The very next day {as in the day after we returned from Bangkok which was the 24th August} my little sister and her then boyfriend arrived from South Africa! TOO much excitement!! I say her then boyfriend as they got engaged before Christmas and are getting married in April 2017 which is VERY exciting; anyway, I digress....
Wynand's checked in luggage got lost along the way {fortunately it was found by the airline and made it's way to Mumbai by the next morning} so that evening Andrew & Charlotte took Amy and Wynand down to the shops in our local shopping area so he could purchase a few necessities! I stayed behind to cook dinner. I made sure that their first meal on Indian soil was Indian - vegetable biriyani with a selection of chutneys I did not make {the chutneys I didn't make, the biriyani I did make!}
The following day {after we collected Wynand's luggage}, Charlotte, Amy, Wynand and myself headed off to Dharavi to do the slum tour which was pretty much an eye-opener {well, it is for anyone who does the tour really!} It rained quite a bit at one stage so we were pretty much stuck inside one of the factory shops....not such a bad place to be stuck inside when it's a leather handbag shop; Amy bought herself one! The leather for the bag is treated in the small factory next door. The bags however are made in another location. Later on you walk past the area where the slaughtering is done and or the raw leather is bought in and oh my word....I can barely hold down my breakfast; not the most pleasant smell in the world....
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| the narrow ways in the slums |
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| goats that chill on stairs |
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| hessian and plastic bags will be used again.... |
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| the slums are not what you think they are; people have homes in the slums - some of which are in high-rise apartment blocks like this, there are schools, hospitals, a police station and banks as well as factories and shops |
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| sorry she's out of focus...a lady selling fresh herbs |
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| smoke from the fires in the pottery area |
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| a cat and a man in the pottery area |
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| not the cleanest of canals.... |
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| getting a hair cut in the slums...plenty of hair dressers about too! |
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| so not in focus....Amy-Rae, Wynand, the guide Pawan & Charlotte |
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| aluminium gets melted down in there |
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| Amy-Rae has her bag! and please note...old shoes that can be washed afterwards are pretty much a must! |
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| I asked these lovely ladies if I could take their photo....just after I showed them one, I quickly snapped this one...the lady on the left in the photo was clearly 'tickled' by what she had seen! |
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| I just love this house! |
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| one of the many factories making clothes that are then sold in shops around Mumbai |
This was the second time I did the tour and I still found it fascinating! I said it a previous post, if you are ever in Mumbai, do go and do the slum tour. There are two companies that offer the tour; one is 'slumgods' {which I tend to use} and the other is 'Reality Tours'. We chose 'slumgods' as they allow you to take photos in certain areas and 'Reality Tours' clearly states 'no photos'!
On the Wednesday, Charlotte stayed at home to pack as she was heading off back to the UK in the early hours of Thursday morning {sob} and the three of us went down town to Mumbai. {Andrew was back at work - he had been from the Monday} We stopped off at the dhobi ghats before heading onto the fabric markets. We then went onto Leopold's for lunch! After lunch, we wondered around The Gateway of India before getting back into the cool of the car and heading home for the evening. Dinner was Buffalo Spaghetti Bolognese - a first for Amy & Wynand!
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| washing drying at the dhobi ghats |
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| dessert at Leopold's |
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| Gateway of India |
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| the Taj Hotel in a puddle {got the idea from my friend Tarn} |
On the Thursday, we headed to the Mall {it's quite an experience} which isn't Wynand's cup of tea and which I totally get! Amy and I got to hang out together which was very special; and yes, we did a fair bit of shopping too!! Later that afternoon, we jumped into the car, fetched Andrew from the office and we headed back down town. We were going on a street food tour {with Reality Tours} and this is something to get excited about as the food you eat all night long is good, very good indeed! There is a a lot to eat so you really do need to pace yourself {I learnt my lesson from the first street food tour I did} Again, if you are in Mumbai, book yourself on the street food tour, you will not be disappointed, just remember not to eat during the day!
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| this is where you have your first street food meal : Bhim Singh's @ stall no 23; everything is good here!! |
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| oh the yumminess of sev puri! |
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| cooking pav bhaji |
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| eating pav bhaji |
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| on our way to the non-veg part of he street food tour |
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| all of this is good! especially the green chicken in the left top corner of the photo! |
Early on the Thursday morning, I saw Amy and Wynand off; they jumped in an auto-rickshaw around 3:30am or possibly 4am and headed for the airport. They were off to Delhi and Agra for a few days. They then popped back for a night later on the following week before taking themselves off to Goa.
As all good things must come to an end - it was time to say goodbye all too soon....and as I type this, the tears start to well-up in my eyes just thinking of the memory of saying goodbye...I'm not fond of goodbyes!
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| goodbye hugs.... |
seen on the street or in some cases, on the beach....
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| these families live on Chowpatty Beach..... |
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| we sat on the mats and ate the veg part of the street food |
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| plenty of plastic sandals for sale |
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| woven bracelets |
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| carved marble on the outside of a mosque |
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| it's like this nearly all the time on Mohammed Ali Road! such 'fun' trying to cross it.....not! |
Thanks SO MUCH for coming to visit.....till the next time Amy-Rae and Wynand......
Lovely memories Renee'. Thanks for sharing. So pleased Amy & Wynand (not sure he was) were able to spend time with you. Love you 😍
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