from the Arabian Sea
- Watched a Bollywood movie shooting at Film City, Goregaon
For the adventurous types:
- Hang out a peak hour suburban local train, feeling the wind on your face, and the adrenaline rush and energy that comes while alighting from the train. For those that want to give it a try, spend an hour in the evening trying to 'get' a foothold in a Borivali fast or a Virar fast local train from a suburban station like Bombay Central, Dadar, or Bandra. It is an experience of a lifetime.
Although don't mention this as an experience for someone that does it daily, or you would get a scornful glance that suggests you better be somewhere else. Those that take the trains daily would gladly exchange that part of their life for something less stressful and more peaceful. Still trains are the best option for reaching any place in Mumbai on time.
- Wait for a darshan—a public appearance of Big BAmitabh Bachchan outside his bungalow, Prateeksha, in Juhu
Special thanks to our man in Mumbai, Satish Vijaykumar, for Mumbai tips straight from the trenches. View photos of Mumbai from Satish's photostream on Flickr.
What's your favourite place in Mumbai? Why do you like Mumbai? What's your preferred hangout in Bombay? Let us know. We welcome your thoughts and there's always room for addition to 'must do things when in Mumbai'.
