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Jeff Robson's Travels
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Location Date Pakistan 1707091200 South Korea 1531004400 India 
1530918000 Thailand 1529967600 United Arab Emirates 1503097200 -
- Woke up around 6.30am & turned on my laptop. So nice to have a real computer to use again!
- Answered some emails etc before heading down for a quick breakfast then off to my slum tour.
- Eventually figured out how to get to where I needed to be and ended up arriving only 5 min late.
- There was a very cute 4-5 year old girl selling roses with her mum nearby for about 5 Rupees each (10 cents). I would've bought one or some if I had someone to give it to!
- My tour guide (Vijay) got his times mixed up & arrived about 45 min late.
- We made our way by metro to the slum area & began our walking tour.
- We first walked through an open-air fruit & veg market that was setting up for the evening. Just past this, a get was selling chickens & happened to cut the throat of one just as we walked past. Welcome to the reality of everyday life in the slums.
- Vijay was actually from the slum. He grew up there & lunch was at his house! I can see why they call it "Reality Tours" as this is very real for him.
- It's hard to know where to begin when describing the slum as it's just so different compared to what we see in the western world.
- It's overcrowded (average of 10 people per tiny house), it's filthy (mud everywhere, rotting vegetables, stinking open drains filled with who knows what, rubbish everywhere, animal poo and dirt all over the streets & buildings), and obviously very poor (average wage is 200 Rupees or $4 per day). Rent is around $20-30 per month.
- But the people were so friendly, especially the kids of course. The older kids & young adults want to shake your hand & say hello. The younger ones love to do high-5's or just touch your hand.
- You're not allowed to take photos in there as they want the tour to be authentic & not turn people's lives into tourist attractions. That was difficult for me but I understand so respected their rule.
- The slum is surrounded by the factories they work in making clothing, textiles, metalwork etc.
- This is how we get our clothes made so cheaply. I wish we'd all pay a little more so people don't have to live like this.
- Around 45% of Delhi's 20+ million population lives in slums like these.
- The tour company I went through puts 80% of its profits back into the local community by providing free education programmes for the people there in subjects like English & computers. This gives them the skills they need to break out of the poverty cycle.
- We visited:
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- Ladies sorting through rags (they recycle them where possible or use as stuffing for cushions etc)
- Doctor's office (the doctor doesn't get paid by the government or the patients. He only makes money from selling medicines)
- The Reality Tours office which was remarkably clean & neat.
- A Hindu temple as this serves the majority of the people there.
- The local school that has 400-500 students and only about 5-6 teachers! They do 2 shifts as well with girls in the morning and boys in the afternoon.
- The roof of one of the houses.
- We finished the tour by having lunch at Vijay's house where his mum made what she'd normally cook for lunch: rice, dhal, vegetables & chapatis. It was simple but delicious.
- I was surprised that he had WiFi (one of the world's basic needs I guess!) and many also have satellite dishes for TV.
- It was an amazing experience to walk through & see it all up so close.
- Australia is such a paradise. I can see why so many want to come. We lead such privileged lives. I couldn't help but compare what I'd seen earlier in the day with my pristine, white sheets & luxurious hotel room when I got back that evening.
- After the tour, I went to the Lotus Temple, a Baha'i temple not too far away.
- It was very beautiful, a little like the Sydney Opera House. It was also nice & cool so I stayed inside for a while to listen to some singing & prayers. Quite relaxing.
- Was feeling a bit sick & tired by now plus it was about to pour with rain so I decided to just go back to my hotel, pack up all my bags and rest.
- Nearly falling asleep on the train on the way back.
- Got the hotel's IT guys to sort out WiFi for me (about an hour of messing around) then started doing a few photos etc.
- Went to bed about 11pm so not quite the early night I'd planned!
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