Marine Drive located in the central Mumbai, built in the
1920s and 1930s on land reclaimed from the sea, is Mumbai's most famous
thoroughfare. It is also referred to as "Queen's Necklace"
because of the dramatic line of street lamps lit up at night. Recently it
has come to known as "Netaji Subhashchandra Bose Road" with
Nariman Point on one end to Babulnath, at the foot of Walkeshwar on the
other.
Situated at the end of Marine Drive and the foot of Malabar Hill this
expanse of sand and sea is the place where pleasure seekers come to relax
after dusk in the cool sea breeze.
At the top end of Marine Drive is Chowpatty Beach, the only beach in the
central part of Mumbai. One can witnesses many Hindu religious ceremonies
taking place at Chowpatty like the annual thread-tying ceremony initiating
young boys into the Brahmin caste, 'Nariel Purnima' towards the end of the
monsoons and 'Ganesh Chaturthi' immersions.
One
can see the statues of Lokmanya Tilak and Vithalbhai Patel. There is a
huge line of stalls on the beach, selling 'Bhelpuri', 'Kulfi' and 'Paan'.
There are also shooting galleries, snake charmers, monkey trainers,
balloon sellers and even masseurs. Recently they have added a park called
"Nana-Nani Park" for elderly people.
Air: Mumbai has both national and international
airports and regular flights connect it with all major countries and
states in India.
Rail: The nearest railway station is at Charni Road (Western
Railway).
Road: Mumbai being the capital city of Maharashtra
State is well connected by road with all parts of the state. City bus
services are available from all-important points in the city.
As a major metropolis in India and the capital city of the Maharahtra state is well equipped with excellent Hotel accommodation, which vary from luxurious to reasonable budget hotels. Locals also let rooms for accommodation.