This is something I’d wanted to do for a while. Unlike most cities, that Bombay is an island means there are natural definitions of Boundary and Circumnavigation.
On a whim, I set off today from near Bandra around 11:20 or so in the old Maruti Swift. Here’s the route I took:
Start -> SV road -> Khar subway -> Western Express Highway -> Dahisar -> Kashimira -> Ahmedabad highway junction -> Ghodbunder -> Eastern Express Highway -> road to Deonar -> Eastern Freeway -> Regal Circle -> Gateway/Apollo Bunder -> Colaba Causeway -> Afghan Church -> detour to Bhabha Auditorium -> Mantralay -> Marine Drive -> Pedder Road -> Annie Besant Road -> Worli Sea Face -> Sea Link -> SV Road -> End
Here’s a set of screenshots that show the route and progress. The blue dot is my location at the time on the status bar at the top.
Driving 114 km took 5 hours (well, actually 4. Spent 1 hour changing a flat tyre on Colaba Causeway; then getting it fixed at the next petrol pump).
Many parts of the route were picturesque, smooth and quiet: The Dahisar – Ghodbunder stretch. The Eastern Freeway. The Navy Nagar complex. Marine Drive in the afternoon.
Others were a noisy, hostile, clogged mess: Khar Subway, parts of Ghodbunder road, parts of Causeway, Pedder Road. On these stretches, podcasts and music were a necessary distraction.
Could have been far quicker if I’d planned it; started at, say 5am. All in all, nice time though.