WordCamp Mumbai! + The Ajanta-Ellora Visit
After visiting the epic WordCamp Kochi we have taken an oath to attend as much as WordCamps as possible, whether in South India, North India or anywhere across the globe. The next one was WordCamp Mumbai – the biggest WordCamp in India. It was our natural choice and we did not think twice prior to booking our tickets.
To Mumbai…
We landed in Mumbai on 24th, the day before the WordCamp at about 12:30 pm. We spend the day exploring the Bandra side of Mumbai.
We enjoyed the delectable street food, some fine house beer and went for a long amazing walk over the streets and different places.
The WordCamp.
WordCamp Mumbai was a two-day conference, comprising of multiple interesting events. The venue was at a walkable distance from our hotel. The crowd was huge and were not really surprised to see that as it was quite prominent after the success of Kochi’s WordCamp. We were excited to meet the WordPress veterans from pan India.
However, we were a little disappointed to know that we were the only team from Kerala to attend the event. Everyone we met seemed surprised to see us coming all the way from Kerala. Except us, the only Malayalee in the event was Bigul Malayi – The Kochi WordCamp organizer and WPML super star.
The WordCamp was filled with the most diverse audiences. There were developers, entrepreneurs, bloggers, students, marketers, and quality analysts that were attending the event. The sessions were very informative, the food was scrumptious and above all, we met some incredible people, we otherwise would never get to meet. You can find all the keynotes in WC Mumbai’s website, and there are lots of detailed posts about each session, so I won’t go into the details.
Amchi Mumbai
We just wanted to make the most of the trip. So the next day after the event, we booked for a ‘Mumbai Darshan’ trip – a guided city tour. You can visit most portion of the city in just one day by hiring a guide. It was an amazing experience for us. We got to behold those places that we only saw in bollywood movies like the Gateway of Mumbai, Taj and Oberoi hotels, the marine drive, the Bandra–Worli Sea Link, and of course the houses of our bollywood stars and illustrious Ambanis. 😀
Ajanta-Ellora
Ever since we watched a documentary on the Ajanta-Ellora caves, it compelled us to visit the place. In fact, when we started planning the WordCamp trip, we kept the idea of visiting the caves in priority. The Aurangabad city – which is home to the caves was only about 8 hours away from Mumbai on road.
After the Mumbai Darshan, we took a bus overnight to Aurangabad. The next two days were dedicated exclusively to the caves. We were mesmerized by their beauty and the intricate designs. The experience is the best to be treasured. Those of you who know little about the Ajanta and Ellora cave temples, let me tell you that the caves were made in the BC’s through AD’s and consist of over 30 temples carved out of a single stone. Some of the magnificent temples are even multiple-storey and we just couldn’t digest the fact that they are crafted by real people that lived centuries ago.
The trip was not that easy though. The sheltering sun was hitting us hard and draining our energies. It was 40 degree in Aurangabad when we were strolling through the caves! After the Aurangabad visit, we came back to Mumbai and caught our flight back to Trivandrum.
The Experience- Enchanting and Incredible
It was an incredible and awe-inspiring experience altogether! Though WordCamp + Mumbai + The Caves may not sound like something that can be clubbed together but it was a perfect amalgamation that we enjoyed in the beginning of the year, and it rose our spirits. We are all charged up and ready to hit our next goal. 🙂