Moving House

Our move was a bit of a nightmare … we had agreed that the movers would come at 6 a.m on Tuesday 18th to load up the van and then we’d miss rush hour traffic coming into town (as we’ve moved nearer the centre of town, the traffic can be horrendous). On Tuesday both Pen and I were woken up at 1 a.m by the most terrible storm … thunder, lightning and it was absolutely pouring with rain. It was so bad that the windows of our bedroom were rattling constantly. We couldn’t get back to sleep because it was so loud! The removal guy called me at 5 a.m and told me there was no way they could come because even if the rain stopped all the roads would be flooded, consequently the traffic would be worse. We agreed that there was no way we could move that morning, so agreed on 5 p.m the same day providing the weather cleared up a bit.

Since we were already awake and there was no way I was going back to sleep, I decided to load the car with things to bring to the new house. I had a few suitcases of ornaments and ceramics, our laptops and electrical appliances (such as DVD player) and all of our files of letters and bank statements etc that I wanted to move myself. You hear such horror stories about removal companies in India and even things in the mail – how things always go missing. There are a few things I wouldn’t take any chances on. So, I got up at about 6 and started loading the car. Unfortunately, Penri was really ill – he had fever and a cold, but he decided to help (even though I told him to stay in bed). He dosed himself up on the last of our Lemsip Flu Capsules (which we brought back last time from UK) and helped me and our security guard load the car.

We decided to take the cats in the first load so they were out of the way when the removal van arrived and due to the fact that one of us had to stay at the new flat because we were having Sky TV installed and they told us it would be any time between 11 and the evening! We were also getting the air conditioners installed in the afternoon. So, we got the cats loaded onto the backseat and Pen drove us all over to the new place. I think the cats were kind of relieved in a way because they were freaking out for the two weeks prior to moving with all the boxes and suitcases everywhere. I think they were also worried they’d be going back on an aeroplane again.

It was still raining quite badly, so both of us were wet through from loading the car, but luckily, because it was so early, there wasn’t much traffic on the roads. It took us 40 minutes to get here. We unloaded everything and settled Pepsi and Socks into one of the rooms, then Pen decided to lie down on the bed (that luckily was already put together) and I decided to drive back to the house and bring another load over.

The drive back wasn’t too bad and it only took me just under an hour. The rain was getting heavier again and I got soaked loading the car the second time. Luckily the security guard was there and able to help me load the car. He was laughing at me because I literally packed the car to overflowing! The boot, back seat and front seat were full and piled high to the ceiling. He kept saying ‘Full madam’ and ‘Finish madam’ and I kept saying ‘No! More! There is space there’. The problem with moving stuff like bedding and pillows is it takes so much room and it couldn’t have gone in the van as it would have got filthy.

Anyway, I set off from home about 9.30 a.m and started the drive back. It took me about two and a half hours with the crazy traffic, rain and flooded roads!! By the time I arrived at the flat my left knee was so painful from all the clutch control. The air conditioner guy was there, which meant one of us had to stay in the flat with him, so we took it turns to go down to the car to bring a load of stuff up. It wouldn’t have been so bad except the lift wasn’t working and our apartment is on the fourth floor … a lot of stairs!!! We couldn’t leave it in the car because we didn’t want it to get broken into and also one of us had to drive back to the house to meet the delivery van at 5.

We finally managed to get it all in and I made up the bed for Penri (who was really suffering now). He had a nap while I sat with the air conditioning guys in the lounge. They couldn’t install the split a/c in the lounge because we needed to buy copper pipe and the bracket was missing to attach it to the wall. At 3 p.m Pen went back to the house so he could meet the delivery truck and I stayed in to wait for Sky. They arrived about 10 minutes after he left and spent the next hour installing our dish and all the relevant wires for cable TV.

Then I unpacked the stuff I had brought over and waited for Penri to return with the delivery guys. Penri arrived back at the house at about 7.30 p.m and the delivery guys arrived about an hour after that. There were six of them unloading the van and bringing everything upstairs. Luckily, by then the lift had started working again, so they just piled the lift high with boxes and suitcases and sent it up to one guy who was upstairs with Pen and they emptied it. It was pretty fast actually and they had emptied the van in just over an hour. When I came back upstairs I couldn’t believe it. All the boxes had been dumped in one room and were piled high. You could hardly get into the room because they had them right up next to the door. Anyway, at least they were all there and I started unpacking a couple before calling it a night and going downstairs to get some dinner.

We only lost two things in the move. One small bag and a bottle of alcohol (which was in the fridge) but somehow between leaving Harrington House and coming here it miraculously disappeared. Not bad really considering!

The day after moving in, we went out shopping and bought a sofa, two armchairs, a small dining table with six chairs and a fridge. We still have to buy curtains, rugs, decorations etc, but I can do all that in my own time. Obviously the sooner the better but there’s really no rush and I can just do it all in my own time.

The first thing I did when we moved in was unpack the Christmas tree and set it up. It is so nice standing in lounge, and made it start to feel like Christmas. I spent two days unpacking all of our belongings and finding homes for everything, which wasn’t too difficult because all the bedrooms have fitted wardrobes which allow for a lot of storage space.

We have three bedrooms (two with en-suite) and a third bathroom (which has become our laundry room). In India, bathrooms are so basic, so when I say en-suite, it literally means a room with a toilet, sink and shower head (not even a shower curtain). Then there is a kitchen, separate dining room, lounge and poojah room (prayer room), which has become our office. There are two balconies (one a lot bigger than the other), but I don’t think we’ll be using them. Now we are in the middle of the city, it’s very noisy and the air is not as clean as down by the beach. I will take some photos once we get a bit more established in the new place.

Not much more to add than that at the moment.