Ellie Weeks

Review of Reality Tour

We did three tours with Reality in February: the D...

We did three tours with Reality in February: the Dharavi walking tour (it was just my colleague and I, with Balaji guiding us), the morning bike ride (probably about 8 of us in the group), and the street food tour (again just my colleague and I with the tour guide). They were all exceptional. All the tour guides we had were from Dharavi, which was amazing. Balaji was so patient with our questions, and the way he interacted with the people we were strolling past in Dharavi was incredible. I felt very privileged and like we stuck out in the most obnoxious, touristy way possible, but Balaji made us feel very welcome in his home, and we realized Dharavi is so much more than a slum; it is a community. After the tour they drove us to our next stop for lunch, dropping us off, which was very nice. The next morning we did the bicycle tour, which should go down on the list of life's biggest adventures. It was terrifying once rush hour traffic started, but it was incredible to see the city wake up and to visit everyday places like a fish market, temple, cow pen, flower market, food stands, and more. The last tour we did was the street food tour; we got to take a train during rush hour to Chowpatty beach, tried several stands there, and then took a taxi to the Muslim district for more food. The guide was very knowledgeable and my only complaint was that by that point we'd already heard much of the info before on our previous two tours, but that wasn't his fault. All three guides were incredibly kind, interesting people, and I cannot recommend Reality Tours enough if you want to see the real Mumbai, not just the few touristy spots. The tours are amazing!