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November 2025

Flying out of Mumbai Vistara coastline

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

Date: January 21, 2025

After six days in India’s financial capital, it was now time to head home. I checked out of ForRest Hostels and made my way to the newly opened Aqua line of the Mumbai Metro.

Bandra breakfast idli vada Mumbai morning
En route, I spotted a Tamilian selling idli vada from his cycle. For just ₹30, I had a dosa, 2 idlis and 2 vadas. I have never had breakfast this cheap!
Bandra Colony metro station Mumbai India
Bandra Colony Metro Station is 700 metres from ForRest Hostels
Bandra Metro station Aqua line Mumbai
I was impressed by the interiors of the Aqua line stations
Aqua Line underground metro station Mumbai India
Truly world class… until it rains heavily above ground. Hope they fix that.
Mumbai Metro map India
This is the map of Mumbai’s metro network (much of it under construction)
Inside Alstom Aqua Line train Mumbai
The trains were from French engineering major Alstom, manufactured in their Chennai factory. Same as Kochi Metro.
Aqua line Mumbai metro airport station India
This is the Mumbai Airport Terminal 1 station

The lack of people in the trains and stations were due to the fact the Aqua line only had a few stations open back in January 2025.

Mumbai airport T1 metro station India
Aqua line is a lot busier now
Taj Santacruz Hotel Mumbai
Taj Santacruz hotel is right outside Terminal 1
Air traffic control tower Mumbai T1 airport
Mumbai’s air traffic control tower
Walkway Mumbai airport T1 India
And just as I was walking to Terminal 1, I looked at my ticket again

My Air India flight back to Bangalore… was from Terminal 2!

I just assumed all domestic flights had moved to Mumbai’s Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 was only for international. Nope. Air India operates all their flights from Terminal 2, including domestic.

I immediately ran back to the metro station and got off at the Terminal 2 station. I then ran to the terminal as it was a bit of a walk. Fortunately, I still had some time.

Mumbai Terminal 2 airport entrance
Lesson learnt, always check the ticket for terminals and don’t just assume

A word of advice to all — if at all you make the same mistake, DO NOT hire a taxi or auto as they will most likely over-charge you and take advantage of your desperation. Just take the metro, it’s quick and now there is a new bridge that connects the metro station to Terminal 2 making the walk a lot quicker.

Mumbai airport terminal 2 domestic check-in counters
The Air India check-in process was quick as I had no luggage to check-in
Mumbai airport T2 pillar design
Mumbai Airport Terminal 2 was designed by New York-based Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Mumbai airport T2 interior domestic
Terminal 2’s long-span roof is designed to allow in natural sunlight
Mumbai Airport T2 shops domestic
Although Mumbai Terminal 2 is largely for international flights, Air India uses Terminal 2 for all its flights
Bars Mumbai airport T2 domestic
No shortage of restaurants, shops, and bars inside Terminal 2
Starbucks The Irish House Mumbai airport T2
I made my way to the gates
Mumbai airport T2 domestic gate waiting area
Which was of no use because in typical Air India fashion, the flight was delayed, and later changed gates!
Vistara Mumbai airport Terminal 2
When the plane finally arrived, it was a Vistara jet

Vistara was an airline service TATA Group started in partnership with Singapore Airlines. After trying for decades, Air India was finally sold by the Indian government back to the TATA Group in 2022. Despite Air India being privatized, the airline still faces a lot of operational issues, and airplanes are in much need of upgrading!

Inside Vistara plane Mumbai
The flight from BOM to BLR was largely full
Mumbai airport from takeoff India
My flight took off nearly an hour late… making me realize there was no need to rush from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 😒
Aerial view Mumbai airport oil tanks
Goodbye Mumbai. First impression wasn’t very good but I can see why many love this city.
Mumbai city Vistara flight view
The things to like about Mumbai grows on you after some time
Flying out of Mumbai Vistara coastline
An airstrip near the sea… I wonder if it’s still in use
Vistara chicken snack meal Air India
One thing good about Air India? The food. This chicken dish was very good!

So good that upon landing, I asked the cabin crew if they had any left I could take home and give my brothers. She handed me two. For those who don’t know, in full-service carriers, any leftover meals are thrown away. So there is no harm in asking for extras. Don’t try that in budget carriers like Indigo though — there’s a reason why they mostly serve cold sandwiches and packaged food.

River Golden hour Karnataka
There wasn’t a whole lot I could see out of my window, it was hazy and golden hour made visibility on the ground poor
Bengaluru airport road from sky
Hello airport road
BLR terminal 2 airport domestic
The plane docked at Terminal 2, which means Air India uses BLR T2 fro domestic flights as well
Domestic arrivals BLR terminal 2
A bus then dropped us off at the terminal
BLR Terminal 2 domestic baggage claim
This was my first time inside BLR Terminal 2
Bangalore terminal 2 arrivals exit
Even this brief glimpse impressed me, so I couldn’t wait to see Terminal 2 properly when I embark on my next trip… which was coming very soon
BMTC bus Ola Uber taxi area BLR Terminal 2
I walked towards the bus bay to take a BMTC bus home. There are clearly designated areas for app-based taxis like Uber.
Underground bus Terminal 2 Bangalore airport
I was very impressed by BLR’s improving services, and I can’t wait for the metro station to open… one day!

With that, my Mumbai trip finally ends. It was a good one and hope to come back with my parents one day.

Previous posts in this series:

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

Mumbai: Watching the sunset at Marine Drive

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

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

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

Official Apple store Mumbai India

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

Date: January 20, 2025

I began my day visiting Antilia, then walked to Malabar Hill, and then took a bus to Marine Drive to watch the sunset.

Big banyan tree Mumbai road India
I was walking down Veer Nariman Road to figure out how to get to CST
Inside shared taxi Mumbai India
I hopped into a shared taxi filled with people going to CST. Cost just ₹20 for the ride.
Road to CST Mumbai old buildings
A LOT of old colonial-era buildings near the CST area
7-Eleven near CST Mumbai India
I forgot that Mumbai has 7-Elevens now

As a fan of convenience stores abroad, I had to check out the 7-Eleven experience in India. 7-Eleven’s India stores are operated by Reliance Retail.

Veg Non-veg food 7-Eleven Mumbai
Currently, it’s food-heavy (like 90% of the store) and you get freshly-made foods too
7 Eleven Mumbai beer wine India
So the 7-Elevens here are no match to the Bangkok 7-Elevens, let alone the ones in Japan. But you get beer & wine — which is good enough!
Sonico shopping centre Mumbai
Sonico Shopping Centre appears to be a place to find grey market electronics

As I walked to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), I realized I was back to where I began my Mumbai sightseeing. But what got my eye now was seeing the hordes of office-goers and other workers marching towards CST to take trains home.

Workers walking to CST Mumbai evening
There were soooooooo many people walking towards CST… spilling on to the road!
Traffic jam CST junction Mumbai
Just look at this mess!

I saw a few foreign tourists nearby trying to navigate the chaos on the streets. I can’t imagine how overwhelming it must for them to witness Mumbai’s evening chaos, especially if they landed in Mumbai and this was their first few days in India!

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