Wandering Around Mumbai

After Elephanta, we wandered around the Fort neighborhood looking for a few specific sites and to do some shopping. We briefly walked a few blocks of the Colaba Market, then headed towards the Chhatrapati Shrivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS for short). It's a history museum located in a grand palace. We didn't want to go in, just check out the exterior. But without a ticket we couldn't even enter the grounds, lame. Next stop was the famous Old Victoria Terminus, now named the Chhatrapati Shrivaji Maharaj Terminus. It's another World Heritage Site and is known for it's Gothic and Indian architecture. We could only enter a portion of it for some reason but it really was stunning.

By now we were both hot and dehydrated, so we went in search of AC and cold drinks. We failed 3 times (found a neat board game cafe though) before giving up and going to Starbucks. Typical Westerners I know but it was wonderful. Feeling better, we attempted shopping again and headed back to Colaba for cheap souvenirs, particularly a magnet of the Taj Mahal. No luck there, too kitschy but we did buy some mixed spices. Instead of walking more, we caught a cab up to the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Mandia, originally the Crawford Market, an indoor collection of tiny stalls and stands. They sell fruits, spices, fruits, veggies, and oddly pets. We saw lots of bird species (pigeons, parrots, chickens, ducks, turkeys, etc), fish, and bunnies. Strangely no dogs or cats, guess they can just claim those off the streets whenever. We walked the shopping areas nearby but weren't really looking for anything.

On the walk back to the hotel, we stopped for dinner at a place called Yoko Sizzler. The entrees came out on sizzling cast iron pans, hence the name. The sides we ordered - Russian salad (which ended up being olivier) and egg fried rice, ended us being full sized portions. It looked like we ordered for a family of 4! Suffice it to say we did not finish even half of it all.

We took showers, a nap, and packed up before heading to the airport for the last time.Weiterlesen