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For other destinations and types of holiday, visit Kuoni
For other destinations and types of holiday, visit Kuoni 

Things to do in India

Explore Mumbai at dawn

This trip gives you an insight into the spirit and culture of Mumbai, the underbelly of this thriving city…

By Harshvardhan Tanwar
Co-owner of No Footprints Tours, Alfred&'s partner in India

If you want to see Mumbai at its best and meet the real people of the city, this is the tour for you. We begin with a hotel pick-up at 5.15am – it’s worth the early start to see the city as it wakes, when it’s cooler and the industrial morning routines are in full swing. Down at the docks, we watch the Koli fisher-folk, the original Mumbai inhabitants, hauling and grading 25 tonnes of fish straight from the boat. Led by one of our Mumbai storytellers, you’ll learn all about this community and migration in Mumbai, meeting people who’ve come from all over to make a living here, from fishermen to flower women.

Our next stop is the newspaper distribution centre where vendors sort newspapers in seven different languages in the middle of the road. Unlike the rest of the world, the newspaper industry in Mumbai is thriving. You’ll delve into why this is and talk to some of the staff to learn how the printing industry works. The office is near the Victoria Terminus railway station, which we visit for its awesome architecture. This leads us to a Synagogue, where we discuss Judaism and other religions in Mumbai.

At the market, you’ll encounter all kinds of colourful produce and learn what’s endemic to the country, it’s a very popular photography stop. We’ll see more morning activity, from milkmen driving past to the bustle at the flower market – one guy even proposed to his girlfriend here on one of our tours! What’s amazing is that if you return here later in the day, there’s no evidence of the morning hustle. This trip really gives you an insight into the spirit and culture of Mumbai, the underbelly of this thriving city.

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  • History
  • Scenery
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Alfred & Harshvardhan Tanwar

Harshvardhan is a Mumbai local who trained as an engineer before moving into advertising and copywriting. A keen traveller, he took a walking tour in Paris and fell in love with the concept, so upon returning to Mumbai, co-founded No Footprints with his wife Eesha in 2013. Together they offer storytelling tours of Mumbai and Delhi that focus on the people, unexplored history and hidden sides of the cities.
Harsh and Eesha, No Footprints tours Mumbai and Delhi

Plan your holiday withAlfred&

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