Mumbai: Dharavi and Bandra, so close yet so far

Only separated by about 6km are the mansions of Bollywood movie stars such as Shahrukh Khan and tiny homes of the million inhabitants of Dharvi, one of Asia's largest slums. Both are economic powerhouses of Bombay, but the density and the economics per person are world's apart.

We jumped straight into it on our visit to Dharavi, walking down a nearly dark concrete pathway about a meter wide. On either side are homes that appear to be one room each and there are 2-3 stories. It's bustling. Kids running around giggling and adults headed here and there.

A guy pointed us in a direction that led out to a large field full of kids playing. We later learned that it used to be the trash dump.

A bit later, we were approached by a guy who wanted to give us a tour. I wanted to see the recycling area, so we suggested a tour of just that, but he threw in more for Rs. 800 as it was on the way. He was very knowledgeable and it was nice to have the insights from a Dharavi native and get to support a bit.

As Bandra is quite close, you can pop over there after. We did separate days as we weren't so organized and had the pleasure of car and driver.

Bandra is a well to do area with a few historical sights, spots to sit or jog along the water, and lots of cafes and shops.

We started at the Basilica of our Lady of the Mount and then wandered down to the Bandra Fort, full of young couples displaying various degrees of PDA (one was covered by a shawl).

Next, we drove past Sharuk Khan's house, where there was a Chaatwala out front along with many selfie-takers, and Jogger's park to Carter road.

Inside of Basilica of our Lady of the Mount

Basilica of our Lady of the Mount

Prayer tiles for fame and forgiveness

Sealink bridge is a cool way to travel

Couples spaced appropriately for privacy

Along Carter road

From there we headed to a main shopping street and then wandered down to Candies for a snack.

Comments

Vizag: clean city by the sea

Visakhapatnam (or Vizag) wasn't on the radar. It is one of the cleanest places we'd been India. I had no idea it was a city in South East India or how to pronounce it. Only learned it existed because when we tried to get our boarding passes in the airport in Sri Lanka to come to India we needed to show an outbound flight. Walking across the boarder to Myanmar wasn't accepted. Next time will remember to book on a site that allows cancellation after 24 hours, but in the early morning panic that didn't happen. Then it turned out to be overly complicated and expensive to cross overland from India to Myanmar, so we decided to use the flights to Kuala Lumpur and come in from the South. Vizag was now in the itinerary. Get there We took a train from Puri to Khurda junction. And then transfered to a sleeper to Vizag. There is a waiting room in Khurda upstairs to charge phones and sit. Eat, drink, sleep - Sree residency was a great spot to sleep. It was cheaper online. G...

Konark and Puri: see the Sun temple

A site noted that the sun temple at Konark is in the top 10 architecturally. It was on the way to Vizag, so seemed like a good place to stop and boy was the temple impressive. Get in It's a 8 hour train ride from Kolkata to Puri. Arriving at 12am wasn't ideal as tuk tuk drivers were limited and many guest houses full or closed. Eat, drink, sleep - The Pink House is a relic from the 70s. I'm guessing the cockroach in the bathroom has been there that long as well based on its size. Rooms are very basic, somewhat clean, and ours along the walkway was loud. However for Rs. 600-800, you can't complain too much. We also had decent food there. What we did - Puri beach is sadly a mess. Children playing on the beach and using it as a toilet (you had to watch your step). There is trash all over, the only upside of which is the boys use the styrofoam to make boats. Dude asking for photo on the Puri beach. Children playing with self-made styrofoam boats ...

Bodhgaya: follow the Buddha's path to enlightenment

It was a pleasant surprise to discover that Bodhgaya, where the Buddha attained enlightenment was just a 5 hour train ride from Varanasi. How pleasant to go walk in the footsteps of this seemingly kind and thoughtful man. Having not done much research, I wasn't sure what to expect. What we found was a religious center for Buddhists and Hindus around the world and a struggling town, working to make ends meet. Get in We took a train from Varanasi which was 2.5 hours late and got us in at 1 am. After spending 2.5 hours at the train station in Varanasi with a sore throat and stomach bug, we decided to use the various train tracking websites. Then you can get auto (Rs. 120-150 is what we bargained) to Bodhgaya. It seems possible to jump in a shared auto for maybe Rs. 10. Eat, drink, and sleep Buttshinji temple is associated with the Japanese temple and has rooms for a Rs. 800 donation for two. Supposedly they charge for wi-fi, but we weren't charged. The wi-fi is ridi...

Travel in India

Search This Blog