Touring Mumbai

After doing my school visits, I had some time for a little bit of sightseeing.

Huge outdoor laundry facility Dhobi Ghat

Sweet park over a historic reservoir called the Hanging Gardens

Pictures of people taking pictures…

Because there is a great view of Mumbai below

And this proves I was there.

Stopped to eat in this good cafe

This is a kind of street food, delicious crunchy goodness.

This is a strange local delicacy, a rice flour steamed inside a leaf, peel and eat.

The Mani Bhavan, Gandhi’s home in Mumbai. It was evocative to see his room and stand out on the balcony where he spoke.

Even more amazing was that you could shrink yourself down and enter one of about 50 scenes from Ghandi’s life.

That’s my tour guide Yael spoting the shade umbrella. It’s got to be a chore to go to this tourist trap all the time, but she was game.

Young couple that conned their parents into wearing their sunglasses for this portrait.

Hideously obscene given the context, but what I would give for a tour of the world’s most expensive house.

Snapshot with Haji Ali mosque in the background

Robert’s porch outside his door in Mumbai. Except for the overly enthusiastic cricket playing late into the night, it was a quiet oasis in the frenetic city.

The only picture I could take of the Dharavi slum right before my tour.

With Mohmad my guide through the vibrant slum community. Sitting with his cousin in their one room house is an experience I will never forget. The place is intense but not depressingly so.

Back at Gateway to India just in case it changed from the first time I saw it. (it didn’t)

Didn’t have the time or stamina for the boat trip to Elephante Island.

But I wanted to check out the Taj Mahal hotel

Have a quick look at the dome from the inside

Then make my way back to Bandra West neighborhood where I could indulge in decent pizza.

Noticed but have yet to go inside or try a McDonald’s.  Like malls, I can live without, although it appears to almost be a luxury item for most Indians.

If you got all the way down here, wow, here’s a little video to reward you.