Mumbai : The much awaited

The journey to Mumbai began via our Train to Mumbai from Gorakhpur, Lokmanya Tilak Super Express on  13th March, 2014 at around 9:00 pm. After 48 hrs long journey of Train we finally reached LTT, Mumbai on  We were very exhausted because of train journey and  were delighted when we were picked up by our friend in Mumbai. Then from there we reached Hotel Shubhangan   around 5 am. The day had nothing much to do while we only rested in our hotel. We stayed in Mumbai till morning of 18th March , during which we visited many important landmarks of the magnificient city.

Day 1, March 14

Band Stand: 

We asked the auto bhaiya ( auto driver) about nearest tourist attraction from our hotel and came to know that Band fort was one. Band Fort was something like Garden of Dreams in Nepal, all famous for the couples in love. We came to spot the place as shooting spot of many Bollywood movies like: Tarey Jameen Pey, Wanted etc. I saw sea for the first time (Arabian sea) and was amazed the water mass intensity ranging to a distance very far. 

We clicked some photos together and were also happy to see the magnificent Bandra-Worli Sea Link. 

Juhu beach:  

We visited Juhu beach and quite a few lesser known beaches. Juhu was all lighted up and glittered beautifully in the evening. The surrounding was vibrant - the foods stalls showcasing different variety of local foods, the photographer were busy spotting and clicking tourists, many mumbaites hanging around for evening walk, many tourists hovering here and there etc was amazing to observe. We also played in water, felt the sand slipping from below our feet and got ourselves clicked. We also tasted the famous local food: Pau Bhaji ( Bread and Cooked vegetable) which I tasted good. 

             

Day 2, March 15

Rotaract Stuffs:

Second day was for the main purpose of the visit. We organised a joint meeting with Rotaract Club of HR College, Mumbai and also signed Memorandum of Understanding( MOU) for International Twin Club relationship. The meeting was really enthusiastic and fun-filled. Also we were also careful to learn many new things like meeting procedures followed and meeting etiquettes. 

We saw a different and interesting way of attending a meeting and have summed up with some take-away. There were many things to learn and share between the two clubs. We got a warm reception there and planned to play holi together on March 17th. 

Gateway of India:

I was very happy to meet some of my Rotaract friends from (Rotaract Club of Government Law College) Mumbai whom I had met via facebook and had also organised some joint project between the two clubs. Though it was our first meeting, we found them very co-operative, friendly and caring. Together  we had great fun in the evening. We visited some restaurants, had punjabi food, visited Gateway of India and Taj hotel in the evening. Back to hotel we boarded on train which was not that busy like the daytime. 

Day 3, March 16

Chatrapati Sivaji Terminus (CST):

Also a UNESCO World Heritage Sites, CST was built in 1887 to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. CST is one of the busiest railway platform of India serving as a terminal for both short and long-distance trains.

We went to CST for train tickets to Goa. Unfortunately we couldn't get the ticket the same day because all the reservations were full. Meanwhile with all the ICYEP team, we paid a visit to the Gateway of India and took a ride in the ferry over the Arabian sea.  The ferry was just supposed to take a round on the sea and come back. Shopping was next on our list. We visited both small and big shopping centres in close vicinity and bought lots of items. The prices were reasonable and the variety was good.

Marine Drive:

Visit to Marine drive in the evening is one of the rarest thing to miss in Mumbai. It is a 'C' shaped boulevard of about 5 km along the coast that look spectacular during the night by the street lights along the drive. The place is famous to observe the setting sun and also for evening walk, grasping some fresh air. The place is also famous for many prominent hotel in Mumbai like: Oberoi, The Intercontinental, Hotel Marine Plaza etc.  

Travelling in Local Train:

Another thing which we enjoyed was travelling in local train. Local train system in Mumbai is extensive and  travelling during peak hours, during office hours is really hectic because the rush at this point of time is just too much for anyone not used to it. You really need lots of alacrity, patience and practice to travel during these hours. For the rest of the day, the crowd is manageable. Travelling by train gave us a firsthand idea of life of people in Mumbai. Without these trains, life of 12 million Mumbaites  becomes crippled.

Day 4, March 17

Holi In Mumbai:

We Rotaract Club of Kasthamandap together with Rotaract club of HR college celebrated holi.It was also one of the most unforgettable moment. It was a mesmerizing experience. We learned new way of celebrating and also a good chance to exchange our culture and learn new tradition. Dancing all wet was the most interesting part.

Autos:

Travelling in Autos is also one of the major thing to witness in Mumbai. It is said that there are about 300 thousands Autos in Mumbai itself. During mine stay, I came to know of most of the auto-drivers as helpful and cooperative. We travelled major part of Mumbai with the help of Auto-drivers and are also thankful to them.

What we most enjoyed during our stay in Mumbai was visiting many beautiful places especially in the evening. The whole thing was really interesting and a completely new experience for us.

Gorakhpur, India : ICYEP first day

A city famous for its massive train networks throughout the country, Gorakhpur, lies in Uttar Pradesh state of India and is one of the closest train platform from Nepal border.

A 3 hour bus ride from Sonauli (Nepal-India border) via a UP state-government bus and then you reach Gorakhpur train station. We reached to Sonauli early morning at 6 am. After a little of fresh-up and light breakfast we headed towards to cross the border. In contrast to our imagination, we cleared the border very easily. We  talked to officials in a polite manner and showed the evidence that we were to attend a program in India. And thus no hassle :)

Then we catched a UP state-government bus from Sonauli to Gorakhpur , a distance of around 3 hours for just IC 92. ( saved  from exp. tickets of private bus operators). The landscape is almost same to the plains of Nepal so we didn't had much to enjoy from the scenes .  As we had train to Mumbai in the evening, we visited the famous Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur and stayed there the whole afternoon. Apart  from the rest of the city, the temple seemed to be well-managed and looked after.

In the evening we reached to Train station which was to be our major transportation means for the rest of our stay in India. As many of us hadn't seen train previously , some of my friends were excited to see train passing after every few minutes.  We tried to find out how train system worked ( Indian railway is also features in HBS case study and is one of the largest employment provider in the world) .Frankly speaking , the train system in Gorakhpur  was not properly managed and seemed troublesome. We didn't know about different train jargons like : wait list, tatkal, SL class, ac-tier, train number, etc. We tried to take help from railway police, but to no avail. Finally by asking to other commoners we were able to locate our train at 9 pm  and the journey to Mumbai began.

Exhausted  for the whole day because of psychological pressure  to understand train-system( with objective to not miss the train) , we took our SL class berth and soon fell asleep ( or at-least pretended so as it was our first night in train, sound sleep was difficult ). We were witnessing the backbone of development of India and the basic means of transport in the live of billion of Indian commoners.

Visit to India : ICYEP

Visit to India was a trip planned since last two years. Back in 2012 in Rotaract we had a proposal from our then International twin club in Mumbai, Rotaract club of Government Law College for Inter Club Youth Exchange Program (ICYEP) . But then we couldn't schedule it because of different reasons. As usual then I was one of the member who so wanted to visit Mumbai.

And finally we got invitation from another Rotaract club this year for Inter city Youth Exchange Program ( ICYEP). I then approached them to come to Nepal for the first round of ICYEP ( so that in latter part I can be stress free regarding the second part of hosting and all ;) ). However things didn't go as expected and we were to make our virgin trip to Mumbai ( as it was first visit to almost the members of ICYEP from Nepal).Then began official information sharing among club members and selecting of ICYEP members. Done with selection, it was a hectic event to plan for the whole event as all of us didn't had experience of how India was like. Being a team leader it was me to had opportunity to learn many things in advance ( of course with some stress) . Learning about Indian train system, booking of tickets, managing Indian currency , counselling team members etc was sometimes tough. 

With all these things real thing that encouraged us was when we decided to go to Goa also ( was in addition to our original plan). And then until we reached Goa it was like everyone humming " aajaoo on the beach yaara photo merely khich" :D

But things that always motivated me for the visit was

1. To know about how India was.
2. To make some new friends in Mumbai.
3. To share culture and good-will with each other.
4. To explore myself in terms of leadership, confidence, team management etc
5. To avail myself of the opportunity to strengthen relationship with my fellow club members. 

And many more ...

Follow upcoming post about other exciting experience about India visit....