It had to be 'On Toes' tonight. Sardari and I had made plans. Hada and his IIT gang had treated me to beer at the place in 2003. The only thing I could recall was this image of a pub on the first floor (on some bustling road) that played great music. Thankfully, there's only one 'On Toes' in Mumbai. And its in Juhu. The directions were pretty straight-forward, take the Western Expressway, cross the fly-over near the Andheri Shoppers' Stop and ride straight, and then enquire?! I don't know where all I rode, but when we finally got to the place, I had lost my bearing completely, and we were both thirsty. But getting there at 2230hrs actually helped - we got a place to sit, enjoy the music and leisurely gulp the beer. We had the time to learn of Sardari's experience with these women who had invited him over to Salsa, his satisfaction at having participated in the 24hr fast at IITB, and his impending DDP submission. In between, I messaged Cheeru that I was at 'On Toes', and his prompt reply only stressed on 'the best days of college life'. We headed to Amar Juice Centre to gorge on the grilled sandwich. At a modest 0030hrs, the place was buzzing with activity.

On the ride back, we took the street perpendicular to Amar's, and as we rode along, I recognized the ALFA stores - they're numbered from 1 to 5, and scattered on both sides of the street. That's when I figured where I was. I'd been to ALFA quite a few times before - its a good place for competitively priced mobile phones and other gizmodos. Most importantly, I have reason to believe that my left hippocampus is not entirely dysfunctional - I atleast knew my way back.

Woke up really fresh and invigorated at a little earlier than 0600hrs - unaided by alarm. It was pleasantly windy, and the sky wondrously cloudy. It was an awesome experience to sit by our 'cinemascopic' window, sift thru the day's Newspapers and occasionally stare at the Powai lake as water dropped lightly from the firmament.

As I left for work, I decided against putting on my wind-cheater, as my new yellow Tee and new sneakers seemed to suit the weather perfectly. I hadn't finished walking 100m and it began to pour. I hurriedly took shelter under the corrugated sheets extending from the roof of a nearby shop. Was relatively dry and was really enjoying watching the enormous droplets fall. A good number of minutes passed before I felt my feet getting moist. A cursory glance downwards revealed my new sneakers smeared with wet mud. And a closer inspection of my surroundings brought more horror - the corrugated sheets were layered in mud and grime, the rain had been washing it all down, and it had been splashing on me all this while - I was decked in mud splotches, and probably looked like I'd just finished filming Shakira's 'Suerte' video. It continued to pour, and I decided against heading home and changing clothes - my assumption was that everybody'd be soaked, damp and dirty like me. Also, I was actually enjoying the damp feel and thoroughly cherished the subsequent ride in the Local from Kanjur Marg to CST. It was the weather that did these things to me.

At CST, the happy feeling vanished. Colaba was irritatingly hot and sunny. I felt weird standing in line with other spotlessly-dressed Office-goers waiting patiently for the public transport.

I had learnt the hard way that rain does not fall all over Mumbai simultaneously.

Went to Ripon Club in Fort today. Its on the same street as the Globus Store. This was my first visit to a Bawa place and it resembled a Defence Mess - really prim and proper, and similar China. Everything I had was unique. Began with sipping Watermelon juice prepared the Parsi way - served with the melon pieces in the drink. Tried this yummy Raspberry flavoured drink called Roger's. It was simply fantastic. Gorged on the Dhansak and Dal combo after layering it with fried onion toppings. And then, gorged on Coffee flavoured ice-cream. Bliss.

I was really in the mood to experiment with my own recipe of a cocktail at 'Joss', Rampart Row. But I couldn't get the name of the berry I wanted to mix in my Vodka. So a Mexican friend, probably named after a romantic Simon & Garfunkel track, suggested the Mojito. The lime, mint and Bacardi White Rum combo felt perfect in little sips. But biting into the leaves was not such a good idea.

I also enjoyed the accompanying Korean Chicken starter.

The one interesting observation I've had with eating out in Mumbai is that the chocolate in the desserts always tastes superb, yet different at every place. Its too frustrating to not have dessert without some form of cocoa in it!