It has been a while and was too lazy or busy or whatever excuses I had, I need to write something, for my reference in the future. I think it is very important to have my personal notes so that I can read later or someone else can read my memo in the future.
First about my Indian Visa, I would like to mention a bit on this part as I think the department in charge of processing Visa is very efficient and I got my Visa the following day after my application. One point to highlight though, the fees charged, in my opinion is a bit too high. Anyway, I got my E tourist Visa for double entry, and one point to share here is that, when you have e-Visa, there is a special counter at Mumbai immigration department to handle your entry into India, hence you do not need to queue at the normal counters where your visas might be applied via Indian embassies (I lost out sometime, cause I was not aware of this until it was my turn to stamp my passport at the Immigration counter). May be they should highlight this clearly to tourists upon arrival to the airport. One point to mention is that Mumbai airport is quite nice and clean (and I think relatively efficient too).
As for flight, I used my favorite, that was SIA.
Mumbai:
My first arrival, Mumbai, and first impression, a nice one, modern. Walked quite a long way before reaching immigration, and got it cleared and then, I was outside, and my friend, Mario sent his driver to pick me up and I was sent to his local club where we met up after so many years, and having lunch and so catch up before moving to the local clubhouse shop for some sundry. The club is something like Penang club, I was informed it was built during British's time.
The clubhouse in Mumbai-Willingdon Sports club
Avacado fruits, Indian, look the size is quite big
Old Mumbai, exploring the city
Meeting my old friend, Mario.
Local wine
Old Mumbai
Old Mumbai
The Mumbai train station
Gateway of India
Mumbai, in short is nice and there are two parts, new and old Mumbai. New Mumbai is just like any metropolitan city, and I personally like Old Mumbai as there are more historical buildings to see. But It is quite dirty in some places as I think the local municipality did not come and clean the areas timely. Taxi drivers most of the times are not very honest, and I got "cheated" like twice, hence most would prefer to use Olacab (local version for Grabcar/Uber) which is very convenient and most drivers can speak good English.
Mumbai:
My first arrival, Mumbai, and first impression, a nice one, modern. Walked quite a long way before reaching immigration, and got it cleared and then, I was outside, and my friend, Mario sent his driver to pick me up and I was sent to his local club where we met up after so many years, and having lunch and so catch up before moving to the local clubhouse shop for some sundry. The club is something like Penang club, I was informed it was built during British's time.
Met Lawyer Guo at SIngapore Airport Terminal 3, after so many years.
Very traditional clubhouse, British style
Local garlic, first time for me to see this type, smaller ones
Walking around the city in the evening
Mumbai city, old Mumbai
The famous stairway, Taj Mahal hotel
The famous hotel in Mumbai
Pickle shallots
Old Mumbai
Old Mumbai
Old Mumbai, in a street where there is a temple and locals are offering prayers
The square near Gateway of India/Taj Mahal hotel
Elephant island
Dinner at one of the famous restaurant in Mumbai
Queen's necklace, a walking distance from my friend's house.
Just arrived in Mumbai, in the car with my friend's driver taking me to the club.
In front of Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station
Mumbai airport-Departure halls
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya-a museum, and must visit the museum shop where I bought some handicrafts
There are a lot of homeless people, most of them, as I understood are migrant workers, and they just live on the streets, in temporary shelters.
Food are delicious, if you like Indian food, and if you go to local restaurants, the food is relatively inexpensive and if the waiter provide good service, it would be nice to provide them with a small tips.
My friend's apartment is at a hillside, know as Malabar hillside, where of course a lot of rich and famous stay and as I was informed, the property prices here are super super expensive.
One thing to mention here is that, it is relatively safe to walk around the city, as no one will come and rob you, or disturbs you. But the road is very congested especially if it is a working day or during rush hours or when it is raining. But overall, like my friend say, I can get everything in Mumbai easily, and he is happy living there and for me, is a new experience visiting the famous Mumbai.
One thing to take note, to visit all touristry attractions, you need to buy entrance tickets and for foreigners, it is usually quite expensive.
Choong
Notes written in December 2017, recalling the visits.
Food are delicious, if you like Indian food, and if you go to local restaurants, the food is relatively inexpensive and if the waiter provide good service, it would be nice to provide them with a small tips.
My friend's apartment is at a hillside, know as Malabar hillside, where of course a lot of rich and famous stay and as I was informed, the property prices here are super super expensive.
One thing to mention here is that, it is relatively safe to walk around the city, as no one will come and rob you, or disturbs you. But the road is very congested especially if it is a working day or during rush hours or when it is raining. But overall, like my friend say, I can get everything in Mumbai easily, and he is happy living there and for me, is a new experience visiting the famous Mumbai.
One thing to take note, to visit all touristry attractions, you need to buy entrance tickets and for foreigners, it is usually quite expensive.
Choong
Notes written in December 2017, recalling the visits.
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