Mumbai day 1, visiting family and SHOPPING

We spent the day visiting family and exploring the non-tourist areas of Mumbai. We had a great time, and experienced Mumbai like no tourist would! the kids saw life on the streets and Sammy asked, "Why doesn't India have trash cans?" Since we were in more local areas of the city, we certainly created a scene when we got out of our cars, as many indians in those areas have never seen people with white skin and blond hair. Sarah, Miles, Sammy and Elizabeth seem to be the biggest attention attractors!

Sarah and Elizabeth attempting to bargain for a few scarves!

Street market in Badran

Outside 'Cottons' where we found great scarves and some other fun stuff!

We visited my Aunt Rama (Dad's Sister) and had a wonderful meal of traditional pani puri and gujarati gantia

Aunt Rama gave all of the women these beautiful handbags as a gift!

Rama feeding her brother

Pani Puri

The girls eating at Rama's

Funny t-shirt outside of Aunt Rama's house

Then we traveled into Matunga to go and visit The house on Vatsraj Lane (my great grandfather's name) to see the house that my father grew up in. He had 5 brothers and 1 sister, all living in this house. In its day it was a beautiful building, but what we saw yesterday was so run down and heartbreaking to know what it once was.

View from the front balcony

Famous trunk in the kitchen supposedly containing all of the large pots and pans to entertain large amounts of people, and no one has the key and it hasn't been opened in years

The kitchen of the house

Mom and the kids on the front balcony

View from the front balcony

Some views from the inside of the house

The beautiful ceiling - nad painted, and in bad shape

Sammy posed outside of our hotel before we go going in the morning

Pool at the hotel

The kids went back to the hotel and swam while we continued to shop. Today, we are visiting more family, heading to the beach and doing more SHOPPING!