Mumbai Diaries 1

Mumbai is a city of dreams. It is a melting pot of culture, food, fashion and a city that never sleeps. It is a city worth exploring because of its historical impact and its modernness.

In my two months here, I felt there is not enough time to fully explore the city because everyday there is a new store or place that crops up with new innovative and creative ideas.

I wanted to share my experiences of dining, taking kids out and just exploring Bombay. There will be tons of places to see and I probably will not get to all the places but do share them if you know of any.

I have compiled a list of restaurants and kid-friendly places.

Entertainment for kids:

Most of the entertainment places are in the suburbs here due to space issues in proper (south) Bombay. The concepts are very similar with most of them being indoor and having toddler play areas. They also have a jungle-gym, slides, ball-pit and activities for the older kids. The prices usually start around 500 rupees per child and can vary from weekday to weekends so its always better to call in before going there.

FunkyMonkey (funkymonkey.in)

This was the very first place we checked out after landing in Mumbai. FunkyMonkey is a very well made place for all ages ranging from toddlers to kids up to 12 years. I had gone with my 2 year old niece and my kids. For juniors they have a multi-tier jungle gym with different levels of activities. They also had rock-climbing section and trampoline section. For toddlers, they have a ball pool, mini-carousel, a play house and few more activities. They charge 550 ruppees for 1.5 hours. They have a special on Wednesdays where you can play for unlimited hours.

2. Go Bonkers (http://www.gobonkersindia.com/)

Another play area we went to was Go Bonkers at Coloba. It was quite a huge play area for kids and toddlers. For older kids, they had a three level play area with huge slide, soccer area, and a big jungle gym type of maze. They also had a virtual reality section and a small arcade section. They charge 500 rupees flat fee for unlimited hours from Tuesday to Sunday. One thing, I noticed was their staff was very friendly and a lot of them would play and interact with toddlers. My kids enjoyed Go Bonkers the most.

3. Kidzania (http://mumbai.kidzania.com/en-in)

This is also another popular spot for kids to go to on Ghatkopar (W). It is an indoor play area where kids educate them self through real-life role playing activities such becoming doctors, teachers, police officers and many more. This place reminded me very much of Pretend City in Irvine, California. Prices vary depending on age and how many hours you want to spend there, so it best to check out their website.

4. SMASH (https://smaaash.in/mumbai)

SMASH is an ultimate game area for family, adults and kids in Kamla Mills.

As the name suggests it, it has a combination of every possible games and activities and most likely you need an entire day to explore it. They have bowling, different types of Virtual Reality, laser tag, go-karting, sky-karting, cricket pitch, a game zone, toddlers play area and many more. Since it was my first time, I was a bit overwhelmed at what activities to choose from.

They have a card system where you buy a card which works for all the activities and as you need you fill up money in your balance. My kids enjoyed doing the Human Claw Machine. It was something unique and different. This would definitely be my to go place in the future.

5. Reserve Bank of India Monetary Museum (https://rbi.org.in/Scripts/ic_museum.aspx)

This is one superb museum on money. It is a very educational and informative museum. The museum talks about the evolution of money, money during the medieval times, ancient times, for all the rulers India has ever had. It is not much a tourist destination so you can actually enjoy your time there. I feel it is a must for kids or any money fanatic to see how money has evolved from coin to paper money. The hours are Tuesday to Sunday 10.45am to 5.15pm and Mondays and bank holidays it is closed.

6. Gateway of India, Coloba

This is one of the historical places to see as a local or a tourist if you are in Mumbai. It is right by the ocean and they do have boat rides that take you to smaller islands near Mumbai. The best time to go see it is at night. First of all, the weather at night is nice, breezy and cooler than day time. Secondly, the place is lit up, full of people and has a grand feel to it. Going back in history, the Gateway was built during the 20th century and is on the border of the Arabian Sea. This arch monument was erected to commemorate the landing of King George V and Queen Mary at Apollo Bunder on their visit to India in 1911. At one point, it used to represent the grandeur of the British kingdom.