For this gang of girls, it’s fun travelling together

Silky Bajaj

Travel is fun. It’s more so when you do it with your gang. I learnt it the fun way when we, a group of four, checked out Mumbai and flew back to Chandigarh in less than 30 hours! Working in the same office, it’s tough to get time off together. And when that much-awaited opportunity presented itself, we didn’t waste any time in booking ourselves on a flight to Mumbai, the city we had been eyeing for long. And as luck would have it, we found accommodation at the ISKCON guest house in Juhu, right in the heart of the city.

Here’s how those fun-filled and memorable 30 hours flew by...

10am: An all-girls trip is sure to have its thrills, chills and spills, and numerous struggles to keep pace with time. And so it was with us — we almost missed the flight. Fingers crossed, brows knotted and hearts racing, we entered the plane. As the plane took off, our spirits soared, too — it was, after all, a flight to feel the freedom of travelling sans the ‘manly’ observation.

11.30am-3pm: In Mumbai, the all-excited gang was ready to rock and roll. Neither the eyes nor the mind was ready to rest. Warm sunshine greeted us in Mumbai. Coming from bone-chilling cold in Chandigarh, we couldn’t have asked for more.

4-8 pm: Soon, we were off to visit the spots on our packed itinerary. The first on the list was the Juhu Chowpatty. While many were busy trying water sports, we decided to head to South Mumbai. The famous Bandra-Worli sealink took our breath away. While our excitement knew no bounds, I started feeling a bit dizzy. But what are friends for? They sensed it, and came up with a remedy — a glass of juice at the famous Haji Ali replenished my energy levels. Next on our list was Antilia, the world’s most expensive residential building. The 27-storeyed mansion stole our hearts.

8pm-midnight: It was a long jump for us from ‘City Beautiful’ to the ‘City that never sleeps’. Enjoying the nightlife of this vibrant city, we headed to the Gateway of India, the famous Taj and the Leopold Café. We were taken in so much by the sights and sounds that we almost missed our dinner. We stumbled upon Delhi Darbar, and had a sumptuous biryani. With our bellies full and many spots ticked on our list, we decided to lose ourselves in the moment at the wonderful Marine Drive. After a long and exhausting day, we retired to the guest house.

6am: Knowing that we had just a few hours more in the city of dreams, our gang was up early to gather another set of memories.

7-10am: No trip to Mumbai can be complete without a Bollywood tadka, a visit to the abodes of cine stars. So off we were to Juhu, where the bungalows of film stars are lined up. Because of a die-hard Sharrukh Khan fan in the group, Bandra was unmissable. Right opposite to ‘Mannat’ is the amazing Bandstand beach. A few kilometres away was Salman Khan’s Galaxy Apartments. 

10am-12noon: While returning to our guest house, our taxi driver took us for another gedi to the houses of film stars, promising a chat with Akshay Kumar or Hrithik Roshan. Outside Akshay’s house, a guard told us he had already left for shooting. We couldn’t meet Hrithik too. We felt let down, but, on second thoughts, we thought it wasn’t Hrithik’s lucky day. Laughing, we returned to our guest house and checked out.

12:30pm: We just had two more hours in the city. That’s when our ‘itinerary diva’ said she wanted us to visit the ‘Grandmama’s All Day Café’. Thanks to her, we tasted heavenly hot chocolate. After clicking endless pictures there, we were on our way to the airport. Oh, the vada pav box on our list was still unchecked. A detour followed to savour the famous Mumbai snack.

2:30 to 4pm: With all boxes ticked, Instagram flooded with pictures and bellies treated to appetising food, and carry bags full of vada pav, we resumed our journey to the airport. A lot has been said about love at first sight. We all experienced it with Mumbai, and developed a lasting bond.

5-7.30pm: We touched down in City Beautiful with a basket full of memories. Mumbai was absolutely fun. That we did it in a group made it even more thrilling and joyous. This all-girls trip will forever remain one of my most cherished memories. 

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