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Among the first of many realizations you’ll have when you arrive in India is that there is no such thing as “Indian food.” The Indian subcontinent packs in as much or more diversity than Europe and the food is no exception. To help you get your bearings, we’ve created a guide of our “must-try” foods […]

Please introduce yourself. Where did you grow up? What were you doing before joining Reality Tours? My name is Ravi Mishra. I grew up in Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh but I ran away from home when I was 13 because of issues at home. I picked a train at random and ended up in Navi […]

Suraj, one of our senior guides, recently wrote an article about Dharavi for the German magazine, Masala, a publication that aims to build an intercultural bridge from India to Germany. What is a slum? I have met many people from all around Mumbai and the world and when I ask them this question, 90 per […]

India is a country where great wealth and prosperity sits side by side with incredible hardship and poverty and making sense of the great contradictions is a nigh on impossible task. But that hasn’t stopped people trying. Here are some of our favourite attempts to understand and explain this diverse, compelling and fascinating country that […]

I was recently invited to Dharamsala along with three entrepreneurs from Dharavi to sit on a panel discussion organized by American Enterprise Institute. Abundance without Attachment was the theme of the program. They wanted to discuss about enterprise and poverty, and how to lift people up. There were around 50 people present in the room […]

New Delhi, the modern day capital city of India, has been the centre of a multitude of different empires throughout the ages, the remnants of which can be found scattered throughout the city. From rich, diverse history and architecture to arguably India’s best food and shopping, Delhi truly has something to offer every type of […]

Diwali is tomorrow! In this post, two of our guides, Jitu and Balaji, explain the history of Diwali, why it’s important, how they celebrate and how it is celebrated by Jains. To learn more join us for our Diwali Dharavi Tour and Celebration next year! Diwali is very commonly recognised as the festival of light […]

This week we have a special guest post by Krishna Ganatra from Happy Travelling Girl, an organization dedicated to making traveling a safe reality for women. They share with us their top trips for travelling solo in India. I was reclining at one of the pillars at Vitthal Temple in Hampi. We had been cycling […]

Nick takes us through his experience last year during Ganesh Chaturthi and explains what he learned. The Modern Origin There weren’t any crowds when we turn onto the side street indicated on our map. It was surprising considering my friend and I were trying to find the housing society responsible for the modern form of […]

It’s 6pm, you’re in Colaba and you need to go north, what do you do? Risk a traffic jam in a taxi? Get a free body massage in the train? Weave in and out of traffic with your motorbike? We decided to put six forms of transport to the test and figure out the answer […]

Chris Way, co-founder of Reality Tours, takes us through his work with Smokey Tours in Manila and compares it with the challenges he faced in Dharavi. I have been acting as a Consultant for Smokey Tours since March 2013, when I visited Manila for the first time. Juliette Kwee, from the Netherlands, who was working […]

Vada: spiced, mashed potatoes deep-fried in a batter of chickpeas. Pav: the ubiquitous white bread rolls. Put these two simple foods together with some spicy chutney (sauce) and it transforms into Mumbai’s iconic street food: vada pav. The idea is said to have originated from a street vendor named Ashok Vaidya who worked outside of […]