Why unsuccessful attempts? I am in Mumbai for almost 3 years. In these 3 years, we planned to visit the Gateway of India numerous times. But every time, some thing came up and that plan had to be postponed. Even this time, we actually planned it for last Wednesday, so that, there will be less crowd. We keep hearing that, there is a problem of car parking near the venue.So, Wednesday. But on Wednesday evening, when I reached home from office, I suddenly found half of the family members unwell with cold, fever, cough and what not. I wondered and postponed it to Saturday. Again on Saturday, things did not work out. I am still thinking, what were the reasons that cancelled the plan. One of the highlighting reason is the delayed entry of our Kaamwali bai, who extended her stay to the point where, regular daily soaps would start, resulting in half of the members dropping from the plan.
So, finally, yesterday, I gave an ultimatum, if nobody else is ready, I will alone go out. Luckily, the kaamwali bai also decided to take off on the day, keeping no restrictions to keep us back.So, I was taking a risk of going to a famous tourist spot on Sunday evening. Reaching there, is not an issue. With the Eastern expressway, it is now much easier to reach this destination avoiding all the traffic on the way. The problem might begin, once you reach there. As soon as we reached near the spot, first thing, we observed is the road leading to the destination is closed every Sunday between 10 a.m. to 8.00. p.m. So, we had to search for a way to go close to the Gateway of India, where we can park our car and walk to the gate. Luckily we managed to find a road and also found a place to park the car. The car parking is Rs. 60/- here. How much official this parking is, I do not know. A note of caution here, I am sharing. Please make it a point to clear with the person, to pay money in the end or while parking itself. The guy asked me to pay upfront. And while leaving again, he was asking for the money. I had to give him a dose to make him realize, that I have already paid.
Moving on, it was an unbelievable crowd. Such spots make you realize, India's population is huge.
Initially, we thought, the crowd has gathered for some program as we could hear some music. But later realized, it is all for the Gateway of India. Although, we had to walk a bit to reach near the Gateway, but, I must say, arrangement made is all real good to control such a huge crowd. We not only could enter the place smoothly, but also got a chance to sit behind the Gateway having a look at all the fleet floating on sea water.
But, what caught my attention most was the view of Hotel Taj. It really caught our attention. If people were not taking selfies, then they were catching a glimpse of this beautiful architecture.
A few captures posted here, taken with my not so good mobile camera.
The place is worth visiting. There are ferries available to give a experience of sea routes. Outside, there are places to sit and eat. Although, the cleanliness level here, drops down a bit. Probably, because of the heavy crowd. On other days of the week, it must be a much better place.
With all the experience, now, I wish to make it my regular evening outing place. Let's see, when do I get a chance to visit again.
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