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!

CST BMC building Mumbai rush — I was myself worried if the rush to get into the trains would be like the mess I see online

CST evening rush Mumbai — But other than the long lines for tickets, fortunately the rush wasn’t too bad as the trains start at CST

Inside Mumbai local train India — I even got a seat. A ticket from CST to Bandra was ₹10.

Bandra station Mumbai night — This was Bandra station

Bandra station gutkha spit stains Mumbai — You see the rust-looking brown part to the left? That’s from people spitting *gutkha* over the years! 🤮

I was now trying to get from Bandra railway station to Jio Drive mall at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC). I hired an auto rickshaw for ₹80 — and what (another) contrast this ride was! Chaotic streets, reckless driving, honking, braking, speeding, braking… and then just 5 minutes later?

Jio Drive mall Mumbai India — BAM! You’re at Jio World Drive Mall at BKC… which is a totally different world!

BKC is a planned office locality where a lot of MNCs and India’s big firms have offices. It’s a premium locality with star hotels, and now a premium mall.

Jio World Drive Mall is a shopping center from the Ambani clan (India’s richest family). A rather small mall but filled with mostly high-end luxury brands. Jio World Drive Mall is where Apple set up India’s first official Apple store.

Official Apple store Mumbai India — It’s crazy to witness the brand power of Apple. People were taking selfies in front of the store!

Inside Mumbai Apple store India — The store is fairly big and you have LOTS of iPhones on display, both upstairs and downstairs

Apple brings in foreign staff from international Apple stores to train the Indian staff, and I could see them guiding the local staff on how to talk to customers.

Live demo Apple store Mumbai India — Apple does live demos and sessions on how to use various Apple products and softwares

Apple store upper floor Mumbai — It’s a nice store for the ‘Apple experience’

Tumi Emporio Armani Diesel Jio Drive mall Mumbai — The rest of Jio World Drive mall is filled with most luxury brands

It feels like the Ambanis wanted a place to shop without having to mingle with commoners. But the truth is, you can find most the same premium brands here (and a lot more) at Phoenix Palladium mall.