Navi Mumbai travel quirks [Chapter 2]

Been a good day! After yesterday's Nerul exploration, today it was Belapur! :P Jumping buses to 'understand the roads and routes' against public (others at the bus stops) opinion of 'why don't you catch a train, its easier you know..', I spent a lotta time waiting for the buses, admiring (spoilt for choice :P) Cidco Bhavan and Konkan Bhavan and a bit of Reserve Bank of India in the backdrop, and ofcourse the magnificent railway station in its entirety. Belapur is bella!

Though I reached school (the kid sis') late -'NMMT 21' does a full 'Belapur Gaav' darshan before getting to anywhere useful - the sis was somehow satiated by veg rolls and mazaa mangoes. Phew! The return trip was all of the above repeated. The 'wonderful' exploration was topped with a 7 floor climb up the steps to home, the electricity supply in here knew I needed it just then.

All said and done, for now we'd be sticking to the trains, for sis. For me though, I have so many buses and routes still to explore... :)

Navi Mumbai travel quirks [Chapter 1]

I was supposed to check out bus routes today to find an easier option to pick and drop my kid sis to and fro school. We currently do a long shot with walking, share rickshaws, trains, more ricks, more walks, etc. No, the school bus doesn't come this far. Kalamboli home and Seawoods school. (why we chose a school so far from home, is a chapter in itself!)

So well, I happened to forget the l'il bus adventure I was supposed to do before picking sis up from school today noon, so decided I might as well do it with her, after school. Took the right bus wrong way, as per expert guidance given by my friend which I thoughtlessly accepted. Can't blame his wrong with the threatening 'navi mumbai guidance' demanding calls and texts I make to him :P His presence here (Sanpada, Navi Mumbai) since over some 6+ years has made it mandatory in my eyes for him to know every nook and corner of Navi Mumbai (henceforth ref to as NM) and guide me so. He must by now regret inviting me to NM so cheerfully :P :P

So anyway, his route totally misfired. Useless depots, clueless people, some bus stops trotting, some anger texts to the above friend, then one good samaritan with excellent direction-guiding capabilities and more Nerul exploration later, we finally made it to the bus stop we were supposed to be in. Few buses later the sight of '503Ltd. Kalamboli' was bliss.

But it was worth the rounds. NM is really well connected both by road and rail. The sheer number of BEST and NMMT and ST buses that ply here are awesome!! And how much ever I have commuted around here so far, I haven't come across any road blocks and traffic jams yet, *touch wood*. And there always seem to be too many people getting on and off my stops. And I thought only Mumbai was crowded and friendly :P

So that's one up for NM in all these days that I've been cribbing about places all being too far to connect. Cheers to that! :)