What I did when I had only half a day in Mumbai?

In February, I was in Mumbai for couple of days. I still had half a day in Mumbai left at my leisure once my meetings were over. Find out what I did.

Written by: Soumya Nambiar

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I think I have lost count of the number of times I have been to Mumbai. As kids, it was inevitable that we would travel to Africa via Mumbai at least once a year. I have had many fun experiences travelling through Mumbai. In February, I was in Mumbai for some work-related/ client meetings. Surprisingly, it was also the first time I was in Mumbai on my own. Since I had to anyway travel to Mumbai for another meeting,

I decided to travel to Mumbai during the OTM. OTM is one of the biggest travel trade shows in the country and this time they were giving us bloggers an opportunity to have a face to face meeting with potential clients like tourism boards, hotels, DMO’s etc. I didn’t hesitate since I knew this would be helpful during my trip to Israel. I was able to explore for half a day in Mumbai.

My day started with a breakfast meeting at the Sahara star. Even though the meeting was a disaster, I loved the ambience of the restaurant. I would love to stay here one day. If you are looking at booking good hotels in Mumbai, then Sahara Star looks like a good choice.

OTM, Mumbai

Soon it was time for me to head out to OTM. As a blogger, I did end up having quite a number of meaningful discussions with prospective clients. I also ended up interacting with many bloggers, many of whom I had only known or spoken to online till then. A special mention to Rishabh and Nirali of Gypsy Couple for helping arrange this event for us bloggers.

By the time the networking session and lunch was done, it was around 2:30 PM. My flight was only around 8:30 PM and I did not want to spend the rest of the day in the airport. That is when I decided to explore the city. It had been years since I had explored Mumbai and it was the first time I was doing it on my own. The last time I had this much time in Mumbai, I ended up spending the whole time shopping in places like Ville Parle. Mumbai is heaven for people who are into retail therapy.

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Half A Day in Mumbai

My initial plan was to take a cab to the ‘Gateway of India’. But when I checked out the distance on Google, it was showing that it would take me more than an hour to get there by cab. I did not want to risk it and decided to check Tripadvisor for things to do around me.

It gave me many options to do on a Wednesday afternoon. I did not want to go spend the rest of the day roaming around Juhu. That is when I saw that another option for me was the Bandra- Worli sea link. Last time I was in Mumbai, I had only seen this from a distance and I thought it would be a good idea to photograph this bridge.

But it turned out to be a bad idea. I asked my cab driver to take me to a place from where I could take a good picture. But he turned out to be as clueless as me. You are not allowed to stop anywhere on the bridge and in the end, he ended up dropping me on the other side of the bridge. I couldn’t find any good spots to photograph from and the fact that it was midday during Summer didn’t help my cause.

Atrium Lounge, Taj Lands End, Mumbai

Soon I was tired from the heat and just wanted to sit down somewhere and have a cup of coffee. Interestingly when I searched again, I realised that an option would be to have High Tea at the Atrium Lounge at Taj Lands End in Bandra. It was not very far from where I was and it seemed like a perfect opportunity to get out of the sun.

It was definitely a good decision and I spent the next couple of hours sitting by the window with a gorgeous view of the sea having delicious bites of freshly made mini treats like sandwiches, scones and many more desserts. I was glad that the service was slow which meant that I could leisurely while away the afternoon.

This is the view of the rocks and slums alongside the big residential buildings near Bandra in Mumbai
Bandra, Mumbai

While I was at Taj Lands End, I had a funny experience as well. When I was sitting there waiting for the food to come, Rajkumar Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra, the famous director-producer duo walked in and sat at the table just opposite to me.  At the same time, they brought the first set of mini bites. So, what do I do? I immediately take out my DSLR and start clicking pictures of the food. I think after seeing my camera, they thought I was some kind of Paparazzi and decided to move quite far away from me. Little did they know, that in the eyes of this blogger, the food in front of me was the celebrity.

The lounge is the perfect place to sit and take in the grandeur of the hotel.

Fine_Dining_restaurants_in_Bangalore_share

Soon it was time to leave. I had to change since I did not want to stink on the flight back to Bangalore. I spent some more time photographing the sunset from the Bandra shore and then caught a cab back to the airport. So this is what I did during half a day in Mumbai. Overall, it was a nice day and I had a nice time in spite of the Mumbai heat.

P.S: I am still searching for my SD card which had pictures from this trip. I had hidden it somewhere when my nephew was visiting and I can’t figure out where I kept it. Oath taken: I will back up photos as soon as I take them.

Half A Day In Mumbai
Half A Day In Mumbai

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Soumya Nambiar here. I am an avid traveler, travel blogger, vegetarian foodie and entrepreneur from Bangalore, India who grew up in Tanzania, Africa. I have been to more than 60 countries and in this blog, I write about my personal experiences as an Indian traveller around the world as well as my struggles as a vegetarian. I can be reached at [email protected].

36 thoughts on “What I did when I had only half a day in Mumbai?”

  1. I have a friend in Mumbai that I’ve been meaning to visit. Sounds like you had a lovely day. I am like you, I would have sat at the cafe for a couple hours enjoying the view. I hope you find your SD card because I look forward to seeing more pics!

    Reply
  2. I would love to visit India one day (I was in Mumbai as a baby for 4 days but I guess that does not really count). I am scared of the heat and would probably end up having afternoon teas all day long. Thanks for sharing and hopefully you´ll find your SD card again (would love to see more pics).

    Reply
  3. Looks like you had very nice quick time in Mumbai 🙂 I have never been there but I would love to visit one day! Cant wait to see the photos of the sunset.

    Reply
  4. Mumbai is one of those places in India that I would love to visit. There are so many attractions that I would definitely plan to stay a lot longer than half a day though. It was good that you enjoyed such nice comfort and hospitality for the afternoon but I do hope you find your SD card as I would love to see the photos as well.

    Reply
  5. I’m glad you had a good trip in Mumbai, I’ve been a couple of times but never really found myself enjoying the city. If I ever make it back, I’d take your recommendation of high tea!

    Reply
  6. Lucky you that you got to spot some celebrities 😉 But you could have made more of that half day in Mumbai if you could have caught a nice Taxi, generally the taxiwalas are very keen on showing people around. May be plan a longer stay next time 😉

    Reply
  7. I have spent 10 years in Mumbai and there is so much that I still have to see! I would love to spend all the time that I get in Fort or in Colaba. Seeing filmstars is so normal in Mumbai, that after the first few occasions, I even stopped reacting …they need their space too 🙂

    Reply
  8. You were a long way from the gateway of India, I can imagine the traffic gets pretty bad too there! I can’t remember seeing any scones when I was in India, how are they? The Bandra area looks very unique and photogenic.

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  9. The way you chose to spend your afternoon in Mumbai sounds really good, I would probably do the same to escape from the heat. It’s even better that you had a table next to the window so that you can enjoy the view. I would love to explore Mumbai myself, I have only been to the North of India which is different.

    Reply
  10. Seems like you day turned out wonderful in Mumbai. How lovely that you have opportunities to visit Mumbai so often. The high tea would be a perfect option to get out of the sun and relax. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  11. Nicely spent your half day! Idea of relaxing in Taj Lands End was good, since it’s very hot outside. LOL you just made those two run away from you. 🙂
    You could have spent sometime with me as well.
    Chalo, next time keep sometime free for other people also.

    Reply
    • Nisha for sure next time I am spending time with you. I was in a bad mood that day since my first meeting didn’t go as planned. Hence by the time I got to OTM, I was in no mood to socialise as much as I usually do. Sometimes my quirks of being one of a twin surfaces.

      Reply
  12. What does OTM mean? Is it Outbound Travel Mart?
    It sounds like a great opportunity to meet fellow bloggers and have partnerships with companies.
    I have not been to Mumbai yet but I read good things about it. I would like to visit it someday.

    Iza c/o Fill My Passport

    Reply
  13. I remember Bandra beach in Mumbai! Wow, it really takes me back. I was staying with a family friend a short walk away so we missed some of the hustle and bustle. This is a really lovely post. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  14. It’s always fun to explore new areas of a place we’ve been to before. As you mentioned, sometimes it’s a bust, but others we end up finding hidden gems!

    Reply
  15. Mumbai has eluded me for so long. I’m still waiting to see when I can get to the city. Also Soumya, I would like to know more about the OTM event and how I can participate in it the next time.

    Reply
  16. Mumbai is an interesting places as you described. I want to live there if it possible. Your article is really interesting in reading. Love to read it.

    Reply

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