Mumbai Welcomes :-)

It was morning 5.15 AM when Harsha & I landed in Kalyan. All we knew by then was, to reach our destination - Pokhran road 2, Thane. Our induction in Mumbai was scheduled there and we had no idea of the distance from Kalyan to Thane. Having all fears and imagination of crowded local, with backpack and luggage in both hands, we decided to hire a rick who promised to drop us for 450 bucks. We weren't sure if it was a fair deal by then, but were relieved for the safe shipping of our heavy baggage  Driver seemed to be very helpful as he took us to the address, later to a couple of hotels nearby till we were satisfied and  settled in one which looked pretty decent for us.
It was Sunday and we just started inquiring the hotel manager about accommodations in Mumbai till Hari & Ashik who were coming from Mangalore joined us that afternoon. As we had no clue about our exact location in Mumbai, we couldn't help ourselves finding any accommodation that day. So it was just fun and giggles about our Bhubaneshwar experiences for the rest of the day.

Next morning, We were introduced to Mumbai in our induction and were posted to Andheri (only place in Mumbai which sounded familiar as I heard the name in teleshopping address in TV before). As soon as we were done with induction, Hari along with Ashik and Rakesh went out to catch a broker and look for the accommodation in Andheri while I and Harsha pulled out all phone numbers in the brokers list to check out the rent.
It seemed to be a fairly successful day as Hari & Ashik could find a broker who agreed to get a house on the very next day which was very close to Teligali- our location in Andheri. Having broad smiles on our face we confidently checked out of the hotel and shifted our luggage to one of our friend's place who along with 6 other friends stayed in his NRI uncle's empty space. We assured him that we would vacate his place late in the evening, as soon as we get the keys of Andheri house. He had no probs keeping our luggage but requested us to shift as they were already 6 in 2 BHK. We agreed and were proud of saving a day's rent of the hotel tat day.

As soon as we finished the day's training, we called up the broker and went to have a look @ the flat. It was a horrific sight as wall painting of an old flat was still on and they needed 1 more day to clear things for us. We couldn't bear anymore and went to Powai where another broker who was running a PG showed us a couple of flats. Although rent was a bit high, I & Harsha were fine with the deal as the flat was fully furnished. Hari and Ashik looked confused as they didn't want to travel. Even Rakesh and Delwin were against traveling, so we decided to part for a while.
As we went back finalizing things, it was 12.30 AM in the night and was Ashik's 23rd birthday as well. None of us imagined that his b'day was gonna be celebrated on road. After b'day wishes with lots of laughter and smile, we reached our friend's place in thane. We had to take bath @ 1 in the night as we knew that 12 people could never finish bathing in the morning and take a 7.30 bus.
After finishing the second day's training, we had to rush back to Thane from Andheri to shift our luggage. It was 1 o clock in the night when we finally settled in a room of unknown people who opened the door for us with lot of confusion. On the other side, Hari and Ashik too settled down in Andheri flat by 2 O clock that night.
One fact of Mumbai stands out - Neither you face any problem commuting @ 1 or 2 in the night nor do u fear of late nights as the city keeps buzzing all throughout.

Welcome to Mumbai -"The City that Never Sleeps"