Hiranandani Gardens is an interesting place to live, a blend of East meets West which makes the transition into India slightly easier. However you still get enough of everyday India to fill a blog!
The latest is the road resurfacing or rather large patches of resurfacing going on at present. Surprisingly they are resurfacing a tarmac road using tarmac and not the bricksets or concrete they love so much. No fancy tarmac machines so issue No 1, how to heat up the barrels of tar? Step 1 lay two 40 gallon drums on their side and build a fire in between them and leave until tar is hot enough. Now I've not seen quite how they pick up barrels once they are that hot but obviously they do somehow. Next stage is to mix it with the chippings and lay it and finally roadroller to make the bumpiest surface known to man! I think I've found out what the problem is - no traffic control at all. Rather than shutting off the road to allow the long process to complete the workforce leave the road open and drivers simply pick their way through the work going on, so no matter how good a roadroller is, the traffic driving through soft road surface puts dents in the new surface that can't be straightened out!
Monday, 29 November 2010
29th November 2010 - Vehicle chess
It is facinating to watch the positioning of vehicles on the road, journeys turning into a game of chess as various moves that each driver pulls off either being strategic to gain position further up the road, full on aggressive positioning, blocking moves if you like and then from time to time stalemate! Aftab has a particular specialism, using waiting vehicles as a blocker to gain advantage and jump ahead - 40% of the time it works everytime.
One other thought on the traffic today is what would happen if lines were painted on the road and people did drive with any sort of lane discipline. Not sure it would help, feels like gridlock would result, still I'll never know as that is never going to happen!
One other thought on the traffic today is what would happen if lines were painted on the road and people did drive with any sort of lane discipline. Not sure it would help, feels like gridlock would result, still I'll never know as that is never going to happen!
Sunday, 28 November 2010
28th November 2010 - Babysitting
On our way to pick up Susie and Max from the airport, Dar and I stopped to buy some flowers. Jumping out of the car narrowly avoiding the trench that had been dug all along the road. The trench was being dug completely by hand, even the tarmac was being broken up using a long metal pole to piece the surface before breaking up the hardcore and eventually getting to the soil which was loaded into wicker baskets hauled to the surface by hardy women folk. The spoil was heaped up by the side of the trench. This pile of tarmac, hardcore and soil then created the perfect play area for the couples 6 month old baby to play whilst her parents worked.
Friday, 26 November 2010
26th November 2010 - 2 year anniversary
Two years ago today Mumbai was attacked with terrorists taking control of the Taj, Oberoi and other landmark hotel and killing '00 of people. Doesn't seem possible when you actually see these places, the extreme violence totally at odds with the impressive opulence of these places where you would expect to be safe and pampered.
Lots of stories in the papers, including the one about the fishermen who landed the terrorists at the Gateway. Apparently they did question the terrorists but were told to mind their own business. Special training has now been given to the fishermen to ensure that they report any terrorist activity to the Coastguards. In fact, just help the fishermen get over the trauma and check how they would act if it happened again, the security forces pretended to be terrorists and staged a training session.....without telling the fishermen. Any other place in the world and there would be a massive lawsuit for the stress caused, but not here.
Proudly rode to Nursery with Darcy this morning, the ride to Nursery was ok, hard work but ok. The ride back home left me sweating buckets in the heat and it took me about an hour to cool down. Goodness knows how thee guys ride them all day long with massively heavy loads - the most impressive has to be six large gas cylinders, even empty they weigh about 15kg each!
Lots of stories in the papers, including the one about the fishermen who landed the terrorists at the Gateway. Apparently they did question the terrorists but were told to mind their own business. Special training has now been given to the fishermen to ensure that they report any terrorist activity to the Coastguards. In fact, just help the fishermen get over the trauma and check how they would act if it happened again, the security forces pretended to be terrorists and staged a training session.....without telling the fishermen. Any other place in the world and there would be a massive lawsuit for the stress caused, but not here.
Proudly rode to Nursery with Darcy this morning, the ride to Nursery was ok, hard work but ok. The ride back home left me sweating buckets in the heat and it took me about an hour to cool down. Goodness knows how thee guys ride them all day long with massively heavy loads - the most impressive has to be six large gas cylinders, even empty they weigh about 15kg each!
25th November 2010 - Sleek and Black
Susie and Max flew to Dubai last night so this is my first day off with Darcy, so I took her into Nursery and then went and read the paper in the local coffeeshop. I could get used to this babysitting lark!
Aftab, picked me up at 12 and I went and picked up Darcy from Nursery. In the afternoon, we went over to the bike shop in Ghatkopar and I finally took the plunge a bought myself a traditional black bike. The standard bike comes with metal rod operated brakes, extra frame across the top, flat bars and single speed. Weighs about as much as a small motorbike. Rs 2600 (about £33) before I started to load it with extras. I say 'I' but it was a combination of the parts I wanted and those that Aftab thought that Darcy would like! So, I added a rear chrome rack, chrome front fork brace, small extra seat on the crossbar and sturdy centre stand. Aftab added pink candy stripe brake lever covers, some weird spiky pink handbar ends and red springy covers for the front fork brace. An Englishman riding a very Indian bike certainly turns heads, especially with Darcy sat on the crossbar, the pink attachments arn't quite what I had in mind, even less so when I ride it on my own!
Aftab, picked me up at 12 and I went and picked up Darcy from Nursery. In the afternoon, we went over to the bike shop in Ghatkopar and I finally took the plunge a bought myself a traditional black bike. The standard bike comes with metal rod operated brakes, extra frame across the top, flat bars and single speed. Weighs about as much as a small motorbike. Rs 2600 (about £33) before I started to load it with extras. I say 'I' but it was a combination of the parts I wanted and those that Aftab thought that Darcy would like! So, I added a rear chrome rack, chrome front fork brace, small extra seat on the crossbar and sturdy centre stand. Aftab added pink candy stripe brake lever covers, some weird spiky pink handbar ends and red springy covers for the front fork brace. An Englishman riding a very Indian bike certainly turns heads, especially with Darcy sat on the crossbar, the pink attachments arn't quite what I had in mind, even less so when I ride it on my own!
Wednesday, 24 November 2010
24th November 2010 - Excess
The news headline on the front of the Mumbai Mirror said ' This is no light bill', the story covered the size of Mukesh Ambani's (owner of the Reliance Group) first months electricity bill having moved into his new home in South Mumbai. I've driven past this place and it is colossal, the stats are impressive, or maybe given the abject poverty all about in dreadfully poor taste:
His home is a 60 story purpose built, state of the art apartment block...
for him, his wife and their three children....
and his 600 staff.
Three helipads on the roof along with their own air traffic control room, 6 floors dedicated to park 168 cars complete with their own in house service garage. A 50 seater home cinema, swimming pool, gym and health club. Elevated hanging garden with trees and plants spanning 4 stories, the property comes in at a cool 37,000 square metres of space, larger than that of the Palace of Versailles. Guestimated value is quoted as Rs 4,567 crore, which is around £45m not bad for a plot of land purchased for $1.
Almost forgot, the first months electricity bill....Rs 70 lakh or £98,000 (after discounts) - he is quoted as being BEST energys best customer! To help position this it equates to 637,240 units, average consumption for a normal house in Mumbai with all normal electric gadgets is around 300 units.
23rd November 2010 - .....on a bicycle made for 4!
In the words of the song I'm pretty sure that the 'bicycle made for two' is actually a tandem.
Now I've already seen a family of five on a motorbike, the kids when once would have been carried by the Mother, now were to old and required their own space. The bike was literally dragging along the ground under the combined weight of the grown up family.
Not to be out done on the way to work today I saw one of the old black utility bikes with three extra seats bolted to the crossbar and a large rack on the back, so potential passenger capacity was five. At least the motorbike rider had a 125cc engine, this poor bloke had a single speed bike designed in the 1940s!
Now I've already seen a family of five on a motorbike, the kids when once would have been carried by the Mother, now were to old and required their own space. The bike was literally dragging along the ground under the combined weight of the grown up family.
Not to be out done on the way to work today I saw one of the old black utility bikes with three extra seats bolted to the crossbar and a large rack on the back, so potential passenger capacity was five. At least the motorbike rider had a 125cc engine, this poor bloke had a single speed bike designed in the 1940s!
22nd November 2010 - Wedding
Susie, Max and Darcy were in Pune to attend the wedding of Cecelia's daughter. They'd stayed over night in a nice 5* hotel on the Sunday evening to ensure that they were refreshed and ready to enjoy the days celebrations. Sad thing was that the weather had other ideas so they were unable to use the roof top infinity pool, Darcy managed to get wet and in what is becoming a regular occurance, stripped off to her pants, Max wasn't too well and managed to wake Susie and Darcy up at 4am trying to get a drink of water in the darkened room, so all in all 'refreshed' was the last thing any of them felt!
The wedding was a simple but enjoable affair, the celebration lasts far longer than it does in the UK and certain bits seem to happen whilst the guests chat amoungst themselves!
The three travellers arrived back just before me in the evening, having made good time in the three hour journey.
The wedding was a simple but enjoable affair, the celebration lasts far longer than it does in the UK and certain bits seem to happen whilst the guests chat amoungst themselves!
The three travellers arrived back just before me in the evening, having made good time in the three hour journey.
Sunday, 21 November 2010
21st November 2010 - Home alone
Susie, Max and Darcy left for Pune this morning to attend the wedding of our maids daughter. The journey took about 3 hours which is about right. I'd booked them into the 5 star Westin Hotel, with visions of them lazing by the roof top infinity pool, relaxing on sun loungers. Shame that the weather had other ideas and it was raining when they got there!
What to do, oh what to do whilst they are away...? With so many potential options the risk is that you end up doing nothing of note, so I settled on a few laps on Grand Tourismo with the sound turned right up, the music off and a heavily modified car in manual to test my gaming skills. Five minutes later I'd had enough gaming, so had a look at painting the flat walls with some paint we bought a few weeks back. Paint turned out to be lumpy and unusable, so I went to pick up some photos. When I arrived they still hadn't been developed so waited for 10 minutes whilst they dumped them onto a disc. I then spent 10 minutes choosing the ones I wanted printed and left. Back home I started watching Goooooood Morning Vietnam, which I've seen before although many years ago now. Tried to download a program from iplayer but computer wasn't playing ball. Ended up watching BBC programs on the computer using Expatshield, which sets you up with a UK IP address to gain access to UK TV - brilliant! So spoilt for choice I then watch a number of programs and catch up on some excellent radio. Still trying to watch the end of Goooooood Morning Vietnam so no time for cooking - plough through a bowl of Dorset Muslei that I'd bought earlier today!
Retired to bed at 9pm to read my new book, The Motorcycle Diaries, fell asleep shortly after......zzzzzzz.
What to do, oh what to do whilst they are away...? With so many potential options the risk is that you end up doing nothing of note, so I settled on a few laps on Grand Tourismo with the sound turned right up, the music off and a heavily modified car in manual to test my gaming skills. Five minutes later I'd had enough gaming, so had a look at painting the flat walls with some paint we bought a few weeks back. Paint turned out to be lumpy and unusable, so I went to pick up some photos. When I arrived they still hadn't been developed so waited for 10 minutes whilst they dumped them onto a disc. I then spent 10 minutes choosing the ones I wanted printed and left. Back home I started watching Goooooood Morning Vietnam, which I've seen before although many years ago now. Tried to download a program from iplayer but computer wasn't playing ball. Ended up watching BBC programs on the computer using Expatshield, which sets you up with a UK IP address to gain access to UK TV - brilliant! So spoilt for choice I then watch a number of programs and catch up on some excellent radio. Still trying to watch the end of Goooooood Morning Vietnam so no time for cooking - plough through a bowl of Dorset Muslei that I'd bought earlier today!
Retired to bed at 9pm to read my new book, The Motorcycle Diaries, fell asleep shortly after......zzzzzzz.
Saturday, 20 November 2010
20th November 2010 - Lost in translation
We were invited to join the Haldi celebrations of one of our friends who is due to get married on Monday. The wedding celebrations start 3 days before the wedding. The bride to be sits down and all guests take turns to take a paste made of Turmeric, water and flour and smear her with it from foot to head. Three days after the wedding they do it all again only this time it is from head to foot, sybolic of removing the Haldi. Not too sure what Haldi actually is but I will try and find out!
On the way over to join the celebrations, we passed a resturant called 'On Toes'.
On the way over to join the celebrations, we passed a resturant called 'On Toes'.
Thursday, 18 November 2010
19th November 2010 - Gloves
Thank god it's Friday, crappy week and feeling exhausted (not sleeping well) and work is challenging to say the least!
Still always a little something to nake you smile, today as I passed one of the rubbish trucks, it stopped and the rubbish men jumped out of the cab, one of them pulling on a pair of crisp packet gloves before tackling the huge pile of rubbish!
Still always a little something to nake you smile, today as I passed one of the rubbish trucks, it stopped and the rubbish men jumped out of the cab, one of them pulling on a pair of crisp packet gloves before tackling the huge pile of rubbish!
Wednesday, 17 November 2010
15 - 18th November 2010 - Life goes on
For the first time in 5 months, nothing much is happening, just every day life.
Max is still feeding hia adopted street dog and puppies each day, although there are two less puppies than when he started.
Darcy has replaced her insect bites with Hand, foot and mouth which is a pretty common childhood illness but means once again she is covered in spots! This sums up her India experience as she has spent so much of her time covered in spots of one origin or another!
Susie is doing well, I think the heat is wearing her out and coupled with poor sleeping at night means she is very tired most of the timem. Still she is off to Pune on Sunday with the kids to stay over for a wedding on Monday. Then next week she is off to Dubai with Max for 4 days. I'm not able to go, actually very expensive and it wasn't to of my list so no biggie although I'll miss being with them.
And me? Mainly working followed by a bit more working. Had a night out at the ITC hotel with some UK visitors. Good food and actually a pretty entertaining evening.
Only 4 weeks and we'll all be back in the UK for Christmas, can't wait.
Max is still feeding hia adopted street dog and puppies each day, although there are two less puppies than when he started.
Darcy has replaced her insect bites with Hand, foot and mouth which is a pretty common childhood illness but means once again she is covered in spots! This sums up her India experience as she has spent so much of her time covered in spots of one origin or another!
Susie is doing well, I think the heat is wearing her out and coupled with poor sleeping at night means she is very tired most of the timem. Still she is off to Pune on Sunday with the kids to stay over for a wedding on Monday. Then next week she is off to Dubai with Max for 4 days. I'm not able to go, actually very expensive and it wasn't to of my list so no biggie although I'll miss being with them.
And me? Mainly working followed by a bit more working. Had a night out at the ITC hotel with some UK visitors. Good food and actually a pretty entertaining evening.
Only 4 weeks and we'll all be back in the UK for Christmas, can't wait.
Monday, 15 November 2010
14th November 2010 - Darcy, 1st class train traveller
I took Darcy on her first train journey today and the good news is that she loved it!
Aftab our driver took Darcy and I to Vikrolli station and I arranged with him to meet us again a few stations up the line at Bandhup. I entered the station, backpack on my back and Darcy in my arms and dutifully queued up with a room full of around 70 Inidans. Four serving windows and curiously 8 queues - each window showed a queue for 1st and 2nd class! Twenty minutes it took to to slowly move forward to the serving window at which point my window was closed so still holding Darcy and trying to keep my place, sweat pouring off me, I had to try and switch lanes and fend off people then trying to push past me. This didn't last long as I rather lost my temper and set a few people straight and then used my backpack to maintain a space so I could get my ticket. Ended up with a ticket to Bandra instead but at only Rs7 (11p) I didn't care that it was in the wrong direction for twice the price I had a ticket!
Strangly we were pretty much left alone on the platform save for a few smiles which made a nice change. Train arrived and we jumped onto the first carridge which happened to be first class....same as 2nd class with maybe 200 less people trying to get in, the carridge interior separated by bars between 1st and 2nd. Darcy and I sat down on the backpack near the open train doors and watched the world speed by, it really is a great experience and Darcy quietly enjoyed her ride.
Getting out at the other end I had a call from Aftab to say he was in place at the end of the bus depot. Walked along the whole platform, out into the heat, noise and bustle of an Indian market and the bus depot. I felt very relieved to see Aftab and jump into the quiet calm and cool interior of our car.....done my bit of integration for the day, now off home to watch the F1 race and then go swimming.
Aftab our driver took Darcy and I to Vikrolli station and I arranged with him to meet us again a few stations up the line at Bandhup. I entered the station, backpack on my back and Darcy in my arms and dutifully queued up with a room full of around 70 Inidans. Four serving windows and curiously 8 queues - each window showed a queue for 1st and 2nd class! Twenty minutes it took to to slowly move forward to the serving window at which point my window was closed so still holding Darcy and trying to keep my place, sweat pouring off me, I had to try and switch lanes and fend off people then trying to push past me. This didn't last long as I rather lost my temper and set a few people straight and then used my backpack to maintain a space so I could get my ticket. Ended up with a ticket to Bandra instead but at only Rs7 (11p) I didn't care that it was in the wrong direction for twice the price I had a ticket!
Strangly we were pretty much left alone on the platform save for a few smiles which made a nice change. Train arrived and we jumped onto the first carridge which happened to be first class....same as 2nd class with maybe 200 less people trying to get in, the carridge interior separated by bars between 1st and 2nd. Darcy and I sat down on the backpack near the open train doors and watched the world speed by, it really is a great experience and Darcy quietly enjoyed her ride.
Getting out at the other end I had a call from Aftab to say he was in place at the end of the bus depot. Walked along the whole platform, out into the heat, noise and bustle of an Indian market and the bus depot. I felt very relieved to see Aftab and jump into the quiet calm and cool interior of our car.....done my bit of integration for the day, now off home to watch the F1 race and then go swimming.
Sunday, 14 November 2010
15th November 2010 - Funny but wrong
Had a giggle this morning, on my way to work I passed a street dog with a bindi on its forehead. Little things....
Thursday, 11 November 2010
12th November 2010 - Load
You really do see some unusual and quite frankly dangerous loads being carried on motorbike, vans, trucks and even Tuk Tuks. I saw my all time favourite dangerous load today. A large welding gas bottle, laying across the floor of the Tuk Tuk with both ends sticking out either side of the Tuk Tuk. The thing I love most is that there is never more than a fag paper between vehicles on the road so it was only matter of time before some real damage was done. I watched it intently darting about in from of me with every near miss keeping me watching in facination! Only a matter of time before the valve struck something and the Tuk Tuk was blown side ways or blew up in an impressive fireball. Ah, I hear you say why would the bottle blow the Tuk Tuk side ways surely it would just shoot out and leave the Tuk Tuk where its was? Well because the passenger had secured his dangerous cargo by wedging it in using one of his flip flops!
11th November 2010 - Bats as big as cats
Seriously! Before today I'd only ever seen the pipistrel bat, cute like things that look so frail that they don't look capable of harming anything. The bats I saw this evening on the way home from work look capable of carrying off a small child!
Glad I'm in the car.
Glad I'm in the car.
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
10th November 2010 - Get what you pay for
Every evening when I leave work the car drives out of the compound and straight into the traffic jam that is Saki Naka junction (or Slack Knickers as it has been renamed) The buses that are stuck in traffic are rammed full of people, all seats taken, the aisles full upto 3 deep in the aisle front to back of the bus plus the standard 'hangers on'. Now bus travel is very very cheap but to see the misery on the passengers faces means I'd rather walk......it would be a lot quicker too no doubt!
Tuesday, 9 November 2010
8th November 2010 - Ppppuppy power
On Saturday night whilst out on the town we came across a litter of 7 puppies in the street. They didn't seem to be more than 3 weeks old and the kids naturally stopped to play with them. The mother was doing a great job of keeping them safe and feeding them although I've no idea what her diet must be as a few other people were feeding her chips. Max was quite upset and concerned so whilst out shopping today he bought some pedigree dry dog buscuits. As soon as I arrived home we loaded up with the buscuits and some milk and headed off. We found Mummy dog and puppies where we'd seen them before only this time the area was crowded with people waiting to leave work and poor Max got stage fright. I spoke to him briefly about remebering why he was doing this good deed and he sorted out the bowl of milk and buscuits and Mummy dog got stuck in which was good to see. The puppies woke up and the kids played with them for a while before we left them to their street life. I hope nothing happens to them and they stay safe, there is one less of them already since Saturday night.
5th November 2010 - Fireworks, OMG the Fireworks
Now I like a firework or two, every now and again - Ohh, ahh repeat if necessary. We got back from Kerala on Friday evening and not only was most of Mumbai covered in lights (which improved things no end) but by the time we got to the flat at about 6.30pm the fireworks were in full swing. Now I'm not talking the odd rocket, catherine wheel and sparkler, I'm talking a relentless ariel and groundbased bombardment of epic proportions. Starting on the ground you have the crackers, not your Tesco's value crackers but full on take your leg off crackers which came in strings which seemed to last between 1 and 5 minutes and sounded like small arms fire. This provided the backing track. Overlay ground based catherine wheels which weren't attached to anything, the idea being that you jumped over them as they fired off in random directions. Next up the mid range rockets which left the ground to about a height of 20 feet before exploding. Then the larger mortars which would fire anywhere between 50 and 300 feet and explode with varying degrees of force from making your windows shake to diving for cover as you expected the plate glass windows to be blown in. Did I mention that the noise was relentless? Upwards of 10 separate displays going on at once they started at around 6.30pm and went on until 3am. This happened the previous night too and on the Saturday night with the ferocity only starting to tail off on Sunday evening!
Speaking to a guy in the office he tells me that this year was quieter than last year when the fireworks would be let off during the day too!
Speaking to a guy in the office he tells me that this year was quieter than last year when the fireworks would be let off during the day too!
5th November 2010 - Fireworks, OMG the Fireworks
Now I like a firework or two, every now and again - Ohh, ahh repeat if necessary. We got back from Kerala on Friday evening and not only was most of Mumbai covered in lights (which improved things no end) but by the time we got to the flat at about 6.30pm the fireworks were in full swing. Now I'm not talking the odd rocket, catherine wheel and sparkler, I'm talking a relentless ariel and groundbased bombardment of epic proportions. Starting on the ground you have the crackers, not your Tesco's value crackers but full on take your leg off crackers which came in strings which seemed to last between 1 and 5 minutes and sounded like small arms fire. This provided the backing track. Overlay ground based catherine wheels which weren't attached to anything, the idea being that you jumped over them as they fired off in random directions. Next up the mid range rockets which left the ground to about a height of 20 feet before exploding. Then the larger mortars which would fire anywhere between 50 and 300 feet and explode with varying degrees of force from making your windows shake to diving for cover as you expected the plate glass windows to be blown in. Did I mention that the noise was relentless? Upwards of 10 separate displays going on at once they started at around 6.30pm and went on until 3am. This happened the previous night too and on the Saturday night with the ferocity only starting to tail off on Sunday evening!
Speaking to a guy in the office he tells me that this year was quieter than last year when the fireworks would be let off during the day too!
Speaking to a guy in the office he tells me that this year was quieter than last year when the fireworks would be let off during the day too!
Monday, 8 November 2010
4th November 2010 - Air cooled Ferrari
We took the ferry over to Fort Kochi this morning, another example of cheap public transport with the single trip for all 6 of us costing Rs10 which is about 15p.
Arrived in Fort Kochi and made our way past the usual touts, Tuk Tuk drivers all looking for business. Having walked a few hundred yards up the road we stopped as we actually had no idea where we were going. It was then that we saw two Tuk Tuks parked up and the young drivers offered to show us
the sights for Rs100 for a whole days hire. As we drove off the guy driving turned round to us and said 'welcome to my aircooled Ferrari'! This set the scene well and we had a great day buzzing about Fort Kochi, seeing the Chinese fishing nets, the old Fort ruins, the churches and not forgetting the 'locals' resturant, which was devoid of any locals although there were a lot of tourists who kept turning up in Tuk Tuks....wonder how many had asked to 'eat where the locals eat'?! Having said that the meal we had was excellent and a real mountain of food.
In the evening we headed to the seafood resturant in the hotel and had lovely fresh fish.
Arrived in Fort Kochi and made our way past the usual touts, Tuk Tuk drivers all looking for business. Having walked a few hundred yards up the road we stopped as we actually had no idea where we were going. It was then that we saw two Tuk Tuks parked up and the young drivers offered to show us
the sights for Rs100 for a whole days hire. As we drove off the guy driving turned round to us and said 'welcome to my aircooled Ferrari'! This set the scene well and we had a great day buzzing about Fort Kochi, seeing the Chinese fishing nets, the old Fort ruins, the churches and not forgetting the 'locals' resturant, which was devoid of any locals although there were a lot of tourists who kept turning up in Tuk Tuks....wonder how many had asked to 'eat where the locals eat'?! Having said that the meal we had was excellent and a real mountain of food.
In the evening we headed to the seafood resturant in the hotel and had lovely fresh fish.
3rd November 2010 - Arrived with a splash
Left the plantation around mid morning, just enough time to try our hand at making butter and sifting rice and eating a monster Indian breakfast!
Had a terrifying 3 hourts car journey to Kochi, nothing quite like overtaking a truck up hill round a bend only to be confronted by a lorry overtaking a Tuk Tuk, the lorry itself being overtaken by a bus coming towards you. This went on for the entire uncomfortable journey. You can imagine how pleased we were to arrive at the Taj Malabar on Willingdon Island for a bit of 5 star luxury. When we arrived our room wasn't ready so we went and sat out on the veranda over looking the sea. Having ordered a couple of mezze dishes to share and drinks we sat back to enjoy our light lunch and the fab sunshine. No more than 60 seconds later Max had knocked over his chocolate milkshake, covering his white shirt and the wind had blown Susie's lime soda over Darcy, who then stripped of to her pants and ran around the veranda like a little imp - the Thomlinsons have landed!
At 5.30 we gathered for a sunset cruise on a rice boat. On boarding the boat we were issued with life jackets which we all put on. Slightly unnerving or just safety focused??? Wonder how you would feel getting onto a plane and at the entrance being provided with a parachute!
The cruise was safely completed, beautiful sunset which set off the chinese fishing nets beautifully. A very peaceful end to a good fun day.
Had a terrifying 3 hourts car journey to Kochi, nothing quite like overtaking a truck up hill round a bend only to be confronted by a lorry overtaking a Tuk Tuk, the lorry itself being overtaken by a bus coming towards you. This went on for the entire uncomfortable journey. You can imagine how pleased we were to arrive at the Taj Malabar on Willingdon Island for a bit of 5 star luxury. When we arrived our room wasn't ready so we went and sat out on the veranda over looking the sea. Having ordered a couple of mezze dishes to share and drinks we sat back to enjoy our light lunch and the fab sunshine. No more than 60 seconds later Max had knocked over his chocolate milkshake, covering his white shirt and the wind had blown Susie's lime soda over Darcy, who then stripped of to her pants and ran around the veranda like a little imp - the Thomlinsons have landed!
At 5.30 we gathered for a sunset cruise on a rice boat. On boarding the boat we were issued with life jackets which we all put on. Slightly unnerving or just safety focused??? Wonder how you would feel getting onto a plane and at the entrance being provided with a parachute!
The cruise was safely completed, beautiful sunset which set off the chinese fishing nets beautifully. A very peaceful end to a good fun day.
Sunday, 7 November 2010
7th November 2010 - AF1
Obama's been in Mumbai this weekend, massive security operation and massive TV coverage - he is a pretty big deal here by all accounts.
Mum and Dad took Max and Darcy out for the afternoon leaving Susie and me to get on with a few jobs whilst all was quiet and calm. Our peaceful afternoon was shattered by the roar of jet engines coming from behind the flat. The noise got louder and louder and sounded as if the building was going to take a hit! Then when the noise was truely deafening and looking out from the front of the apartment a huge aircraft flew over Torino at about 1000 feet, still climbing hard from the airport just a few Km away. We've never had any aircraft fly directly over Powai like that so assumed that it was a special flight path for Big O. Concensus was that it was actually his support aircraft which carries his helicopter and cars - it was plenty big enough for that!
Mum and Dad took Max and Darcy out for the afternoon leaving Susie and me to get on with a few jobs whilst all was quiet and calm. Our peaceful afternoon was shattered by the roar of jet engines coming from behind the flat. The noise got louder and louder and sounded as if the building was going to take a hit! Then when the noise was truely deafening and looking out from the front of the apartment a huge aircraft flew over Torino at about 1000 feet, still climbing hard from the airport just a few Km away. We've never had any aircraft fly directly over Powai like that so assumed that it was a special flight path for Big O. Concensus was that it was actually his support aircraft which carries his helicopter and cars - it was plenty big enough for that!
Tuesday, 2 November 2010
2nd November 2010 - Elephants, '000s of em.
Alright maybe not 000's of them but 6 is still a pretty good count!
Started the day off with another hearty Indian breakfast. Anniversary of the formation of Kerala some 52 years ago as a result of partition. Dad, Max, Darcy and I went for a short walk outside the grounds and were rewarded with becoming the focal point of the locals. People came out of their houses to greet us as we wandered, a strange experience.
First trip of the day was with Jose Snr to see a local foundry where they create brass and bronze religious casts and things like oil lamps and bells. When we got there it was closed, the old guy we met there told us that the owners were away burying grandad, assume he was d
Started the day off with another hearty Indian breakfast. Anniversary of the formation of Kerala some 52 years ago as a result of partition. Dad, Max, Darcy and I went for a short walk outside the grounds and were rewarded with becoming the focal point of the locals. People came out of their houses to greet us as we wandered, a strange experience.
First trip of the day was with Jose Snr to see a local foundry where they create brass and bronze religious casts and things like oil lamps and bells. When we got there it was closed, the old guy we met there told us that the owners were away burying grandad, assume he was d
ead. Undeterred Jose gets on the phone and tells the guy that he has people who want to buy so to get his butt round and open up! No pressure - one bell and five small religious statues later plus a quick tour of the foundry and we were on our way to next stop.
Arrived a a little roadside weaver to look at material being made. One guy and his wife run a little weaving workshop, together with a small shop where they sell the stuff they make. Dad chose material to make a longyi and Susie a piece of sari fabric with real gold t
hread. We were then treated to a demo of the weaver in action. Same principal as any
loom with the shuttle, foot peddles etc except that it was all mounted on the floor, which meant that the weaver had to stand in a hole in the floor!
On our way back to the Plantation for a quick feast, Jose spots an Elephant laying in the water having a wash. Amazing spot as the river was some 30 feet below us. Emergency stop left us hanging in the seat belts, quick U turn and park up to have a closer look. The experience then got better as there was a set of steps leading down to the river and a large dugout canoe with a boat man ready to ferry us across the river to get up close and personal with the massive bull elephant. I will never forget this moment and I hope it will stay with the kids too as it was a chance meeting showing this beautiful creature being cared for by its owner who was standing on its sid
e scrubbing its skin with what looked like a coconut husk. The elephant was laying on its side in the water and every now and again it would wag its tail with pleasure. We got the boat back across the river and whilst waiting to climb the steps the elephant forded the river with the rider sat atop. He then walked up a slope by the steps and joined the road before disappearing into a plantation.
One massive Indian lunch served on a large banana leaf later and we set off to an elephant sanctuary. All I can be bother to say is 4 hours drive on some truly horrendous roads was not worth it for the 30 minutes we spent at one of the saddest places I have been too in a long time. With the benefit of hindsight we should have stayed by the pool and reflected on the brilliant morning....less is more!
e scrubbing its skin with what looked like a coconut husk. The elephant was laying on its side in the water and every now and again it would wag its tail with pleasure. We got the boat back across the river and whilst waiting to climb the steps the elephant forded the river with the rider sat atop. He then walked up a slope by the steps and joined the road before disappearing into a plantation.One massive Indian lunch served on a large banana leaf later and we set off to an elephant sanctuary. All I can be bother to say is 4 hours drive on some truly horrendous roads was not worth it for the 30 minutes we spent at one of the saddest places I have been too in a long time. With the benefit of hindsight we should have stayed by the pool and reflected on the brilliant morning....less is more!
Monday, 1 November 2010
01 November 2010 - Meenichil Enclave
What a great find! I'd found this place via the Mahindra Homestay website. The site is pretty much what you get in the UK, home owners register when they have a spare room for people to rent for holiday stays. So, found a plantation house in the middle of Kerala, with 25 acres of rubber and banana trees and a swimming pool. Great place, very relaxed and the owners looking after us very well. Miles away from anywhere, we decided to eat with the family each day. This entails a full Indian cooked breakfast, full spread at lunchtime, tea at 5pm then full evening meal at 9pm! Even if I did have the energy to do anything I am too full!
Spent the morning taking an extensive tour of the Platation, right from a demo of cutting the rubber tree, collecting the rubber, setting the rubber into 1kg moulds, wringing it out, squeezing it flat, drying on the line, drying indoors and finally hanging ready to sell. It is a great set up, the scrap rubber is also sold to make tires etc, the byproduct water is used to make some sort of gas for cooking, all rainwater is havested, even that that falls through the centre of the house into the open court yard, the banana leaves act as a mulch for the rubber trees, the cow slurry is used to make natural fertiliser and the guppy fish in the rain water tanks eat the mosquito lava to reduce the risk of being bitten by mosquitos.
Apart from the rubber and bananas, they also grow - grapefruits, pineapple, cloves, coffee, nutmeg, papya, peppercorns, cocconuts, figs, some sort of gooseberry and chillis. Our guide is Jose Snr or Sanjay Mears as I prefer on the basis that pretty much all he showed us he then ate, inc the outer casing of the nutmeg, a tiny green chilli and a banana flower. One of the best things about growing all of this stuff means that the food travels minimal distance from picking to the table. We have had everything from fresh grapefruit and pineapple juice for mid morning drink, banana curry for lunch, fresh milk straight from the cows, papya snacks, plantaines, honey, banana syrup from the banana flowers. All in all a very eco friendly set up, struggling to offset the eco disaster that is Mumbai!
Having the pool here is a god send, we have all beenn swimming twice today and the water temperature is just right. Still struggle sometimes to remember that it is November...warmest November I've ever experienced, wearing shorts and having to swim to cool down as it is 30 degrees!
This afternoon, Jose Snr showed us the old part of the plantation house, complete with wood fired stoves and a huge piece of granite teamed up with a rolling pin I could hardly lift for crushing herbs and spices to make up pastes for cooking. Realised that all of our delicious food is prepared by this cook down in the dark bowls of the old house in a few rooms blackened by wood smoke. Quite a contrast to the beautiful surroundings of the new plantation house with its carved wood and marbled floors.
Spent the morning taking an extensive tour of the Platation, right from a demo of cutting the rubber tree, collecting the rubber, setting the rubber into 1kg moulds, wringing it out, squeezing it flat, drying on the line, drying indoors and finally hanging ready to sell. It is a great set up, the scrap rubber is also sold to make tires etc, the byproduct water is used to make some sort of gas for cooking, all rainwater is havested, even that that falls through the centre of the house into the open court yard, the banana leaves act as a mulch for the rubber trees, the cow slurry is used to make natural fertiliser and the guppy fish in the rain water tanks eat the mosquito lava to reduce the risk of being bitten by mosquitos.
Apart from the rubber and bananas, they also grow - grapefruits, pineapple, cloves, coffee, nutmeg, papya, peppercorns, cocconuts, figs, some sort of gooseberry and chillis. Our guide is Jose Snr or Sanjay Mears as I prefer on the basis that pretty much all he showed us he then ate, inc the outer casing of the nutmeg, a tiny green chilli and a banana flower. One of the best things about growing all of this stuff means that the food travels minimal distance from picking to the table. We have had everything from fresh grapefruit and pineapple juice for mid morning drink, banana curry for lunch, fresh milk straight from the cows, papya snacks, plantaines, honey, banana syrup from the banana flowers. All in all a very eco friendly set up, struggling to offset the eco disaster that is Mumbai!
Having the pool here is a god send, we have all beenn swimming twice today and the water temperature is just right. Still struggle sometimes to remember that it is November...warmest November I've ever experienced, wearing shorts and having to swim to cool down as it is 30 degrees!
This afternoon, Jose Snr showed us the old part of the plantation house, complete with wood fired stoves and a huge piece of granite teamed up with a rolling pin I could hardly lift for crushing herbs and spices to make up pastes for cooking. Realised that all of our delicious food is prepared by this cook down in the dark bowls of the old house in a few rooms blackened by wood smoke. Quite a contrast to the beautiful surroundings of the new plantation house with its carved wood and marbled floors.
01 November 2010 - Meenichil Enclave
What a great find! I'd found this place via the Mahindra Homestay website. The site is pretty much what you get in the UK, home owners register when they have a spare room for people to rent for holiday stays. So, found a plantation house in the middle of Kerala, with 25 acres of rubber and banana trees and a swimming pool. Great place, very relaxed and the owners looking after us very well. Miles away from anywhere, we decided to eat with the family each day. This entails a full Indian cooked breakfast, full spread at lunchtime, tea at 5pm then full evening meal at 9pm! Even if I did have the energy to do anything I am too full!
Spent the morning taking an extensive tour of the Platation, right from a demo of cutting the rubber tree, collecting the rubber, setting the rubber into 1kg moulds, wringing it out, squeezing it flat, drying on the line, drying indoors and finally hanging ready to sell. It is a great set up, the scrap rubber is also sold to make tires etc, the byproduct water is used to make some sort of gas for cooking, all rainwater is havested, even that that falls through the centre of the house into the open court yard, the banana leaves act as a mulch for the rubber trees, the cow slurry is used to make natural fertiliser and the guppy fish in the rain water tanks eat the mosquito lava to reduce the risk of being bitten by mosquitos.
Apart from the rubber and bananas, they also grow - grapefruits, pineapple, cloves, coffee, nutmeg, papya, peppercorns, cocconuts, figs, some sort of gooseberry and chillis. Our guide is Jose Snr or Sanjay Mears as I prefer on the basis that pretty much all he showed us he then ate, inc the outer casing of the nutmeg, a tiny green chilli and a banana flower. One of the best things about growing all of this stuff means that the food travels minimal distance from picking to the table. We have had everything from fresh grapefruit and pineapple juice for mid morning drink, banana curry for lunch, fresh milk straight from the cows, papya snacks, plantaines, honey, banana syrup from the banana flowers. All in all a very eco friendly set up, struggling to offset the eco disaster that is Mumbai!
Having the pool here is a god send, we have all beenn swimming twice today and the water temperature is just right. Still struggle sometimes to remember that it is November...warmest November I've ever experienced, wearing shorts and having to swim to cool down as it is 30 degrees!
This afternoon, Jose Snr showed us the old part of the plantation house, complete with wood fired stoves and a huge piece of granite teamed up with a rolling pin I could hardly lift for crushing herbs and spices to make up pastes for cooking. Realised that all of our delicious food is prepared by this cook down in the dark bowls of the old house in a few rooms blackened by wood smoke. Quite a contrast to the beautiful surroundings of the new plantation house with its carved wood and marbled floors.
Spent the morning taking an extensive tour of the Platation, right from a demo of cutting the rubber tree, collecting the rubber, setting the rubber into 1kg moulds, wringing it out, squeezing it flat, drying on the line, drying indoors and finally hanging ready to sell. It is a great set up, the scrap rubber is also sold to make tires etc, the byproduct water is used to make some sort of gas for cooking, all rainwater is havested, even that that falls through the centre of the house into the open court yard, the banana leaves act as a mulch for the rubber trees, the cow slurry is used to make natural fertiliser and the guppy fish in the rain water tanks eat the mosquito lava to reduce the risk of being bitten by mosquitos.
Apart from the rubber and bananas, they also grow - grapefruits, pineapple, cloves, coffee, nutmeg, papya, peppercorns, cocconuts, figs, some sort of gooseberry and chillis. Our guide is Jose Snr or Sanjay Mears as I prefer on the basis that pretty much all he showed us he then ate, inc the outer casing of the nutmeg, a tiny green chilli and a banana flower. One of the best things about growing all of this stuff means that the food travels minimal distance from picking to the table. We have had everything from fresh grapefruit and pineapple juice for mid morning drink, banana curry for lunch, fresh milk straight from the cows, papya snacks, plantaines, honey, banana syrup from the banana flowers. All in all a very eco friendly set up, struggling to offset the eco disaster that is Mumbai!
Having the pool here is a god send, we have all beenn swimming twice today and the water temperature is just right. Still struggle sometimes to remember that it is November...warmest November I've ever experienced, wearing shorts and having to swim to cool down as it is 30 degrees!
This afternoon, Jose Snr showed us the old part of the plantation house, complete with wood fired stoves and a huge piece of granite teamed up with a rolling pin I could hardly lift for crushing herbs and spices to make up pastes for cooking. Realised that all of our delicious food is prepared by this cook down in the dark bowls of the old house in a few rooms blackened by wood smoke. Quite a contrast to the beautiful surroundings of the new plantation house with its carved wood and marbled floors.
01 November 2010 - Meenichil Enclave
What a great find! I'd found this place via the Mahindra Homestay website. The site is pretty much what you get in the UK, home owners register when they have a spare room for people to rent for holiday stays. So, found a plantation house in the middle of Kerala, with 25 acres of rubber and banana trees and a swimming pool. Great place, very relaxed and the owners looking after us very well. Miles away from anywhere, we decided to eat with the family each day. This entails a full Indian cooked breakfast, full spread at lunchtime, tea at 5pm then full evening meal at 9pm! Even if I did have the energy to do anything I am too full!
Spent the morning taking an extensive tour of the Platation, right from a demo of cutting the rubber tree, collecting the rubber, setting the rubber into 1kg moulds, wringing it out, squeezing it flat, drying on the line, drying indoors and finally hanging ready to sell. It is a great set up, the scrap rubber is also sold to make tires etc, the byproduct water is used to make some sort of gas for cooking, all rainwater is havested, even that that falls through the centre of the house into the open court yard, the banana leaves act as a mulch for the rubber trees, the cow slurry is used to make natural fertiliser and the guppy fish in the rain water tanks eat the mosquito lava to reduce the risk of being bitten by mosquitos.
Apart from the rubber and bananas, they also grow - grapefruits, pineapple, cloves, coffee, nutmeg, papya, peppercorns, cocconuts, figs, some sort of gooseberry and chillis. Our guide is Jose Snr or Sanjay Mears as I prefer on the basis that pretty much all he showed us he then ate, inc the outer casing of the nutmeg, a tiny green chilli and a banana flower. One of the best things about growing all of this stuff means that the food travels minimal distance from picking to the table. We have had everything from fresh grapefruit and pineapple juice for mid morning drink, banana curry for lunch, fresh milk straight from the cows, papya snacks, plantaines, honey, banana syrup from the banana flowers. All in all a very eco friendly set up, struggling to offset the eco disaster that is Mumbai!
Having the pool here is a god send, we have all beenn swimming twice today and the water temperature is just right. Still struggle sometimes to remember that it is November...warmest November I've ever experienced, wearing shorts and having to swim to cool down as it is 30 degrees!
This afternoon, Jose Snr showed us the old part of the plantation house, complete with wood fired stoves and a huge piece of granite teamed up with a rolling pin I could hardly lift for crushing herbs and spices to make up pastes for cooking. Realised that all of our delicious food is prepared by this cook down in the dark bowls of the old house in a few rooms blackened by wood smoke. Quite a contrast to the beautiful surroundings of the new plantation house with its carved wood and marbled floors.
Spent the morning taking an extensive tour of the Platation, right from a demo of cutting the rubber tree, collecting the rubber, setting the rubber into 1kg moulds, wringing it out, squeezing it flat, drying on the line, drying indoors and finally hanging ready to sell. It is a great set up, the scrap rubber is also sold to make tires etc, the byproduct water is used to make some sort of gas for cooking, all rainwater is havested, even that that falls through the centre of the house into the open court yard, the banana leaves act as a mulch for the rubber trees, the cow slurry is used to make natural fertiliser and the guppy fish in the rain water tanks eat the mosquito lava to reduce the risk of being bitten by mosquitos.
Apart from the rubber and bananas, they also grow - grapefruits, pineapple, cloves, coffee, nutmeg, papya, peppercorns, cocconuts, figs, some sort of gooseberry and chillis. Our guide is Jose Snr or Sanjay Mears as I prefer on the basis that pretty much all he showed us he then ate, inc the outer casing of the nutmeg, a tiny green chilli and a banana flower. One of the best things about growing all of this stuff means that the food travels minimal distance from picking to the table. We have had everything from fresh grapefruit and pineapple juice for mid morning drink, banana curry for lunch, fresh milk straight from the cows, papya snacks, plantaines, honey, banana syrup from the banana flowers. All in all a very eco friendly set up, struggling to offset the eco disaster that is Mumbai!
Having the pool here is a god send, we have all beenn swimming twice today and the water temperature is just right. Still struggle sometimes to remember that it is November...warmest November I've ever experienced, wearing shorts and having to swim to cool down as it is 30 degrees!
This afternoon, Jose Snr showed us the old part of the plantation house, complete with wood fired stoves and a huge piece of granite teamed up with a rolling pin I could hardly lift for crushing herbs and spices to make up pastes for cooking. Realised that all of our delicious food is prepared by this cook down in the dark bowls of the old house in a few rooms blackened by wood smoke. Quite a contrast to the beautiful surroundings of the new plantation house with its carved wood and marbled floors.
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