Mumbai: Getting to Navi Mumbai via Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (Atal Setu); ForRest Hostel review

Date: January 17, 2025

After window-shopping at Phoenix Palladium mall followed by some skyscraper-gazing yesterday, I had to check out of Pals Hotel and head to Navi Mumbai.

Breakfast at Pals Hotel Mumbai — Breakfast was better today — egg burji, buns, and some corn flakes. Enough to fill me up.

I checked out and booked an Uber to take me across the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link a.k.a Atal Setu.

Driving to Atal Setu Mumbai — I took an Uber to Ulwe because I figured that’s the best route to ensure the driver takes the Atal Setu

Atal Setu underpass Mumbai — Because to get to where my hotel was in Navi Mumbai, the driver didn’t *have* to take the expressway

I purposely chose to go to Ulwe just to take a ride on the brand new expressway.

Atal Setu expressway crash barriers Mumbai — It cost me ₹629.93 for the Uber ride, but that included the cost of the toll

At 21.8 km, the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) is the longest sea bridge in India, and the world’s 12th longest sea bridge. It’s the fastest route connecting Mumbai with Navi Mumbai (Navi = new). The ₹17,843 crore ($2.1 billion) was 80% funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The lead contractors were Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Japan’s construction major IHI Corporation.

Atal Setu expressway Mumbai roads — There are crash barriers for many kilometeres

View from Atal Setu fog Mumbai — You get breaks in between with views of the sea but I couldn’t see anything due to the morning mist

End of Atal Setu bridge Mumbai — The nearly 20 kms journey took around 15 minutes, before exiting the expressway

Getting off Atal Setu bridge Mumbai — We got off the sea bridge to get to Ulwe

Entering Ulwe from Mumbai Transharbour Link Mumbai — I had selected a supermarket in Ulwe as the drop-off point

Ulwe Navi Mumbai India — I figured I’d stock up on essentials before before going to my hotel

Jio Institute Mumbai India — Jio Institute — yup, this a fancy college started by Mukesh Ambani. It offers UG, PG, and Ph.D. programs.

Here’s a video I took of the journey across MTHL:

Shagun realty trends mall Ulwe Mumbai — I got down at a commercial junction

Shops below apartments Ulwe Navi Mumbai — One thing I see across Mumbai is how shops are always below housing blocks. Similar to how it was in the Gulf.

Auto to MIDC industrial area Mumbai — After shopping for supplies, I then took an auto to get to my hotel in the MIDC area

The reason why I shopped beforehand is because the area my hotel was in… there was no supermarket anywhere nearby.

Hotel New Elite Inn MIDC Navi Mumbai hotel — Hotel New Elite Inn is the ONLY budget hotel option near D.Y. Patil stadium

Hotel New Elite Inn reception — This is the lobby. Lower your expectations; Hotel New Elite Inn is not a fancy hotel.

Hotel New Elite Inn Triple room — I booked a triple room (₹6720 for two nights) because initially, I was supposed to be joined by another friend — but he made other plans last minute :/

I didn’t wish to cancel and re-book because there weren’t many budget hotel options within 6 kms of D.Y. Patil stadium. And because of the Coldplay concert, hotel prices in Navi Mumbai had increased by so much that a room at Hotel New Elite Inn that usually costs ₹1700 a night, was now double that. At least I managed to get a room (which wasn’t bad at all) — because Hotel New Elite Inn was completely sold out for the 3 nights Coldplay were playing at D.Y. Patil Stadium.

MIDC road Navi Mumbai — The area Hotel New Elite Inn is located in is a Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) industrial zone

Asian Paints MIDC factory Navi Mumbai — Asian Paints has a factory nearby but overall the area is very dusty

IKEA store Navi Mumbai India — No supermarkets nearby… but IKEA’s biggest outlet in Mumbai is a 10-minute walk away!

Inside IKEA Navi Mumbai India store — So that’s where I went to have lunch

Swedish restaurant IKEA Navi Mumbai — I hadn’t eaten at IKEA in ages

Happy fridays IKEA restaurant Navi Mumbai — I wasn’t aware they had a promotion going on where a lot of dishes were half off (for registered IKEA members)!

Salmon rice chocolate cake hotdog IKEA Mumbai — So naturally, I had the salmon and a rich chocolate cake. Later I’d get a hotdog before leaving.

IKEA warehouse Navi Mumbai — I bought some small items and headed back to the hotel

I did my work and called it an early night since the following day was the big Coldplay concert. I have already blogged about the concert so do check out that post for details on how to get to D.Y. Patil Stadium from Hotel New Elite Inn.

Date: January 19, 2025 — Navi Mumbai to Bandra

The day after the concert, I checked out and took an Uber to get to Bandra.

From Navi Mumbai Uber taxi view — I didn’t wish to waste time figuring out how to make use of the local trains, so I just spent ₹369 and traveled in comfort

Mumbai highway to Bandra — This time, the driver didn’t take the Atal Setu Expressway, and instead took the longer (older) route from Navi Mumbai to central Mumbai

Mind you, this was still a 20+ kilometre long route, so that fact it only cost me ₹369 was quite a surprise! Uber prices in Bangalore are definitely higher!

Dharavi slum Mumbai — As we reached closer to Bandra, I realized I was driving past Dharavi — the largest slum in Asia

Dharavi slum Mumbai India — Seeing Dharavi, you get to see the sheer contrast very (shamefully) unique to Mumbai

Bandra Kurla complex Mithi river — Because right across Mithi River (which divides Bandra and Dharavi) is Bandra-Kurla Complex ((BKC). That oval building is national oil giant ONGC’s headquarters.

Notice the colour difference between Dharavi and BKC? Dharavi is home to several small-scale industries and the pollution it generates is visible in the air quality. Meanwhile, BKC is a planned business district home to offices of MNCs and many Indian corporate giants.

I just can’t help but keep talking about the contrast between the poor and the salaried/richer classes of Mumbai. One side of the river has tens of thousands living in squalor and on the other side, BKC is home to fancy officer towers, a luxury mall with India’s first official Apple store, and now a Tesla showroom. I know Dharavi is undergoing a slum re-development project… but will wait and see how fast the slums all disappear.

Welcome to Bandra Kurla complex Mumbai — We drove through BKC to get to where my hostel was

When searching for hotels in Bandra, I came across a hostel in Mumbai called ForRest Hostels, and since I had never stayed at hostels in India, I thought I’d give it a try.

Forrest hostel Bandra Mumbai market — Yup, this is the entrance to ForRest Hostels

Bandra fish market Mumbai India — You have to walk past fish mongers to get to the entrance

Forrest Hostel entrance Bandra Mumbai — This is the entrance to ForRest Hostels

Forrest Hostel lobby reception Mumbai — If you are nervous seeing what was outside… don’t worry, once you enter… it’s a whole different vibe!

Forrest Hostels dorm rooms Mumbai — I booked myself a bed and requested a lower berth. It cost ₹2511 ($28.5/€24) for two nights.

Forrest Hostels bed fan rules — The bed has a light, plug points, a safe, and a locker underneath. They turn the AC off between 10 AM to 5 PM to save electricity but you can use the room fan.

Inside Forrest Hostel Bandra Mumbai — The interiors were hip and similar to many trendy hostels I’ve stayed across SE Asia

Forrest Hostels bathrooms Mumbai — The bathrooms were shared but clean and well-maintained

First aid kit irons Forrest hostel — They have first aid kits and steam irons if you want to use

Forrest hostel kitchen tourists Mumbai — There is a small kitchen just outside the rooms, and a sit out area. Shoes must removed and kept on the rack outside.

After checking-in, doing some work, I stepped out to grab some lunch.

Bandra vegetable vendors outside apartments — It was nice to see how Mumbai life is. Vendors just set up their carts outside housing colonies to sell daily essentials.

Bandra dusty roads Mumbai India — But like many parts of Mumbai, there is just too much dust everywhere 🙁

Bandra high rise apartments Mumbai — It’s the never-ending construction happening all over the city

Bandra old housing society Muslim Mumbai — Given how desirable Bandra is as locality, all these old buildings will be re-developed into high rise apartments soon.

Poori bhaji Bandra street food Mumbai — I ended up eating poori bhaji from this street-side eatery. I paid ₹40 ($0.45/€0.39) for this plate. Gravy is unlimited. Yeah, street food in Mumbai is just unbelievable!

I didn’t go out anywhere for the rest of the day as I had to edit my Coldplay concert experience video. For dinner, I looked up Google Maps for Marathi eateries nearby. Shockingly, it’s harder than you think to find Maharashtrian cuisine in the capital city of Maharashtra. Now I understand the whole fight for Marathi language that’s so prevalent in Mumbai.

Aagri Tadka Bhakri kheema Bandra Mumbai — I found Aagri Tadka Nakte’s Kitchen and used Google Maps to find this small stall manned by just one man.

Believe it or not, but this was my most memorable meal during my stay in Mumbai! I had Chicken Kheema gravy with wheat chapathis and bhakri (which is the white rice flour roti you see in the pic above). For ₹190 ($2.16/€1.83), I had a sumptuous meal and I just had to eat some more bhakri — it was delicious!

Aram Wines Bandra Mumbai India — After dinner I walked around Bandra. Saw locals hanging outside a liquor store and simply drinking outside the shop. There was even a street vendor to supply the snacks!

I stepped inside a bakery + sweet shop and had gulab jamun for dessert. Some bakeries here have a dairy section where you can get, not just fresh cow’s milk, but also milk products such as freshly-made paneer, khova (the base used in many Indian milk sweets), and hand-churned butter. Pretty awesome!

Bandra housing society playing cricket Mumbai at night — I walked back to the hostel and saw people playing cricket within their apartment blocks

I was starting to appreciate the way of life in Mumbai and some aspects of it being much better than Bengaluru or back home in Kerala. I finished my work and called it a night as I had a whole day planned for my last full day in Mumbai.

Next post in this series:

Mumbai: Visiting Antilia and Malabar Hill’s Pramod Navalkar Viewing Gallery

Mumbai: Watching the sunset at Marine Drive

Mumbai: Visiting the official Apple store at Jio World Drive mall

Mumbai: Flying back to Bengaluru — and making a big mistake

Previous posts in this series:

Mumbai: Phoenix Palladium mall and skyscraper-gazing around Worli

My Experience Attending Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres Concert in Mumbai

Mumbai: Boat ride to Elephanta Caves, a highly recommended tour

Mumbai: Visiting CST and Gateway of India Early in the Morning