Reached Mumbai airport on December 2 around midnight. Surprisingly no one was stopped by the custom officials, and everybody walked towards the exit through the green channel. I did the money exchange at the State Bank of India counter at the airport. As you walk towards the exit, there are several rental car booths on the right side and the pre-paid taxi (black and yellow) booth on the left side. Its a good idea to get a pre-paid taxi from inside the airport, to avoid bargaining or being overcharged by the taxi driver later.
Through the glass wall, I could see my dad and sister waving at me. It was just two days after the terrorist incident in Mumbai, people had to stand behind a barricade almost 10 feet away from the airport wall. The taxi fare from Mumbai international airport to my sisters place in Borivili (a suburb north of Airport) was around Rs. 300.
I spent a week in Mumbai visiting friends and relatives. I traveled in the Mumbai local train during off peak hours in the first class compartments. Even though I did not get a place to sit, there was enough standing room. A first class round trip ticket between Borivili and Churchgate station was around Rs.400.
My sister has her groceries delivered to her home. Whenever we needed a taxi in Mumbai we used Nishnai travels, which is based in Borivili east. Nishnai travels have daily tours for sight seeing in Mumbai.
Mumbai to Jodhpur:
Ranakpur Express leaves Bandra Terminus Railway station at 3 pm and reaches Jodhpur around 11 am, next day. The train fare for a 3 tier A/C sleeper coach is around Rs. 900. I guess the security was tight after the Mumbai terrorist attacks. There were policemen randomly checking people's luggage. They checked my passport and asked me how much money I was carrying and if it was all in rupees. Luckily I did not have to pay any bribe.
Other than the security check, the journey to Jodhpur was comfortable. We were provided with bed sheet, pillow and blanket and I slept through the night.
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