The Crew in Mumbai



The Classmates

I still remember the first day I walked into class on the 17^th of July, 2009. The minute I entered the class there was pin drop silence (they thought I was the professor). I walked all the way to the last bench and sat down right behind Arianna Asrani and Nayomi Pithawalla, my first two friends in India.


First Two Friends in India

 As time went by I was fortunate enough to be acquainted to the right people and my circle of friends in India grew bigger than I expected. All my friends were from my class because I refused to talk to anyone senior to me. When I came back for my second semester I got to know people who were in the year above me and didn’t find anything wrong with them (Your first impression is never the best impression). My mother sent me to India with a vision of “Academic Excellence”, sorry Mom that ain’t happening. Along with my friends in Mumbai, I can proudly say I have done some of the craziest stuff alive.

Brothers from Other Mothers

From being in a car accident to taking part in a show for MTV, we’ve done it all. One of the most memorable experiences I’ve had in Mumbai was going to Khandala, a hill station near Pune. The purpose of our visit was to celebrate a friend, Sultan’s birthday. That night we danced and laughed like mad and even went to the extent of making our own desserts. Another night I will never forget was my 21^st birthday. If only I could remember what happened that night, I could have given you details.

The 21st Birthday. (I Remember This!)

When I came to Mumbai I had absolutely no clue about the type of people I was going to meet but now I can proudly say you guys are not my friends, you are family.

The Awesome Foursome

Verdict: I’m not going to be choosing because you guys all mean a lot to me (No! It isn’t called being diplomatic)

We’re way too sexy for our shirts!

The Crew from Hong Kong

I’ve posted stuff about transport, food, lifestyle, entertainment and attractions but what about the people? No, this post isn’t about the local Cantonese people, it’s about my mates. I’ve always been the type of person who has never really had one fixed set of friends, but when I graduated from High School in 2005, I found my perfect set of friends. I like to call them the “Boracay Gang”.



The Boracay Gang

Right before I came for my “apparent” holiday to India, twelve of us went on the most amazing holiday of a lifetime. We went from Hong Kong to the Filipino island of Boracay for five nights and then made our way to the capital of the Philippines, Manila, for two nights. That trip will probably be the most memorable trip I’ve ever been on and I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the first one. I’d be pretty surprised if someone is able to think of something we have not done together (sexual ordeals excluded). The Boracay Gang will undergo phase 2 of the epic Philippine trip, when they make their way to Malaysia and Singapore in December 2010.
 

Nitika Jain- The "Self-Proclaimed" Best Friend.

Apart from the Boracay Gang, there are a couple of other people I miss dearly. Nitika Jain, a “self-proclaimed” best friend who lives half her life brooding over, what she calls, “Love”. I’m actually talking to her on Skype right now and I honestly don’t want to imagine her reaction when she sees this. I must not fail to mention her “animated” Father who “loves me to bits” (sense the sarcasm?)

I might not be in touch with all of you, but all I would like for you to know is that I miss all of you tremendously.

The Skyline: Hong Kong v/s Mumbai

Hong Kong and Mumbai are two cities that are situated on the coast of their respective countries. Whenever I think about a holiday, for some reason, I always want to go to a place that has fabulous beaches (not for the women) or a place with a breathtaking skyline. Hong Kong and Mumbai are two such cities that can show off the magnificent skylines.

View of Victoria Harbour from the Avenue Of Stars

Hong Kong’s harbour is called Victoria Harbour and it is perhaps one of Hong Kong’s best known landmarks. Victoria Harbour is famous for its stunning skyline of Hong Kong Island as well as its mesmerizing skyline at night. To ensure that everyone in Hong Kong, both tourists and residents, got a fair share of the skyline; the Hong Kong government set up a promenade in Kowloon called the Avenue of Stars. Every evening from 7:30 till 8, there is a laser-light show that illuminates Victoria Harbour. On special occasions like Chinese New Year, New Years Eve and July 1^st (the day Hong Kong was given back to China by the British in 1997) people gather at the avenue of stars to witness a beautiful fireworks display. The Avenue of Stars is a place that I have to visit at least thrice whenever I go back to Hong Kong.

View of Mumbai's Skyline from Marine Drive

Marine Drive is Mumbai’s version of Victoria Harbour and is known to almost every person in Mumbai (a dimwit wouldn’t know what Marine Drive is). Marine Drive extends as long as three kilometres and has a promenade for people to sit along. An advantage of Marine Drive is the ease of access to FOOD (it plays a major role in my life). A number of hawkers are based near the promenade and sell goodies like chips, peanuts and roasted corn. Marine Drive has become a very common “after-college” spot and the view of Mumbai’s skyline from Marine Drive cannot be described.

Verdict: Please do not kill me, but Hong Kong would boast the better skyline. People from KCBMM: Ask Sahil Bhagat!

The Shopping: Hong Kong v/s Mumbai

The interior of IFC

Shopping! I bet all the girls reading this blog are jumping with joy (not trying to be stereotypical). Both Hong Kong and Mumbai are known to be shopper’s paradise but there can only be one winner on Chindian’s blog, who will reign supreme?



The Ladies Market in Mong Kok

Hong Kong, along with Bangkok, is probably the world’s hub for counterfeit goods. From handbags to watches, clothes to shoes and DVDs to jewellery, every counterfeit essential is available at this street market. Of course, they can’t sell all these goods out in the open and that is why we have the Ladies Market in Mong Kok. However, as the name suggests, the market is not only for ladies, there is probably more stuff for men rather than women (Told you earlier, tonnes of people can’t even speak English). Apart from the Ladies Market, Hong Kong is also the home to numerous shopping malls, all over the city. Shopping malls such as IFC (a mall in Hong Kong’s tallest building) and I-Square (the newest mall in town) boast all the luxury brands you can think of.

Fashion Street in Mumbai

Mumbai is probably shopper’s paradise in India. Mumbai’s version of the Ladies Market is Fashion Street, a long cluster of roughly 150 stores. Shoes, jewellery and clothes are what you will find in abundance. Apart from Fashion Street, Colaba Causeway is popular amongst most of the tourists in Mumbai. Colaba Causeway boasts a lot of vintage artefacts as well as ethnic jewellery and clothing. Mumbai has so many different malls; it is becoming quite a task to keep up with the number. A very popular mall in Mumbai is High Street Phoenix, Mumbai’s biggest mall located in Lower Parel. High Street Phoenix recently opened a new subdivision called Palladium, which boasts some of the world’s largest luxury brands such as Zara, Calvin Klein and Burberry.



Ethnic Jewellery at Colaba Causeway





The interior of Palladium Mall

Verdict: I am not biased, I love Mumbai, but Hong Kong would take this one again. The diversity of products to choose from in Hong Kong can’t be matched by Mumbai.



The Nightlife: Hong Kong v/s Mumbai

  

Wan Chai- The Red Light District



Before my mother left India in July 2009, she warned me that my social life was going to be at an all-time low considering I was living with my 83 year old Grandmother. A year and a half later, her warning to me seems like a lame joke she cracked. Mumbai is the only Indian city where I have experienced the nightlife and I think it is nothing short of amazing. Hong Kong, on the other hand, is unbelievably entertaining and a person clubbing in Hong Kong is bound to leave with “memories”.



Lan Kwai Fong on a Saturday night.



Hong Kong’s Bars and Nightclubs are situated in two areas, Wan Chai and Lan Kwai Fong (LKF). LKF is filled with pubs, bars, restaurants and nightclubs; the ultimate nightlife spot in Hong Kong. Wan Chai is considered to be Hong Kong’s red light district and consists mainly of strip clubs. Both districts are very closely located and clubbers usually hop between the two districts in the same night. Another advantage of clubbing in Hong Kong is the concept of cover charge. To enter a club in Hong Kong, usually, a person needs to pay a fee at the door and that fee entitles them to unlimited alcohol for the entire night. Yes, Hong Kong is a city with a drunken nightlife and no matter what time of the night it is, the night is always young.

  


Drunken Night out in Hong Kong

Mumbai’s nightlife is certainly something to rave about. Nightclubs in Mumbai, like China House, are certainly much better than clubs in Hong Kong. From the way I look at it there are two main issues with the nightlife in Mumbai

1.     A rule that states all nightclubs need to shut by 2am.

2.     The concept of letting couples enter a club without a cover charge and making single people, “stags”, pay. (No wonder it’s quite tough to find single ladies at a club.)

Drunken Night out in Mumbai

Verdict: Classier Clubs v/s Non-Stop partying; Non-Stop partying anytime. This is probably the toughest decision I’ve had to make.

Street Food: Hong Kong v/s Mumbai. Part 2

Alright, so I had to split the food section into two parts because there is way too much food to write about. I may sound like a glutton, but that is what you get when you’re from Hong Kong.

Apart from the three dishes I mentioned earlier there are so many more choices to choose from. A person could seriously go bonkers in Hong Kong trying to decide what food to eat. Some of the more popular choices to choose from are:

Warning: Please keep the previous warning in mind!

·        Chinese Fried Sausage (yummy!)

·        Shark Fin Soup (yummy, but very controversial)

·        Pig’s liver and intestines (tried it, but never again!)

·        Squid, Octopus and Lobster (quite appetizing)

Pig’s Liver and Intestines at Wah Kee

 Yes, the above mentioned items might make you puke your guts out but they are probably the yummiest things I have eaten in my life. Now, we move onto food in Mumbai, in my eyes, India’s food capital. When I arrived in Mumbai I was too paranoid to eat anything from the roads and even from the College canteen. However, within a year I have become accustomed to street food in Mumbai, all the credit going to my friends from college.



My eating mentors in Mumbai

One dish I just can’t seem the get enough of is Samosa Pav. It is a piece of bread, with a little bit of mint sauce (Chutney) and a Samosa stuffed inside. I can probably eat 4 and still not be stuffed (I repeat I am not a glutton and nor do I suffer from an eating disorder.) Apart from Samosa Pav, another dish I enjoy eating is Pav Bhaji, a curried vegetable dish accompanied with bread.

Samosa Pav

 

Food! Food! Food! Food! This has by far been my favorite post!

Verdict: Hong Kong would be my winner, hands down, regardless of how amazing Mumbai’s street food can be.

Street Food: Hong Kong v/s Mumbai

The world eats to live, I live to eat. I absolutely could not wait to post about food and finally the time has come! According to the world’s best food critic in 2009, Matt Preston, Hong Kong is the “food capital of the world”. I would disagree if I could but I honestly he is not wrong. From Korean to Japanese, Thai to Vietnamese and Cantonese to Sichuan, Hong Kong has all types of cuisine under one roof. Since I was a child, restaurants have never appealed to me and if given a choice, I would pick street food over any type of cuisine.

WARNING: The following information might gross you out completely.

One of Hong Kong's most popular street food joints

I am convinced that I was probably born with a skewer of Hong Kong street food in my mouth. The taste behind street food is simple; you like it or you hate it, I certainly follow the former. One of the most famous street food dishes is “Yue Daan”, literally meaning “Fish Ball”. These are balls of fish that are dipped into a curry sauce and can be served with Hoisin sauce.



Yue Daan



The next delicacy, as gross as it may sound, is Chicken Feet. Chicken feet are considered to be one of the most delicious parts of a chicken, according to Chinese people. At street food stalls, the feet are dipped into a sweet soya sauce and before you know it you are feasting on one of Hong Kong’s most delicious snack. Apologies if this made you puke.

Chicken Feet. YUMMY!

For all you vegetarians, the only dish you may enjoy is “Cheung Fan” (pronounced: Chung Fun) . As a hardcore meat eater this is the only vegetarian dish I look forward to eating. Cheung Fun is made from steamed rice rolls which are drowned in a mixture of plum, peanut and chili sauces, sesame seeds are an accompaniment.

Cheung Fan

To Be Continued in a 2^nd Part!

The Octopus Card: Innovation at its best

The Octopus Card

Ok, so I’m pretty sure they have not come out with anything like this in Mumbai yet and honestly I’m not surprised. If it took the Maharashtra government nine years to build the Bandra- Worli Sea Link, this might take them even longer to do. What I’m going on and on about is one of the things I miss most about Hong Kong, the Octopus card!

Octopus Scanner at McDonalds

The Octopus is a card that perhaps 95% of Hong Kong’s population uses. It initially began as a card that one would fill money into and use on trains, buses and ferries. Instead of having to dig deep into your bags and look for change, the user would just need to place the Octopus on a scanner and the scanner deducts money from the card. As mentioned before, the card was introduced to make travel easier; however the Octopus has evolved with time. Nowadays, Octopus users can use their cards at so many different locations. They can pay for food, pay for groceries, pay for medication, pay for parking on the road and even pay phone bills. Restaurants like McDonalds and KFC have installed Octopus scanners so people can pay with their Octopus cards for their meals. Round the clock convenience stores like 7-Eleven have installed scanners such as these so that people can buy essentials and pay phone bills regardless of the time.



An Octopus Scanner at the MTR



The Octopus card has made people in Hong Kong VERY lazy, but at the same time it has made daily life as easy as ever. With the implementation of a system like this in Mumbai, life would become so much more hassle-free. Lines at train stations for tickets would be almost non-existent, travel and daily life would be more efficient. The Octopus is the best thing that has happened to Hong Kong and I guarantee it will have the same effect on Mumbai.





Octopus Add-Value Machine

The Taxis: Hong Kong v/s Mumbai



Three types of Taxis in Hong Kong



The transport infrastructure in Hong Kong is perhaps one of the strongest the world has seen. Apart from the MTR, Hong Kong also has quite a sophisticated taxi system. All of Hong Kong’s taxis are the Toyota Comfort. Hong Kong’s taxi system is divided into three main types depending on their color. The Urban Taxis (red) serve Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, the two most populated islands. The New Territory Taxis (green) serve areas in the Northern part of Hong Kong and the Lantau Taxis (blue) serve Lantau Island. Lantau Island is home to Hong Kong International Airport and Disneyland. The Urban taxis are the most expensive starting at HKD$18, while the Lantau taxis start at HKD$15.

A Taxi in Mumbai

Taxis in Mumbai are my favorite mode of transport and I have absolutely no clue what I would do without them. Taxis in Mumbai begin at INR16 which is HKD$2.66! They are mostly Fiat and are black and yellow in color. I wouldn’t be so “regular” at college if it weren’t for taxis. The taxi drivers in India can be compared to mules, stubborn as hell. They refuse to take you anywhere nearby and are always looking for a long ride. However, what I do not get is why they have separate non-air conditioned and air-conditioned taxis in Mumbai. All taxis in Hong Kong are air-conditioned and I strongly believe India needs to implement this. It is really inconvenient to call a separate company to get an air-conditioned taxi; this is the 21^st century for God’s sake!

Verdict: As weird as this sounds, don’t ask me why, but I choose the taxis in Mumbai over Hong Kong. The taxi drivers in Mumbai are pricks, but there is just something about taxis in Mumbai.

The Trains: Hong Kong v/s Mumbai

Trains are perhaps the most important means of transport in both Hong Kong and Mumbai. People from both cities use trains almost every day of their lives and one can only imagine what a day without trains in either Hong Kong or Mumbai would be like.



A map showing all 85 MTR Stations

Hong Kong’s railway system is called the Mass Transit Railway (MTR). The MTR has a total of 85 stations, all of which are connected to each other. If you want to go clubbing, shopping, sightseeing or even to work; the MTR is the most cost-effective and quickest way to travel. I’ve travelled on the New York City Subway and the Tokyo Metro on a number of occasions but none of these matches the MTR. The MTR is my most preferred mode of transport in Hong Kong



The reason I had to travel by train in Mumbai (I am the bald one)

Once I had started going to college the only mode of transport I needed to use in Mumbai were taxis. My journey started at Cuffe Parade, a posh South Mumbai locality, and ended at Churchgate. A couple of weeks after college begun a group of us had to make a documentary for a sociology assignment. I didn’t have many friends at the time and decided to join a group with one of my friends, Mridushman. As the date of submission drew closer I was asked to go to Mridushman’s house for a project meeting, little did I know what was coming.

My maiden train journey in Mumbai

The day I dreaded most had arrived, I was about to travel on a Mumbai local train. After calling Mridushman twenty times, I made my way to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. I bought a “first-class” ticket to some odd place called Vashi, a township in Navi Mumbai, and boarded my train. I was greeted, on my first ever train journey, by a drunk old man and when I disembarked at Vashi I looked to the heavens. I made a vow to never travel on a Mumbai local again; of course that vow was quickly broken.





 

Inside the MTR




Inside a Mumbai Local Train

Verdict: Mumbai’s trains have their own “brand image” in Mumbai, but in my eyes the trains in Mumbai are no match compared to the MTR.



17th of July, 2009. A day that changed it all.

It all started with a family wedding that I had to attend in Jaipur. The wedding finished on the 30^th of June and I was back enjoying the summer in Mumbai. It had been two years since I had graduated from high school and my mother was all hyperactive about how I had not taken the initiative to go to university. Not like I hadn’t tried but Lady Luck refused to be on my side.



Grandmother Darling

One fateful afternoon, on the 15^th of July, I decided to have a conversation with the matriarch of my family, my grandmother (mother’s mother). The conversation started out smoothly until she asked me the question my mother had asked me ever since I graduated; “Avi when do you plan to go to college?” I tried to dodge the question a couple of times until she let out a tirade in Sindhi. I told her that I was trying and that I would sort it out once I went back to Hong Kong. However, little did I know that Grandmother Darling had already plotted her next move.

The New Alma Mater.



She spoke to me about the possibility of “extending” my trip for a couple of months more to look after her declining health. During the next couple of days she insisted that I go and visit colleges to be “occupied”. I visited K.C. College and Jai Hind College and told the Grandmother that I found them pretty decent. She then picked up her phone, dialed a few numbers and next thing you know, I was a student of Mass Media at K. C. College.

By the 17^th of July, my life had taken a turn that is impossible to explain. I now had a new home, Mumbai.

It's not Honk Kong, It's Hong Kong!

I still remember going through a friend’s project in class where he mentioned “Honk Kong” as a city he would love to visit. His spelling of HONG KONG drove me to the point of insanity. The city I was born in, the city I grew up in and the city I have undying love for, Hong Kong. In the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong is referred to as Xiangang, literally meaning “fragrant harbor”. Situated on China’s south coast, Hong Kong is surrounded by the South China Sea from all sides, is one of Asia’s biggest and busiest ports and is made up of 234 islands. Hong Kong became a British colony in the year 1841 and was handed back to China in 1997.

A few quick details about Hong Kong

•  Official Languages: Cantonese and English (even though tonnes of people cannot utter a word of English)
• Currency: Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) 1Hong Kong Dollar = 6 Indian Rupeees
• National Flower: Bauhinia
• President: We don’t have a President!  
• Prime Minister:  We don’t have a Prime Minister either!

• Chief Executive:  That’s what we call our “head of state”. Mr. Donald Tsang (pronounced: Donald Chung)

Hong Kong is also dubbed “Asia’s World City”, a phrase I could not agree with more. I’ve travelled to perhaps some of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, New York and Tokyo to name a few, but no city matches up to Hong Kong’s ethnic diversity. Hong Kong along with being cosmopolitan is also the “Financial Capital of the East”. Hong Kong’s booming economy, even during the so called “Economic Meltdown”, ensured that it remained the Financial Capital of the East.

Sitting miles away from the love of my life, all I can really do right now is reminisce.




A map of Hong Kong

 




Hong Kong's Flag with a Bauhinia in the middle.




Different denominations of Hong Kong Dollars.







Hong Kong's Chief Executive, Donald Tsang