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Michelle Halcomb

@_auntieshell

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artist | auntie | storyteller
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Dharavi Slums Part 2: I’m still wrapping my head around the wonders of Indian economies. How does money really work? I see how stuff is made. That, we can see. Hard, body-breaking work for the smallest end of the profit share.
I see the making, but I still don’t understand how the money moves.

They see the byproducts and waste at every notch in the cycle of reincarnation of stuff, of energy, of life.
But they don’t really see much of that money, do they?

And yet, there in the slums are happy families, delicious food, and devotion. The energy inside Dharavi is alive. Grinding and relentless. For a moment, I was inside of it.

#Dharavi #MumbaiDiaries #IncredibleIndia #TravelIndia #SoloFemaleTravel #FemaleSoloIndia #ShellTravels #WanderWithShell #IndiaDiaries#TravelWriting #Wanderlust #WomenWhoTravel #OffTheBeatenPath #MumbaiVibes #SustainableTravel #LocalExperiences #TravelMoments by @_auntieshell

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a year ago

Dharavi Slums Part 1:
On my third day in Mumbai, I took a tour of Dharavi Slums; one of the most densely populated places on earth, home to nearly a million people living and working within just two square kilometers.

I got the idea from watching #SealonTour do the tour and realizing it was where Slumdog Millionaire was filmed. I liked that movie. It was a package deal: the Dharavi Slum and then the Dhobi Ghats. I found it on Bookingdotcom for $20 and the experience was priceless.

In Dharavi, I found beauty to the intricate pathways and giant piles of everything under the sun. It was a maze & slightly familiar to the hallways of my mind. It was loud in places. The smell of chemicals in some areas took my breath away. There were tiny slots of rooms filled with worker and recognizable products and all of us were sweating.

The cats were evenly dispersed; more so than the dogs, and perhaps as much as the goats. A recycling epicenter of craftspeople and heavy lifters driving an economy that never stops churning. Where stuff is reincarnated along with people.

My tour guide, Danesh, was a knowledgeable dude. Probably my age. Like walking around with a peer who answered all my questions before I could ask them. I’m super grateful for the experience.

It was like a real-life episode of How It’s Made with only an imagination of where it’s going.

#Dharavi #MumbaiDiaries #IncredibleIndia #TravelIndia #SoloFemaleTravel #FemaleSoloIndia #ShellTravels #WanderWithShell #IndiaDiaries#TravelWriting #Wanderlust #WomenWhoTravel #OffTheBeatenPath #MumbaiVibes #SustainableTravel #LocalExperiences #TravelMoments by @_auntieshell

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a year ago

Simply walking around India can feel like a holy experience. The scenery is saturated with devotion and divinity. By staying open, you begin to understand reincarnation through osmosis. Not as doctrine, but as rhythm. It asks you to surrender to what you’ll never fully understand; to truly accept what you cannot change and be changed, or suffer in resistance.

I’m not religious. I worship no particular gods, yet I believe in providence and I felt it everywhere around me. I discovered puja, knelt at street altars, received my bindi and sweet treat, and sank into the magic of the largest city in India, Mumbai. 🇮🇳✨

#TravelIndia #IncredibleIndia #IndiaDiaries #SoloFemaleTravel #FemaleSoloIndia #ShellTravels #SacredIndia #TravelMoments #WomenWhoTravel #Wanderlust #indiagram by @_auntieshell

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a year ago

Take a walk with me to Crawford Market — a maze of spices, colors, creatures and noize in the heart of Mumbai.

#CrawfordMarket #MumbaiDiaries #IncredibleIndia #TravelIndia #SoloFemaleTraveller #FemaleSoloIndia #ShellTravels #CityOfContrasts #TravelReel #WanderWithShell #StreetScenes #IndiaTravel by @_auntieshell

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a year ago

Take a walk with me to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus during the Maratha quota protest — a sea of orange flags, chanting voices, horns and movement that filled Mumbai’s streets for days.

#MumbaiDiaries #ChhatrapatiShivajiTerminus #MarathaQuotaProtest #IncredibleIndia #FemaleSoloIndia #SoloFemaleTravel #SoloFemaleTraveller #ShellTravels #TravelIndia #TravelReel #StreetScenes #WomenWhoTravel by @_auntieshell

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a year ago

Walking through Mumbai during the Maratha quota protest, I saw hundreds of trucks like these that were painted, decorated, and flying bright orange flags.

These are goods carrier trucks, everyday work vehicles transformed into moving shrines and symbols of pride. Drivers paint them with gods, slogans, and faces of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the Maratha king who stands as a symbol of strength and unity. During the protest, supporters drove in from villages all across Maharashtra with caravans of people sleeping in and around their trucks, gathering near Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Azad Maidan.

The terminus had become an overnight village, hundreds sleeping on the floors, chanting, resting, eating. Booking a train ticket out of Mumbai that day felt impossible; the lines were confusing, the air heavy, the smell overwhelming. Finally, the auntie at the ticket counter was able to explain that the ac carts were all booked. The idea of being smashed into a general cart with mostly male protesters headed back home after not showering for days changed my mind.

I walked out the entrance doors and gazed into the colorful Ganesha shrine room that was makeshift attached to the grand Terminus building and decided to book a flight to my next destination instead of taking a train. I could have my Indian train dream another time.

So I got a snack & continued on through the protest to Crawford Market.

#MumbaiDiaries #MarathaProtest #IncredibleIndia #ChhatrapatiShivajiTerminus #GoodsTruckArt #IndianTruckArt #ColorsAndChaos #CityOfContrasts #StreetScenes #TravelDiaries #ShellTravels #MauiToSeychellesToIndia #WomenWhoTravel #SoloTravel #TravelWriting #HumanityInMotion #TravelIndia #Wanderlust #WanderWithShell by @_auntieshell

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a year ago

Mumbai. Arriving at my hotel (first slide) felt like stepping into a new, electrifying world. It was hot and steamy — Hindu chants echoing from a hot mic, horns blaring, people everywhere, signs stacked in a blur of color and chaos.

The buildings were tall, the buildings were shanty, piled next to and on top of one another, melting together like wax. The smells were reincarnated memories — from delicious delight to hot, putrid sewage. I could feel the humidity bead on my lip so I might also taste it. Yes, the air has a flavor.

I retreated to my room, peeked out at the old world below, showered in my little “shower closet,” and fell asleep in my wrought-iron bed. I woke to chants and Hindustani classical music; my morning and nightly soundtrack to India.

Later, I wandered through the city in awe of its Gothic architecture and buildings dripping with monsoon and time. Each neighborhood was its own universe, all bound together by an organized chaos that somehow settled my mind even as it expanded it.

I walked from my abode to Crawford Market, weaving through the Maratha quota protest filling the streets that day. It felt like diving into the deep end of humanity — everything moving, speaking, selling, existing all at once. It was a maze you weren’t sure how you entered or how you’d find your way out. More on the protest and the market later.

At dusk, I ate idli with tomato chutney and three cups of chai so good I nearly cried. An auntie joined me, insisted we share her meal, and we spoke like old friends. Mumbai was beautiful. I bought an umbrella in the rain and walked home to rest.

#MumbaiDiaries #IncredibleIndia #ColabaMumbai #AbodeBombay #CrawfordMarket #WomenWhoTravel #SoloTravel #Wanderlust #TravelDiaries #ShellTravels #MauiToSeychellesToIndia #CityOfContrasts #ColorsAndChaos #HumanityInMotion #TravelWriting #SensoryJourney #StreetScenes #ChaiMoments #FindingMyselfAbroad #WanderWithShell by @_auntieshell

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a year ago

For our last couple of days in Seychelles, we took one final morning trip to the beach on La Digue — fed a stray kitty, found some beautiful shells, and then caught the ferry to the island of Mahé. We checked into the Savoy Resort for more beach, pool, yummy food, & chill island time before flying to India. Two very different vibes.

I had a cute collection of resort travel amenities ready for the next leg of my journey! As I gathered my nerves and double-checked all the travel details, I felt a calm set in. My accommodation, Abode Bombay, had arranged a female driver to meet me at the airport and bring me safely to the hotel in the Colaba neighborhood.

Traveling from Seychelles to Mumbai felt surreal — I was nervous, but prepared & very excited. 🌍✨

#Seychelles #MaheIsland #SavoyResort #TravelDiaries #WomenWhoTravel #SoloTravel #IslandToIndia #MauiToSeychelles #SeychellesToIndia #TravelTransitions #TravelMoments #Wanderlust #ColabaMumbai #AbodeBombay #TravelSafe #TravelPeacefully #AdventureContinues #ShellTravels #TravelVibes #Globetrotter by @_auntieshell

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a year ago

If you love rocks, come with me on a hike around the granite boulders at Anse Source d’Argent Beach.

David’s a geologist, and I’m a rock lover and these pōhaku are impressive! They were the inspiration to visit Seychelles in the first place. The beach is alive with tiny critters and scattered shells - which I also love. 💓 🐚 💓

#Seychelles #AnseSourceDArgent #LaDigue #GraniteBoulders #RockLovers #TropicalParadise #IslandAdventure #Wanderlust #ShellTravels #MauiToSeychelles #NatureLovers #BeachVibes #WomenWhoTravel #TropicalJourney #OceanViews #ExploreSeychelles #TravelMoments by @_auntieshell

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a year ago

Day four started with a long bath and a handful of red sandalwood seeds gathered from the ground around the hale. Later, I took a bike ride through the sandy streets and shaded paths of La Digue, before David and I returned to Anse Source d’Argent Beach for a sunset hike among the granite boulders.

⸻

#Seychelles #LaDigue #AnseSourceDArgent #TravelDiaries #TropicalParadise #IslandAdventure #GraniteBoulders #RedSandalwood #NatureLovers #ShellTravels #MauiToSeychelles #WomenWhoTravel #RockLovers #Pohaku #IslandVibes #SeychellesIslands #BeachWalks #TropicalJourney #OceanSoul #TravelMoments by @_auntieshell

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a year ago

After checking in, we hopped on bikes and rode through the little town, past the vanilla fields, and down to Anse Source d’Argent Beach. I swam in ocean waters so clear they looked painted — shallow blues and powder-soft white sand winding around granite boulders rising from the Indian Ocean as smooth as time.

The boulders are massive, some covering nearly an acre, and scattered along the way are giant tortoises just casually living their best island life. The town has a chill, rasta vibe, and the beach felt like something straight out of a tropical fairytale.

After a long swim we peddled back to the resort for more Takamaka rum & a purple sunset over the ocean.

#Seychelles #LaDigue #AnseSourceDArgent #IslandAdventure #TropicalParadise #IndianOcean #Wanderlust #TravelDiaries #ShellTravels #MauiToSeychelles #WomenWhoTravel #TropicalFairytale #IslandVibes #GraniteBoulders #NatureLovers #SeychellesIslands #OceanDreaming #TravelMoments #RumAndSunsets #BeachMagic #takamaka by @_auntieshell

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a year ago

Day three started with a sunrise walk on the beach, followed by breakfast and check-out from Le Duc Resort for a visit to the “Praslin Museum” — which isn’t really a museum at all, but a wonderful place to play with bats!

Afterward, we caught the ferry to the island of La Digue for a stay at the exquisite Le Domaine de L’Orangeraie Resort & Spa.

#SeychellesPraslinIslandnd #LaDigue #IslandHopping #TravelDiaries #WomenWhoTravel #TropicalParadise #IslandAdventure #SeychellesIslands #Wanderlust #ShellTravels #MauiToSeychelles #TravelMoments #OceanEscape #SunriseWalk #TravelDreams #ExploreSeychelles #BeachVibes #TropicalJourney by @_auntieshell

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a year ago