Friends
First of all - it feels great to be back in Apni Dilliii :)
Thought, I would share my experiences on the Mumbai, Pune and Jalgaon Trip last week. Well it was official and i had to be there for one of the job fairs that we did in Mumbai, Thane for my company IIJT and thankfully it turned out to be one of the best job fairs so far! While, the trip proved to be a confidence booster during my first official visit to Mumbai and Pune, I had some mixed experiences as well:
Mumbai: I landed in Mumbai on a rainy Friday morning (obviously the flight was delayed) and the scene outside the Airport was similar to a typical beginning to any other trip to Mumbai - CHAOTIC!!! We had traffic snarls, long ques of cars and our good old Fiats in their most suited Yellow and Black outfits. The rides in these fiats weren't that bad! The wada pao on Juhu Beach during the high tides will stay in the memories for some time. I got a chance to drive in Mumbai as well, though it was not the best of the experiences in world, but I will still not be able to forget it for some time. Like any other Dilli Wala, I am pretty much used to the traffic snarls - but Mumbai was different and it really needs help!!! Not that I am cribbing, but now I can say that Delhi Government has still done a fantastic job of maintaining roads like the Inner and Outer Ring roads and the Toll / Express Flyways - which carry majority of the traffic. The drive on the Worli Sea Link was an exception though :) Amidst those Mumbai rains, the drive on the sea link followed by a little beer actually made up for the fatigue :)
However the good old crooks (taxi and auto walas mainly) left a bad impression on me! They will overcharge and irritate you to the extent you cant even imagine!!! I had to almost beat up a taxi wala for not being able to take me to Mumbai Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus for my Train to Jalgaon (my next destination on this trip) - beware of them when you are in Mumbai!
Jalgaon: Well, it was a short stay in Jalgaon (just about 12 hours) but I must say, I enjoyed this small city! I stayed in a small hotel near the Railway Station and headed to my office in Jalgaon. During the lunch break - I savored some nice little treats from Jalgaon! The "bhel puri" and "pani puri" were amazing and filling too :) We had good fun in the city, except for the fact that it was hot, unlike Mumbai!!! From Jalgaon, I headed to Pune in Train :)
Pune: What can I say about this city? Wonderful city, fantastic weather and completely different from Mumbai's busy life. Though Pune is an IT hub and a lot of students come here for their higher studies from all across the country - this city still does not get crowded :) I stayed in Pune for 2 days and it was relaxing (by now it was pretty clear in my mind that I like Pune much more than Mumbai) We had some amazing "ghar ka khana" in our guest house and Ranjeet (our care taker) deserves a pat on the back for this!!! Though one memorable experience was with one Old Auto Wala, who almost kicked us out of his Auto in Pune since we could not make him understand where we wanted to go (it was our first visit to Pune)
If you are in Pune, don't forget to go to Shisha Cafe in ABC Farms - some nice hukka and brownies will relax you there. The service was not good though - but the experience still was nice and relaxing... It was a shame that I could not get time to visit Lonavla, but my train to Mumbai did pass through the station!
Mumbai Again: I had to come back to Mumbai for a few meetings and to catch my flight back to Delhi :) (by now I had started to miss my home) Day 7 on the trip was fine and in the evening, I took my (delayed) flight back to Delhi... Landed in Delhi late night and vroooommmm to my home :)
Overall - A nice visit (though a week was a little long) but I must say, nothing better than apni Delhi!!! To check out some of the pictures of this trip click here
For more travel updates, stay tuned!!!
Cheers
Sumit
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