Mumbai Darshan

I went for a Mumbai Darshan on 13-01-08 with my mom and cousin and hoped to see a lot of Mumbai's Heritage and beauty but I was in for a hurried bus ride.

First when we reached the boarding point at Dadar we were told to go to a bus parked some distance away with the entire tour group. The tour group composed of non Mumbaikars and included Punjabis, a Sikh family, south Indians, Bengalis, etc. When we reached the bus we found that it was not upto the mark. We had booked Priyanka Travels with 2 seats on either side of the isle, but we were made to board a Renuka Travels bus (bus no. MH07-0999) which had 2 seats on one side and 3 seats on the other side of the isle. This was very little leg room in this bus. The windows also would not open completely. The bus stopped at two more pick up-points where travelers boarded and a lot of time was wasted upto 10:30 am. Next, the bus went to a petrol pump where 31 litres of diesel was filled in to the bus for 1,100. The bus should have been filled up before the tour but still they did this when we were actually waiting in anticipation to see Mumbai. Sachin Tendulkar's Restaurant was pointed out to us, which was barely visible.

The tour guide Akbar told us that in addition of our ticket price of 150 we would have to pay a sum of 165 for entry tickets to the various places. He said for Atria Mall alone the ticket price was 80 which he had got at a subsidized price from the Mall. He took the collection ( without any receipt may I add) of 150 tp 165 rupees which the tour group readily paid. I told him that there was nothing to see at the aquarium so I would pay only 150.

Akbar then announced on the microphone that he would give every one only 40 minutes to see the various locations and that we should remember the bus name RENUKA and the number 999. If anyone is late the bus would go within 40 minutes he said. If anyone is left behind they could take any other tourist bus as all the buses follow the same schedule, he said. Before getting off at the next stop he said that we should carry our belongings with us and not get fooled by roadside three card gambling.

The first location that the bus took was the Gateway of India which was built in 1911 (that was all he knew about the monument as he repeated it again and again) The only problem was that it was under renovation!. So the snaps I got were of a Gateway in a cage! and walking around it was quite dangerous. The photograph guys hesitantly asked us if we wanted to take a snap to which we of course refused. If the tour operators knew it was under construction they should have mentioned it. Akbar showed us the old Taj and new Taj Hotel on the opposite side and our group took pictures. We remained close to the bus so that we would not get left behind.

When we got back into the bus my cousin who was sitting near Akbar said that they were not going to Jahangir Art Gallery and Prince of Wales Museum due to parking difficulty. I thought we had paid for entry into these and that they had marked these areas as stoppage points on the ticket. My cousin had a word with Akbar who told him that for parking they had to give a lot of bribe to the traffic cops! They could just as well take us for a ride and not make any stops if parking is not available!. Then why did they collect entry ticket money and promise us stoppages at these places?

From the moving bus then Akbar said we would have to keep looking left and right to see the famous skyscrapers like the Mumbai Corporation Building, Mumbai Stock Exchange Building, Asiatic Library (used in shooting of films as the Mumbai High Court), Rajabai Tower, Mumbai High court( saying Sanjay Dutt could be spotted there very often), World Trade Center, Mantralaya. As the bus turned at Nariman Point he showed the Oberoi Tower Hotel, Air India Building and the Brabourne Stadium which he said was visible in between the buildings. The Bus hardly slowed down and most of the buildings were hidden by trees.

Our second stop was at Taraporewala Fish Aquarium. Akbar announced that we would get 40 minutes to see the aquarium and to eat lunch at a government restaurant. Akbar warned us to cross the road properly. Cars travel at very high speeds on this road he said. Thus everyone followed him like his loyal sheep. As cameras are not allowed inside and as we had been there before, we chose not to go to see the aquarium. We would just hang out at Marine Drive after lunch, I thought. We went to the restaurant to have lunch at 11:30 am ! Who has lunch at such a time, many in the group joked and laughed about this but did nothing. We had pau bhaji which looked very spicy but was actually full of tomato and oil. At 12;15 we were back in the bus.

Our third stop was Hanging Garden and Kamla Nehru Park. Akbar gave us 20 minutes to see each. We took photos of both gardens and The famous 'Boot House'. We were just picking up a bag of kurkure and walking back to our bus, when we noticed that it was gone. A tour guide from another bus told us that it did not wait a second. It was 12:55 on my watch and the bus was gone. The guide told us to go standing in another bus going to the next stop Mahalaxmi Mandir, but we took taxi instead. We did the right thing because when we reached the Mandir, good old RENUKA 999 was taking a U-Turn in front of the Mandir. We quickly got of the taxi and caught up with the bus which was stuck in a traffic jam in front of the Mandir. Taking the taxi was the right thing to do as Akbar decided to give the Mandir a slip as it was crowded with devotees.

Our next stop was at Atria Mall for the 4D movie. Those who had not paid entry fee were told to stay in the bus. The rest of us crossed the road with Akbar leading us across. We were told to go to the 4th floor, if we did not get in with Akbar in the same lift. This happened and we had to wait for the next lift. We hurried to the Orama 4D theater where we waited in line for the first show to finish. Only about 4o people were allowed in at a time. We were given 4D glasses and were told to put our belongings on the floor. The movie was about a gold mine. An old man tried to warn us not to go into the mine but we still went in. We sat on a little car which went down the mine shaft on shaky railway tracks. As we went deeper into the mine we experienced a bumpy ride, hissing snakes, bats flying at our faces, a swim in waist deep water with bodies around, explosions, lava pits and having wooden beams being hurled at us as we swung about on our out of control cart. All this was to be seen and experienced to be believed. Lastly we managed to exit the mine where the creepy old guy asked us if we would like to go back and laughed sarcastically. I quite enjoyed this movie, I guess it was the best part of the tour. We rushed outside the Mall with Akbar, desperate not to be left behind.

Our fifth stoppage was at Nehru Science Museum. Again the sleepers who did not want to go inside were dropped off at a park. Akbar told us that there was not much to see in the Nehru Planetarium and that much more could be seen at the Science Center. The Science Centre had many floors with various exhibits and practical experiments. Sound experiments could be done with a press of a button, vibrations could be produced, a large keyboard to step up on and play was cool. At another level there were air experiments with airplanes and flight technology explained. At another level there was space exploration and space knowledge we had just seen in textbooks. Another floor housed mammoths and prehistoric animals. Seeing all this was quite educational. We returned quickly to the bus before 2:10 as Akbar said.

Akbar grew more and more detached and seemed to have something on his mind. He locked himself in the drivers cabin and refused to make any more announcements. The conductor made the announcement to see the pawan hans helicopter helipad and everyone wondered if other announcements were being left out. Akbar was reluctant and kept out of sight and did not seem to be in the mood to make announcements. At least the conductor bothered about showing us this. Why were we not being shown the area around. First of all we had not been taken to many other places due to traffic and scarcity of parking space.

Suddenly Akbar appeared and announced that the last and final stoppage was at the Iskon Temple & Juhu Beach. We were told to return by 5:15 and were given the usual 40 minutes to complete this task. Akbar also announced that he would not be in the bus ( to complain to) and that his duty had finished at this point. (what an easy duty he has from 10:30 to 4:30, I wish I had a job with such timings). We visited the temple and also enjoyed delicious snacks at the restaurant inside. I was dismayed that I would not be able to have a word with Akbar.
Juhu Beach was quite a mess and full of people ( if you have been to Goa beaches this was definitely not enjoyable). The Bengali family were rushing back to catch the bus. I guess they too found the beach quite unpleasant.

RENUKA was punctual at 5:15 and as we boarded inside I was surprised to see that Akbar was still there. As Akbar made his way to the middle of the bus, I asked him why they had not taken us to Jahagir Gallery, Mahalaxmi Mandir, Chota Kashmir which we were very keen on seeing. He again said that it was due to traffic and parking constraints. This I said was totally unfair. He looked guilty and did not want to argue with me and again locked himself in the front cabin.

What about the Rs. 150 collected in the bus. Why could they not refund us part of this as there is entry ticket only at the planetarium and the mall. (for the mall he said price was 80, entry to the museum could not have been Rs.70 as at other places entry was free)

Akbar got of on the way. I thought I would have to do something. I phoned the office on my mobile and told them that we were not taken to all the places. To this the person said to call at a different number. This number 24161734 was not working. We were dropped back near our home at barely 6:30, when the tour was supposed to be back by 7:30. Some places had definitely been left out. I got of the bus promising the conductor that I would complain.

Persistent as I am, again the next day I called and even requested the man from Shree Shridhivinayak Travels for a refund. The guy on the phone was surprised and said no one had complained regarding their services in 15 yrs! and that mine was the first. I guess these guys will continue to take tourists for rides for many years to come. Though I did not get the refund, I just hope that by my complaining, at least they will make things better for future travelers.