Bombay
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HOW TO REACH MUMBAI
Air: Sahara International
Airport is an important point of entry for many foreign
airlines, and nearby
Santa Cruz Airport serves domestic flights.
Mumbai handles about
60% of the international and nearly 40% of the
domestic air traffic
in India. International flights connect Mumbai to all the major cities
of the world.
Mumbai Airport has
two terminals, Terminal I for domestic operations and
Terminal II for
international operations. Both terminals are situated about 4-km apart.
Terminal I has two
distinct terminal facilities viz. Terminal I-A and Terminal I-B which
are situated approximately
750m from each other. While Terminal I-A caters to
all domestic flights
operated by Indian Airlines and Alliance Air, the
Terminal I-B caters
to all other domestic airlines.
Terminal II is one
block of buildings, which has two units viz. Terminal II-A and
Terminal II-B and
are on either side of the Visitors Concourse.
All Air-India flights
are operated from Terminal II-B.
Rail: Mumbai (Bombay)
is the railhead for the Western and Central Railways,
and trains from
the city carry goods and passengers to all parts of India.
Two suburban electric
train systems provide the main public transportation
and they daily convey
hundreds of thousands of commuters in the metropolitan region.
Road: Mumbai (Bombay)
is well connected by a network of roads to the rest of India.
There is also a
municipally owned bus fleet over here.
Water: The facilities
provided by its harbor, make Mumbai, India's major western port.
Though other major
ports have sprung up on the West Coast - Kandla to the north
and Goa and Kochi
to the south - Mumbai still handles more than 40% of India's maritime trade.
Local Transportation
in Mumbai: Unlike most other Indian cities, there are no auto-rickshaws
(three-wheeler vehicles)
in the city center. Rickshaws do ply at the suburbs.
The minimum fare
is Rs 7.50/-. Mumbai has a huge fleet of metered black-and-yellow taxis,
it can be flagged
down at any street corner and fares are paid by meter.
Cool-cabs are also
in, they are the blue and white air-conditioned ones.
The fares are reasonable
enough.
Mumbai's Local Trains
And Taxis
The lives of millions
of people who live in Mumbai and suburbs opens with the
starting of the
local trains, namely the Harbour, the Central and the Western,
which awaken the
city to a new day. They are not as fast as the Bullet Train
or as smooth as
the trains plying on the magnetic tracts. But Mumbai's
local trains are
considered to be one of the most efficiently run commuter services in the
world.
There are as many
as 961 local train services plying on the Western line carrying
over 23 million
commuters everyday while the 1070 services on the Central and the
Harbour play hosts
to over 30 million commuters daily. The railway tracks in the
entire city rest
for a meagre four hours a day. It is during these night hours that the
working staffs of
the railways, repairs and services complete the network for the next day.
The local trains
are the main arteries of Mumbai. A halt or a disruption of
the local train
services would mean an imminent standstill to the thriving activities
of the entire communication
network, a near complete motionless city. It is stated
that over eleven
million people travel by the Indian railways every day.
And interestingly,
out of these eleven million, over five million travel every
day by the local
trains in Mumbai and its suburbs, in all directions.
The Chhatrapati Shivaji
Terminus (CST) formerly known as Victoria Terminus (VT)
makes a striking
sight with its cathedral-like spires, arches and turrets.
Local and outstation
trains ply from here. CST and the Church Gate station
are the busiest
centres right from the wee hours until the last service.
Located at the heart
of the city, these stations are a part of Mumbai's pictorial encyclopaedia.
BEST (BrihanMumbai
Electric Supply and Transport) buses are the perfect alternative.
Plying over 1,000
routes with an estimated 3,500 buses, of which 50 are special
air-conditioned
coaches, the BEST transports over 4.5 million commuters everyday.
The city also takes
pride in its honest and professionally run cabs and three
wheeler rickshaws.
Without them the city would be void of the moving stagnant traffic life
and the busy roads.
Sight Seeing In
Mumbai City
Gateway Of India
Mumbai's most famous
landmark, The Gateway of India, is situated
at Apollo Bunder.
It was designed by George Wikket.
It was built to commemorate
the visit of King George
V and Queen Mary
to India in 1911.
Bombay
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Through this magnificent
monument, numerous viceroys and governors were
welcomed to India
as they disembarked from their steamers, hence the name.
Flora Fountain (Hutatma
Chowk)
This marvellous fountain
was built in 1869, in honor of Sir Henry Bartle and
Edward Frere. It
is situated in the heart of the Mumbai city at a junction of five streets.
The fountain has
a figure of "Flora", the Roman Goddess of Flowers at the top.
Chowpatty Beach &
Juhu Beach
Chowpatty beach is
situated on Marine Drive. This beach is well-known for it's
stalls selling "Bhel-Puri
and Pani -Puri chat" a favourite fast food among the Mumbaites and visitors
to the city.
Juhu Beach is the
most popular beach in Mumbai which is 30 kms away
from the heart of
Mumbai. It is a long stretch of sandy beach from
Santacruz to Vile-Parle.
This is a very popular beach for picnic.
Both these beaches
are crowded on week-ends.
Haji Ali
Haji Ali mosque,
and the tomb of a Muslim saint, is located off shore,
in the Arabian sea
opposite Mahalaxmi temple. During high tide the walkway
to the mosque is
submerged in the sea and it can be visited only during low tide.
Kamala Nehru Park
& Hanging Gardens
The giant Old woman's
shoe in the Kamala Nehru Park is very popular with
children to play
in. One gets a panoramic view of parts of the city
from these parks
situated at the height of Malabar Hill. When seen at night,
the view of street
lights of Marine Drive resemble a dazzling bejewelled
"Queen's Necklace".
At sunset, the waterfall and fountains in the park are
lit with colorful
lights which are worth seeing. The Hanging Gardens
surrounded by beautiful
flower beds and lush green lawns are very popular as picnic spots.
Mahalaxmi Temple
This temple is situated
very close to the sea off Mahalaxmi.
This temple has
three beautiful images of Hindu goddesses, Mahalaksmi,
Mahasaraswati and
Mahakali which are made of gold. During Navaratri festival,
devoted Hindus throng
this temple in great numbers to offer coconut, flowers and sweets to the
goddesses.
Mount Mary Church
This is one of most
prominent and splendid churches in Mumbai, situated in
Bandra (West). During
the month of September a week long fair
is held which is
attended by the people of all relegions.
Mahalaxmi Race Course
Situated in Mahalaxmi,
this racecourse is one of the best in the world.
The racing season
is for six months from October to April. It attracts huge crowds for heavy
betting.
Nehru Planetarium
and Science Centre
This Sience Centre
is named after Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime-Minister.
It is situated in
Worli. It has a computer laboratory, mobile science exhibition units,
a heritage hall,
an auditorium, inflatable dome planetarium, science library and a children's
science park.
The sky-show at the
planetarium is very interesting with it's narration, sound
effects and slide
projections which combines entertainment with education.
It has a library
containing a large collection of books on astronomy, astrophysics
and space sciences.
The Prince of Wales
Museum
This museum
stands not too far from the Gateway of India.
It has a priceless
collection of art, sculpture, china and other antics.
Carefully presereved,
this mid-Victorian Gothic style building built in
1904 with beautiful
gardens surrounding it, is worth visiting in Mumbai.
Taraporewala Aquarium
Situated on the Marine
Drive, this aquarium has fish in varying shapes,
sizes and colour.
It's a delight for children as well as grown-ups.
Victoria Gardens
(Veermata Jeejabai Bhonsle Udyan)
These botanical
and zoological gardens have an interesting collection of flora
and fauna. Apart
from these, it also has a beautiful gateway, an arched
architctural
screen and
a museum building in the Greco-Roman Style. A large stone elephant
at the entrance
is also worth seeing. These gardens are situated in Byculla.
Sighseeing Outside
Mumbai City
Elephanta Caves
The Elephanta Caves
are located on an island about 10 Kms. away from the
Gateway of India.
These caves consist of temples carved from rock which date back to the
7th century.
The chief attraction
is the three headed bust of Lord Shiva, popularly known as "Trimurti".
One can reach there
by taking a ferry from Gateway of India.
Lonavala, Khandala,
Karla Caves
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Situated atop Western
Ghats ( Mountain range) on Mumbai-Pune highway
are the twin Hill
resorts of Khandala and Lonavala. During monsoon the beauty of
Khandala is enhanced
when the clouds envelope them and several gushing
waterfalls can be
seen from the lush green hills. At Lonavala the Valvan and
Bushy dams are worth
visiting. When you drive a little further towards Pune from
Lonavala, you reach
Karla, where the famous Karla, Bhaja and Bedsa Caves are situated.
