Day 6: Sunset at Haji Ali, evening at Koyla

We headed down to a shopping centre in Worli, Atria, to catch a 4-D movie. The movie lasts 15 minutes. However, all showings were booked for the next 4 hours. After a short walk around the mall, we decided to venture out and take a walk towards the water. There was a slight breeze which made the sun much more tolerable (I know, I'm from the cold and foggy part of Spain, so not much of a "sun bug"). Our walk took us in front of Nehru place- a very distinctive building in the Mumbai skyline- and ended at the promenade across from the Haji Ali Mosque.

Mumbai is a photographer's paradise. Architecture, portraits, panoramic views... it has it all. Sunset at Haji Ali is one of the most beautiful views I've ever seen. The way the sun reflects on the sea behind the mosque reminds me of sunset in Istanbul. Our timing couldn't be better. Amit got to take quite a few beautiful shots of the sunset over the mosque.

For my last dinner in Mumbai, I couldn't have picked a better place than the one suggested by Amit: Koyla, in Colaba. Virtually around the corner from the Taj Mahal Hotel, it offers a rooftop dinner experience with a fantastic view of Colaba. Excellent food (I loved the garlic naan!) and superb views (not so impressive service). Definitely worthwhile.



A walk around Colaba brought us to a very well-known place by any local, Sachin Tendulkar's restaurant and sports bar on Chhatrapatti Shivaji Maharaj Mark. (By now you've figured out that if you can say "Chhatrapatti Shivaji", you can pretty much go anywhere in Mumbai... ha!)
Right next to the Cottage Industries store (which seems to be recommended in most tourist guides as one of the places to buy souvenirs, although I found very reasonable prices in other stores in the suburbs) is the restaurant opened by one of cricket's greatest, Mumbai's own Sachin Tendulkar. The neon-blue tunnel led us into the gift shop and the sports bar and restaurant upstairs, decorated with cricket memorabilia. The glass tables and the paper coasters have printed quotes about Tendulkar. The menu, a combination of international dishes (including two of my favorite desserts - tiramisu and crème brûlée-) at very reasonable prices for that type of place.
At a glance, this seems to me like just one more celebrity sports bar. No different than Wayne Gretzky's, Michael Jordan's or Amare Stoudemire's. Similar food, similar big screen TVs and sports memorabilia on the walls. What makes it so special to the local Mumbai resident? The name behind the restaurant. Any Mumbaiker will tell you that Sachin Tendulkar is not just a talented cricket player, but someone who has gone against all odds to make it to the top. He's slightly shorter than the average cricket player, he started to compete internationally at a very young age (much earlier than the average cricket player in India) and has been competing ever since... and most importantly, he's an all-around nice guy. He's never involved in scandals or controversy regarding his personal life or his sports rivals. In this day and age, when money rules so many sports at an elite level, players like Tendulkar who are an example of talent and sportsmanship and always show pride in competing for their colors are definitely a rare commodity.