Is this the so-called dream city ?. Review on Mumbai

Me and my hubby are a new addition to this so-called city of dreams.shifted after our mariage and its exactly 2 months now that we have called Bombay our home. like a typial Delhiite , iwanted to check out this city , as we have all heard so much about the dreams that are woven here and turned into reality , the spirit of the city and its people and all that glam quotient..... but the picture got ugly the moment we landed , the rain was at its furious best and we were forced to sit in the craft for a full 30 mins after landing . finally , the crew decided we had to be shifted out , so we went out in the merciless rain and yes , that was the first experience with the bombay rains. when finally we got our luggage , all the stuff inside the suitcase was drenched in water and I was really not impressed !!!

few days in the city and we felt we should venture out and get to know the city better . a typical sight seeing day here would be going out to the beaches ( which are horribly dirty , so much so that you will lose all interest in getting near the water , the s is that much visible) , visiting the Gateway of India , Haji Ali , Nariman Point , Marine Drive and well thats about it ... agreed Bombay does have malls and multiplexes , but its nothing unusual or different . malls in every big city are the same , especially if you are from Delhi , there is no need to even visit unless you need to really buy something.

now food in Bombay is quite a simple affair , you can have Pau Bhaji and Vada Pau and say that you have had Bombay food , thats all the variety you will find in here .. bombay ppl hardly experiment with food and everything is eaten stuffed inside a bun , I was horrified to see samosas sold stuffed inside a bun, now who would like to try that out? after our day out, I really felt like having a glass of badam milk, so we went to a famous restaurant in bombay and ordered. a few minutes later, the waiter gave me a glass of boiled milk with a few pieces of almond dropped in. I knew I should have expected this, after all, the city is only obsessed with a term called "pau", thats all. a plate of aaloo chhat meant boiled aaloos mashed and sprinkled with green chutney and chanaa on top. I was so furious I stormed out and told the restaurant manager to have it instead. the best food to have in bombay is Dominoz , thats all.

if you are gonna live in bombay, there are certain things you have to learn in terms of travel.. cabs and autos are the safest bet here, u dont have to ask them if they will go to your destination. simply get in one and tell them, rest assured, the meter is automatically down. this is the best feature of bombay, no issues with the auto wallahs and cabbies, they are most civilised. now, if you plan to own a car in bombay, first practice the art of patience.. u need to know how to maintain your calm and cool while sitting in your car for more than 2 hrs for a 30 minute drive.the trains in bombay are even more fun. u dont have to make any effort of getting in or out. people are always hanging out of the coaches, even if its a mid-afternoon train on a Sunday and the trains have a standard stop time of 20 seconds. so go and stand in front of any coach, the crowd will simply push u in ( but please master the art of holding your breath if u are not a fan of smelling the stink from a thousand unwashed bodies or their sprayed deos) and it is always advisable to carry an extra set of clothes(if u dont want to be counted as one of the smelly ones). i really felt like walking up to each and every individual and ask them exactly where were they going on a sunday afternoon?everyone cant just be out sight-seeing, especially when the number is in millions!!!!! next option, bus.. but hey, there is a queue system here, so please stand and stand and stand till u finally get a chance to board the bus. and even then u will stand, even when u board the bus from a depot, that too on a sunday night at 11:00pm! i am completely lost on any other options of travel, so the best thing to do in bombay is to stay at home. honestly, Bombay is the worst and most horrible city to travel.

another peculiar habit I found in the people of bombay is that they do not believe in working the afternoons. like there was this time we really needed to get a doctor on a sunday, we searched from 12pm till around 4pm and there was not a single doctor available. we were very promptly informed that the doctors dont work here during the afternoon and can only be contacted after 6pm , that too if u have a prior appointment. even most of the chemists were closed. seriously,now how much more sick and f up can it get ?

if you are not from Bombay and are here for some time, its advisable that u postpone your shopping plans. Bombay has no standard in terms of quality or style and the prices are jaw-dropping. in fact, people here rather will tell u to get them things from Delhi, they are that much starved in terms of good clothes, good food and accessories and all. we have actually got kababs and rolls and other varieties of non-veg for them from Delhi... and the look on their faces said it all.

one good thing about the weather here is the sun isnt as scorching as our Delhi one. the days are mostly cloudy with a little bit of drizzle and cool breeze, atleast that is what I have seen till now... talk to any bombay waala about the rains, no matter how much it rains here, they will always tell u that this was nothing. "abhi to baarish hui hi nahi" .. floods ho gaye, ab aur kya chaahiye yaar? but u can always see people here enjoying the rains in their own way. the more the rains, the more u see the crowd at Gateway of India, Marine Drive and Nariman point. kids and youngsters come out in groups to play footbaal and its real fun to watch them enjoy. we too had our fair share of fun in the rains.

when we talk about the spirit of the people in bombay , that is something I can agree with. lets take the example of the recent train blasts on 11th July 2006. when the trains stopped and people were left stranded on the platforms, those staying nearby got food and water from their homes and fed these stranded passengers. innumerable lifts were given to people to help them reach their destination.. another good thing about Bombay is that it is relatively safer for women as compared to Northern India.but that in no way means that men in Bombay dont stare. they do and they pass comments as well, only difference is they are still not notoriously bold enough to walk up to a woman and touch her or say something to her on her face.

while travelling in Bombay, u will see the autos and cabs have a neon light inside that is on. make sure ur driver switches it off while u are aboard. the culture of pimps and pros is very open in Bombay, drivers who have these lights on are the pimps and this is a signal to the passengers that if u want a night out, they are the ones who will take u to such places.. so just be careful about that. and dont be surprised when u see couples getting too cosy, so what if u end up changing the definition of " getting too cosy in a public place".. this is Bombay and all your definitions are soon gonna change..wish ppl could be a bit friendly, even your neighbours are strangers here!

so the best time for me and hubby dear.. at home !!