After almost a year of wearing the same stinky clothes we decided we better return to Mumbai for a few days of shopping to prepare us for Australia. We checked out all the main shopping areas, from High Street Phoenix, a real super fancy shopping mall, to many street stalls along Colaba Causeway. Once we had bought a few new outfits we spent time visiting some of the touristy spots. One evening we visited an upscale movie theater where we saw Life of Pi in 3D. It was fantastic, and it was quite fitting to see it in India! The theater was also really fancy and an awesome treat. You could order food and drinks and have them delivered right to your seat food and outside the auditorium we got to test the most high tech massage chair that gave the best full body massage! On another day we took a ferry over to Elephanta Island, which is famous for the intricate cave carvings of different Hindu gods. We were amazed at the size and detail of the carvings. It is truly stunning work. On our second last day we experienced two extremes of wealth in Mumbai. We began the day by visiting one of Mumbai`s most popular and largest slums named Dhavari. We learned a lot about life in an Indian slum and about the mass amounts of commercial business that occurs in the slum. Our guide also explained that there are between 600,000 and 1 million people living in a 1.7 km squared area. Most families have 6 or more people per household in a 10 by 10 ft house, which includes an area for cooking, a semi private spot for a bathing then mats to sleep on with a shared bathroom outside. The tour we took was organized through an NGO where 80% of the proceeds get returned or used in the NGO programs. The NGO runs a school where they teach photography, and workplace skills. We found the tour very interesting, organized, and enlightening. To conceal the peoples identify we were not allowed to take photos while inside but here are a few from the top of the rail station. On the other extreme, later in the evening we met up with Rahul, a young Indian studying at Harvard in the USA who was home visiting his mother for Christmas Vacation. We were really excited as we had met Rahul one day on a bus in Peru going to Huachachina. We spent two days with him and really enjoyed getting to see him again. We were invited to his house for dinner with his Mother and Aunt. Their house was beautiful and very upscale; they even had kitchen help and drivers to take them around the city and to work! After dinner we chatted for a bit, enjoyed some cocktails and headed to a bar attached to the Taj President Hotel where we enjoyed a few drinks with his Mumbai friends. It was great to catch up! For the rest of the time we stuffed our faces with as much Indian food and drink as we could. We also bought spices so once we are settled we’ll start making authentic chai and curries! We were sad to be leaving India but so excited for our next adventures in Australia!
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