Day 1 - 22 Aug 2008
Depart from udupi - Mumbai
left Manipal from Udupi Train station. above are photographs of a statue at the train station.
on the way, there are lakes..
fields..
more fields..
more lakes..
francis looking inquisitive.. haha..
this sure is a nice shot.
some photos taken from the train. was a long train trip, around 15 hrs from Udupi to Mumbai..
Finally arrived at train station in Mumbai. It's not at the city centre, and i dont have the photos for it, cos at this moment my T20 was vibrating like a phone in silent mode, and i havent bought the W120 yet.
here we took sort of like inter-city KTM to central Mumbai.. the train frequency definitely beats KTM hands down, cos there are trains every minute or two. Very convenient. But for those who intends to go, remember that buying a first class ticket that costs 5 times more than a 2nd class ticket, is kinda unnecessary. Why? cos no one checks the tickets, thats why.. so do remember this tip if you go Mumbai.
taken at the station "Tilak Nagar", the intercity KTM analog. Cute, dogs on a wheelechair..
Anyway. After a while we reached VT station, also known as C.S.T. here's a few photos of it. it is, afterall, a UNESCO world heritage site.
the history of this station..
view from outside
this is also CST, linked by an underground subway. like so cool lar can..
group photo this time.. =)
some more photos of C.S.T
after a photo-shoot session with C.S.T, we proceeded for breakfast at.... 
yeah, McD's!! for a couple of guys who had been studying in Manipal, faraway from civilization, seeing McD is really really exciting.. exciting until..
.. you actually take a group photo in front of it. lol. oh well. at least they couldnt guess we're from M'sia..
after this we split into 2 groups. Me n Kelvin went to look for cameras to buy, while the rest, under the guidance of Kai went to find for the hotel.. During which there are no photos to show of course, since i havent gotten my W120 yet. But it's just shopping, so nothing to show also.
okay from this point onwards the photos are courtesy of Sony Cybershot W120 which i bought in Mumbai for Rs8500..
yup. first photo using the new camera. clear, no? haha =P
2nd photo... (don't worry the captions will not be so boring. i just dont know how to name this)
the designs of buildings in Mumbai are nice. Sorta like colonial british architecture. which gives the whole city a very historical look, but nice at the same time.
buildings..
some fruit stall, but they arranged it nicely. not ur ordinary fruit stall now is it? haha
clock tower
flora fountain..
me at flora fountain ;)
looks like the bus wanted to run over the uncle??
at flora fountain stil..
posing, trying to be like the statue. lol.
nice building eh?
road sign says u must run to cross the road. no walking!
taxis on the starting grid.. ready to take off.. lol
lawrence & Mayo
another nice looking building
Regal. The cinema near the street i stay at. Didnt watch movie there though. hehe
the police headquarters of Mumbai.
this one is taken next to the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower
okay. this one supposed to take Gateway of India, but after coming back and seeing the photos again, only i noticed that some poor guy is getting a parking ticket! lol
side view of the Gateway of India
2 horses at the entrance to Taj Mahal Palace & Towers
inside of the palace
which is really nice..
must take one photo ma.. since here already wad.. =P
this hotel actually got a shopping centre of it's own.. shops ?
fendi..girard-perregaux..burberry..moschino
the kinds of shops that.. there are more employees than customers. Expensive stuff 
pool for the hotel.. very very nice
some peculiar statue inside the hotel..
description for which is here..
what's everyone doing with their camera up?? nice view kah?
to take this lo..
Joined the fun. haha =P
hahaha =P
inside the palace..
mr francis here pretending to be a pianist. lol
becomes..
this!=P
for those interested, this hotel isnt that expensive, their cheapest room costs Rs5000 per night, and on average the suites here cost Rs 16,000 only..
anyway. went out of the palace (finally).. and opposite it is this
the gateway of India. too bad when we were there it's under some sort of renovation... =(
view of the Taj Mahal Palace & Towers from the outside
now with me inside XD
add 3 more..
there are many ppl selling giant balloons around the gateway. I have no idea why. really.
upclose shots
red truck. haha. used by the construction workers renovating the gateway..
candid shot.
New YORK!
here anything oso can be called "Mahal".. perhaps things they sell.. services they offer.. are really Mahal?
Here's an interesting shop..
yeah.. dont even ask about it. i only saw the sign outside n took photo. Didn't went in lar. =P
at the formerly known as Prince of Wales Museum
didnt go in.. cos was nearing closing time. And it required a ticket a certain high amount which i forgot, due to which we decided to forgo the museum n take photo from outside instead.
building-i-do-not-know-the-name
another building of the sort
roadside selling rubber stamps.. but i dunno whether they're called rubber stamps anymore since.. they're made of wood?
this is what they call.. "the loo". Important structure, this is..
as in photo.
another important structure - the loo
Muster Gate. isnt that just a mundane door?
wall painting, depicting ancient times..
Spot the difference! Taxi guy wanted to be part of history.. lol
ador house
nice.. they spread kaya all over your skin..sweet.. best if you brought your own toast.. so you will not feel hungry midway thru therapy
wow..
not exactly effective message..but at least it's there to remind ppl to keep it clean
the fountain dry fruits store..is it the fountain dry fruits store or is it the fountain dry fruits store..? confusing
they sell books at junctions. Shows how important reading is to Mumbai-ans.. ;)
egypt themed shop. i think. due to the sphinx-like thingy
Next up.. night market..
saw this one on the road.. intriguing sight indeed
a horse carriage! summore a white horse..the driver is the white horse prince huh? (白马王子) lol
railway HQ
afternoon view of City of Mumbai
next,
we had our lunch/dinner here at
some expensive restaurant.. look at the price for soups! OMG..
and there's the emperor's cuisine too!
interior designing was kinda nice. very chinese-styled. too bad waiter doesnt speak chinese.
i have no idea why it's 快舒适..no where near 快 because..
..people get sleepy waiting for the food..
finally my prawn fried meehoon came. Worth the wait i'd say. Worth the price too. i'm no food critic so i dont know how to describe it.. It sure was delicious though. Definitely fresh prawns.
After the meal we went for a walk on Marine Drive.
Marine Drive 1
Marine Drive 2
Marine Drive summore..
looks like storm is coming..
some night scenes..
I had always thought it was YMCA.. the M slipped n fell 180degrees? not funny..
bustling streets at night
typical souvenir stall found in india.. everywhere also got.. i didnt buy, since they're made of stones.. and i couldnt possibly carry stones in my backpack right... haha =P so no souvenirs like this although they do look kinda nice..
name on rice guy. He writes names on rice.. *duh* this is like new thing to me although some ppl say there are such stalls in penang.. and too bad this guy only writes in english. if he writes chinese as well it would be awesome.. would've bought as souvenir for everyone since like rice is so light compared to stone? lol
sth to share.. doesnt the logo of this shop look similar to Guardian's?
buying kebab for supper!
i personally like the effects in this photo.. moving cars..motion blur. nice..
this shop looks like shops selling chinese herbs.. only instead of that he sells snacks! haha
last but not least.. some animal-statues in Mumbai..
this cow is sponsored by Johnny Walker
This one, has always dreamed of becoming the checkered flag for formula one since he was just a calf.. lol
this one watched a lot of those gangster movies.. got a lot of tatoos.. only the motif is wrong.. flowers??
this one his parents are just over protective..writing protective charms on the body huh.. haha =P
this lion.. has no pride left after discovering that he looks like this..
this elephant.. well.. bah no comment. (out of idea)
and finally, i give you this
well this sort of concludes Day 1 at mumbai.. day 2 is at elephanta caves. Oh i forgot to mention that at the end of Day 1, our group was joined by Chea Fann, Phei Woon and Ley Ni, who came to Mumbai because Goa wasnt fun enough. =)
