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Mithun Divakaran

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Inside BLR Terminal 2 airport

Bahrain: Seeing BLR Terminal 2 and new Abu Dhabi airport for the first time

Date: February 3, 2025

Less than two weeks after I finished my Mumbai trip, I embarked on yet another journey. This one… it’s a very special and quite significant trip. I was going to the island of Bahrain in the Middle East… after 23 years! Bahrain is where me and my brothers grew up, and finished our schooling. My father worked there until 2006 and then again briefly in 2016.

On the night of Feb 2, my older brother dropped me off at Bengaluru airport’s new Terminal 2 — a visual stunner!

BLR airport terminal 2 entrance
BLR terminal 2 is easily the most beautiful airport I have ever seen!
Lift to bus station BLR terminal 2
To get to the bus bay and the counters for Uber and Ola, take this lift downstairs
Inside BLR T2 panorama
The interiors are absolutely STUNNING!

I arrived early simply to spend some time admiring the beauty of BLR Terminal 2. Designed by renowned architecture giant Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill (SOM), Bengaluru’s new airport terminal is now used primarily for international flights — but do note — Air India uses T2 for both its domestic and international flights.

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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.

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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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