Rakhee Ghelani

Category: expat

  • Expats Behaving Badly

    Expats Behaving Badly

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    Something happened this week that made me so mad I felt compelled to write about it. Of all the things that annoy me about living in India, the thing that makes me most upset is when I see someone with means exploit someone without. In this instance it’s an Australian expat in India. The income…

  • Happy Anniversary to Me : 2 Years Living in Bombay

    Happy Anniversary to Me : 2 Years Living in Bombay

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    This week I celebrated two years of living in Bombay. To be honest, I never really believed that I would stay here that long, but now Bombay does feel like home. I have close friends here, established networks and am eking out an existence here. In many ways I am comfortable here in Mumbai, but…

  • The Big Fat Indian Wedding

    The Big Fat Indian Wedding

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    It had to happen, I just can’t believe it took me so long. Before you get too excited, no I didn’t get married. This is so much better! I dressed up in sarees, wore plenty of bling and partied away without the inevitable stress that comes with being a member of the wedding party. I had…

  • Dubai the City of Glamour: United Arab Emirates

    Dubai the City of Glamour: United Arab Emirates

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    After a little hiatus, I am getting back into writing about a different location a week I have visited. This week it’s the United Arab Emirates, and more specifically Dubai. Dubai has a special place in my heart, I spent about 6 months there on a rotating fly in fly out arrangement about ten years…

  • The Day India Nearly Broke My Spirit

    The Day India Nearly Broke My Spirit

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    I finally had that day where India nearly broke my spirit. It’s the end of monsoon, which means the air is thick with moisture and oh so very hot. Not the kind of weather where you want to be shuffled around from one government department to another, made to wait around cramped offices or having…

  • Back to Reality

    Back to Reality

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    It has now been about a month since I returned to India, after a rather long visit to Australia.  When I got on the flight to Mumbai I was feeling really excited about coming back home. It even surprised me when I started calling Mumbai home, but for now, that is exactly what it is…

  • Returning Home: Melbourne

    Returning Home: Melbourne

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    The day I landed in Melbourne was only 3 weeks shy of the two year anniversary of me leaving.  I was really looking forward to my visit home, it had been a long time. There was a bit of nervous anticipation as I prepared to go back, I felt like so much about me had…

  • Melbourne: The Things I Have Missed

    Melbourne: The Things I Have Missed

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    I have been visiting Melbourne, which is home, for the past few weeks. I still have a couple of weeks to go before returning to Mumbai, but as I sit here on a cold, rainy day I am thinking of all the things that I have really missed here. Some that I knew I was…

  • Mumbai versus Delhi: Where Would You Choose to Live?

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    Delhi has recently been given a rather bad time in the media, particularly as a city for women (or perhaps more appropriately not for women).  With this in the back of my mind, I now find myself pondering whether it is a city I could choose to live in. I went to Delhi last week…

  • Why I Choose to Stay in India?

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    I get asked all the time, “Why do you choose to stay in India?”.  I am asked this by my Indian friends, by friends overseas, travellers I meet and most recently by my parents who are here visiting me for a few months. It is not an easy question to answer, but whilst reflecting on…

  • Bandh (Closed): Incredible India Indeed

    Bandh (Closed): Incredible India Indeed

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    My parents arrived in Mumbai a week ago.  Its been almost 18 months since we have been together, and so they are having an extended visit for a few months with me.  Its been really lovely having them around, I come home to home-cooked food, and its nice to show them my Mumbai. They arrived…

  • Sometimes A Girl Just Need Some Girlfriends

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    Last week I made 5 new friends. I can’t remember the last time I made that many new friends in a week.  As I have got older, meeting new people that I click with has become harder, and to be honest it has never worried me,  I much prefer quality over quantity anyway. But when…

  • Foodie Post: My Favourite Locals

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    I love food. That is certainly not a revelation to anyone who has read some of my posts, seen my tweets or followed me on Instagram.  Good food to me isn’t just about eating gourmet though, its about just enjoying some of my favourite things and being able to go back to those that are…

  • Finding Home

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    I recently went through the rather stressful experience of trying to find somewhere to live in Mumbai. The options are overwhelming and also very varied in their quality and price.  Coming from a country where you look up some places on the internet, view them and sign up… I discovered its all a very different…

  • Class or crass: India’s Middle Class

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    One of the biggest culture shocks I am now experiencing relates to what is considered to be “class” or behaviour that represents economic and social status.  It isn’t something I saw much of when I was backpacking, but now that I am settled into a rather middle class life in Mumbai, I am really struggling…

  • Morning Walks in Bandra: Pictorial Post

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    I have settled into the bayside suburb of Bandra, otherwise known as the Queen of Suburbs. It is home to Shah Rukh Khan and other lesser known but glamorous people and lots of fabulous restaurants and cafes. It is also home to poor fishing communities, some beautiful churches and lots of street side stalls. Whilst…

  • A Slice of Luxury: Jaipur

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    In my nine months backpacking across India I have lived on a relatively small budget of between Rs 1,000 – 1,500 per day ($20-$30).  Its not insanely cheap for India, but coming from my very comfortable middle class existence in Australia, it certainly got me out and into the real India.  I have loved discovering…

  • How India Turned Me Into a Feminist

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    I have a confession to make, I am a feminist. Nine months travelling through India has turned me into a feminist and this is me coming out of the closet. I have always considered myself to be egalitarian, striving for equality rather than subjugation of one gender over another. Then I spent 9 months backpacking…

  • My European Mini-Break: Pondicherry and Auroville

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    Pondicherry (now correctly known as Puducherry) is what I would describe as the perfect little European mini-break within India.  Don’t get me wrong its not the same as being in Paris, but after 8 months of thalis, crowds and narrow streets,  Puducherry was just enough for me to imagine I had changed continents for a…

  • The Joy and Curse of Solo-Travel

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    I love traveling on my own, I have been a solo-traveler for about 14 years now and thrive on the freedom and exhilaration of it.  I guess you could say I have a strong independent streak and am comfortable in my own company, after all I have lived alone for 13 years. I have now…