Airliners-India.com

[jbalonso777]

INTRODUCTION
Right, seems though as if the introduction in the previous Trip Report is as full as an empty bucket, I've decided that this trip report would have a relatively shorter and skinnier introduction to it.

COOL. MOVING ON.
Hello everyone.
And welcome.
To my first trip report in 2014. Technically the second, but the previous one was posted with a few days of 2014 to be spared. As you might have guessed, I have started this trip report along with the BLR one. So thankfully, the introduction of this trip report will indeed be shorter.

GET TO THE POINT..
So the purpose of this trip.
Its not a holiday, obviously.
Its a school trip.
To Mumbai.
Of all places, the school takes us to Mumbai for a trip.
Let me be honest though. Its not just an ordinary school trip. It is actually a field trip, rather.
The AS units of geography consists of varying topics, including globalization, rebranding places, coastal defenses and management, etc. Mumbai has something or the other to do with each of the mentioned topics. Mumbai is also the home of my geography teacher (yeah. She is a Bengali from Mumbai. AND she has JB as her initials. ), so obviously this was a very convenient choice. Lots of details were given prior to this trip.

(Further details can he found here, here, here and here)
Of course, plenty of mistakes I can find out, but I'd rather not specify anything.

As one will expect, SriLankan Airlines was the obvious option for the flights. And since this is a school trip, please do not expect too much emphasis on the flights, or rather, too many pictures from the flights. Being an aviation nut is difficult in front of them. And going on a trip with them is like unleashing the beast. Yeah. However, do expect more emphasis on the non aviation parts, something which you might find interesting from the itinerary!

I decided to get a bit cheeky with the food options, and soon I was rewarded with another form to fill in the details properly. Bugger it


'IT'S OVER, SUPERSTAR..'
Obviously, there was a meeting of all geography student's parents' (IGCSE, AS/A2, IB) about the trip. Looking at the turnout, I was quite optimistic that quite a few people would be going for the trip.
The deadline for paying the money for the trip drew close, until one day, the teacher dropped the bomb..
'Its over, children. Do not pay for the trip. There aren't enough people going...'
I had watched the movie 'Rush' a few days ago, and I remembered the scene wherein Lord Hesketh told James Hunt 'Its over, Superstar..', as he told Hunt that he would not be able to fund his own team, stopping James Hunt from tackling Niki Lauda and the dominant Ferrari team. 'Its over, children..' was something similar. However, with a miracle, James Hunt won the Championship the next year with the McLaren team. I was hoping for something similar.
And indeed, came a miracle! Rather than booking us at the Ambassador, we were booked at the Best Western Hotel Sahil, an unknown name to me. I had to wait and see what it was like there. This brought down the costs, and the trip looked like it was!!....
...not long before the school management tried to bar the trip from happening, but this too, was sorted.
I was quite pessimistic about it all. I decided that I'd believe that the trip is happening when the A320 leaves Earth. With that shadow of a doubt, I started counting down to Mumbai.

FLIGHT #1: SRILANKAN AIRLINES FLIGHT UL141 COLOMBO-MUMBAI 10TH JANUARY 2014
DAY 1: 10TH JANUARY 2014
THE DAY FINALLY ARRIVES!
It was all a bit too quiet in the week building up to the trip, to be honest. However, the night before the trip, we were all given our final briefing and tickets for the trip. With the influence of Chennai Express (), we decided never to never underestimate the power of common man, i.e, us travelers from the school. Anyways, us 15 travelers gelled in quite well. One of my close friends, would be flying for the first time in 8 years, so I was looking forward to telling him what is what on the flight. He was clearly frustrated about the fact that he didn't fly in a plane in 8 years, while I was clearly frustrated about the fact that I didn't fly in a plane in 8 days.
I announced on WhatsApp that there is a trip coming coming up, just a few hours from then. Looking at the responses (DPS, DXB, CDG, to name a few!) I was quite overwhelmed! Once I announced it was Mumbai, the fire was kind of doused, but trust me, this TR would feature a Mumbai which many of you haven't seen.



Anyways, the day finally arrived. The 10th of January 2014. Us Mumbai trip people were allowed to go home early and rest, missing the last 2.5 hours of school. That felt nice!
Once I left home, there was slight madness about..where to exchange currency into USD. After 3 attempts, Dad and I sat down at the newly opened Burger King restaurant, something which I had had back in 2010, at the Venetian Hotel in Macau. And now, its in Sri Lanka! As you'd expect, I had a Whopper Burger. Of course, being in a country where hopper is quite prominent, 'Whopper' and 'Hopper' sounded exactly the same. So yes, imagine my surprise when someone ordered a 'Hopper Meal' for themselves! I also took a normal Hamburger for later.



Once I reached back home, it was time for school to get over. In effect, I only gained just 15 minutes of extra home time. Bummer.
There were quite a few distractions, which prevented me from sleeping for a bit, and that included the movement of a type of woodpecker, which once again, I will confirm with the Natural Birds Enthusiast, Dad.


Packing was a quick affair, since all I had to do was put the stuff in properly, I had sorted out the clothes the previous night. The pessimism in me was reducing a lot, really soon, as I grew more and more excited about my first international trip with my friends, albeit back home to Mumbai! In that excitement, I had the movie Chennai Express () playing in the background, while I quickly typed out the final part of my previous Trip Report.

WHERE AND WHEN DID TIME FLY!
And as I finished that TR, I was about to start writing this TR. However, a time check suggested that I had only 20 minutes to shower, eat and leave!
Hurriedly, I did this, and by 1902, just 2 minutes after I was supposed to leave, I was all ready to leave. However, Dad hadn't come home yet! I was getting more and more impatient. I started pacing up and down stairs (something which might have contributed to something which happened later..), walking around the house, trying to keep myself calm. Come 1915, Dad came home. A quick check of my travel documents, gadgety stuff and etcetera, I left home, with about 43 minutes to spare to reach the airport. Yes, the opening of the expressway does speed up travel times, but the traffic jam along baseline road is quite a pain. And that easily could take half an hour to get through.
I set off from home, negotiating through the traffic. The longer we waited, the more frustrated and worried I grew! I was talking to 3 other friends who were also stuck in traffic. That was a relief for me. I was also talking to the person who was flying for the first time in 8 years. I asked him to load the bombs to silently kill people on the flight!
Once on the highway, I just had 15 minutes to spare, while crossing the highway usually is 25 minutes. Knowing I wouldn't make it at the 2000 hours cut off time, the driver miraculously pulled up the car to a whopping 160kmph! Yes, that much from a car which has a 1.5 L engine, on a 4 lane expressway, where the speed limit is only 80kmph!

And in just 11 minutes of entering the highway, I sighted a SriLankan Airlines A320-200 land into BIA. And a few minutes later, at 2004 hours, I was at a rather empty BIA Curbside. No one of my friends were seen, but then again, our meeting point was inside the terminal, post the first security check. Walking towards the terminal, I noticed that I was in fact, the 4th last to arrive! The traffic held me up big time! However, the teacher's hadn't arrived ......

IMMATURITY STRIKES!
People, this TR would have a slightly different approach, since I was with friends, I was a different person.
Speaking of which, as the teachers arrived, all of us did a slow clap and suddenly welcomes them with a roar, making sure everyone in the airport took note of it . They arrived at 2020 hours, 20 minutes after our cut off time! Either way, check in was due to start at 2045, so 2000, in effect, was WAY too early. We had to wait in line to enter the check in area, just for a bit. We were divided into three groups: IGSCE, AS/A2, IB. I was part of the AS/A2 group, like I specified before. We were handed out some really green hats. Really too bright green. In fact, it was almost impossible to lose us if we wore them. I betted - no one in Mumbai's 19 million people would have caps which were so green! We were all reluctant to wear it. However, the teacher's had a point: it was Mumbai! A city of oh so many people! We came to a conclusion that we'd wear it only in Mumbai.
There is a security baggage check just before the UL counters. That's when, JUST THEN, I decided to drop the bomb, quite loudly:
'Guys, I have a few bombs on me!'
The teacher gave me a very angry look. All my friends said 'I don't know him, who is he?'
I might have been loud, but luckily I wasn't loud enough to let the security know.

With security done, it was time for the moment of truth.
CHECK IN. Which meant: SEAT ALLOCATION!
I was the last person to check in. This meant that I had a wait which last a whopping 25 minutes. Whopping because, the line wasn't so long. Anyways, whomever I asked, didn't have window seats. I was feeling pretty good: I could be getting a window seat! However, when my bag was tagged, I took a peak at my boarding pass.
18D.
An aisle seat.
I was going to be on a plane to Mumbai on an aisle seat. Bummer. And knowing my friends, they surely wouldn't let go of a window seat. But then again, aisle is still better than a middle seat! We figured out that the seating was done in accordance to our surnames.
More random conversations later, we cleared immigration. 2 of my close friends were on 19D and 19F. i negotiated with the person in 19E, sacrificed my aisle seat, and got to sit with 2 friends whom I could be (school) normal with.
Instructions were to be at the boarding gate (Gate 6) by 2225 hours, and to disappear till then.
We, took the disappear instructions quite seriously.
And disappeared off to the Palm Strip restaurant!
AS/A2 and IB people were there, while the IGCSE people were opposite the Apple Store.
While we reached there, everyone took pictures of the planes there. I of course, waited, and got the big camera out..
Similarities to the previous India trip?
The Turkish Airlines bird.
Difference?
It was alive! And passengers were boarding the same through the stairs!



After taking those pictures, I noticed everyone from my group were laughing.
What was wrong, was the question.
Here is what had happened:
I was wearing a red shirt. Someone else, with a sandwich in front of him, was wearing a red shirt, too. So quite obviously, that person was mistaken for me, and another one of my friends decided to take a piece the sandwich from him, and instantly realized his mistake and said 'Haha, joke joke!'. In a bit, I joined them in laughing my lungs out, too, while my friend was quite and smiling in embarrassment!
Later, we joined in playing the Thumb Game, a popular thing among us BSC people. Following that, I ordered a sandwich, the exact same one the friend of my tried to take away
Meanwhile, I decided to name a few our hats.
The person who was sitting next to me, same as the one who hadn't flown for long, gave his cap to me. With the influence of the movie Rush still looming over me, I named by cap 'Liki Nauda' (Niki Lauda) and his as 'Hames Junt' (James Hunt).


My $6 sandwich came in a bit..

Chicken and egg sandwich.
And yes, one piece was given to him

Once this was done, we headed off for The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. That's where we found the teachers. Our instructions were to disappear. And hence, we acted like that.
We stared at the teachers, long and hard. They stared at us, too.
We decided to have a conversation...
'You look familiar to us..'
'You look familiar too. I have seen you all recently..
'Perhaps...are you teachers by any chance?'
'No we're not..'
'Oh okay! We thought you were teachers! Sorry!'
And then we walked away.
One of the customers there actually fell for it, and started looking at us quite startled! She had big eyes as she saw go away, in what she thought was a very awkward conversation!

Another joke followed. There were cars on display. So was the buggy which had its key on, all ready to go. One of the girls went on sat, so the rest of us ran away from it like it was a ticking time bomb, and mumbled 'Who is she? She isn't front our school, no!' A few more jokes later, it was time to head off for the gate. On the way, we saw the teachers. And hence, we decided to stare at them and say 'Look! Its them again! Stop following us!' And once again, a few more passengers fell for it.
At Gate 6, we found them. As teachers. Everything being normal, once again
After a quick washroom visit, we found ourselves in the long line, security check.

The Christmas mood is still on!

Obviously, one has to open shoes and all while getting checked. I did so.
And while sitting on the chair, I noted that the aircraft had CFM56 engines! This in effect means that IFE would be there, a change to the usual non-IFE planes on the route! However, a quick check on the registration suggested that it was 4R-ABK, the odd one of the old UL A320 fleet, since it is the only 1 of 4 with CFM56 engines. Anyways, since this was another new registration, I am not at all complaining!
Boarding was already underway, so we were invited to board the aircraft.

Once again, we were given the traditional Ayubowan welcome. However, this was disrupted since one of my friends (of the AS/A2 group) stepped aside and told the FA's that his father is a Captain with UL. And on hearing his name, the FA's had a bigger smile, and invited him to visit the cockpit, where he shook hands with the Pilots. Oh, how I wish I was in his place!
Or not?
As we took our seats, I negotiated with my friend to move into 18D, while I took 19E (he eventually got 19A! ), and I buckled up into my seat. Unlike the previous short flights, this flight had blankets in plastic wrap, along with pillows. Do you know an airline which does not have plastic wrap on blankets? Cathay Pacific!
I took a quick picture of the scene outside..

And soon, the person who was in the cockpit, came back and told the teacher that we are allowed to visit the cockpit!
Since boarding was almost over, we decided to go one by one. I was the first one to go...

Note the Arabic 'OPEN' sign...

I entered the cockpit. And immediately the Captain started the conversation, after a quick handshake....
'You must be...Jishnu?'
*me, absolutely surprised!*
'Yeeeeahhhhhh, that's me. How did you know?!'
'Captain Wijesinghe messaged me.'
'Oh! D******'s father!' She told me she'll try her best to get us in the cockpit, even if her Dad isn't flying!'
(This is a noter friend in school, not that close, but she wasn't with us on the trip. She informed her Dad about this, and he informed the Captain for tonight!)
'Haha, indeed she did!' *first officer walks in* 'This is Jishnu..'
'Hi Jishnu!' - first officer
And I shook hands with him as well!
Captain said 'So tell me Jishnu, *begins very awkward conversation*
'Oh no no no! I have someone already!'
'Girlfriend?' *with a quick wink*
'Yes. Uh, moving on, could I click a picture of the cockpit?'
'Yes please. But make sure I'm not in it.'
'Sure, thank you!'
Yep. This is EXACTLY what happens when a youngish captain is in command of the flight. Oh well, it was a good start anyways!

Note the iPad with the map of CMB Airport!


Looks like we're set for 36000 feet!

'Jishnu, I'm trusting you on this. Do not tell any of your friends, but I will be calling you in once again during cruise..' he said.
'Oh! Sure, sure Captain! I'll be quiet! I look forward! Thank you!'
I went out with a massive smile on my face, and waited for my other friends..


J class galley!

I walked down to my seat. It was 2340 by now. I noticed that there were quite a lot of brown stains on the blue carpet floor! That obviously, isn't very nice
A quick check suggested that 4R-ABK is an ex-Jazeera Bird, which explains the Arabic markings, and that it is a 8.3 year old bird.
I buckled up, and at 2343 hours, we pushed back. While being pushed, I noticed the first Boeing aircraft of the night. A Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300 B-HNN. Yes, it was late



The two CFM56 engines were brought into life. However, it took us quite a long time to get moving. Slowly, I was starting to worry about the fact that we might get pulled back in due to a technical snag. However, soon, we were rolling our way towards Rwy 4 for departure. Soon, full power was applied to the CFM56 engines and we were rolling down the runway for the school trip to Mumbai!
A left bank, followed by a right bank, we set course for Mumbai.


DAY 2: 11TH JANUARY, 2014
I was hoping UL would be better than what it was on the short flights.
And they showed it, quite clearly.
Menu cards were distributed to all of us!
(Just a random Hi there to Cathay Pacific Airways )

Well, my option was always going to be non vegetarian. But just to see:
Starters - potato, corn & Green Apple salad Dressing
Main dish - Chicken Skewer, Vegetable Patty, Vegetable Pizza, Tomato Chilly Sauce
Dessert - fresh fruits
Freshly brewed Ceylon tea and coffee.

Front side.


Laundered, however, unscented blanket.
CX is unscented too, just saying.
9W and EK are scented. Just saying, again!

As is the norm in these days, one trolley was pulled all the way up to the front, while one started serving passengers from behind itself.

Seatback.
While waiting for the food to arrive, I came to startling conclusion for myself.
The Airbus A320, in effect, is actually much quitter than the Boeing 737. Or so I felt. However, I must say, I feel very Boeing deprived right now!
Both the trolleys were puled back. Huh? So no food for me then, I guess
But just then, 2 more trolleys were pulled up to the front, and soon I was asked for my food preference. The friend in 19F and I had the chicken, while the friend in 19D was reading Dan Brown's latest 'Inferno' book.

I asked for a Coke, so did my friend in 19F.
This was greeted with a smile, followed by another full can, wherein the FA told us 'Please share this between the two of you when you are done with your first one..' This was nice!

Better pics from my friend..



And soon, a rather fantastic looking tray was placed in front of me, much better than what I had received on the other UL flights!

Very nice green thick plastic food containers!

All opened up, and steel cutlery, a big contrast to the plastic cutlery on the other UL flights!
Also, please take note of the salad.
The menu says: potato, corn & Green Apple salad Dressing.
And all I get is cucumber, tomato and an olive!
Yup. Minus markings there.


The Chicken tikka skewer was..not so good. I mean, the chicken tasted a bit old, while there wasn't a tikka masala as such, and it was cold.
Vegetable pizza was very very cold and soggy on the outside, and oh very hot as I bit through towards the inside. The perfect imbalance.
And the vegetable patty was soft, the inside filling was the exact same as what you'd find in a proper Indian samosa, and again, a bit on the cold side, enough for it to be eaten.
Lucky for me though, my friend wasn't going to eat his salad, so I took his.

The salad was fantastic! The best part of the meal in my opinion! Honestly, it was very Emirates-esque!


The can of Coke which my friend took only for representative purposes. All I did was ask him if he'd want it, and I downed it in a bit
However, he did go for a cup of tea, though..



Once the trays were all collected, the purser came down to my friend who's father is with UL, and asked him if anyone wanted to see the cockpit. He quickly said no it. I was a bit on the downside of emotions, but this was not going to get to me. I called one of the flight attendants with the button on top (obviously), and one of them came. I requested him to speak to the lady in the blue sari.
Now, UL has one FA with the dark blue sari, while the others usually have the green/light blue sari. I wanted to speak to the one in the dark blue sari, but the FA in light blue/green sari came instead. Oh well, I asked her anyways..
'Hi, my name is Jishnu. I was invited to look at the cockpit during cruise by the captain. Would it be possible for you to find out if that can happen now?' I asked. 'Yes, sure. I will get back to you in moment.' she said....
...and in a bit, I was a happy bunny once again. She confirmed in the affirmative and asked me to follow her!
Knocking on the sleepy passenger's knees, I reached the J class cabin, which was quite quiet. The door was opened and I walked in to the cockpit once again!
'Hey again, Jishnu! We would be descending in a bit..'
'Oh that's not an issue. I sans t quick few more pictures and I'll go back..'
With great interest, I was hearing the conversation between the pilots and Mumbai ATC.



The captain showed the map below to me. 'We are here. Mumbai is here, 110 kms away. Weather looks good.'







I asked the captain, 'Would we be landing in Runway 27?'
'Yes, that rarely changes at this time of the day' *ATC: UL141 please descend and maintain F-L-2-7-0* 'Hold on a minute, 'UL141 descend and maintain F-L-2-7-0, confirm'
A few clicks later, ABK's nose pitched down a bit and we were descending down towards Mumbai.
I asked him further, 'I see no stars from here, must be cloudy. Isn't the sunrise beautiful, when it happens?'
'NO!' he said. 'Its a pain in the eye!'
'Haha! What other planes do you fly?'
'Airbus A330. So much more spacious than this one!'
'Ah! Good looking one too! Thank you so much for this, Captain, I'll head back to my seat!'
'Nice meeting you!'

And that was it.
With yet another smile on my face, I headed back down to my seat as the plane was descending quite rapidly towards Mumbai.

Medium sized seat?


Cabin!

Blankets were collected and so were the menus. The nice smelling spray thing was sprayed in cabin. Everything became quiet. Not even a snore. Just the sound of the CFM56 engines doing their work, powering up, powering down, back and forth.

The lights!

Nobody's hands! A quick picture!

Closer..


Over the creek!

Ever closer!

And soon, the Captain executed a fine feather like touchdown onto Mumbai's runway 27 at 0159 hours and we taxied behind Kenya Airways flight KQ202 from Nairobi, operated by a Boeing 777-200 5Y-KQS.


Our taxiing was quite long, as we went all the way till the second to last aerobridge. We stopped twice along the way, once God knows why, and the second time just before turning into the gate. Yes, I was finally going to arrive at the aerobridge after an international flight in Mumbai!!!
'Mumbai' I said to myself, 'We made it!'

AI and 9W T7s


F-GZCO parked right beside us...

I thanked the crew for what was an overall satisfying flight SriLankan Airlines, a very unique one, unlikely to ever happen, nd headed off into a rather cold Mumbai!



VT-JEH 9W B77W to LHR (9W120)
D-ABVU LH B744 to FRA (LH757)
VT-JWT 9W A333 to BRU and EWR (9W228)
G-VLUV VS A333 to LHR (VS355)
VT-ALR AI B77W to RUH (AI921)
G-BNLJ BA B744 to LHR (BA138)
Yeah, not only was I overwhelmed by the sight of so many beauties, as they are rare in Colombo, you can probably imagine the long walk my friends and I had to endure while walking to immigration!

Walking down the escalator, one of my friend's bags was sniffed by a cocker spaniel sniffer dog!


Immigration was quick, although, it did take a while for a Maldivian friend of mine, as there was some confusion over no visa and all. We were wondering, what if she had to be sent back! But that didn't happen, she was cleared. Bags didn't take too long to arrive thankfully, however, this was undone by the long customs line! With people running trolleys over shoes, cutting lines and etcetera, this took at least half an hour to complete! Once it was done, I got my currency exchanged and we headed out into a genuinely cold Mumbai. We boarded a colder bus, belonging to Zubin's Royal Fleet, a Sutlej bus.

And yes, that there, is the new Mumbai T2. Oh, what we have missed!
We drove past that and My God that terminal is beautiful as ever!
Sleep was completely driven away from me. In less than 30 minutes, at 0430, we reached the hotel. It was amazing to see a few cabbie drivers wash their cars just then, implying the start of the day for them. For us, it was the end of the previous day...



Sea link!

It took us sometime to get in the room, and it took us even longer to fall asleep!
I was with the friend who was in 19F, a person whom I have been quite close to. I was looking forward to it all!




With the TV left on, we tucked in, and dozed off at around 0530 hours. 3 hours later, I was awake once again, fresh as ever.

What happens in Mumbai?
Stay tuned for more!

Regards
Jish
_________________
http://www.youtube.com/c/JishnuBasu777

[sumantra]

Thanks for a lovely start to the 2014 Mumbai trip report!
It is wonderful that you got a chance to fly to an ex-hometown (and the city I called home for 6 years, too). Mumbai is, and will always remain the city of dreams for me. I love the city, the sheer efficiency, the people, and the infrastructure. Every time I travel to Mumbai, I really feel at home.
Nice leg-pulling and practical jokes at CMB! I guess groups make us all do that. Be like little 6 year olds, once again.
It is wonderful that you got permission to visit the front office, both at CMB and just before landing at Mumbai! Thanks for the lovely pictures. This is what most of us aircraft enthusiasts dream about.
Yes, we are all tuned up for the next installment!
Cheers, Sumantra.

[shivendrashukla]

amazing TR there Jishnu. Looking forward to more from you.

Cheers
Shivendra

[HAWK21M]

Interesting TR.....The FD pictures were great....looking fwd to what you did in Mumbai land.
_________________
Think of the Brighter side !!!

[Nimish]

Lovely TR Jishnu - thanks for sharing. Traveling with a bunch of your school friends can be immense fun - and I'm sure you guys had a blast in BOM!
_________________
We miss you Nalini!

[jbalonso777]

MUMBAI!
AALA RE! DUNIYA HILE DENGE HUM!
And in typical fashion, I had forgotten to mention in the Dreamy Diversion TR that my final destination was the land of the IPL Champions of 2013. And yet, in this trip too, they still remain they last IPL Champions. Of course, I supported Mumbai Indians all through, and frustrations were quite high since 2010 when they were so close, in 2010/1/2. Now, with MI finally having won the cup, controversies in IPL at an all time high, I might as well stop watching it. And in other stuff, Mumbai Indians are a very popular team among my Sri Lankan friends. It all started when Sanath Jayasuriya was in the team, and then Malinga took over from there.

Enough with the crickety stuff, and back to the trip report!
Our instructions were to wake up and have breakfast by 1000, and get ready by 1030 for our first stop of the trip, the Jehangir Art Gallery. Of course, my room mate and I woke up at 0830 and were finding things to do. Wearing our night clothes, we decided to head down to the reception. Well of course, as you'd expect, we felt very very underdressed
Anyways, the buzz of Mumbai's new T2 was everywhere. Everyone is surely hyped up about getting rid of that old terminal, for this one:


Instead of embarrassing ourselves further, we quickly came back up. The two of us were quite fascinated with the automatic (well, I say automatic. it is actually control from the common controller thing, along with the lights, AC, etc) window blinds. And opening that, I had a rather okay view of the city.

All I could do, is stare at it. Long and hard.
I was in the City of Dreams with a bunch of my friends. It will surely be a dream come true if I were to leave to Colombo and head back to Mumbai, The City of Dreams. Well, it was rush hour time, as they call it in Mumbai: where all the people residing in the suburbs come in to the main city, or more commonly, Mumbai South, for their work. However, in all honesty I must say: despite being very close to the Mumbai Central Railway station, the roads didn't feel very crowded. Traffic was moving at normal pace, while the cabbies which were once parked there, have now disappeared completely, going on their daily duties. Mumbai, in my opinion, is an inspiration. From the people's hard wills, to the fantastic infrastructure which are coming up/have come up. Mumbai is no doubt, the City of Dreams. Yes, there is no denying that people, even on this forum, absolutely dread living in Mumbai. But that's perfectly fine, its their opinion. I too, had had enough of Mumbai back in early 2011, but then, I could never dread living here. Leaving Mumbai on VT-JNS 15OCT11 was really difficult for me, but then, the situation grew worse when I left on VT-JBE 25JUL12, VT-JFC 20OCT12 and VT-JGE 29JUL13. Oh well. I was in Mumbai at a time when I usually am not there, I was looking to relish every passing second of it! And yeah, all of these thoughts occurred as I stood at the window, looking at none other than Mumbai.


The rupee sign! Oh, what a relief to see it!


Breakfast (which was mostly the same in the following days) consisted of grilled chicken sausages, dry fruit sheera, baked beans, scrambled egg and chocolate milk shake. Nothing out of the ordinary, but it was filling enough.

By 1030 hours, all of us were out of our rooms and we hopped on to another bus, this time a bus which didn't belong to Zubin's Royal Fleet (KB Cars?). It was a bit too dark on the inside, dark curtains, dark seats, dark flooring, etc. However, once the curtains were opened, light came pouring in. We started our journey, through one of Mumbai's many red-light districts. This is one of the very unfortunate faces of India, or rather, Mumbai. People (or young teenage girls, rather) are easily fooled by the offers made by the bade aadmi, and end up with no home instead, and being paid for all the wrong reasons. Well, they say that the number of people in that state have not reduced, however, the numbers have remained stable, since they have spread all around the city. Sad but true, but I guess, such is the third face of any city in the world!

Anyways, onto better things
We drove through that area, and into more familiar places, heading towards Grant Road, then Charni Road, etc. We turned at the Churchgate signal, heading towards Kalaghoda.

Its amazing how stuff collected by thousands of these trucks are dumped in specific areas to solve issues and find genuine solutions for Mumbai's many issues. More of which, will be explained later.





The city which never sleeps. Yes, I saw a construction in the middle of the road on the WE Expressway at around 0400 in the morning!
Which brings me to my point: the constructions seem never-ending! Ever since 2007, the year I started staying in BOM, something or the other is always happening. And once it happens, it never seems to get over!

Okay that footbridge was always under construction, and now it seems to operational. I might've spoken too soon?




Marine Drive with some surprisingly good looking water!


Who would've known...that this is actually the roof of a Suzuki Swift?

Once we arrived, it was fairly obvious that photography is a strict no-no at the Jehangir Art Gallery. However, on the way, there were some balancing acts. Some acts which children are forced to, pushed into, or maybe worse, tortured by their parents to do. Well, I must say that 'cool' is a massive understatement. It is quite amazing, and mind blowing how these kids manage to keep their balance well for so long, with no issues. But then again, its what they do. After a bit, they too grow, and they cannot do all of this for their family living. What am I talking about? This:


Its unimaginable to what extent the poorest of all poor people in India do to get even a bit of money, just to make sure they manage to live life, let alone sustain life. It is absolutely remarkable for sure!

Once inside the Jehangir Art Gallery, I was once again mind blown. A certain painting named 'The Dark Side of Mumbai' certainly had me staring at it for oh so long! There was another one, which was equally standing out: a water painting of a hand-pulled rickshaw, seemingly on the streets of Calcutta. These were some stunning art stuff, and to be very very honest, I never was deep into art, until this day. In the next room, I was amazed by the talent demonstrated through basic things, like a rock, or taps and pipes, etc. Once again, a few paintings on the walls had me hallucinated almost! And quite literally, I felt that one of the paintings portrayed hallucination. From close by, it felt like a staggering mix of orange and brown colors, while from the distance it was clearly a man being dragged into 'Hell'. Or so it looked to me, others will have different opinions on what was actually going on with him. After a few more of these, we headed off for the digital photography section on the terrace gallery. Oh before that! Some really lame photographs, compared to what I saw....

The Mumbai which I know so well!

The Bombay Stock Exchange. How much I miss seeing this frequently!
The digital art exhibition was a Bengali photographer's exhibition. So obviously, my friends were quite amazed to hear a language other than Hindi being spoken by me! Of course, being interesting in digital art and being a Bengali had its perks at this very moment. With great interesting I heard and along with that, interpreted what was going on the particular photographs. Of course, there is a saying: Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.
And surely, all of them at some point or the other had the decision to make, which ones to keep, which they could call: 'art'.
I learned a great deal of art in just an hour and a bit. Something which I never bothered seeing, will now have me spending a load of time in galleries like this one, appreciating what people feel and think, and how they portray it.

Plan was to get a grub at the Gallery's cafe, however, we decided against that and voted for a proper lunch at Chetana's.
Yes, the place where Thali's are THE thing to have. I visited that place once back in 2011 or 2010. I was quite amazed by it. And now, I was relishing the chance to have another one of the meals there. Rajasthani thali was the choice last time out, so this time, it would be the Gujarati Thali.

One of many flute sellers in the city. I remember how every Sunday, 2 or 3, 5 of them! Would walk down the gradient of the slope, attracting potential buyers. And now, what do I hear? The annoying sounds of what seems to be ice cream man but actually is just the bread seller with no bread -_-
What life. How it has changed.





And there is the Gujarati Thali. It is quite obvious, and something does not deserve to be noted: it is quite sweet compared to there. I mean, there was a stage when all i had was Gujarati food, grew sick of it. But now is when, all of a sudden, its something that I love, something which I miss. Too much of hopper, is very boring. It was a succulent meal. I satisfied myself, and beyond satisfied the rest of my friends, I suggested a visit to the Rhythm House Store. 5 minutes was our allotted time, and off we went for the next half an hour.
In this day and age of illegal downloads, one can imagine what these stores go through. However, all of my friends freaked out, bought things from the cliche (IMO) electro trance stuff, to a classic vinyl! Yes, once again, I was surprised to see yet another 'Ride the Lightning' Remastered vinyl, only for a cost of INR4500.
My objective was to buy Metallica stuff. I was out of the store in the allotted 5 minutes time. Did I get the stuff I wanted? Ummm read on!


Emphasis on the....you know what!

As you might've read in the itinerary, the art gallery was not on the list. So while that was the first thing we visited, it was time to head for technically the first site, the Nehru Planetarium.
On the way, I showed around the showrooms of the Aston Martin and Porsche companions, and of course, along the way, my friends (or specifically, the car freaks, of course!) would point at the cars they see. Even a S Class Merc or a 7 Series Bad Monkey Wagon....er..BMW would drag their attention. These are things which as might have probably guessed by now, are uncommon in Sri Lanka. And for me, being in Mumbai for so long, those were things I really didn't bother about. Speaking of eye catching things, we reached an eye catching building, a better picture which I have in a previous TR can be found.

The very controversial Antilia!

Typical Mumbai stuff!


Now that's very interesting!
I'm no animal rights activist. But knowing where they are headed for, maybe they should be taken in a way which would make them feel less claustrophobic. After all, us humans do not know what they are going through. And, I say they as there are not 1 but two goats! Another black goat is camouflaged away...somewhere there...

We got dropped off in front of the planetarium. And we found yet another bunch of vendors. But this time, it wasn't flutes. It was..bubbles.
Plastic bubbles.
You blow a bit into them and they look like bubbles. However, you pierce them, they won't pop. Instead, its just a tiny hole. And that tiny hole could be disappeared by just doing a bit of surgery to it. Amusing stuff, but our instructions were ego say NO to vendors. Well, despite being Indian, I couldn't figure a way out of this.

'Fake' bubbles.
Made in China? Or Made in India?
The latter, I presume?
Inside the planetarium, we checked our weights on different planets/satellites. Like some pure gAdhA I decided to walk into earth, i.e., checking my normal weight. The last time I got a weight (reality) check was WAAAAAY back in August, when I was boarding a Xian MA60. Yes. THAT LONG. Anyways, the fact that I was given a disturbingly high 4 digit value on the Sun made me unhappy, I quickly headed off for the Moon, just to feel good about myself.
We were given a talk about the different astrological objects. However, the talk was slightly ruined because first of all, the microphone was quite bad, and secondly, there were a few school students (in uniform, i.e.), so they were yelled at on the microphone! So yes, it was really too hodge podged, and really, one couldn't understand what he was saying. Anyways, once we were let to go into the planetarium, my group and I, romped our way to get the best seats. In fact, we got so hyperactive that one of them actually slipped on the smooth surface. And once we did reach the inside, hoping to get the best seats, the guard standing there moved his hand forward saying 'Ticket nikalo bhai!' And that's when all of us started laughing at our misfortune, and headed straight back out to let the teachers in, who had the tickets with them.
To be very honest, the planetarium was nothing much to write about. The experience could be made much better and now I hope the organization is looking into it. Most of us feel asleep, after the long night the previous night. Me? Well, I slept too, obviously.





Once this was done, it was time to head off for Chowpatty Beach. There, we would be divided into our 3 groups as mentioned before, to carry out research and collect data, and later analyze it (carry out research, collect data and analyze it. Feels like Formula One stuff. ). Now, IIRC, 'Chowpatty' means beach in Marathi. So quite literally, we were going to the Beach Beach. Just like Ferrari named its car 'La Ferrari' which literally translates to 'The Ferrari.' So a completely english question could be : 'Have you seen the Ferrari The Ferrari?' Enough with that, onto more serious stuff. While I say serious, please do not be surprised by more Ferrari references.
On our way, we got stopped at the now very common Haji Ali traffic. While stuck, our guide pointed out the movement of an actress Alia Bhatt
, from the movie 'Student of the Year.' I couldn't be bothered looking at her, neither were anyone on the bus


It was very unfortunate that the tides remained in the state of low tide so one really couldn't see the Haji Ali Dargaah float out in the sea.

Once on the Marine Drive, little did we know that Geography was soon going to be forgotten for a bit. We got off the bus close to the Charni Road station and walked down towards Suk Sagar and all.
On the way, something very beautiful in red passed us. Something which looked very ultra-artistic, even more better than what I've seen in pictures or on television. Yes, I am talking about the Ferrari 458 Italia. Her driver gently negotiated the beauty over the bumps of Marine Drive, making sure not even a scratch would lay on her. She gracefully drove past us, without any revs. Something which I personally would've loved to hear. She had a Delhi registration, but this was the first time I saw a Ferrari on Indian roads. She was such a distraction, that even all the teachers forgot about the instructions, and started questioning us about the horsepower, engine, etc. Mind you, this is a car being under production from mid-2009, and Pininfarina made sure that this car would still look beautiful, even in early 2014!
Anyways.
Back to reality. We stopped at Suk Sagar for some delicious and brilliant pac bhaji. Hot and buttery!

The wait was WAY too long. I had to wait almost half an hour for the pav to arrive. And once I got them, I headed off for the beach. It was only once in April 2007 I went to the Chowpatty Beach, never after that. I was making my return more than 6.5 years! Once there, it was almost instantly heading into work. Very interesting to note that all the people we interview have varying thoughts about the arrivals of multi-national firms. Few of them believe that it is good for India, as it helps us to gain a stronghold amongst the other economic super powers, while others feel it really erodes the culture of India. However, all of them do agree that inflation has affected their lives immensely, and severe consequences will have to be faced if it goes on at this rate.
I was quite distracted at the beach. No, it wasn't what you think it is It was planes flying around. It was only the Air India A319 which I could figure, the rest were too high for me to spot. And being the photographer, I could take advantage of this.

The beach. Crowded as ever!

Beautiful!

Everybody loves it!





PLANE!

ANOTHER PLANE!


Ah Saifee Hospital. 3 horrific weeks I spent. There were only a few non-horrifc moments, and that was when food was served. Yes, hospital food was actually quite awesome!

MORE PLANES!!!

It was starting to get very cold. Yes. Cold in Mumbai. To generate some sort of heat and to shrug off the cold, we started jogging on the sand, back towards the teachers. There was no sweat, which implied that even the slightest of heat of was gone by the time we stopped running. Anyways, it was time for us to head for Nariman Point, which actually was referred to as Marine Drive. As we got down there, we were once again very distracted.
A red Ferrari 458 Italia.
A yellow Ferrari 458 Italia.
And this time, they actually revved the 562BHP 4.5L V8 engine! And that sound, in Mumbai made sure that it'd be with me for the rest of my life. Absolutely spine tingling it was! However, the teacher's weren't very distracted by this somehow
So we got to work. Just some notes about the curve sea walls and the quadruped-like cement structures, acting as sea defenses.






We headed off for our last stop for the day: I say last, it actually was just food, dinner, at the BadeMiya restaurant.
We got dropped off in front of the Taj, so only one good snap was possible of the same..

Once there, a few of my friends trusted me ever since the lunch at Chetana's, so they sat with me to select a few kebabs and all. And yes: we over-ordered, and as a consequence, overate. Will, it was filling. It was spicy. It was amazing! I tried out something which I know would never happen if I travelled with Mum and Dad: Mutton Bheja! I must say, it looked like scrambled egg, it tasted like scrambled eggs. If you treat it as eating scrambled egg, trust me, you'd feel nothing. If you haven't tried it our yet, I suggest you do the same!

Chicken Tikka, and Chicken Sheekh Kebab

Biriyani and some ultra spicy Chicken Bhuna!
My Sri Lankan friends could not handle that. Ha! Ha! Ha!

Bheja it is!

On the way back to the bus, we stopped over at the original Bademiya stall, where the roomali roties were being made. Unfortunately, due to space constrains, and no open air right on top of the chef, we missed out the chance of seeing the roti go in orbit for a bit...



Girl's were NOT allowed to shop here.


We drove back to the hotel. It was almost 2230 by the time we got back to our lovely comfy beds. On the way, there were many inappropriate and also immature jokes cracked, stuff which I am not prepared to share with you all.

Back to the Rhythm House mystery: did I get my CDs?
OH HELL YEAH!
My last visit to Rhythm House ended in tears (not literally..), but this time, it was made up for with 2 CDs!

Through the Never: music from the Metallica's motion picture with the same title.
And of course, ReLoad, one of Metallica's 9 studio albums.
'Fuel' was the first song I heard from Metallica, in 2011, from the album ReLoad. Yes, probably I was forced to listen to the same when I was a small kid in BLR (Nothing Else Matters, Enter Sandman, Fade to Black, Until it Sleeps, The Unforgiven, The Unforgiven II to name a few..), since my brother used to listen to them. He gave up, and I moved in to the Metallica family. Now, all I need is the legendary 'Ride the Lightning' CD, and then I'm set with the entire Metallica studio (9 album) discography. The search has begun!

Sleep was invited very soon and I snored away into the cold, like an old man gone insane. As you might have seen, it was a long long day! However, it felt like I was in BOM with my friends for 2 or 3 days already! Such was the tiredness, such was the energy! Instructions were to wake be there for breakfast at 0730. What happens next?
Stay tuned for more!!

Mods and readers: I have an announcement to make -
This TR is much much longer than what I anticipated. It is a challenge which I am relishing. I intended to make only one reply for the non aviation part, but I guess I need to split it into 4! I'm sorry for the inconvenience, and I hope you all understand! I intend to finish it by today/wee hours of tomorrow morning, so that its all done with, and I can get back to studying! Please let your replies come flooding in, have your discussions and etc, I will be replying to your replies only after I'm done with writing the entire TR. Thank you all!

Warm Regards
Jishnu
_________________
http://www.youtube.com/c/JishnuBasu777

[ameya]

Seeing the pics of Mumbai was really refreshing. When you stay there, you hardly have time to see it this way and when you don't stay there you don't find time to see it this way !

[sumantra]

Since Ameya beat me to the reply after reading the report (somehow, I tend to read, and re-read articles I like, before finally putting in my comments), I will start off by agreeing wholeheartedly with the lovely Ameya-sque way in which he put the point thorugh!
Lovely addendum to the earlier report. And yes, I forgot to mention that I like the alliteration in the title, more after reading this part.
Travel, specifically air travel, aviation-related discussions, cricket, food, lovely pictures and sights, sounds and smells: what more could the forum's resident glutton want?
- Lovely pictures of Mumbai. he Suzuki Swift picture was superb. Who would have guessed...?
- South Mumbai, or SoBo, to the new generation of older residents I miss those local train trips to VT, getting down, wandering around the Pen mart, the Strand Book Stall, the then Rhythm House, (all the while feeling much like I was in Connaught Place in Delhi) in the warm and super-humid weather, walking all the way to SPM chowk, the Gateway, coming back to VT, eating out at the Jhunka Bhakar stall, enjoying some Fresh and Honest coffee at VT: ah...this was my Mumbai of the early 2000s, before catching a local train back to the suburbs, before the rush hour set in, again. Rhythm House was once the place where I went searching for rare cassettes and later, CDs for old film songs in Hindi, Marathi, Bong, and Mallu. By the time the mid-2000s set in, these were long gone from the shelves.
- Yes, Girgaum Chowpatty is better known simply as `Chowpatty'
- It is really wonderful to know that Bade Miyan is back behind the Taj! We missed it in Dec 2012.
I look forward to more!
Cheers, Sumantra.

[jbalonso777]

DAY 3:12TH JANUARY 2014
ITS THE MUMBAI I KNOW OF!
On this day, our plans were to go on the Fort Heritage Walk, followed by the data collection and all (shopping....) at Phoenix Mills. I know the Fort area quite well. I used to stay in Cuffe Parade from early 2009 (late 2008?) up until 31st December 2010. I frequently used to visit that place, Colaba and etcetera with Dad, holding his camera bag. I for one, didn't know what the fascination of photography is all about. And now, I know exactly what it feels like. I wanted to experience something in 2 hours, which Dad used to experience on almost every weekend for 2 whole years: photography in the fort area. I was no doubt looking forward to this! As for Phoenix Mills, I stayed right behind that place from 1st January 2011, up until 14th October 2011. That stint, was a very significant one for me. As was I think the second half of the Cuffe Parade stint I guess, but yeah, its a teenager's life after all! The stint in Lower Parel was once again very significant in terms of aviation, since I reached a stage wherein I was flying on 3 flights per month, something not very student-ish. Anyways, I was looking forward to get back to places which I genuinely call 'home'.

...anyways. Our instructions were to be at breakfast at 0730. Did me make it?
of course not!
My roommate and I woke up and 0740, quickly doing all our stuff and reaching breakfast at 0810. We were instructed to quickly have something and head down for departure at 0830. Come 0827 hours, despite being 40 minutes late for breakfast, we reached the lobby 3 minutes early for leaving the hotel. We were the first to arrive. AND YET. We got a reprimand about our time management. What? Why?! We cut 37 minutes along the way, and despite that, we got a short lecture. Well, we still got a pat on the back for coming down before everyone else. For the heist we pulled off!
The Zubin's Royal Fleet bus was back. This was the bus which got us in from the airport and would take us around everywhere, everyday.
We took the J. J. Flyover to get to the Lion Gate..or one of those gates.
I felt very home-ish once again. Down below, somewhere, was the Chor Bazaar. A place where I had my first encounter with my own DSLR. Also, this bridge was frequently used by me...okay, my driver, to drive me back home from school in Colaba to Lower Parel. A bit of an outside route, yes, but this was a bit more time-saving than Marine Drive, Babulnath and all..


If there is anything evading me, then it is a picture of the V.T station. We were standing in front of the signal for oh so long, and yet, I never really got the perfect angle for a picture. I threw away my chance back in July '13, when laziness (and writing the TR, obviously..) took over, and the day's I was free...IT RAINED!
Speaking terrible angles to take pictures, I have this very sad picture for you..


We got dropped off.
The pictures should do most of the talking, but then again, I should do the talking first because pictures only talk later...
Yeah lame.
On this walk, there were many more new things I learnt. First of all, I never knew Mumbai was actually called 'Bom Bahia' which translates to 'Good Bay' in Portuguese. Next up, I never knew that there still are remains of the 'Fort', built by the Britishers to protect themselves. It was only later they felt safe, pulled down the walls and then started the reclamation of the land, a city which we today commonly refer to as 'Mumbai'. It is quite extraordinary to believe that one could see the Marine Drive all the way from Town Hall (or..the Asiatic Society of Mumbai!) It is said that one of only two copies of Dante's Divine Comedy can be found here. I was also very impressed, and to some extent, surprised, to find out that there is quite a fusion between Hindu and Muslim architecture. All of a sudden, there seemed to be an astonishing similarity between the recent past buildings built in the Fort Area. And of course, there is a rent limit rule which I found out about, wherein owners of buildings of over 100 years cannot change the rent, after reaching a certain limit. We were also told about the staggering differences between the passenger arrivals on the railways: 1.5 million at Churchgate (Western Railway), and 4 million at V.T (Central Railway). Blimey! Interesting to note about the Prince of Wales museum: while the name has been changed to the now-prominent-in-Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji names, the Prince of Wales statue still remains in front of it all! Our routing (just a walk!) was Asiatic Society-Flora Fountain (Hutatma Chowk)-Oval Maidan-Bombay University-Kalaghoda-Museum-Gateway of India. Now, finally, let the pictures do the talking!






So many Asiatic Society pictures!!




An old building. And then, all of sudden you find Croma and Starbucks right in there!


An old fountain, where it is rumored that the horses drank their water from there, while resting.


Shooting for a movie? Or an ad?





That building hit a century...and a bit more!


St. Thomas Anglican Cathedral


An example of Hindu-Muslim architecture. They are made of teakwood..



Hutatma Chowk - in remembrance of the people who lost their lives when Maharashtra and Gujarat were divided. Apparently, it was all done on paper, so quite literally, the border ran through the house of many people, or chewed up plots of land!

Flora Fountain!


Bombay High Court..


The telegraph office which has been recently abandoned, and people are in the search of finding employers of this building. Surely this won't be left to rot! Or will it be....


Oval Maidan!


The other lifeline of Mumbai
The other brilliant thing of Mumbai
The BEST food of Mumbai!!!!


The Rajabai Clock tower as in 1870s...er...I mean 2014. Both times have had scaffoldings over it! Of course, back in those days, it was construction, now its restoration.

A ball attacked us from Oval Maidan. Cricket all the way! it was a good throw, it would've made it beyond the boundaries...if it wasn't for the unfortunate Peepal tree




More of the Mumbai University!


The ex-Watsons Hotel, I presume?
What it was...what it is...
It is declared unsafe by many organizations for staying, and yet, people stay here. Surely one can assume that people in India learn only once that get hurt. Yet, they have the courage for staying there...for so long! And yet continue to do the same!



Sugarcane man!
Brilliant stuff. There is so much you get for so less!







Things which you shouldn't have straight after breakfast: INR10 paan. That is exactly what I did! I am no fan of the supari thing they give inside, but the paan as you see in this picture was just what I love: sweeeeet!


Police HQ..

And as you can probably guess by now, it was getting very very bright. In fact, really too bright that putting the lens hood over the lens didn't help one bit! As a result, I do apologize for my laughable photographs hereon



Yacht Club..


The insane heat...and the insane lines!

We couldn't go right in front of the Gateway...there were barricades as you can see from here. And of course, the (2) Taj Hotels. Or is it.. The Taj Palace & Tower?


Chhatrapati Shivaji. (Picasa prompted to tag him... 'Click to name...' )


Swami Vivekananda..


Glare with silhouette


One of many unstable looking ferries! Speaking unstable, that guy there looks pretty darn stable!

At the conclusion of this long but very interesting walk, we decided to make a pitstop at the Starbucks Cafe behind the Taj, just before we actually head off for lunch Yes, that is how us extremely foodie people roll!





One of the best best fluke decisions of my life: ordering a Mocha Java Chip Grande. Brilliant, fantastic!


Coffee like interiors....obviously..



Goodbye, Gateway!

We boarded the bus and headed off to the place for lunch, i.e., Mahesh Lunch Home. Sea food and all. Mahesh Lunch Home (or any prominent sea food restaurant in the area) has a very common suggestion list: Neer Dosa, and gassi. Rather strangely, we were dropped in front of Rhythm House (AGAIN!) and we had to walk all the way to Mahesh Lunch Home! Indeed, we got lost..not once, but twice! And a few of my friends also managed to get their shoes dirty by running over dog poo, or a dead rat. Yes, there were shrieks of young adults in the silent streets of Fort on a Sunday afternoon. On the way, we found the Sri Lankan consulate, which was, as you'd expect, closed. And finally, we did managed to find Mahesh Lunch Home!



Yes, we got that lost. We reached the SBI Building!

Once we did make it, I was given the responsibility to do the ordering. I was quick in this, but on the way, I asked if we could see one of the crabs....


I don't quite remember what I had ordered, but it was surely appams, Neer Dosa, Rawas Gassi, Surmai Tandoori...and some more.




Post lunch, it was time to head for Phoenix Mills. Dad had prepared a note for all of us, about the various uses of mills, which were once located in Girangaon. However, I didn't expect what happened. The teacher gave us 5 minutes to read it all, and answer questions which she'll ask, and anyone failing to answer would result in that pupil's whole group getting homework! Oh dear lord! At this point, everyone felt I had an unfair advantage, since they assumed I made the note. Truth be told, I never even read what Dad had typed all down for us! And I too, was on the same boat as everyone else. Post the quiz, it was decided that the IGCSE group would be getting the homework.

Waiting for the bus at Mani Bhavan Chowk





Along the way, I noticed Amul's current affair gimmick - they are quite creative at it! And this time, it was a tribute to Michael Schumacher - 'Come on Michael, the race has just begun!' or something similar...

Once again, at the Palladium in Phoenix, we were instructed to get lost, but at the same, to make sure we were in our groups to carry out data collection. Meeting point was the McDonalds restaurant close to the mill chimney.
Photography is a bit of a restriction at Phoenix, so its only a few pictures I have to share with you.

Palladium Entry

Palladium Hotel. Dad is quite impressed with the hotel, as he spent a few nights there!


Scaffoldings overload! -____-

Sunil Shetty and Madhuri Dixit were there too, apparently. So close to more movie stars!



Oh, Marathon Next Gen!
Honestly, I believe I had the best 10.5 months of life in that very building, right there. Lots of significant aspects were marked off ticked off in that building, right there.

Our data collection plans were ruined (!!!VICTORY FOR US!!!) since the questioners were not allowed by the security. We couldn't be bothered pondering why, we just decided to head for shopping at the High Street Phoenix! Joy oh joy! We were asked to report at McD at 1900 hours. I was with another friend (not from this school or trip. From Mumbai only. And you'd probably guess who it was after the conversation with the Captain on UL141 ), and I spent all of my time there. At 1859 hours, I was the last to arrive, while everyone else was ordering food at McDonalds. Obviously, we all know what it is like, so no picture of it here. All of us headed for the Armani Store inside the Palladium, and most of us reported a similar reaction. We ended the day, with EVERYONE (bar teachers) in my room, playing cards, and got ready for the day following.




Stay tuned for more, and surely unseen things from Mumbai!

Regards
Jish
_________________
http://www.youtube.com/c/JishnuBasu777

[sumantra]

Rivetting...I wish I knew as much as you do!

[me111993]

Awesome stuff Jishnu! How on earth do you manage to write so much! I'm so terribly lazy, that im yet to complete my LHR-DXB-AMD TR.

Pics look awesome! The cockpit would have been some experience!

Detailed reply later!
_________________
Causal Determinism : We are hardwired to need answers. The Caveman who heard a rustle in the bushes and checked out to see what it was, lived longer than the guy, who assumed it was just a breeze.

- Greg House

[shivendrashukla]

Absolutely brilliant photographs there Jishnu. I did work for some time at Big Bazaar at Pheonix mills before taking up the current assignment, in which I am. Btw did u visit the HRC??

Cheers
Shivendra

[sumantra]

I have been reading, and re-reading this for quite some time, each time, admiring the rivetting quality of the pictures, and descriptions. Just a thought, about the bom-bahia name. `Bom' is used for a little child in Portugese, such as the famous Basilica Bom Jesus (Basicila of the Baby Jesus), where the mortal remains of St Francis Xavier are preserved, in Goa. (Though sometimes, it is also referred to as the `Good Jesus' Basilica). Bahia is a generic term for baby in Portugese, and is used in Spanish as well. I have seen a small ship at San Diego, at many of the nice bay moorings, called the `Bahia Belle'. Interesting!

[jbalonso777]

DAY 4: 13TH JANUARY 2014
THE MUMBAI WE KNOW...YET, WE DO NOT KNOW...
To avoid a repeat of the shenanigans from the previous day, I decided to set the most annoying alarm for myself, while my roommate had equally alarming alarms. All of these 4 alarms (2 each..) were set for 0530, 0545, 0600, 0615 and 0630 hours, so that we'd ensure we're upstairs for breakfast at the instructed 0700 hours. All of my friends, while they were win my room playing cards, decided to set their alarms there and then, so it was quite a noisy scene in the room, no where close to inner peace which I was trying to achieve, since I'm not all that good with card games!
I was up the next day due to very alarming circumstances: falling off a cliff in the nightmare, at 0528 hours, 2 minutes before the alarms were set, so I managed to diffuse the bombs, one after the other, ensuring there is no explosion.
On this day's schedule were the Spirit of Dharavi tour, Mahim Nature Park and of course, bargaining at Bandra Shopping thing (apologies for my lack of knowledge..!)

SLUMS
The second you see that word, you are reminded of poverty, difficult living conditions, and since this is an Indian Aviation forum: the approach into Mumbai Airport. We are all under the impression of filth, of diseases, of a different caste, of an outside world among us, etc. I'm sure many of the Mumbai residents (or the ex-Mumbai residents, too) will know of the hinderance of the slums among the vibrant city. We called them hooligans when they said no to the expansion of the current airport. However, we often fail to see the other side of the coin. In fact, we never see the other side of the coin. Dharavi's incomes, just from the industry, amasses a whopping $1 billion in revenue. It is quite literally another country, in terms of GDP, for that matter. Sure, many of the goods in your house are Made in China, but surely, there are many made in Dharavi too. (Mumbaikars) There are people working around you who live lives in those slums. Dharavi is a place we only know as a slum. We only know as another face of Mumbai. But really, what is it like inside? Is it like the movies? Are the documentaries true? All of those, I hope to answer right here in this TR

And back to the TR. 0530 in the morning, and still no sign of light. This is the kind of timing I am used to, not bright sunlight at 0530 in the morning (CMB)!

At 0650 in the morning, 10 minutes before our time (just to prove a point..) we reached the dining area...only to be sent back down since it opened at 0730. BUMMER! Anyways, we decided to wait there, not at all sleepy since we were wide awake, and wished the teachers a good morning in a rather evil way, since we made it before them.
Once again, we departed at 0800 hours towards BKC, to see the massive amounts of development and all, and headed back towards Dharavi.


Cricket early in the morning. They seem to be pleased with their lives, and here we are cribbing about ours....
Its interesting to note that these are dwellers who have the right to live on the streets, since their houses have been taken down by the government themselves, and the promised replacements does not seem to be a foregone conclusion. The children are taken to care homes, they run away from there. Court proceedings take place, and then they are returned to their parents, where they run away from and are taken in by care homes. The circle goes on and on till they find work for themselves and then live (not sustain) life as much as they can. Such is the harsh face of Mumbai, which is often covered by things like...Altamount Road, Peddar Road, Breach Candy, Cuffe Parade, you name it! Its what the reality is, something which we do not see, and consider it as a hinderance, complain about it. Yes, surely we have the right to complain about it, but really, I guess gotten carried away by all of this, and soon, we will run aground by all of it.

And back to the TR again.


Morning fish market..!


The pipe we all know so well!

Like I said before, find a job, live life.

To start the Dharavi tour, we were dropped in front of the Mahim Junction Railway station. In what was no doubt a shocking disappointment for me, photography would NOT BE TOLERATED inside Dharavi. The unlucky group with the no-photography person was the IGCSE group. We had someone who was a bit conservative about this, but was mostly relaxed about it, so he approved of photography using cellphones, so long as the leader of all of this didn't notice it. Therefore, with no fault of my own, I apologize for the dip in quality of these pictures, since I used my phone camera..

The Mahim Station

We were taken over the footbridge towards the heart of Dharavi. Footbridge, I say. Yes. Over the railway lines. I was always looking for opportunities to click pictures of any railway line from top, from a footbridge.
The icing on the cake arrived.
The August Kranti Rajadhani from Hazrat Nizzamuddin with a WAP5 slowly rolled its way into a standstill. Yes, as I said, 'these are few of India's fastest trains', I heard the brakes screech, and when one of my group members said, 'it doesn't look very fast...! ', it came to a standstill. Bummer!


Once we were in a rather blank-ish area on the bridge we were given a large amount of information about Dharavi, and quite honestly, I was overwhelmed by it all. Most of which, I have mentioned in the introduction to this post. We were told that people here mostly live their dream: living in Mumbai. They leave their families and all, just to work here and some money back home. And once they have a stronghold, they leave their jobs and head off for new, better pay ones. Then they bring in their families, set up their homes in this already congested area. 1 million, are the estimates of the population of Dharavi, and the population density may lay anywhere between 600 to 2000 people per acre! Its also worthy to note that in some sense, people sacrifice years in their lives to get the higher pay jobs. The exposure to toxins reduce their life expectancy to just about 50 years. In terms of education and all, there are no less than 60 schools operating in Dharavi, both private and government run schools. Same with healthcare, however, I'm not sure of the number of hospitals. With the elections looming, it is apparent that everyone in Dharavi have their various political beliefs. So much from the typing, now for the snaps!















All the soap which is used in the Dhobi Ghat and all..

White House
Where all the sh** goes on!




...and as you would've probably guessed, recycling is the top industry in the informal sector of Dharavi. All the aluminum, plastics, cans with paint, etc, are brought down, processed and used once again. And all at a very cheap price. Asian Paints, for example, send their paint cans here to re-use for later, a process which is half the price of what is done otherwise. At the end of the tour, we were taken to one of the flyovers where the bus was parked. Flyover what? The Central Railway line this time. As we waited for the other groups to get back to us, I took the opportunity to spot some trains.....

The oh-so-common locals. Back in the day (2008..) traveling in one of those were a joy....new rakes! But now, its a joy to travel one of those ex-cream and brown rakes.


The old classy local I was talking about. And a photobomb from the diesel ALCO!

WCAM2P followed by a WCAM3!
Something isn't quite right...
Question for the IR fans in the end of this post!



Uhm..hair? For what?

The Mahim Nature Park was up next, once a dump, now a lung for Mumbai. Its amazing how they managed to do this, and here's hoping for more of these in Mumbai! There isn't much to write about here, just a quick 20 minutes tour. You can read all about it on the board, a picture which I have taken!

Goats seem to be very human now: traveling on taxis and now wearing clothes!





Dogs always look good, don't they?

Our convoy!











Lunch at the Amritsari Tadka was up next. We shared 6 naans. Shared? Wait no, wrong statement. We HAD 6 naans. So that is 30 naans were on our table! And along with that, there were plenty of curries and all, my apologies that I forget. I should keep and eye on them from now on! We also had a mug-full of falooda post lunch. I have quite clearly missed out on the immature things we did in Mumbai, since it is very inappropriate. However, I did choke while I tired to down a glass of Thums' Up, since I was in the laughter mood. I'll keep my comments and descriptions of my own idiocy, reserved.

Naan round 2. Naan round 1 was just plain naan only.

Chicken tikka Masala


Post a heavy lunch, we were to go to the Fashion Street. We were supposed to go on an adventure, i.e., taking a rickshaw from the restaurant till the shopping area. Rizwi College was the instruction. This turned out to be absolutely wrong, as we ended up in a lane with trees and all. With no fashion like thing around, we panicked a bit. However, another rickshaw arrived, with a couple of friends, they too, were sent to the wrong college. Guys actually drifted their rusty old Baleno's into place for parking while we waited for a SOS call to be answered. And indeed, there was a call. It turned out to be National College and not Rizwi College. Bummer! A INR15 ride turned out to be a INR75 nightmare! Once there, we learnt that a few had actually taken the BEST bus, since there were no rickshaws.

Adventure gone wrong?!

At the shops, I felt pretty good about myself when I got the price of a pair of shirts down from 650 to 250. This meant, I deserved a break.


...so I went off to Mad Over Donuts for a Double Trouble donut. Indeed, the trouble is the chocolate spilling everywhere.....



We were done with this after a bit, and went around seeing SRK's and SK's homes. A bit of a Paparazzi thing, yeah...


That's a nicely maintained car!

Our final dinner was at Pizzeria...Jazz by The Bay...Pizza By the Bay, yes.
I had ordered a super supreme pizza, and to be very honest, not as good as what I was expecting it to be


The hotel which might've been

The misleading heaty picture....it was a cold night!

And that concluded the second last day. We were told of a rather late 0030 hours cut off time, and a late wake up the next day. Spongebob Squarepants was on TV, and its not even funny how much I laughed at some original cartoons. I had warned people sitting in front of me (since I was lying down) that I might kick them over....

Second best show after the original Tom and Jerry!

DAY 5: 14TH JANUARY 2014
Really, that is how we passed the time: laughing our lungs out! We had a water park experience to look forward much later in the day, so we had to rest a lot, too! That'll conclude this part of the TR, the final day and the return flight is coming up!

Questions for the Indian Railway people:
1. Where did WR's WCAM2/2Ps go?
2. IIRC, CR only had WCAM3s. How did I manage to spot a WCAM2P on the CR track then?
It would be great if I get the answers to this, thank you!

Regards
Jish

[sukritmunjal]

That indeed looks like a sh**ty pizza. It looks like someone just dumped all the toppings on it.

[sumantra]

The `pipeline'. This was the subject of a perennial Mumbai joke: its best kept secret. This brings the `curry' into the city and its suburbs. Every restaurant in Mumbai uses the same base for its preparations. It tastes the same, everywhere.
What a superb report this is turning out to be...keep it up!
Cheers, Sumantra.

[jbalonso777]

On the final day of trip..well, I say final: the flight day was technically the last day of the trip. Anyways, with a rather late wake up, I knew my day was already ruined even before I moved myself out of the bed. The horrific back pain had returned. Immediately, my hopes of a fun day at Water Kingdom were wiped off. Oh well, I still hoped for some fun time at the Infinity Mall after the Water Kingdom stuff.
After yet another (now overly repetitive) breakfast, I packed my stuff with slight difficulty. All said and done, it was time to head out of the hotel one last time, with the slight tinge of sadness kicking in.


Hotel deserves a sight too!

On the long drive to the Jetty at Borivali, we were entertained to a movie: Krrish 3. With the subtitles going on, everyone seemed to enjoy...I say enjoy: I mean picking fun at all the strange things that happen in a Bollywood super-hero movie Obviously, we passed the airport too, sadly, no planes took off. I sighted 4 tails of Airliners-India's favorite airline. Nothing much to report from here...










I always wondered what this construction was all about....now it seems it is a Metro station!


IFE...on the bus!

Once at the Jetty, there weren't too many changes which I had noticed ever since my visit back in late 2007 (I specially remember - Benazir Bhutto was assassinated that very day - 27th December 2007. Also, the USS Nimitz was somewhere close by, along the Indian coast) to the jetty. Although, I did visit Essel World back in early 2011, that was via road. The only difference I noted right now, was the Pagoda which stood out among the rest of the scenery around.
As for the water park, there wasn't much much for me to do. I just went on the What-A-Coaster, and another ride which was essentially going on tubes and all. Despite the low numbers of rides I went on, it still made sure that it had quite a profound on my back. By the end of the way, I was quite literally limping around. Of course, when I leave Sri Lanka, I rarely miss that place, but at that instant, I was missing my bed a lot
Lunch had to be given a miss, and I stuck to a rip-off INR50 for 2 vada pavs. It wasn't all the brilliant anyways, sadly. Being in the Water Park, I risked nothing with taking pictures, so there just a few..







M.L. Mayur



















M. L. Wetlantic




Sitting down. FINALLY!

At the Infinity Mall, I just bought the stuff I needed, so the 3 hours spent there were rather boring. Also, shops closed down at 2130 hours, which was a shame, everyone started leaving. Its a bit too early in my opinion...


Dinner from Falafel's!



...and that'll FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY conclude the non aviation part. The last and final part would be the return flight from home to 'home'.

Regards
Jish

[HAWK21M]

Amazing pictures...,captures the city very well.
_________________
Think of the Brighter side !!!

[sumantra]

It is nice that you mentioned the Golden Global Vipassana Pagoda, which I always found interesting to look at from the air, after we took off from runway 27 at BOM, and turned right, going onward towards Delhi. It was not there when I was a Mumbaikar. You also brought back memories of Esselworld. The Wife chides me for being afraid of catching the cold at the Water Kingdom, due to which I beat a hasty retreat off Esselworld, alone. Not that I took to the rides too well, there! The last-but-one picture had a Mumbai favourite...masALA pApaD!
Cheers, Sumantra.

[sukritmunjal]

[sumantra]

[jbalonso777]

FLIGHT #2: SRILANKAN AIRLINES FLIGHT UL142 MUMBAI-COLOMBO 15TH JANUARY 2014
OFF WE GO THEN
Considering the fact that we were leaving the mall at 2220 hours, and check in opening at 0010 hours, we felt this was too early, and we had time to kill at the beyond run down current Mumbai T2. Lucky for us though, as we still had to negotiate through the traffic jams and all, and it would eventually take us an hour and a half. On the way, Krrish 3 finally finished. It took us nearly half an hour to get from the first sight of T2, till we eventually got dropped off. The snail's pace meant that most of my colleagues entered a pre-flight siesta.
On the way though, I had a view of the new T2 on my right, and in contrast, a run down building adjoining the AI hangar, where 2 B777s and a B747 were being serviced.

T2 parking

Peacock inspiration..


Looking good

Ah, the beauty queen!
Oh and - N78004, operating UA49 back to EWR






Laugh all you like, but this was my first non-9W departure from Sahar. This meant that we had to make an even longer to get dropped off, at Gate D, rather than the usual Gate B. Waste of time.
More waste of time came in terms of the CISF checking our stuff. First the passports, matching the faces, then the tickets, matching the names with the tickets. And since the tickets were neatly folded away by in the jackets, this process took even longer!

Oh the crowds!
Hopefully this will be gotten rid off when the new terminal is operational!

Our group was the first to enter the shabby looking terminal. I say shabby: I remember the Jet part didn't look so congested!

Despite the usual check in line allocation (1 for J/C, 1 for FlySmiles upper types/ 1 for online check in and 2 for economy), it wasn't being followed, and we got to one of the lines, which sped up the check in processes.
I had some fragile stuff in my suitcase, so this required a special screening with my attendance, which was done soon. The lady at the check in was mostly polite, but at times, a bit on the negative side. All in all, it was okay

Immigration lines were long as hell, and took us nearly 25 minutes to get through. And as you'd expect, it was on the ruder side, sadly. Many of my friends got yelled at for wearing the cap. Yes, maybe my friends should've removed it before, but really, the rudeness of the officials is not the way to go. And then they show the Athithi Devo Bhavah type ads. Oh well.
Security had its fair share of rudeness too, as my instruction was to 'remove all the coins' from my pocket 'soon'
Nuisance

Anyways, I was quite unhappy to see the state of duty free: almost empty! Boxes were lying around, indicating the imminent move of the goods to the new T2. But in all honesty, the empty areas over the carpet, the lines left by the shelves and all, make for a even-more-sorry-than-usual scene at the Sahar Terminal. I couldn't even buy the Team India jersey, even if I was entering the wrong (no, the right actually. We have a better team. )
We found ourselves a nice spot at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and this is where Air India earned a bit more of my respect: free and respectable speed open wi fi! This was much needed, and time flew....at a slow rate.
We killed a bit of our time by listening to some 'phunny' jokes, many of them. Despite being lame and all, we still had quite a few sleepy laughs!
For example: I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down. or I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me., and the like.
I invited one of the teacher's over, to enjoy the free and respectable speed of wi fi. It was surely very handy! (Just like sign language ).


There were no chocolate based stuff available till 0700 in the morning. Now that is a kick to face!

I walked over to buy some Thums' Up for myself. The last bit before I return to India...God knows when! (okay July. We all know it).
On the way, I noticed that 9W256, the rival flight to Colombo, or the more familiar flight to Colombo was boarding, almost reaching departure time, in fact. After a minor stroke, I remembered I was indeed flying SriLankan Airlines, and the not the usual Jet Airways flight. Oh well.

After chugging them two down, I found a sweet soft spot on the camera bag, lay my head there, put the songs on and fell off to sleep for a bit. Oh, its difficult to describe what it felt like!
Anyways, really soon, I was woken by my friends: we had to board the flight
Before moving, I did a quick on FR24: 4R-ABG would be flying us back to Colombo. This also means that I would fly on 75% of UL's non-PTV A320 fleet (i.e- 4R-ABL, 4R-ABK and 4R-ABG. Only which remains is 4R-ABJ).

Gate 2B was our assigned gate. My last visit to the Sahar Terminal ensured that I got to deplane and board through the aero-bridge, once each
Things that happen with other airlines, and not with Jet.



Once we reached the gate, I learnt something.
Passengers would be marked 'boarded' from Gate 3, but we get on the plane from Gate 2B. Go figure.

All of us waited there, half asleep, as we reviewed 5 days of intense action and returning with reaction! Boarding quite obviously, didn't start at the specified 0210 hours, of course. It only began at 0230 hours, leaving 40 minutes to spare before flying away. Or pushing back rather. And when it did start, the Zones printed on the boarding pass were instantly useless, as it was by row numbers, not zone wise. What a waste of ink. And money.
Boarding was subsequently announced, beginning with rows 20-28, 11-19 (us) and then finally, 5-10. The agent had the rows written on his palm. He looked quite professional, however, with the slight yelling-ish kind.

Our convoy again!

All passengers were quite disciplined actually, very few of them were sent of the line since they were in the wrong group. Well, in Jet, people are always sent out the queue. How does it matter anyways, its a bloody long and annoying bus ride anyways. While waiting there, I heard what clearly was the unmistakable mooo of the GE90 engines. Which one would it be, was the question. Air France? (since they decide keep sending whatever they like. Here's pledging that if they send an A320, I'll enter a meditation period in Tibet ) Air India? Airliners-India's favorite airline? I had to wait and see. By now, it was getting a tad too difficult to manage my back pain, I needed to sit ASAP!Walking through Gate 3, our baggage tags were checked (by a polite CISF lady), and then our boarding passes were ripped off, and we got directed to Gate 2B. Its quite an open maze to walk through, but still, better than being in a sardine can bus! On the way, my question was answered. Jet Airways flight 9W120 to London Heathrow, operated by VT-JEH was preparing for its flight.

One of my friend's actually bothered to wait for me as I clicked that picture.
'Does the plane have TV's?' I was asked
'Of course it does! Hell, it flies on flights which last more than 5 and a half hours! And in the near future, it will be flying for almost half a day non stop! It has quite a decent collection of stuff, not as good as Emirates or Singapore Airlines, but its still okay. It also has...'
'Dude, OUR PLANE!', I got interrupted..
'Oh. Uhm. No.' I said..



As we walked further through the red carpeted open maze, it soon came to my realization that we entered from Gate 3, to board a plane from Gate 2B, for a flight to Amman, not my destination!

(By the way..they send something smaller than what UL sends..yup, you guessed it: the A319.
I saw the nose and the cockpit glass, which had a capital 'G' written on it, confirming that this ex-Air Deccan/Simplyfly Deccan bird would take me back to Colombo.

As I exited the aero-bridge, into the Airbus, a warm ayubowan welcome onboard signaled the end of my last visit to the old Sahar Airport Terminal.

SEAT CONFUSION! WE'RE UP ALL NIGHT TO GET LUCKY!
We had decided for the same seating as the inbound: me in middle, sacrificing the aisle seat. However, this was not the case this time around. Since I was the second last of the group, I had to wait for my seat. My planned seat was taken by someone else, my assigned seat was gone too. However, I had firmly set my eyes on something amazing. Something blissful: a window seat! I kept my eye on it, and drew closer to it. As I drew closer, no one took the seat. And there was my chance: I finally get a window seat for the flight! Although I was on the wrong side, I decided not to complain. Its only one of 6 window seats! Friends beside me were very obedient, as they stuck to their boarding pass seats. I pity whoever was supposed was sit on 17A, if he/she didn't get a window otherwise! Oh well, I was looking forward to the flight alright!

A quick glance outside, and my oh my was it beautiful!

EK500, Emirates B77W A6-EGC from DXB
VS355, Virgin Atlantic A333 G-VGBR to LHR
CX684, Cathay Specific Blunder..er..Pacific Airways B744 B-HUI to HKG
LH757, Lufthansa B744 D-ABVT to FRA
I took this quick photo from the phone, and I waited a bit to pull the DSLR out, as I felt the EK bird go to the last gate. That..was not to be..
Wait wait wait wait.
Just for some general information. CX684 is supposed to depart BOM at 0130 hours. And it was now past 0245 hours. Yes. You guessed. Blunders went on as she arrived into Hong Kong 178 minutes late
(I couldn't help but chuckle when I learnt that. Oh Cathay and its specific blunders!)

Once I pulled by DSLR out, a smile was wiped away.
No, it wasn't disappointment. It was just pure shock!
Its not very often a B77W is parked beside an A320, and my God the sheer size in terms of the A320 I was on was just hard to believe! Massive engines, of course, wing span almost going over our heads, HUGE windows! It was hard for me to believe that I have actually been on that plane, but at this very moment, I felt I had a duty to fill: fly onboard a Boeing 777-300ER (NOT CATHAY!)
Well, perhaps the fact that I wouldn't see any of the other planes was indeed a slight turn off. Oh well.



I had difficulties in taking pictures of this beauty. Reasons? Well, back pain, and of course, the T7W's size!






As I looked out of the window, looking at the actives surrounding the beauty of the B77W, fresheners were passed to all the passengers, while all the announcements were made, too. Yes, as you'd expect, I missed the fresheners and gave no importance to the announcements. There was also plenty of immature stuff going on, what could you expect from a school group on a plane? At 0308 hours, doors were armed and immediately we were pushed back for departure. I say pushed back: we were pushed back, and pulled back in front a bit.
Technical snag, more time in BOM?
Not quite
I actually bothered listening to the safety demonstration, following in. It was too silent, it was only the sound of the APU and the person talking over the PA system. All of a sudden, a loud 'Moooooooooo' sound in an increasing tone came up, almost sounding like a bomb dropped on us! The whole aircraft (the Airbus) was vibrating as many people looked me, asking 'What the hell is happening!', while I quietly enjoyed the sound of a Boeing 777-300ER starting up right behind me. Air India flight AI921 to Riyadh, operated by VT-ALM was preparing for its flight.
'GE 90. The world's most powerful turbofan. Its not our plane, its the plane behind' is what I said. That relieved my friends, as they started chattering away.
However, I decided to record the sound of the other GE90 start up, however, it wasn't as loud or as intense. However, it is still quite something!




I'd suggest nothing but full volume for this video, as you will easily make out that the sound of a GE90 mooing in the distance is nothing compared to the sound of the IAEV2500s you have on your plane. Such is the power of (literally) mighty turbofans. I advice you to use headphones/earphones and watch it in full 1080p HD!
(Apologies for all the weird conversations... )

So of course, we started up, the teacher woke up to tell us to get some sleep, we stayed quiet, and started chattering away. We slowly taxied towards the usual runway 27, were the Lady Virgin Airbus was prepared for her long haul back to the UK.

Blunders and mighty brilliance in one (terrible) picture!







Without further ado, we took off into the starry skies of Mumbai (wherein, I once again do apologize for heavily immature conversations..) and quickly turned southwards, setting for course for Colombo...of course, we held hands, creating a 6 passenger chain, just in case






'If only this were a day flight...' I said to myself, as I felt really sad flying over the Marine Drive. Memories of my stint flashed before my eyes. Oh, how much I miss Mumbai!
Menu cards and arrival cards were distributed to all the passengers, as the dim lights were kept dim for the rest of the flight..




Very LCC-esque!

I was drifting in and out of sleep, mostly in sleep, as I noticed the trolley being pulled to the front. Two of them, in fact. There was a third, servicing the passengers from the rear. I was quite dead when the trolley's took time to reach my row. However, when the trolley did reach close by, my eyes were wide open. Sleep was gone, far far away. It was time for food! Looks like, Sumantra sir is not the only one who wakes up for food!
'It is funny how the three of you look lively and wide awake, just for the food!' - said the steward, and the 4 of us shared a hearty laugh at this!
I took, the obvious non-veg option.



If we divide this into 5: there were 4 parts of potato, and just one part of chicken. I mean come, Air India, rather even Jet is more generous with the meat amount in the non veg snack!
The tikka's were quite honestly, terrible. It was just about okay with the chutney. I ran out of chutney in the end, and left out one tikka. The roti thing had a mildly spicy chicken keema filling in it..which tasted good.


My friend in the middle seat and I did a 'bottoms up!' thing with the Milke cream we got, and oh yeah that tastes the best without anything!

Soon, I fell asleep, only to be woken up by the sound of the tray being cleared after my meal.
A quick picture, is what it meant. With the camera on the tray table, I decided to stay awake for the rest of the flight.....


'Sir, please put your seat-back...ma'am please fasten your seatbelt for arrival, window shades up please..' were the words I was hearing when I was asleep. Was it a dream? Well, I surely fell off to sleep.. But that then, was actually happening. I eventually woke up, put my seat back upright, and went off to sleep again..

'THIS SHIP IS SINKING! EVACUATE!!!!!' is what I heard in my sleep. I was falling down, quite slowly, along with the ship. It was a very bumpy experience as the ship was sinking. A big bump later, I saw the ship go drown, I somehow made it alive from there, only to open my eyes and see it actually was just the plane going through some thick clouds as we started our rapid decent back into Colombo. Weird sounds came, as I held my camera for recording a rather pointless and dark landing video. At 0526 hours, 14 minutes before time, we made landed into Colombo, beginning an uncertain countdown to my next flights.
There was an Air Armenia Cargo An-12 parked, and of course, Jet's flight back to Mumbai being pushed back, VT-JBE. And of course, Kuwait Airbus A300 (I thought I'd never see them ever again!) 9K-AMD back to...Kuwait, of course.




We disembarked quickly, and despite the long immigration queues, this was done surprisingly quickly!


Remains of Air Deccan?

J class.

THEY FORGOT ME. YAY.

As I waited for my luggage to arrive, I gave Mum a call. A very long wait later, a sleepy Mum picked up the phone..
'I'm here..' I said.. 'Where are you..?'
'At home..Why?' Mum said..
Startled, I said 'You are supposed to be at the airport now! What are you doing at home! I have my bags too!'
Surprised, Mum said 'But you're supposed to go Water Kingdom!'
Very annoyed and bewildered, I said 'Mumma, what is this? How could you possibly forget? I remember you telling me that you couldn't sleep the night before I came back last time, and now you just casually forget?'
'But you said 16th...'
'I said 15th Morning! 15th Morning be at the arrivals area!!!!!'
'Okay wait..we're leaving....oh no we need to take Dobby for a walk too now'
'FORGET IT!'..and I rudely just cut the phone.

I didn't pick up my phone after Mum called, and Dad too. I was pretty annoyed them, and I had perfect reason to be. I made sure that they contact the teachers, rather than me. I wanted them to know what I was going through, and how embarrassed I felt. It was then decided that I'd go with the teachers up to school, and from then on, wait for Mum or Dad to arrive.
I slept through the drive. Once at school, after a wait for yet another eternity, Mum and Dad finally arrived. *pops Champagne!*
I slammed the boot as I dumped my suit case into that.
'So...uhh...how was the trip?' Dad asked doubtfully.
'I forgot. Just like you forgot me.' I said. 'I want to go home and sleep. And NOBODY disturb me or enter my room as I sleep.'
'We're sorry beta...I was just too busy in the office, while Mum was preparing for her exams....'

It was now when I realized what a mistake I had made, reacting to them in such a terrible manner. However, I still believe I had a valid point: back pain, tiring trip, early morning annoying red eye flight...but then, I felt, they really should not count. I felt really bad about myself, taking things for granted, reacting as if their hard work doesn't really bother me.
I got out of the car, took my suitcase, stormed into my bedroom, feeling really really terrible about myself. Nope, I didn't get to see Dobby since he was busy with his breakfast. Once I fell asleep, it was pretty apparent that I had done quite a lot of damage to my back, and I was to be in bed rest completely for the next 4 days. When I woke up, I apologized to them for my behavior, handed them their gifts, had lunch and went back to sleep again....

This is where I complete the trip reporting part of this TR. In the final segment, would be the conclusion and all.

Regards
Jish

[sumantra]

[shivendrashukla]

Absolutely brilliant TR Jishnu. You have described Mumbai in a way very few ppl can. Have you tried selling this TR to lonely planet??

Regarding your rail query, I have answered on the wassup group.
[Tip to Sumantra Sir : Please buy a new smart phone and come on whatsapp group]


Cheers
Shivendra

[sumantra]

[shivendrashukla]

[sumantra]

[sri_bom]

Wow what a massive report this has been Jishnu and amazing photos as well. Some things have not changed in the city and seems to be in a time warp where as the other extreme is the rapid development in construction of housing for the super rich.

The pictures of Bombay the city that never sleeps have been well captured by you. I hope besides having fun you did manage to learn something during your trip.

Sri_Bom

[jbalonso777]

Hello everyone!
With the arrival of a weekend, I can finally invest a bit of time in concluding this TR, and of course, answering your replies!
I must say, I am a bit overwhelmed with the things going on around me, but I guess a little bit of time here should not be much of an issue

Well, here goes the conclusion then. I didn't really do a good enough concluding part for the previous TR, and since it is the same airline (or not?!), and not too many days in between the flights. So then, here goes!

1. SriLankan Airlines
As you must've figured out from the last two trip reports (this and the previous one), you might've figured out that UL are two different airlines on different routes. Food was terrible on the short-sector flights, service was generally below par, and not up to the standards of being a oneworld airline. Or maybe not, perhaps, Cathay weren't all that good anyways. But they are a different ball game. No blankets, no food choices, a generally rubbish meal, no little amenities like salt or pepper, limitations to beverage, etc, gave me a rather negative first impression on SriLankan Airlines. Something which I had anticipated, but really, it was pretty much expected, my expectations were too high.
However, things were rectified on the Mumbai flights.
The Mumbai flight is not a short sector flight, and accordingly, SriLankan Airlines have set up the service: blankets, better presentation of food, options for good, frills on the tray, beverages during service (and not on request), etc. The meal was okay, I mean, pizza was a bit soggy, while there was too much of fried potato stuff on return. And of course, lets not forget the salad screw up on the first flight! And of course, the cockpit visit made me a happy camper, of course.
I will have no hesitation in saying that SriLankan Airlines out did Jet Airways (and I guess, is continuing in doing so) on this route. Lets see what Massa is doing, maybe like MAA-CMB-MAA, this route too will be pulled out, making SriLankan, once again, the lone standing airline on this route.
The cabin crew on all four flights were pretty much the same, nothing much to write about as they were just like any other airline crew, largely friendly.
Aircraft maintenance on the older A320s are pretty good, however, I must say the A320, 4R-ABO, is in tatters, considering its age. The IFE UI is a sign of a worry, too. Maybe I would be reluctant in flying with UL to places like KUL or SIN, knowing there wouldn't be much of IFE (STILL better than Cathay Pacific ). Speaking of 4R-ABO being a surprise change of equipment on 02JAN14, if we did stay for another day, a larger surprise change in equipment would've occurred: yes, 4R-ALC, an Airbus A330-200. Yep, I mentally kicked myself when I figured out that. And then I weeped (again, not literally).
SriLankan Airlines surprised me on the BOM flights, which I kind of predicted, but not the extent I went through!

Now it brings us to the question. Will I now be flying more of SriLankan Airlines?
Here is a short-run comparison of the BOM flights..

Of course, there are various other aspects too, of course, more important ones, so we'll see what happens later this year

I have a theory: the service of UL on these two different routes can be based on the contents of the meal pack, after a postmortem of the same.
On the right is the meal pack from UL124, while on the left is Ul142.



It was blue on the previous trip. Another sign of differentiation?

2. Mumbai
Personally, I feel I have covered the Mumbai which I should've done long ago, back in 2012. With a trip like this, it is always possible to see, witness, appreciate and photograph the sites in Mumbai, something which is never possible on a normal trip to Mumbai, since they are loaded with work, friends, and other stuff. This trip of Mumbai once again got back many memories, but then again, different ones. I shall not go through them, but point is, in many ways, I'm glad I made it for this trip. These things in Mumbai would be something I'd probably never see, even if I stay there for years to come. The city that never sleeps proved popular among my friends, especially the food. Of course, there were many things which I heard in the bus, when we were going to the hotel, after the flight, mostly negative stuff. After a polite reprimand, the people who said that seemed to quiet down, and look at the various aspects which they never knew of: things like the malls, or the infrastructure, the beauty of Mumbai as a whole, etc. It was a fantastic trip, very hectic (and slightly damaging ) though. This was my very first international trip with school, and I look to cherish the memories from this one as a whole.

OVER TO YOU!
And once again, its over to you.
I would appreciate more replies, comments and suggestions to my trip report!
How did you like the pictures?
How did you like the trip report overall?
I hope with this TR, I have managed to portray a different SriLankan Airlines to you, and of course, a lot of insight into the City that Never Sleeps - Mumbai!

This takes quite a lot of observation, but I managed to figure out 3 different seat backs on the 3 different old UL A320 birds I've flown!

Seat type 1: 4R-ABL, UL171 CMB-BLR


Seat type 2: 4R-ABK UL141 CMB-BOM


Almost the same as 4R-ABL, but just that towards the top, it gets quite curvy..

Seat type 3: 4R-ABG UL142 BOM-CMB

Visibly different, of course!!

Seat type 4: 4R-ABO UL124 MAA-CMB

The even more visibly, vividly, obvious difference in the seat backs.
Hopefully these are the same 4R-ABM/N/P!
Now all that remains is to find the setback of 4R-ABJ.....

That is it from this report. Thank you all so much for reading, and all the responses!
I hate to announce my second round of sabbatical, or hibernation. Starting from the 1st of February 2014, my restriction rules will be applied (more like..TRYING not to distract myself from participating on this wonderful forum!), and I will be away, presumably till the 22nd of May 2014, the day when my AS level exemptions get over. Post that, I will be making my mandatory yearly BOM trip, so once again, I will find a slightly indirect way of getting there
However, with this, I'd like to announce my next trip.
That will, be my second international trip with school.
Nope, it will not be a field trip, or a fun trip, I will be representing my school at the World Scholar's Cup regional round in Bangkok, on the 29th and 30th of March 2014. Lets see how things go, but for now, it looks pretty
Following are the flight details:
UL882 0701 1155 CMB BKK A332/A343 28MAR14
UL883 2105 2300 BKK CMB A332/A343 30MAR14
That then, falls during my sabbatical/hibernation. I will either break my silence by posting a quick TR, or I'd rather wait for the end of May and post a proper TR. Lets see what the situation is then, and I'll work things out
(Yes, Varun. It was supposed to be DXB, but now its BKK )

PREVIOUS TRIP REPORTS
2013
2 A's and an A - beloved Bangalore, cheery in Chennai!
Jaw-rattling to joyful Jaffna!
Dreamy Diversion to Delhi: Mumbai, here I come!
Finishing off Singapore: Comprehensively Contrasting Cathay!

2012
Kolkata during the Durga Puja
Quick quick! Formula One in Singapore!
I'm coming home! (Flight 4 of 4).
I'm coming home! (Flight 3 of 4).
I'm coming home! (Flight 2 of 4)
I'm coming home! (Intro and flight 1 of 4)
Emirates to South Africa! (4/4)
Emirates to South Africa! (3/4)
12 days in South Africa. And a flight with Kulula.
Emirates to South Africa! (2/4)
Emirates to South Africa! (1/4)

2011
An International Transit with 9W: BOM-MAA-CMB
They know how to be brilliant! 9W BOM-CMB-BOM (Okay, maybe not anymore )
Konnecting to Bhubaneshwar
16 Hours in Colombo
Mumbai-Colombo-Mumbai on Jet Airways
Nagpur (not its oranges) on Jetlite
North Bengal (And CCU) 54 pictures & few videos (9W/IT)

2010
Kolkata during the Durga Puja (2010)
International on Jet Airways: Hong Kong! (2010)
Brainstorming! CCU-BOM (via BBI & HYD) on S2 & 6E

I hope you enjoyed reading my TR, as much as I enjoyed writing and re-living the experiences mentioned in this trip report!
This is Jishnu signing off.

Regards
Jishnu

[sumantra]

Jishnu, thanks for a nice summary. I really like your in-depth analysis. I am sure I am not alone in having keenly followed the part of your report, just that I have been the most vocal. Please keep it all coming - yes, we enjoy these immensely. All the best for the World Scholar's Cup regional round in Bangkok! I also hope the political situation stabilises there: the Indian media and travel agents say that travel to Bangkok has taken quite a beating since the political unrest there.
Cheers, Sumantra.

[jbalonso777]

[Theairplaneguy4ever]

So sorry to be the last one yet again Jishnu. It seems I have missed a lot.

This was trip report was spectacular as usual and a lovely insight into Mumbai which I have yet to experience (spare a few transit hops). Quite a mammoth this one as well, I don't think all the pictures ever fully loaded for me.

But, the ones that did were amazing, I've particularly liked your captures of Mumbai life.

And about the flights, reading your TRs have scared me further and further away from UL to the point that I'll avoid it at all costs, I guess they need a major re-branding quite soon.

But, at least,I'm glad to hear that the crew were quite good.

I'm glad to hear that you had a fun experience travelling with your school mates as well.

The food pictures look great as well, I'm hungry already!

So, what lies ahead after this TR? Any new airline TRs coming up?

Waiting for the next one!

Adi,

Theairplaneguy4ever
_________________
India's first HD Video Trip Report Channel : www.youtube.com/Theairplaneguy4ever

[jbalonso777]

Hello everyone!
I do apologize for not replying...its been a while, its a lot of replies, and I do thank you for all of this! Really, I appreciate all of this! Exams pushed me off the cliff (not literally, of course!), which stopped me from replying to all of the replies.
I must say that the replies will be really way too different from what I originally hoped to type out. However, as usual, exciting announcement at the end!

[Nimish]

Lovely update - thanks for sharing - and congrats on your upcoming visit to Paris - one of the world's favorite cities!
_________________
We miss you Nalini!

[jbalonso777]

[Nimish]

[jbalonso777]