One day vacay | Bandra, Mumbai

Travelling to Lonavala over the weekend is too mainstream. If you want an epic #onedayvacay then stick to Mumbai because this city has so much to offer when you look at it through a tourist's point of view. Doing touristy things in your own city is my new high and this time around I explored the one place I've spent most of my college life in - Bandra! I always wanted to range over Bandra like a tourist. Why should firangs have all the fun? So without much a do let's plunge into the itinerary of  my one day vacay featuring Bandra.

Disclaimer - This time my CNN-IBN-Journalist-Bestest-Best-Friend Zeba, smarter-than-a-usual-21-year-old-science-student-best-friend Nida and myself are all narcissist.

Poetry by Love &Cheesecake 

Very little is needed to make a happy life and this place has every little ingredient I need in the recipe of my happy life - framed quotes, poetry on cushions, books on wooden shelf, money plants on white wall, eggs and coffee. We lost four hours of our lives here, eating eggs in every way possible - poached, sunny side up, omelette, scrambled and what not but the show-stealer was their nutella hot chocolate! They serve a big gooey nutella ball in glass and pour hot milk over it and then you just swirl and sip and sip and swirl. Zeba ordered this magic potion and I don't consume extremely sweet things because I have a major tooth problem, but I swear the day I get my tooth fixed this will be the first thing I'll drink. It's that good!

You might wana know: It's open from 8 am to 12 am. They do not accept cards.

Address: Pali Darshan, Junction of 16th & 33rd Road, Linking Road, Bandra West. 

Poetry by Love & Cheesecake, Bandra

Durello Convent High School

This was a detour but unplanned things have their own beauty. So this is where Zeba once studied thus we stopped by and just watched Zeba peep through its gate and relive all her childhood memories - how she scraped her knees for candies while running behind Santa Claus, her favorite teacher who wanted a daughter like Zeba and the innocent boy she blamed for all her pranks. When was the last time you visited your school? Nothing moves you the way this does.

You might wana know: Tittle Waves is bang opposite Durello and its one of my most favorite book stores in Bandra.

Address: Your School. 

Durello Convent, Bandra

Anjum Wood Carving

If you love colors and want to take them back home then this place is for you. They have stunning wooden frames in all colors and sizes to illuminate your living room. There are a lot of wood carving shops in this lane and the only thing that differentiates Anjum from others is its spaciousness. Here you can roam around, click pictures and also see the work station, but otherwise all the shops in this lane are the same.

You might wana know: It's costly if you buy a single frame. You get better deals on bulk.

Address: Shop 2/279, Mukadam Bunglow, Near Jama Masjid, Swami Vivekanand Road, Bandra West. 

Anjum Wood Carving, Bandra

Bandra Talao

Oh the beauty and serenity of this place is in its simplicity. You can spend hour and hours on a bench under the shade of trees, feeding grains to the pigeons or go berserk clicking facebook/twitter cover pictures on the wide steps or just peer through the pond to find fish (and a little filth. C'mon this is Mumbai not Miami). BTW I got to know that IES College of Architecture students have proposed a Bandra Talao 2.0 version with glass tunnel offering an underwater view and BMC has shown interest in it, so ya, you can dream of a Miami version of Mumbai for your great grand kids after all.

You might wana know: All the activities mentioned above are only available on the S V Road side of Talao.

Address: Bandra Talao, Bandra West.

Bandra Talao, Bandra

Soul Works

I know a lot of people like me are fascinated with the world of dreams and everything to do with dreams and I also know that at the moment dream catchers are a cliche with everybody trying to be extremely bohemian, but trust me this place will surely make you want to buy one. They exclusively make dream catchers, some the size of your palm and some as big as you! It's available in all shapes, sizes, colors, beaded, non-beaded, feathered and knitted.

You might wana know: The price of a palm length dream catcher was Rs. 300/- So its a costly affair.

Address: 14, Tertulian Road, Mount Mary, Bandra West. 

Soul Works, Bandra

Mount Mary Church

I had never been to Mount Mary Church. I had only heard stories of its beautiful architecture, old stoned structure and breath-taking view and I was so glad that all these stories turned out to be true. This place offers another level of tranquility and that's why you can be yelled at for talking loudly in the church. Sorry but I can be ignorant about by voice levels.

You might wana know: There is a timetable if you wish to attend mass, but it's open for visitors all days of week between 7 am to 7 pm.

Address: Mount Mary, Bandra West.

Mount Marry Church, Bandra

145 Bandra

Finally Food! We were really late for lunch but the staff was very helpful and quickly arranged a table for us. This place was "Fort ki shaan" and has recently opened up in Bandra and is totally amazing! They have delicious food (I'll soon talk about it in length), separate Sheesha Parlor (starting at Rs. 850), Pool Table (Rs.150 per game), projector for IPL Match screenings and tastefully done ambiance. So about food - their menu offers Mumbai street food with a twist like Pao Bhaji Cones, Aam Aadmi Toast and Pani Puri. Apart from this they have healthy salads, not-so-healthy main course and out of the world desserts. A must try is the Four Layered Choco Bomb. Now about hospitality - we called for Chicken Fried Rice which by mistake was served to and consumed by another customer and thus a fresh one reached our table really late and for this fiasco they offered us their famous Candy Floss Dessert and when we refused to eat it (because it sticks on the teeth) they didn't charge us for the Pool Table! Whoever said, "Best things in life are free" totally meant it!

You might wana know: It's open until 1:30 am and is always crowded, so table booking is recommended (022 62339595/ 022 62339596).

Address: 1st Floor, Joe Plai Building, HSBC Building, Pali Naka, Bandra West. 

145 Bandra

Bandra Fort

If I were Alice, Bandra Fort would be my wonder land. Its clean, its well maintained, its serene, its picturesque and during sunset it glows with golden light (FYI natural sunlight suits Indian skin tone best in pictures). First we walked all the way up and clicked a lot of pictures resulting in a lot of people photo bombing, so we walked down towards the rocks which was more secluded and offered a stunning view of Bandra-Worli Sea Link and Arabian Sea. Here is were we settled listening to the soothing music of sea waves hitting rocks, breeze blowing our long locks giving the ultimate Bollywood heroine feels and sunset changing the color pallet from bright yellow to orange to red to purple. It was pure bliss!

You might wana know: You cannot eat hawkers here.

Address: Bandra Fort, Bandra West. 

Bandra Fort

10 Downing Street

TBH this was not required because we barely had any appetite or energy, but nevertheless we shopped at Hill Road, shopped for clothes and accessories, changed at Marks & Spencers, booked an Ola and arrived here like Divas. We chatted a little, surfed through all the amazing pictures we clicked, gorged on some appetizers, tried to dance, clicked some more pictures, discussed our "best of the day" and called it a night.

You might wana know: They have an exquisite lunch menu but during evening they only offer appetizers.

Address: 1st Floor, Vibgyor Towers, BKC. 

10 Downing Street, Bandra

So that was the story and itinerary of my one day vacay at Bandra. We were excited kids yelling, holding hands while crossing signals, constantly asking for directions, clicking pictures, irritating the hell out of people, asking them about the importance of every heritage site, smiling, talking, laughing, walking, hitchhiking and playing around in the Bandra that I've been to maybe a million times by now. This is what the tourist swag does to you. Do try it!

P. S - I wana blindly place my finger on the map of Mumbai and just explore it like a tourist.