7 Days in Mumbai - Felt like 3

So we reached the very hot Aamchi Mumbai from Kolkata on the 13th of March. Roop Mama and Sangeeta Mami picked us up from the airport, and we were off to my nani’s house in the city. This is the first time that I have stayed at nani’s house and not once did I have dinner @ home. Let me explain why……

1st Night in Mumbai
Roop Mama decided to take us to the mall in Mumbai Central (I can’t remember the name of it now :irked:). So it was Roop Mama, Sangeeta Mami, their two sons, Rishabh & Gautam, and then Lalit’s Mama’s two daughters, Chandni & Heena, along with Neeraj and me. So as we got outside of nani’s house, it was very much decided that we needed to get two taxis. As we determined who will sit where, everyone said that Neeraj and I would be sitting separately (hadd hai yaar ). So Roop Mama decided why not make a game out of this - so two captains were chosen (Roop Mama and Neeraj), and they created their teams. So it was Roop Mama, Heena, Gautam, and myself vs. Neeraj, Sangeeta Mami, Chandni, and Rishabh.

Goal? First to reach the mall from nani’s house. On your marks, get set………..go!

Even though our taxi stopped @ an ATM, we reached the same time as the other team, so it was a tie. We spent the rest of the time in the mall basically playing video games and going around the shops. Then it was time to determine what is the next location (i.e. dinner). Pizza Hut @ Fort was the unanimous decision. As we are on the top floor of the mall, Roop Mama starts discussing teams and all and says,

Now that we have our teams, let’s make it interesting. The team that gets to Pizza Hut last pays for dinner!

As he is saying this…he starts running for the elevator!! Gautam, Heena, and myself (the rest of his team) are just in awe — and immediately start running after him. We HAD to get to Pizza Hut first. Well the other team decided to take the escalator. They were half down the third floor as we got in the elevator. As we reached the ground floor and made it towards the entrance, Neeraj and Rishabh were right behind our team. But then when we tried to see where the rest of their team were so we saw Chandni chugging down to the ground floor, but Sangeeta Mami was slowly making to the second floor on the escalator. Our team took a big laugh and headed outside to catch a taxi.

We grabbed the first taxi and were off. We were very confident that we would reach the Pizza Hut in Fort wayyy before the other team because when we had left, they hadn’t even gotten in the taxi. So we chit chatted the way there, well our taxi driver took a wrong turn:!: We got stuck in traffic in which he had to end up taking a U-Turn anyway. But still we knew we would reach first.

We called in between to make sure that they got in the taxi, and then they asked where we were - we bent the truth a bit….and I think they did too. Soon after we reached Pizza Hut and Heena, Gautam, and myself ran to the entrance.

As we made it to the door, we were trying to think if they had gotten there before us — as I opened the door, to our surprise, their team was sitting having Pepsi! They beat us by 15 minutes!!!!!! So Roop Mama made the bet, and he ended up paying up!

Second Night in Mumbai
We headed for a fun filled day @ Lower Parel @ the Phoenix Mills mall. All six of us (those mentioned in the first night) had a great time bowling. Neeraj was bowling for the first time, and he was one of the top scorers of the night:!: Rishabh and him tied with a score of somewhere in the mid 100s. We also played pool in the same area — the cousins were playing for the first time, and so Neeraj and I were showing them how to shoot. It was fun! We ate @ Phoenix Mills @ the various stalls (I love McDonalds in India, and I was craving an Aloo Tikki Burger).

Third Night in Mumbai
Now we made the trip out to Powai. We took two cars, asked Lalit Mama to send someone from his office so that he could drive the other car. Chandni, myself, Sangeeta Mami, and Anita Mami (w/Roop Mama driving) sat in one car as the driver, Neeraj, Heena, Rishabh, and Gautam sat in the other. The main reason making the long trip to Powai was to go go-karting in their huge race course (its the same course shown in many movies including Kahin Pyaar Na Ho Jaaye). We had a great time as we tried to race, but the people running the place made us go one by one. Neeraj was one of the last to finally go but for his car was messed up, and he ended up crashing into the tires!! Its a good thing that they give you a helmet and elbow pads to wear.

After 10 laps of fun, we took some pictures and then we went into the shopping area and walked around for a while. Then ended up going to Shiv Sagar and ate there. Lalit Mama joined us as it closer to home.

Fourth Night in Mumbai
Chandni, Heena, Neeraj, and myself headed out to Andheri West to stay two nights with my masi (Mumma’s elder sister), and her family. We were also going to see my cousin, Mitu Didi, in Borivali and bring her & my nephew Kunal back to my masi’s house so that they could stay with us during the time we were there.

This night Chandni, Heena, Neeraj, and myself already had planned that we would go out to a discotheque for some fun. We ended up going to Poison in Bandra late that night. Thanks to Kunal (our buddy the avid reader @ this blog ), he set us up with free tickets so that the four of us could get in. We appreciate it Kunal, and it would have been fun if you and Bharti could have joined us. DJ Aqueel was one putting on the music, but I have to say that I was not impressed by the selection of songs. It was just techno-crap music that he ended up playing. It was quite crowded as well, and the atmosphere wasn’t great. I would say that it was 60% posh crowd (teenagers from upper class who were smoking who-knows-what) and 40% call center girls. There were many lesbians which was just interesting, and too many girls that would get close (I mean close) with any guy that would stand in front of them. I was pretty shocked with the crowd, and it wasn’t as enjoyable as I had expected. Neeraj felt the same. Amrita Arora (Malaika Arora-Khan’s sister) also showed up and was up there w/ DJ Aqueel, but nobody else famous was seen. It ended @ 2 am, and we took a taxi back to Andheri.

Last two nights in Mumbai
We spent one extra day in Andheri at masi’s house than expected, but all in all it was alright time. I don’t agree with alot of things my masi’s son says or the way he speaks to others, but hey, when you are visiting for a short period — you have to suck it in and let it go.

We went to Lokhandwala and wanted to hang out @ the new Mochas that had an open rooftop, but unfortunately there was a 45 minute wait, so that ended up going nowhere. We ended up going to the Cafe Coffee Day across the street.

That night we ended up watching India lose again in the World Cup, and the big game in my house to play on this trip was dumb charades. So the four of us (Heena, Chandni, Neeraj, and myself) stayed up almost all night and played dumb charades. Tons of fun! My other cousin, Pooja Didi, and Bobby Jiju showed up the next morning as they came from Surat to visit us which was very nice.

Then once we got back to nani’s house, we went out the last night to Bombay Blues for dinner. I also bought a new mobile (Nokia N73 which is so awesome ). I love the new phone, its got a built-in IPOD which is great because I can listen to songs as well use it as a phone. There are two cameras also and its chic — I love it. When we went to Bombay Blues for dinner, Chandni was raving at its Mexican dishes — so Neeraj and I, like last time when we we went to New Yorkers with the Americans on the previous trip, ordered various Mexican dishes (nachos, enchilada, burrito, etc…) - but unfortunately we could not classify it as “Mexican” food. It was definitely Indian-Mex, and that too not well made!! So I told Chandni and Heena that they will have to come to USA to have real Mexican food.

That’s it — Neeraj and I headed back to Jaipur the next day (we changed our flight because in the morning there was a solar eclipse and no one in my house would let us leave until it was over ). As we were on our way to the domestic airport, we got the good news that my masi (Lata Didi) and her family in Delhi completed their US Visa interview that day, and they all 10 year visas!! Now they can come to the US @ anytime. This was a feat as Lata Didi had been rejected twice previously - so it was big news for the family.

Next: Jaipur, Sawai Madhopur, and the Finale of the India Trip 2007!

Alvida. Jai Mata Di.