Sunday Bike Ride to Myanmar & Bangladesh from Mumbai.

What? How? Is that your reaction after reading my blog title? Keep reading and one by one you will come to know how.

Just a few days back my friend asked me if I am planning any rides, I said yes it's a short ride on Sunday, 16th April 2023. He agreed to join and we two left towards our Sunday Voyage. My friend rides an EV - Ather Bike. Just one night before he had fully charged for the ride day.

I must say that EV owners have to do a lot of calculations about how much their battery will last on a single charge and next charging station is located where. I made a map two days before on what are we exploring on our ride and he was planning where is the EV charging station on the way to charge. It was a short ride so around 80kms was his bike's average on a single charge and he would have to charge on return somewhere on the route.

We met at Nesco Goregaon and started our ride towards Marve to catch a ferry to Manori islands. Keep reading what we explored its quite interesting also check the below images we clicked on our ride. Please also do visit my Instagram Page and Youtube channel to check my Ride Reels and Video blogs. So we started by 7:15 am from Goregaon East Highway and reached in half n hour at Marve Jetty. In 5 mins the ferry arrived and immediately we rode our bikes on the ferry deck. In 10 mins max, we reached another side of the creek that is Manori Island. The Ferry operator took Rs. 5 from each of us and Rs. 25 for each bike at the exit gate.

After coming out of the jetty, we started Riding our Bikes towards Global Vipassana Pagoda. It was around 9 km from Manori Jetty which took us around 15 mins to reach passing by the narrow roads of the island. By 8:15 am approx we reached our First Pin Point on our voyage. The Global Vipassana Pagoda was about to open at 9:00 am so we had to wait till than. And we had to do a light breakfast so we went to the local stall just opposite to the Pagoda Gate.

They were serving Misal Pav which looked tasty plus it was homely made. So I and my friend ordered Misal Pav for both and had our breakfast. Misal Pav cost for ₹ 40 per plate and a chilled water bottle ₹ 20 so a total of ₹ 100/- for breakfast of two. It was still time left for the gates to open so we did some photography.

For the people who are unaware of "The Global Vipassana Pagoda" for them, I will share a short information below.

The Global Vipassana Pagoda is a meditation hall and a monument located in Gorai, Mumbai, India. It was inaugurated in 2009 and serves as a centre for the practice of Vipassana meditation, which is an ancient Indian meditation technique. The pagoda was built as a tribute to the late S.N. Goenka, who was a Vipassana teacher and the founder of the Vipassana International Academy.

The Global Vipassana Pagoda is one of the largest meditation halls in the world, with a capacity to accommodate up to 8,000 meditators at a time. The structure stands 96 meters tall and has a diameter of 97.5 meters. The dome of the pagoda is made of sandstone cladding and the base is made of reinforced concrete.

The interior of the pagoda is designed to create a peaceful and serene environment for meditation. The central hall is circular in shape and has a seating capacity of 600 people. The hall is surrounded by smaller meditation cells that can accommodate up to 10 people each. These cells are designed to provide a quiet and isolated space for meditation.

The Global Vipassana Pagoda also houses a museum that displays various artefacts and exhibits related to the life and teachings of the Buddha. The museum has a large collection of ancient Buddhist scriptures, manuscripts, and artwork.

Overall, the Global Vipassana Pagoda is an important centre for the practice of Vipassana meditation and serves as a symbol of peace and harmony in India.

So this was short info about the Pagoda. But our main reason to visit here was not meditation at all. Just because of the structure and to see Buddhist Statues we visited this place to check the artwork created. Now comes the story of my visiting Myanmar, which is that at the gate of Pagoda, you will find a structure of a Large Gate. Here you will find the words Myanmar Gate written at the entrance arch of the Pagoda indicating Burmese influence on its architecture. On entering we come to know that the Pagoda is designed as a replica of the Shwedagon Pagoda of Yangon, Myanmar.

You can check the below selfies and some pictures were taken at Myanmar Gate which is in India, in Maharashtra, and in Mumbai at Gorai. You will find one at Igatpuri as well.

So now it was 9:00 am and gates were opened for the public. Entry is absolutely Free, plus there is parking 100 meters from the Gate for all vehicles which is also Free of cost.

Just after entering and going up taking stairs, there is strict security checking where you need to give your bags for checking under the scanner. Once you pass security checks you go ahead and take the stairs up towards the Pagoda.

Before going upto the pagoda there is a huge Bell, which you can ring with the help of swinging wood. It is done to bring good luck into your life and remove all bad luck.

After this, we took the stairs again towards the Pagoda structure. I have taken a timelapse of the whole Pagoda. The radius is quite long, and as I started circling the Pagoda, it was like never-ending. I circled the Pagoda twice for a good shot.

Check the below videos -

There is a small garden where you will find the Statues of Goenkas.

Also a long Ashok Pillar in the vicinity.

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There is a sitting place below the Pagoda building where I and my friend set and relaxed for some time under the shed as the sun's heat was too much.

After some relaxation, we came down and went towards the left where you will find some statues and ahead of it there big Buddha Statue in a sitting position. You can see in below images.

After some time we let towards the exit gate and walked towards our parking spot. It was time to visit our Next Pin Point that was Gorai Beach. Before that, we had a sharbat break as well on the way. We reached Gorai Beach and rode our bikes on the beach itself. Gorai Beach had a good crowd, people enjoying water sports, and swimming in the seawater. After a few shots, we left towards our 3rd Pin Point which was Vellankani Beach.

Vellankani Beach has another good history and is related to Christianity. Vellankani place is their holy place and they believe in it a lot. Reaching Vellankani you will find small statues of Jesus around the road, decorated and safely kept in Glass boxes. Every statue is different. Also, I saw a few Mother Marry statues. Each and every structure has a message to it, which I do not know but definitely, the locals know and people who believe in it. Getting knowledge of different religions is the beauty of life, but in the end, if you see all the religions are connected to each other in different ways only the names and style of worshipping is different but the purpose and end result is the same "The 3 P's" - Peace, Progress and Prosperity in each human.

Chalo too much of gyan, let's come back to the ride. As I reached Vellankani Beach, there were two riders, as they saw me, I saw them and the Riders become Friends immediately. I parked my bike with them on the beach, greeted each other, we shared ride knowledge with each other, shared numbers made a video blog together and left towards our 4th Pin Point - Uttan Beach, which we passed without stopping at the beach and went towards our 5th Pin Point - the Dongri / Dharavi Fort. One unusual thing happened to me, my one habit is to read Bus Stop Names on my ride route and here I found one unique Bus Stop Name "Bangladesh" so I immediately applied brakes and went to check whether I read it right or wrong. And yes, it was Bangladesh's name written on the Bus Stop in the route of MBMT Buses. The proof is posted below.

And this is how I visited Two Countries on 1 Sunday near Mumbai.

Dharavi Fort is completely in ruined condition. A local shepherd who was passing by said govt had approved some big amount of funds for the fort's fortification but nothing yet. It was time to reach our 5th and last pinpoint of Sunday's Voyage - the Ghodbunder Fort.

By 1:30 pm we reached Ghodbunder Fort and to my surprise, it was getting totally renovated. Actually, it was getting constructed in a totally new shape, with new walls, new staircases, pillars, everything. I can say it will be the 21st Century's first Fort that has been newly constructed. Check the whole video of the fort taken by me.

This was the last point of exploring on our Sunday voyage. But before going home, my friend had to charge his electric bike at a nearby charging station as he had only 13% approx left to cover 40kms more to his home. So charging was necessary and we reached a charging station in Kashimira, Mira Road. By the time bike was getting charged, our body needed charge as well so we went to a nearby restaurant - Naivedhya Veg-treat. I ate Onion Tomato Uttappa and my friend had Sada Dosa which ended with Buttermilk.

As we were finishing our food, my friend's bike was charged fully. That was quick though, electric vehicles are really affordable as the charging was absolutely free. Just one issue is it's time-consuming and the network of charging stations is less.

So by this, our Sunday ride had successfully completed with all pin points as decided.

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