A Long Weekend in Bombay

Rent a beautiful sail boat and go sailing with your friends / family. You can’t have lived in the city and not experienced a sailor’s life. Pre-booking is advised. You can learn the basics of sailing or just sit back and watch the sun setting into the Arabian Sea, away from the maddening crowd and noise. The sound of waves gently lapping against your sailboat is just out of this world. When you watch the flickering lights of Bombay from a distance, you can’t help but fall in love with the city. Once you are back at the dock, treat yourself to some good food and beer in Colaba. Cost: Rs. 3499 (sailboat rental for max 4 people) Hours Spent: 3+ easily, considering you will stop for a bite somewhere afterwards.

Oxford Bookstore in Churchgate and Kitab Khana in Fort, both have a good range of books and cozy cafes. Cha Bar’s (at Oxford) menu boasts of exotic and cultural blends of tea like the Moroccan Mint, South African Rooibos, Decaf Teas, Green Teas and Ayurvedic Teas. You can grab a book of your interest, snuggle in a corner and read to your heart’s content. Cost: Ranges from zero to the cost of book you may end up buying. Hours Spent: Half a day if you like the company of books

Most of the city’s history is concentrated in South Bombay. So if you don’t live down town it’s a perfect opportunity to take a long drive and come to SoBo. Start from CST (Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus), also known as VT (Victoria Terminus). This UNESCO world heritage site was recently rated among the top 12 most beautiful railway stations from around the world by Mashable. Right next to CST is Mumbai GPO. Established in 1794, the General Post Office is one of the biggest in the world. If you like photography, then the the Victorian and Gothic architecture of the Colonial era is guaranteed to delight you. Continue walking and cover Lion Gate, Asiatic Library, Horniman circle, the RBI building and Crawford market. The steps of Asiatic library is a popular spot for a lot of Bollywood shoots. Check out some more pictures here. Note – Right opposite Lion Gate stands the oldest building in the city. You’ll spot it if you walk slowly, looking for the engraved stone on the wall that certifies it as the oldest building. Easier landmark – it’s the building that now houses Anita Dongre’s showroom. *Sigh* Cost: Zero. And walking is good for health too. Hours Spent: Half a day. Not sure about doing this yourself? Check out Travel-logs. They conduct walks every fortnight and will take you to places you didn’t know existed in Bombay.

Though I began this post by saying there’s so much to Bombay than just multiplexes and restaurants, I know it’s our favourite way of passing time. So for those hard core foodies and movie buffs, here’s my recommendation – head to Cafe Universal in Fort (On Sundays it’s open from 6pm onwards). Lonely Planet describes it as “a little bit of France near CST“. But this is better than France I can tell you. The food (try their burgers), high ceiling, wooden interiors, big windows and the warm lighting makes you feel right at home. It’s never noisy here. And they serve beer with peanuts. That’s something we all should value. They will never rush you. When you do get tired of all the drinking and eating and just sitting, you can finally proceed to Sterling Cinema. It’s about 5-10 minutes from Universal. There! You have your food + movie plan sorted. Cost: Depends on how much you eat and drink. Universal isn’t pricey. Hours Spent: Half a day. After the movie if you still have the energy and inclination to eat / drink more, then there’s yet another charming place that’s left to explore – Town House Cafe right next to Sterling will charm you with its music and menu. Great food. Great service. And prices that won’t burn a hole in your pocket. Town House Cafe has a coffee shop on the ground floor which I haven’t tried but can vouch for the pub upstairs. It’s my favourite in town.