There are so many places to see in Mumbai and, in these past two years, I have never managed to find the time to cancel off some of the items on my bucket-list. This week, I decided to awaken the touristic spirit that was sleeping inside me and set off to explore those parts of the city where I had never been.
I had come across a list of #41 things to do with your child in Bombay (malls not included) and the third item on this list had caught my attention - The Dolphin Irla Aquarium. The name really fascinated me - I really thought this was a place in Mumbai where there were dolphins and I wondered why no one had bothered taking me there! I was even more surprised to learn that no one knew where this place was! Despite a number of Google searches, I could not get much information about this place except an address. Finally, Sanika and I decided to just set off on our own and uncover what this place is really about!
Reaching the place was an adventure in itself! For starters, even though we were in the vicinity, not a soul knew where the Aquarium was - even the auto-walas had no idea where this place was! My gMaps application was also not helping much! We tried calling on the number listed on the site which had the address, and we were fortunate enough to get the correct directions to the place; although, in hind sight, we were luckier to, finally, get an auto-driver who knew where the aquarium really was!
It lies tucked in a corner, away from the madding crowd. There were no dolphins there - thankfully, I had unravelled this bit of information a day before setting off for the aquarium; hence, I was not too disappointed! The Dolphin Fish Aquarium has a boating pond and an aquarium in the middle of the pond. In addition, there are lots of ducks, some rabbits, white mice, turtles, love-birds and even emus! We even found some glorious cats and a friendly dog named Twincy!
The collection of fish is not magnificent - you'd probably find more variety at the Taraporewala Aquarium - but it is a place that children will definitely love. They can ride the toy-train, go boating, and the animals and birds will not fail to amaze them!
I really had a marvellous time and, if I get the chance, I would love to go there a second time. It's a pity such serene places are not known to the public - most people spend their weekends in malls or movie-theaters!
Are there any places in your area that you love visiting? It need not be a popular tourist-site but I am sure we are all surrounded by places that are spectacular even if they aren't very well-known. Let me know - I would love to pay a visit!
