My friends visit to Mumbai and the instant refreshing outings!

My friends visit to Mumbai and the instant refreshing outings

(Diwali Special- Memorable Break)

This Diwali, I had got visitors to my work city, Mumbai. All my roommates had gone back to their homes, but I couldn't afford going home as I had exhausted almost all my leaves, and the 4 days continuous holidays wouldn't have sufficed for going home for me. But never mind, I had a fantastic Diwali. An environment of home away from home was created by my lovely friends, Nini and Monty, who came all the way from Delhi to my city just at one call. That’s what friends are for, right? Absolutely! So, I tried to make their visit as fruitful as it could be, and planned itinerary for visiting places, acting as their guide for the tour. Monty had been in Mumbai long back, so she was familiar with the city, but as it’s her first visit for Nini, we tried to cover as much places as possible. In a way, it was Mumbai-darshan dobara for me. To see places in Mumbai at first visit had been full of excitement and wonder; to see so much of crowd and unique places around, but to visit all the places from a perspective of a Mumbaikar, which now I have become, is entirely a different story. Lol

So, here we go by day wise outings, though I would keep it short. Don’t worry. :-P

Day-1; Kanheri Caves, Hanging Garden, Marine drive and gateway of India

(22^nd October)

It was the day, when in the morning at around 8 o’clock they arrived, and I took one day leave from office. I was so happy to see them after more than a year, and they were equally happy and excited. I don’t forget to thank God every now and then to bless me with the best people as my friends. So, after getting all fresh and ready, we set out for nearest destination, Kanheri caves. It was my fourth visit to the caves. As there are group of 108 caves, it’s quite difficult to cover all in one visit, so we have to skip so many caves. But for me, it’s like exploring a new cave every time with a new route. This time I could go into the hall, inside which there were so many little and dark chambers, which would have been used by monks for meditation purposes. As my friends are full of life and excitement, we could take the most challenging routes, like climbing on straight walls to make the shortest route to the top, and climbing on trees and posing like monkeys. And to add more fun to the trip, we met few guys from North-east, who also joined us in exploring the remotest corners of the park with more fun and laughter.

"The Kanheri caves @ Lungs of Mumbai"

After some adventure in and around the caves, we left for other places and covered Hanging garden, Marine drive, Gateway of India, along with our North-eastern friends. The day one ended with a dinner at Café Mondegar. I am not describing any details, as I had already noted down my experiences in earlier notes, when everything was new to me. ;-)

"Mumbai Darshan Dobara"

Day-2 ; Elephanta caves and Diwali at Kharghar

(23^rd October)

Our day was fully planned; visit Elephanta first, and then in the evening to visit our friend Tanzin and his wife Dimpi at Khargar with the intension of surprising them. Tanzin is Nini’s first cousin and mine and Monty’s friend. It’s with them that I went to Elephanta in 2012, when I was new to the city. We boarded ferry from Gateway of India and had a fun-filled ride.  As it was Nini’s first journey by a ferry, so I could feel the excitement she had been experiencing. The weather on both days, were quite hot, as October heat denied to spare us, thus piercing through our skin. But we didn’t mind the heat, as the feelings of togetherness and bonding were stronger than the heat itself. Hmm

"Elephanta fun; beating the October heat"

In the evening, when we reached Tanzin’s house, I went first while two of them kept going up-down in the lift. I entered as pre-informed and after a little while, Nini and Monty rang the doorbell. But strange, they were not surprised at all! The reason was that a moment before our arrival, Tanzin’s sister had called him and told him that he could expect some surprise guests along with me. Our entire surprise plan went into dust. Then again, never mind! We all were so happy to see each other, that too on an auspicious occasion like Diwali, when nobody would prefer to be alone, but with family and friends. So there we were, as a family, all ready to celebrate the Diwali.

After Dimpi, Tanzin’s wife, lighted the lamps and did some puja, we all went out and burst some fuljhadis as Shgun, though we all were against crackers; the bigger ones and the noisy ones. Then we put on some songs on tv; old and new, and danced crazily; laughing, shouting, running, rolling on floor etc. We had full fledged fun till we were tired and it was too late. So, this Diwali had been quite memorable and rocking one.

"A home away from home; Diwali fun"

Day 3-4; Lonavala & Khandala)

(24-25^th October)

We got back to Malad from Kharghar in the morning, and got our stuffs packed including the instant cooked pulao for lunch. We left by 12 o,clock and waited for Bus at Pushpa park bus stop at Malad (E). But at that point of the time, private buses were not available, and also state transport buses were less frequent, and whichever bus came, it came fully occupied as well. After waiting for almost an hour, we decided to go to the origin point of Bus, i.e. Borivali Bus station, where we got one bus after 20 minutes. We made the right decision, and were glad of our decision, for when we reached Malad, the bus got full again. We would not have got seats again, if we hadn’t gone there. Lol

Thus our journey started. It’s my first ever visit to Lonavala, though I had passed through it on many occasions. The drive through Pune-Mumbai expressway has always kept me captivated. The broad roads and the surrounding beauty of Western Ghats combine to give the best of the best to the travelers.

We reached Lonavala at around 4 o’clock, and went searching for the best located hotel, away from the commotion of the city centre, and successful we were in the quest, though the rates were quite high given to the weekend holidays.  We got fresh, ate the pulao we carried along and by 5:00 pm we left to explore the Lonavala city. Roaming through the streets, crossing the market centre, we finally stopped at Kumar resort, which is quite famous in Lonavala for water sports. It has one famous restaurant, the Kebab restaurant, which has live ghazal performances in it. We roamed around the park, did some fun stuffs and when it started getting dark, we started walking towards our hotel. One thing which I found everywhere i.e. on every shop is ‘Chikki’ shop; yeah Lonavala is famous for chikkis! ;p

"Let's explore a bit of the new city" ;)

The next morning, which was the main day of the tour, we booked a cab for the day @ Rs. 1500/-, which promised to cover almost all the important points of Lonavala and Khandala.

Our tour started with Narayani dham, a temple dedicated to Goddess Naryani, which is quite big and beautiful, and it has the facility of rooms as well. We paid a quick visit to the main shrine and paid our obeisance, and as her blessings Goddess Narayani sent drizzles from the sky; yeah it kept drizzling throughout our tour, thus adding to the beauty of already beautiful Lonavla hills.

"Let's take the blessings first; @ The Narayani Dham"

Then we moved on, driving through the winding roads, to our second destination for the day; the Karla caves, another Buddhist caves dating back to 2^nd century. Have you realized that I am visiting more of caves this year than anything else? Hell, there should be something in it, isn’t it? Hmm … These caves are also associated with Buddhism, and to some extent I found it similar to Kanheri caves, especially the main shrine hall.

"Why the heck, the caves keep inviting me?" :P

Our third destination was ‘Lion’s point/Shooting point’ which became the highlight of the trip. Even the drive towards it, was one of the best; hills, greenery, rain-drizzle and we on the road, just loved it. The zigzag roads seemed like dancing with smooth moves, while on one side the Monsoon green waved and on other side autumn yellow danced. The wind produced the best loud music for all. And three of us with perfect moods, were all into that perfect trip. We passed through many dried waterfalls, aftermath of monsoon, Bhushi dam and Lonavla lake on the way, which all added to the surrounding beauty. After reaching at Lions point, the moment we got out of the car, the sudden gush of the wind welcomed us, making us all go wild. We ran, jumped, sang, and danced out of pure joy at the accompaniment of chilly wind music. We felt that at any moment we will be swept away by the forceful wind, but still we loved it, and went towards there, where the fastest gush blew. Nini and Monty later danced while I became the cameraman. Lol it was really something different and exciting. We felt alive. ;)

"The wind therapy, just loved it!"

Then we drove towards city and stopped at Wax Museum, where wax statues of many famous people were kept. Some of the statues really looked like real, while some were otherwise. Why do we need to go to Madam Taussads, when we have our own museum here in India? Lol

"O yeah, they are just wax statues!" 

At khandala, which was our last destination, first we went to Rajamachi, where the wind speed was even greater and faster. We tried to stand near the railings and pose, but we were not able to. All our clothes felt like tearing apart and we felt as if our hair would soon be blown away from our heads, thus leaving us bald for life. Such was the speed of wind that Nini’s scarf blew away of her head and got stuck at the branches of a nearby tree. But she didn’t want to part with it, so after shouting for a while, when she insisted on climbing up the tree which itself was moving harshly, someone came to help. The gentleman, who helped in getting Nini’s scarf down, later requested to have a photo with us; given to our Mangolian features, they thought us to be unique creatures to be clicked along. Lol

"Dear windy wind, plzzz spare our hair atleast!" Lol

"Nini's scarf being saved; by some superman!" Lol

We went to a nearby temple, and then went walking towards sun-set point, from where is visible the famous dukes nose. There also the wind blew like anything. The roadside vendors, who were selling corns and pani puri etc complained of their money being blown away with the wind. They had to be so careful with their holds on things, lest soon shall they be left with nothing. This was our last point of sightseeing. We relished some hot bhuttas and bhel puri, protecting them hard from the forceful wind, and with stomachs full of excitement, we started for Bus stand, from where we boarded a bus to Mumbai for our return journey.

"The sun-set point; see dukes nose!"

Catching a bus was also a big thing, due to huge crowds of Mumbaikar assembled there, who came for the weekend refreshment and now heading their journey home. It was almost like Mumbai local; pushing and pulling going on with continuous shouting. Lol

We reached Navi Mumbai in one and half hours, and got down at Kharghar, as per promise to stay at Tanzin’s place.

Day-5; Kharghar hills/ Pandav Kada

(26^th October)

Day fifth, we left everything on Tanzin, asking him to take us wherever he wanted. And guess where he took us? Panadav kada, in kharghar hills, where I visited this monsoon with Deepali and had a blast amidst enchanting waterfalls and sexy green surroundings. Now, the scenario was completely different; the waterfall being dried, greenery giving way to autumn yellow fading grasses and trees, and there were lesser people as compared to Monsoon rush, so lesser noise. That’s the best thing when you visit a place off-season, when very few people go, for then you feel the peace prevailing there, and your soul connects to that particular place, and you have an inner conversation with nature’s every aspect that leaves a mark in your soul.  That’s what I believe and I felt there too, like many other places I’ve visited. So I recommend you to visit a place on-season, when you want to have fun with your friends and loved ones, and visit it off-season to find your own self.

"Quite an adventurous day, indeed!" ;-)

Here also we, five of us got ample time to be in our own respective thoughts, along with the fun part we had. We walked through the boulders of the dried stream, for quite a long stretch. There was a water pool, in which we, the girls got in and had loads of fun. When we finally reached the top, we all were quite tired and thirsty, so after staying there for 15-20 minutes, we turned to return. On our way back also, Nini, Monty and Dimpi insisted on going into the water, where they had extra fun, whereas Tanzin and I walked ahead and sat on a clean surface, eating almonds and listening to kinnauri songs on phone, while waiting for them.

In the evening we got back to Malad, as it was Monday the next day, and my holidays were over. It was so painful and heavy to go back to office, especially after five full days’ fun and masti with friends. The next two days, Nini and Monty roamed around on their own; shopping in Bandra, visiting the places like, Haji ali and Juhu. I hope they had fun!

"Two beautiful souls"

And on 29^th evening, they left for Delhi, carrying hoards of memories from here and leaving beautiful memories behind, for me to cherish. I thank God once again for the wonderful friends I have. Amen! J

This Diwali had really been “A-Awesome”