Mumbai Archives - Rakhee Ghelani

Getting Beach Ready

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Before heading off on my rather last-minute sailing jaunt in Turkey I had to deal with the big issue of how to get myself a bikini body or at the very least beach ready in less than two weeks. Experience has taught me that no matter how many grapefruits I ate I was never going…

Review: A Slice of Japan

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My love of Japanese food has been well-documented for anyone who’s seen my Instagram feed, so when I was invited to review the “Slice of Japan” food festival at the Sofitel’s Pondicherry Cafe I simply couldn’t refuse. The Sofitel had brought in Chef Kazuhiko who lives in Kobe and trained at prominent restaurants both in…

My Shoe Addiction

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One of the rather decadent pleasures of living in India is that you can find anyone to make almost anything you want. For me this has meant that I now have my favourite dress in 6 different colours, (all for cumulatively less than I paid for the original), and I have some rather special shoes…

Discovering New Places To Visit in Bombay: Mazagaon and Khotachiwadi

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I seem to spend so much of my time these days either at home working or going to the same places to meet friends, that I’d almost forgotten about the joy of discovering new places to visit in Mumbai. So one surprisingly sunny monsoon afternoon a friend and I decided to do just that. We…

Ganesh Chaturthi in Mumbai: The Lalbagh Walk

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Ganpati or Ganesh Chaturthi would have to be one of the biggest festivals in Mumbai. The festival is in honour of Lord Ganesha, who is the remover of obstacles. A Ganesh statue is traditionally installed in the home, or in the neighbourhood in many cases, and people worship it for 10 days. The statue is…

Flying High : Paragliding Near Mumbai

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I will let you into one of my not so favourite secrets. As I get older I am becoming more and more scared of heights. I don’t have an issue going up, but when I have to look down or try to walk down a steep incline, I become paralysed with fear. Only a few…

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…

Hello Summer, Bring on The Mangoes

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Summer is finally here! While the temperature is close to diabolical and the humidity means Mumbai currently resembles a pressure cooker, I still love summer for one reason. Mangoes. It’s mango season and they are just spectacular. The sweet orange flesh has inspired me this year to create a salsa that I have with almost…

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…

Slum Tourism: Dharavi

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Slum tourism drums up all sorts of bad connotations. For this reason I avoided doing the tour of Dharavi, the biggest slum in Mumbai for a long time. Finally, after a little convincing by a friend I decided to see it for myself. I now think everyone, Mumbaikars born and bred and tourists alike should…

Myanmar Travel : What the Guidebook’s Don’t Tell You

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Before travelling to Burma, I dutifully read through my guidebook to ensure I was prepared and listened to my travel agent (I rarely use an agent to book my travel, but I was working so much before I left I didn’t have time to plan my trip so I used an agent to book hotels…

Life in a Refugee Camp: Thailand

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I was fortunate enough to spend New Year’s Eve and Day visiting two refugee camps on the Thai / Burma border (Burma is officially known as Myanmar now). A friend that I have been visiting in Thailand works on the border and offered me the opportunity to visit the camps and experience Karen New Year.…

Farewell 2013

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Another year comes to an end, so here is a quick post about my highlights of 2013 and what my plans are for next year. Highlight of 2013: Visiting Australia and spending time with my family and friends. Saying goodbye to my 30’s was also a highlight, the decade has been a mixed bag of the…

I Have Been a Bad Bad Blogger

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I have been a bad bad blogger! Yes I am well aware, that it has been over a month since I last posted, and my goal of posting a new location a week has gone out the window recently. I can explain though. Quite simply I had to earn some money! I have a couple…

Review: Copa Bar in Juhu

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I don’t often do reviews, although I do eat out a lot (anyone who has seen my Instagram feed knows that), but I was invited to try out a new bar in Juhu this week. I don’t often visit Juhu, not because I don’t like it, but because I am a little bit lazy to…

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…

Climate Change: From Mumbai to Melbourne

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Through Mumbai’s sweltering, suffocating Summer, I have spent many a day fantasising about rolling around in ice cold snow or being rugged up in layers of winter woolies. I have literally had dreams about it. So I was very excited about the prospect of escaping the sauna that is a Mumbai monsoon and spending some…

Bollywood: Where Heroes Can Be Villains

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There is an interesting thing I have observed in Indian culture, if someone is admired, lauded or dare I say worshipped, for some reason they seem to be above the law. They can do as much wrong as they want, but very few seem to care. Worse still, if you are poor, then your life…

Potluck Me: Starting a Business in India

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One of things I have always said that I love about India is that anything seems possible. Two years ago when I was leaving my job in a bank, if someone had told me I would be earning a living as a freelance consultant and writer, and setting up a couple of start-up businesses of…

Remaining a Child in the Eyes of a Parent

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I recently had a friend drop in to visit me at home whilst my father was visiting me from Australia. My friend came in and I offered him a seat on the couch, my father was working at the dining table. For a short while he stopped to chat with us, but then went on…

Tag: Mumbai