The Jones's at No. 43

A question of moral ...

2008-09-11T16:52:00.005+05:30

If you found a child's toy on the pavement, what would you do? Would you pick it up and take it, would you pick it up and put it on a bench or something close by or would you leave it?

This is a question that I've been thinking about and I know what I would do. Here's my reason for thinking about this ...

Today we went shopping (Dylan and I) and I had some errands to run (post office, photocopy shop etc). Dylan was hot and bothered and a bit fed up so as a treat I bought him a little squeaky caterpillar toy. He went crazy for it in the shop and carried it around with him (mainly so he could put it in his mouth) while I picked up all my other bits. We left the shop, called at the supermarket to pick up cat food and nappies and then came home.

By the time we got home the caterpillar was nowhere to be seen. I fed Dylan, put him down for his nap and asked Penri to watch him while I retraced my steps back to the supermarket. Let me just add here that coming back from shopping I had the pushchair, 20 tins of cat food, a bag of cat litter, a small wheelie suitcase full of shopping and my handbag, so I was pretty loaded up and it was very warm weather so I was exhausted by the time I got back. I didn't really feel like going back out and doing the walk there and back again, but I was hopeful that some honest person might have picked up the toy and put it to the side of the pavement or something. But ... you guessed it ... it was nowhere to be seen!

I walked all the way there and back looking the whole time with no luck. I felt to bad (as I know Dylan really liked the toy), so on my way home I went and bought him the little squeaky elephant (the caterpillar had been the last one). So all's well that ends well, I guess. Dylan has a toy elephant and some child in Stuttgart got a brand new toy without having to pay for it.

BUGS!

2008-09-10T20:29:00.005+05:30

I’d forgotten how big spiders can be
Until yesterday when one looked right at me
I’d gone downstairs to empty the bin
When I finished I had a quick peek and looked in

Imagine my horror, my total surprise
When there sat a spider right before my eyes
I didn’t scream or yell or shout
I kept my calm and tipped him out

He, however, had another plan
His big spindly legs stuck to the can
Then he started crawling closer to me
I held my breath, counted 1 … 2 … 3

Just as he reached the top of the bin
I shook it hard and he fell in
Then I threw the small bin onto the floor
And just took a look to be absolutely sure

Once I was satisfied that he wasn’t there
I picked it up and came back upstairs
Then I recounted my tale to Penri
Who said he was glad it wasn't him, but me

The moral of the story
The end of my rhyme
You can overcome your fears
Over a period of time

Just hold your breath and count to three
It’s easy to do … try it you’ll see
My final words I want to say ...
I’ll take spiders over cockroaches any day!

Thanks Lucy!

2008-09-08T19:14:00.003+05:30

I got an e-mail from my friend, Lucy the other day saying how she loved reading my blog and it made me feel guilty for not keeping it up. So, thanks to her, I now have the motivation to write on here again. I must admit I have got very slack with it all since having Dylan, but I just find my time gets filled so quickly. Who knows what I used to do with my time before I had a baby?! Now I find there just aren’t enough hours in the day. Anyway Dylan is now sleeping so I’m using the opportunity to write this.

I cannot believe we have been here in Germany for 8 weeks already! The time has just flown by. I think it’s mainly because we have had visitors for pretty much the whole time. My mum arrived the day after us and stayed for just under a month. During the time she was here, Penri’s mum visited for 9 days and my Aunty Vivian came for 6 days. Once my mum left in August, my sister arrived for 10 days. It was so wonderful having people here and spending time with family; and of course for them to spend time with Dylan. He loved all the attention! It also pushed me to get out and about and discover the area which we did.

I visited Stuttgart a few times with my mum and went shopping there. It’s massive and there are loads of shops, including C&As, which I was surprised about. I didn’t realize it was still open in Europe. Anyway, Stuttgart is really nice and I love getting on the train and heading over there for a day. It’s not too far – it takes about 25 minutes which is great. Stuttgart is so different to the little town we live in. Although we have everything we need locally, such as supermarkets, train station, swimming baths (if we chose to use them), I love the big high street with all the different shops.

Last week Penri was working in London so Dylan and I headed to Stuttgart. It’s the first time I’ve taken him there on my own and he was as good as gold! I even took him in his pushchair into changing rooms and into the disabled bathroom so I could use the toilet. I never really thought about it before then – how can I use public toilets with a pushchair? Normally I would have someone else with me who could watch the baby. There’s not really much option when you’re on your own especially in Europe where, if I left the pushchair unattended, it would probably get stolen. There’s even a warning sign outside Dylan’s doctor’s surgery saying not to leave your pushchairs unattended as they will be stolen! So, my only choice was to take him in with me! Anyway, we had a lovely day shopping and the weather was gorgeous so I decided to take him to sit on the grass in Schlossplatz (which is German for ‘Palace Square’). I laid down one of his swaddle blankets for me to sit on and then I held him so he could feel the grass with his feet. He’s never really seen grass before, let alone felt it. He LOVED it! He was squidging (is that even a word?) it between his toes and he was pulling forward because he wanted to feel it with his hands. He grabbed at it and pulled at it and was smiling constantly! He really enjoyed it. Because it was so warm, I covered his arms, legs, face and neck with sun cream and put his little cap on and his sunglasses. He looked so cute – I wish I’d taken my camera.

On the subject of Dylan, he’s doing really well. We were at the doctors for his last lot of jabs (in his first year) and he is taller and heavier than average and she said some of the things he is doing already are advanced for his age, i.e. he’s been rolling over onto his stomach for nearly a month now and he walks in the baby walker already. He is also very close to sitting up! He can actually hold himself in a sitting position for a few seconds before he falls to one side. He’s just so determined! Anyway, he loves his baby walker, so much so, that we have had to take the rug up in the lounge so he can run around the whole room. He’s really getting good at it. It’s so funny because the music wasn’t working on it and hasn’t been since my mum brought it over from UK, then all of a sudden today it just started playing. The weird thing is you can’t stop it once it starts – the on/off button doesn’t work. Strange, or what?!

We still haven’t received our cargo from India. We were told it would take 25 days from leaving India, which of course, was a lie! It’s not even reached Germany yet let alone Stuttgart! I think it’s somewhere in Colombo. It’s very annoying as we have been living out of a suitcase each for the last 8 weeks. Also most of Dylan’s toys and obviously a lot of his clothes are in the cargo, some of which won’t even fit him by the time it gets here. I just hope it does get here! I had to go out and buy him some new clothes and a few toys to play with, not that I mind of course, I’ve found him some fantastic toys here – including a really cool castle and tunnel (which he’s too young for yet but we put up so that I could have a play in it).

The weather here has been wonderful. Not hot, not cold, just perfect! Although, I must admit, the last few days it has definitely been getting colder. I’ve really noticed a change and I’m just so happy that I brought a couple of jumpers in my luggage from Chennai. As the weather is getting colder, I decided this morning that I should go out onto the terrace and pull all the weeds up (that were growing through the tiles). It was just warm enough for the baby to come out too so he laid and watched me weeding and sang and chatted away to himself (and a little bit to me too). The cats have loved being outside, especially after being stuck in the flat in India for the last seven months. They both sit out on the terrace and sunbathe.

Our flat is lovely and the landlords (who live below us) are a really nice family and very helpful. I’ll include some pictures of the flat below this blog.

In a moment of madness I decided that I would like some ‘Heelys’. You know the trainers that have wheels. I looked all over here but couldn’t find them. So, my mum (being as thoughtful and kind as she is), brought me some back from UK. I figured it would be like roller-blading (which I used to be pretty good at). I couldn’t have been more wrong. It’s really difficult and within seconds of having them on I nearly landed on my backside! I tried and just couldn’t do it. My sister and my mum both tried as well – none of us could get very far on them. I was by far the worst out of the three of us. I felt really bad as they cost my mum a lot of money so I asked her what I should do with them. She told me to give them to the little girl downstairs (who has just turned 9). So, I did. We gave her them for her birthday and she loved them. Nearly every day I can hear her skating on them in the house. I asked her mum how she is doing with them and she said ‘Great!’ How is it that a 9 year old can do something so easily that we, as adults, could not? The answer is simple – I’m sure that it is once you get to a certain age; you worry about hurting yourself and making a fool of yourself, whereas when we were children we had no inhibitions and no fear of things like that. I miss feeling like that, like I can do anything!

Not much else to write really. I cannot believe how quickly the time is flying by and before we know it, it’ll be Christmas.

Do I miss India? Hmmm. Yes and no. I miss the cheap cost of living, having Sparky’s Diner downstairs to cater for our every meal, most of all though, I miss my friends. Hi to all of you in Chennai - I think of you often. Other than that, Germany is a new experience, a new way of life and seems a lifetime away from our lives in India. We’ll be on the move again in January 2009 and still not 100% sure where we’ll be; wherever we are we’ll do what we always do and make the most of it and just enjoy being a family and experiencing a new way of life.

Our flat:

Stuttgart, Germany

2008-08-12T11:32:00.007+05:30

Photos taken in Stuttgart central. There was a bear display as you can see from the pictures below. Basically they sent a bear to every country in the world and each country chose an artist to decorate it to represent their country - they were very cool but the pics below are some of my favourites.

Photos of Dylan - August 2008

2008-08-09T13:45:00.010+05:30

Wilkommen nach Deutschland

2008-08-05T20:45:00.003+05:30

Our last day in Chennai was really crazy! Penri had to work until 4 p.m so it was really difficult for me to get our cases and hand luggage packed as I was looking after Dylan most of the day. Once Penri finished all his work he had to take the cats at 5 p.m to cargo to check them in for the flight. He was told to expect to be there for 3-4 hours, so we agreed there was no point in him coming all the way back home and we would meet at the airport at 10. Our flight was at 1.45 a.m.

Anyhow, he finished with the cats fairly quickly and phoned me at 7.30 p.m to see whether I thought he should come back home. Of course, it made sense that he did, then he could relax a bit before our journey and have something to eat.

I’m so lucky that my friend Christine came over at 4 p.m as I would never have got packed otherwise. She arrived at the flat and it was absolutely chaotic! There was stuff EVERYWHERE! None of the suitcases were packed; I still had washing in the machine and nothing was organised. She helped me by looking after Dylan so that I could get sorted. She also helped me pack all the cases and strip the beds, hang the washing, clean up the bedroom and have one last look for my mobile phone (which definitely is not in the flat). We finally finished packing at 8 p.m. We went downstairs where Penri had already arrived and had some dinner and hung out with the Sparky’s people for the last time.

We left Sparky’s at 10 p.m – Ravi (one of the waiters) drove us to the airport. There were the three of us, three large suitcases, two wheelie cases (hand luggage), Dylan’s nappy bag, the pushchair and Dylan’s moses basket. I don’t know how we had so much stuff when loads of it had already been sent by cargo on Friday. Anyway, we all got into the truck and put all the cases in the back and set off on our trip. About 10 minutes away from the airport it started to rain. Dylan’s pushchair was in the back of the truck and there was no cover on it so Ravi pulled over and brought the pushchair inside the truck. He got really wet ... I felt so bad for him.

We arrived at the airport, said goodbye and in we went. Check-in had already opened so we queued up and waited. When we got to the check-in desk we were told our luggage was really overweight. We had about 80 kilos (we were allowed 60). To pay the difference was going to cost us something like Rs.40,000 (which is about £500)! We had to move to the side and do some repacking and empty some of the weight from our cases, which we did and then we had to go back to the desk. I always remember seeing people in airports re-packing their cases and thinking to myself ‘poor people, but how do you pack so much that you have to lose some of the stuff?’ and there we were, experiencing it for ourselves! Luckily (or unluckily, I don’t know), we had already paid excess baggage charges for the cats journey. We paid for 29 kilos and they were only 21 so we had 8 kilos there. So, eventually, after a lot of re-packing and a lot of negotiation on Penri’s part, we ended up paying Rs.18,300 (which is about £230).

We got checked in and went through immigration. By then Dylan was awake and getting very hungry. Once we had finally got through all the immigration, passport control etc, I went to the mother/baby room to feed him. Pen was going to sit and wait for me in the seating area (where there were hundreds of people). When I got into the room there was only one other woman in there with a little girl (who was about 3 or 4 years old and she was running around) and the woman’s husband was sat there too. I went back out and called Penri and told him he might as well come in as well. Can you believe in an airport like Chennai (where the weather is extremely hot), there is no air conditioning or fan in the mother/baby room? Also, the wall along one side is entirely full length windows (on the other side of which is the corridor everyone walks through when they arrive in Chennai airport). There were curtains but none of them were closed. There were two beds to sit on but the sheets were dirty and had stains on them (there was no way I was putting my baby on them)! So, I closed the curtains, set myself up in the corner (on the floor) and because it was so stinking hot, I faced the corner and took off my t-shirt. I also undressed Dylan right down to just his nappy as he was really warm. While I was feeding him, another two ladies came into the room with small children. They lay on the bed to try and get some sleep and one of them told me that I shouldn’t be sat on the floor as it’s not clean. I replied that it was better than the bed, which was filthy! Anyway, once I had fed him and he had cooled down, we both got dressed and it was time to board the plane. Because we had Dylan, we were first to get on.

Our seats were at the front of our section (with the baby cot) and I was really happy that there were just two seats together (as the plane layout was 2-4-2) so no-one was sat next to us. Dylan was amazing on the flight. He only cried for about two seconds when he woke up at the end of the flight, other than that he fed with no problems and slept most of the way. It was great cause it meant that Pen and I managed to sleep most of the way too. The flight seemed to pass by really quickly and in no time at all, we were landing in Frankfurt. Once we got off the plane we had an hour or so before our flight so we decided to go for a McDonalds as I hadn’t had a Big Mac for ages. Penri went and ordered while I sat down with all our stuff – moses basket, pushchair, hand luggage, nappy bag, baby etc. Pen came back very pleased with himself cause he ordered it all in German! We ate our food and then made our way to the gate to board our plane to Stuttgart.

When we got there we were told the flight was cancelled due to technical problems and we had to get a train. We got our train tickets from the unhelpful woman at the desk and then made our way to the train station. There was no direct train to the airport so we waited 45 minutes for the train to Stuttgart Central. We had to go to the airport to try and find our luggage as we were told our suitcases would be sent by plane or train to the airport and we could pick them up from there. We arrived in Stuttgart Central and then caught another train from there to the airport. One thing I noticed about the trains here is that everyone reserves their seats. Obviously we didn’t have any seats reserved so we had to keep getting up at most of the stops and move to another seat that wasn’t reserved. We were quite lucky in that we managed to get seats for the entire journey.

At the airport, we found the Lufthansa desk and went to enquire about our luggage. We were told it hadn’t arrived at the airport but it should be there later on that day and it would be sent onto us at home. We left all our details and then got in a taxi to our flat. By the time we got there it was already 1.30 p.m (we were due to arrive at 10.30 a.m but because of the extra train journeys etc, it took longer than anticipated). We met our landlady, who is very nice and she showed us around the flat.

After being home for just 15 minutes I called Christine’s sister. Christine is our friend from India whose family live a few train stops away from us in Germany. They have really helped us by meeting with the landlords and making sure everything is alright for us coming to Germany. Christine also helped us LOADS by making phone calls from India and sending e-mails in German as no-one could understand me on the phone and I couldn’t write the e-mails in German. We had so much to sort out before we came here and she was fantastic! Anyway, Christine’s father and her sister came over to pick us up and took us for a walk around the local area. We then went to a big Markt (supermarket) and bought some food and drinks to put in the fridge. By the time we got back to the flat Penri, Dylan and I were all exhausted. We had a bite to eat and then went to sleep!

It was such a long journey, but well worth it. Our new town is lovely and the weather is beautiful! It’s nice to be able to go shopping in big supermarkets (although things are very expensive!) and it’s lovely to be able to walk everywhere. I’ve done so much walking since I got here – it’s great!

So, we’re now settling in well and things are going great!

Photos from first week of July

2008-07-06T16:52:00.008+05:30

Update

2008-07-06T16:36:00.001+05:30

It has been such a long time since I wrote on here and for that, I apologise. I will do my best now to fill you all in on everything that has been going on.

For those of you who don’t already know – we are moving to Germany! Yes, Germany! I’m so excited!! We leave India on Wednesday night and it can’t come soon enough, especially now that all of our belongings have either been shipped off in Cargo to Germany or sold. We are living in one room and have a bed, one a/c, a washing machine, a fridge and a drinking water machine and that is it. All of these things are also sold but they’re being picked up on Thursday once we’ve left our apartment.

Penri has just got back from his travels. Over the last month he has been to London, Amsterdam, Stuttgart, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Manila, Bejing, Dalian, Shanghai and Singapore. All work with no rest … as you can imagine – he’s exhausted!

While he’s been away I have been packing up our flat, selling all our stuff and gathering all the necessary paperwork to get us, Dylan and the cats out of India. The cats have been the hardest thing to sort out as there is SO much paperwork required including getting a blood test done in Germany. Can you believe I actually had to FedEx their blood from Chennai to Germany to get a rabies test done? Glad to say, all is good and we’re finally getting them sorted. They have their last trip to the vets on Monday for all the final certification that they need. Getting Dylan’s passport, visa and paperwork sorted has also taken a lot of time and effort but again, I’m happy to say, that’s also done.

The packing has been really tough on me as I’m on my own with Dylan. I’m happy to say that I’ve had lots of help, especially from my friend Karyn who has been amazing! She came over for full days from 8 a.m till 8 p.m quite a few times to help look after Dylan and pack suitcases. Thank you Karyn! Also, I just want to thank all the other people who have helped me over the past few weeks – I really appreciate it!

Not much other news really. The last three weeks have just been frantic trying to get organised for Germany. I’ll write more when we’re settled and we have internet in our new place.

More Photos

2008-07-01T10:25:00.004+05:30

June 2008

2008-06-18T09:11:00.011+05:30

Lots of photos taken over the last three weeks:

Karyn's House - 13.06.08

2008-06-18T08:33:00.008+05:30

Dylan and I spent the day at Karyn's house with her and her son Ben (15 months old), Tamar and her daughter, Nila (who is 6 days younger than Dylan) and Danielle and her daughter, Emily (who is 3 weeks younger than Dylan). It was really good! We ordered pizza and talked baby stuff. We had a great time! See the pictures below:

Dylan asleep - he always sleeps like this, especially when he falls asleep in my arms as he did here:

Nila:

Nila and Emily:

Nila, Dylan and Emily:

Nila, Dylan and Emily again - all looking at Tamar who was stood to the right of them:

Nila, Dylan and Emily

Nila, Dylan, Emily and Benjamin:

Tamar and Nila:

Danielle and Emily:

Karyn and Emily:

More pictures!

2008-06-02T15:49:00.005+05:30

Latest pics

2008-05-21T19:25:00.004+05:30

More photos - May 2008

2008-05-18T22:27:00.008+05:30

2008-05-10T15:06:00.006+05:30

Sorry I haven't posted for such a long time. Dylan is keeping me very busy and when he sleeps I have also been trying to sleep. Not much news to write as my days are filled with feeding Dylan, burping him, getting him to sleep and then trying to catch a nap myself before it's time for another feed. He has now started eating every three hours (instead of every hour and a half which he was doing initially). It's great cause it means I actually have time to get stuff done in between his feeds.

He's fantastic and a joy to be around. In the day time he generally naps a bit but is also starting to stay awake a bit more, which is nice as I get to spend time with him while he's awake and alert. It's when it gets to 6 p.m and his colic kicks in that it gets difficult. Sometimes he'll just cry and cry for up to 6 hours! Even if we manage to get him off to sleep, he'll normally wake up again within 10 minutes because he's in pain. I had this big dilemma about whether to give him a dummy (pacifier) or not, but after 5 nights of no sleep and him crying for hours on end, I gave in and tried it. It worked the first night and within 5 minutes of giving him the dummy, he fell asleep! It's been a real comfort to him since.

When he suffers from colic, my mum and I take it in turns to soothe him and my mum just walks up and down the corridor with him back and forth till he falls asleep. She's lost 3 kgs in 3 weeks! I'm also losing weight too but I think mine is from breastfeeding so much! He's definitely a good eater, which is a good thing, I know.

We've had a lot of visitors which is nice. It makes me feel normal again when I get to socialise with people. Otherwise each day just rolls into the next. I can't believe how quickly the time is flying by - Dylan will be three weeks old tomorrow. I have some more pictures of him to attach. The first one is of Dylan with Build-a-Bear, a gift from Thomas L.Webber at REMAX in Doha. Then there are two photos taken yesterday.

So, I've become one of those people who can do nothing but talk about their child. It's only natural, I know, but I feel sorry for all my friends as all I do is talk about Dylan! Does that ever change?

Ok, one more thing, then I must go get some rest. We took Dylan to get his passport photograph taken so that I can apply for his first passport. The guy in the studio was very good and very patient. He laid the white sheet down on the floor and we laid Dylan on it. He started crying immediately and wouldn't stop. We kept picking him up to soothe him and he'd be fine, then as soon as we laid him down he cried again. The guy tried and tried and tried to get a photo. The funny thing was every time I was calling 'Dylan' to get him to look at the camera, the photographer was calling 'Helen' to him. Anyway, after an hour in the photo studio and me having to feed him twice, the guy finally got a good photo of him. What fun!

Must go now - time to nap as Dylan's asleep. Write soon.

Baby Dylan - born 20.04.08

2008-04-25T19:10:00.006+05:30

Nice pictures

2008-04-15T16:49:00.003+05:30

On our way home from McDonalds, we went across a bridge over the river. I managed to get these two nice photos. Anywhere else in the world, this would be a beautiful setting to stand and watch the sunset. In India, I only had the window open for a few minutes to take the photos and Penri was complaining about the smell. It does look nice though, doesn't it?

McDonalds has come to Chennai ...

2008-04-15T16:28:00.004+05:30

Finally! McDonalds has opened in Chennai! We decided to take a trip over there yesterday to test it out and I was really looking forward to it. It's quite a drive from where we live - it's near to where Penri works - so it took us about 45 minutes to get there.

When we went in we looked at the menu. We knew there were no beefburgers because they don't serve beef because the cows are sacred, so I knew I couldn't have a Big Mac. However, I was very disappointed to discover that they also don't sell McDonalds milkshakes, apple pies or McFlurry ice cream. I mean What's a McDonalds without a milkshake?! And I LOVE those apple pies.

To make up for not having those - they have extra items on the menu! You can have a McAloo Tikki, which is a potato burger; or a Chicken Maharaja Mac (which Pen had and is like a spicy-ish chicken burger); or finally you can order a Paneer Salsa Wrap (paneer is a type of cheese they use here a lot). My thought was - why would I go to McDonalds to have Indian-influenced food?

I ended up having a McChicken Sandwich meal, which was very nice and I must admit tasted pretty similar to back home. It was just sad that their menu was so limited. I guess I'll just have to wait another four months till we leave here to enjoy a proper McDonalds meal.

Moving furniture

2008-04-07T23:55:00.009+05:30

After Danielle's baby shower, my friend Tania picked me up and took me to a shop called Saravana Stores. It is in the middle of T.Nagar - right in the centre of town. It is so busy and always heaving with people. I'm so glad I had someone with me as we were bombarded by beggars and autoricks. We made our way through the crowd and down a small alley full of tiny shops.

I was sure we were in the wrong place as Saravana Stores is huge (it spans over four floors) and they sell everything from furniture to toys, and electrical goods to pots and pans! Anyway, after asking an auto driver we found it.

We went straight up to the fourth floor (to look at furniture). I wanted to buy a chest of drawers or cupboard to put in our bedroom for baby clothes. It didn't take me long to find something. The choices were quite limited, but I was happy with what I picked and it was a bargain price. As soon as I decided which one I wanted, we got them to write up the bill and arranged for same day delivery.

They delivered the flat packed boxes at 8 p.m and told me that they would be back at 10 o'clock in the morning to make up the unit. On Saturday morning I woke up at 9.45 wondering if these guys would actually turn up at 10. They didn't! I waited until 12 p.m and then tried calling them. No-one spoke any English and I couldn't understand them so I went downstairs to the restaurant and one of the waiters called for me and spoke in Tamil. They told him they would come at 5 p.m that day.

So, I decided there was no point going out, I would just hang around the house. 5 o'clock came and went and no sign of them. I waited till 7 and went downstairs again to ask one of the waiters to phone for me. They told him that it would be Monday morning.

On Sunday, we called them again to confirm they were coming on Monday, to which they replied 'Yes'.

So, this morning at 11 a.m I went downstairs and they rang again to see when they were coming. They said definitely before 5 p.m. At 6 p.m when they still hadn't arrived, I went downstairs yet again. Do you see a pattern forming here? And every time I had faith that they were coming! The guy finally arrived just after 6 p.m this evening.

It was quite funny because the unit didn't come with any instructions (of course) and it was in a dressing table box so the picture on the box didn't help. The man asked me what it was he was building. Luckily, I had taken a picture of it while I was in the shop and so I showed it to him. He seemed happy with that and got to work. It only took him about an hour and it was built.

He helped Penri carry it into the bedroom and off he went. Then Pen and I rearranged all the furniture in the bedroom (again) to make it work. I'm glad we did - it is much better now and Pen can actually get out of bed without having to climb over the cot and bedside table! The cot is now at the end of the bed and the cupboard/drawers are where the cot was.

I took some photos:

I put the new mosquito net on the cot - it's really good and goes all the way down to the floor:

Once the cupboard was in place - I brought in the baby stuff. Penri hung up the nappy stacker and hanging pocket thing:

I filled the cupboard with baby clothes and bedding and then we put some toys in the cot:

Socks

2008-04-06T04:36:00.003+05:30

I forgot to put this photo on my blog before. The other day when Danielle took photos of my bump, we were trying to get one of me with both the cats. With Pepsi, we had no chance as she wouldn't come out from under the bed but Socks graced us with her presence long enough to get a few photos. This one is my favourite - she's looking directly at Danielle.

All the small things ...

2008-04-06T04:20:00.008+05:30

Pen and I were out shopping the other day when we found these:

Salt'n'vinegar crisps!

They were a bit expensive - about 5 pounds for the packet, but it was well worth it. We really enjoyed them! You still cannot get salt'n'vinegar crisps anywhere in Chennai (not pringles, walkers - nothing!) So, it was a real treat for us.

Danielle's Baby Shower - 04.04.08

2008-04-04T20:48:00.009+05:30

From having never been to a baby shower, I have now been to three in the last month! Today was Danielle's 'SURPRISE' baby shower. She had no idea about it and was completely shocked when she walked into Karyn's house and all her friends were there. I took some photos which I want to attach.

We had some lovely food that Karyn had made

And some cake

We played some shower games

Karyn's son Benjamin wanted to help too

Then Danielle opened her presents

Overall, it was a lovely afternoon!

Photo Shoot

2008-03-25T16:26:00.006+05:30

As part of my baby shower gift, my friend Danielle offered to come over and do some photos of my bump. She's done it for a couple of other friends and she had some really good ideas.

So, this morning she came over and we took loads of photos. Here are my favourites:

Bedroom

2008-03-24T17:54:00.004+05:30

Last night, we put together the baby glider. I thought it would be a good idea to check there were no parts missing from it (seen as it was bought here). Pen put it together and sure enough the two screws that are needed to hold the metal bars in place for the chair weren't in the box. We decided to leave it set up anyway and I'll buy the screws this week.

As with everything new, both the cats were intrigued. I put a towel into the chair (over the material seat cover) and let Socks have a go and then Pepsi. They both enjoyed the gliding for about 5 minutes and then jumped out. It's good to get them used to these things before the baby comes along as they've both seen it and tried it and are no longer interested! Since they both had a go in it, neither of them have been near it. I did manage to get a good photo of Socks in it though:

Yesterday, we also rearranged the bedroom to accommodate the cot. It was a bit of a nightmare because there's not much room to move and our bed is so huge and heavy (it's solid wood)! We finally managed to get it sorted though and it seems to work ok. The cot is right next to the bed (which is what I wanted) and it's directly underneath the air conditioner which means the air doesn't blow on the cot, it blows over it. For the first time since we moved in we can actually get into our wardrobes easily too, which is an added bonus.

Anyway, photo isn't great, but it gives you an idea. See below:

Interesting sights

2008-03-23T01:09:00.005+05:30

On our way home from Asiana, driving down the OMR (Old Mahabalipuram Road) we saw some interesting sights (as you normally do in India). Unfortunately, the pictures aren't great because we were driving and our car is really dirty so some of the pictures aren't very clear. There are a few I wanted to include anyway.

There was a bike with a big metal trunk on the back:

A man carrying a saw on the back of a motorbike:

This is something you see a lot of in Chennai. Even though there is a new law about wearing helmets on motorbikes, people don't wear them, they carry them - how ridiculous! Yeah, that's going to protect you when you get knocked off your bike!

Men on the back of a truck.

Man on the back of a truck. Doesn't he look comfortable?

Our relaxing day

2008-03-22T21:46:00.007+05:30

This morning I was up early; I cleaned for a while and then woke Penri at 10.30 a.m. Last night we had discussed going to a hotel today so I could swim and Pen could get a massage. I asked him if he still wanted to do that and even though he was tired, he said ok, mainly because I think he knew how much I wanted to swim.

I phoned Asiana Hotel and booked him in for a 90 minute sport massage and then told him we had to be there at 1.30 p.m. We left home at about 12 p.m as it takes about an hour to drive there from our house. We actually made it in really good time and were there just before 1 o'clock. Pen decided he was going to have a swim before his massage.

The pool (see below) was cold, but once you got in it was ok. The weather wasn't great today - there wasn't much sun and it was raining on and off, but I didn't mind. While Penri had his massage I relaxed by the pool, enjoyed some spring rolls and milkshake and read my book.

Looking at the view from the roof of the hotel (on one side) you wouldn't know you were in India. It's just all green and there are no people or buildings about.

From the other side, you can see the road and some buildings.

We called at Pizza Hut on the way home to have some dinner. It was a nice change. Overall it was a really relaxing day and by the time we got home after 5 o'clock, I was exhausted and had to go for a nap!

Getting ready ...

2008-03-22T20:56:00.006+05:30

In preparation for the baby coming, I am becoming a complete cleaning freak! I'm told by my friends it's called 'nesting'. I woke up this morning and just had to clean! I've been like this for a couple of weeks now and I'm hoping it's going to stop soon because it is really very tiring sweeping, mopping and cleaning all the time! I even think about it as I'm falling to sleep (maybe that's why it takes me so long to nod off!)

Anyway, with this in mind, I decided last week that I should give up the hire of my piano. Mainly because I very, very rarely play it; secondly because we can save the monthly hire charges (although it's not that expensive); and finally because I know once the baby comes I will have even less time than I do now. So, I spoke to my friend Chelle, who I knew was looking to hire a piano and she was only too happy to take over the rental of it.

We both went to the music shop on Wednesday to see the manager, who is always so polite and accommodating. I explained I wanted to give up the hire and Chelle wanted to take it over. He was very nice about it and said it wouldn't be a problem and we filled out all the paperwork there and then. He asked when we wanted it moved and I told him Friday (yesterday). We agreed they would pick the piano up from me between 9 and 10 in the morning and take it straight to Chelle's house.

So, yesterday morning, I got up early and spent an hour playing on the piano which I haven't played properly for months, then I took a couple of photos (see below) and waited for the delivery guys to come.

When they still hadn't arrived at 12 p.m I texted Chelle and asked her if she wanted to chase it up. I had no plans for the day, so I wasn't too worried about when they came but I knew her mum and brother had just arrived from England and I didn't know if she was planning on going out anywhere. Anyway, she called the manager of the music shop and then he called me. He told me they'd only just left the shop and would be with me by 12.30. Sure enough, they arrived at 12.30 and it took them all of five minutes to load the piano onto the trolley and take it out. I was very sad to see it go, but I know it's the right thing to do. What's the point of it sitting there gathering dust?!

Last night, I was really tired but didn't get to bed till about 11 p.m. I told Penri to wake me up a bit later on, which he did ... at 4 a.m. He asked me if I wanted a drink of orange juice, to which I replied, I would love one. He then told me to get up and we'd go and get one. I whined a bit saying I didn't want to wake up, but he said 'come on, wake up', so I did. When I walked in the lounge, I was completely surprised ... he had put the cot together!! It looks lovely and it was such a nice surprise. I told him he should've woken me to help him, but he said he wanted to do it. I am so happy! Preparations are now well underway for our new arrival.

The reason for the mosquito net on the top is to keep the cats out. I'm sure Pepsi would think it was a new bed just for her!

Now we just have to figure out how to fit it in our bedroom around all our other furniture.

Baby Beethoven

2008-03-20T18:36:00.007+05:30

After searching several baby shops in Chennai (including Mothercare), I finally found a cot mobile that I liked. All the ones I had seen were either really badly made, brands I'd never heard of or really drab looking. There were two in Mothercare, which were very sweet but very plain. There were no bright colours and nothing that encouraged me to buy them. Then in 'The Baby Shop', I came across this Fisher Price Rainforest mobile. It has a little nightlight, leaves which open and close and the animals are really bright and colourful. It also plays classical music - Bach, Mozart and Beethoven to be exact (as well as rainforest sounds).

I thought it would be really nice to start playing the different tunes to my bump so that he or she could get used to the routine of hearing the music at bedtime. So, every night for the past week I have laid down in bed, put the mobile next to my tummy and played through each of the three composers. I also use this time to apply my cocoa butter cream, which not only helps for stretchmarks, but the baby seems to like the massage.

It's very strange - every time I put Beethoven on (no matter what order I play the different composers in), the bump starts going crazy and the baby moves and kicks and really responds to the music. He/she seems to love it.

I'm curious whether it will work. Will the baby associate this music with getting ready to calm down and go to sleep? Only time will tell.

Gwen's Baby Shower - 15.03.08

2008-03-19T17:47:00.009+05:30

We held Gwen's Baby Shower last Saturday. She isn't due till June but Erika (who hosted it) is going away in April and obviously I'm due in April so it made sense to do the shower early. It was at Erika's house and I helped organise the decorations and games. I took a few photos (see below).

When everyone arrived there was a small pack of shower games including a list of anagrams, match the celebrity picture with their baby and the baby bingo that we played at my shower. It was really funny because everyone came in and sat down and started working on their quizzes.

The buffet

Opening gifts:

Another quiz:

Pet Passport Pic?

2008-03-19T17:13:00.008+05:30

The V-E-T made a housecall the other day to give Pepsi and Socks their rabies injections. We had arranged that he would come at 4.30 p.m and I knew that I would have to keep Pepsi out of our bedroom before that time because as soon as the doorbell rings, she hides underneath our bed. It is so low to the floor that there is no way of getting her out. So, I deliberately didn't feed the cats in the morning and by lunchtime they were going crazy for food. I waited till about 3.15 and then called them into the kitchen for their late breakfast. They both came running in!

While they were eating, I blocked our bedroom door with a suitcase and shut it tightly closed so there was no way of her getting in. As soon as she finished eating, Pepsi went to go back in the bedroom and realised something was up. She got a bit freaked out and was just sat at the bedroom door crying. I stayed in the lounge and played X-Box and kept trying to call her away from the door, but she wouldn't budge.

An hour later (at 4.15) the doorbell rang and Pepsi made a run for the spare bedroom. I let the vet in and called Penri out of the bedroom to help me. He went and found Pepsi (cowering at the back of the wardrobe in the spare room). He got her out and held her while the vet went to do the injection. She went beserk! She freaked and managed to escape Penri's grasp and was hissing and scrambling to get away (and this was before the vet even touched her)! Pen got hold of her again and covered her face with a towel while the vet gave her the injection. It took a matter of seconds. All that fuss!!

When he was done, Penri put her on the floor and she ran for cover in our bedroom (I had opened the door so she could go back to the safety of under the bed)! Socks, who witnessed all of this from her sleeping place in the office, was still laid there when Pen went over and picked her up. He held her while the vet did her injection and all she did was cry a small meow and that was it. He put her down and she walked back to her sleeping place.

For two sisters - they are so completely different!

After the injections, the vet talked to us about the procedure for getting certification for rabies vaccinations and the paperwork we will need for when we leave Chennai. He looked at the pet passports and seemed surprised there were no pictures in them. He told us we had to stick two photos in each - a picture of the front of them and a side profile picture. Oh yes, and it has to be on a plain background. Well, anyone who has cats will know how hard it is to get a decent photo as they don't hold still for long enough.

I managed to get one of Pepsi but it really looks like a mug shot -

It's no good because it doesn't show the whole of the front of her (and it's not on completely plain background). I tried taking pictures of Socks, but on every single one she has her eyes closed. If only I could have got in front of her when I took this photo ...

There was a bird on the windowsill and she sat on the sofa looking out of the window for nearly an hour without moving. Even when I went up to her to try and get a photo - she didn't flinch. Unfortunately, the background was wrong and I couldn't get in front of her enough to get a decent photo.

Oh well, I will keep trying!

MGM Beach Resort - 08.03.08

2008-03-13T13:25:00.014+05:30

On Saturday 8th March, Penri had a team building day with all his colleagues down in Mahabalipuram at MGM Beach Resort. On Friday evening, he asked me if I wanted to go with him and we could spend Saturday night at the resort. I'd never been there before, but looking on the Internet, it looked ok, so I agreed. I thought it would be nice to get away for a couple of days and I could go swimming and chill out while he was working.

We set off very early on Saturday morning (about 5 a.m) in order to miss the craziness of Chennai traffic and so Pen could be there ready to start at 9 a.m. When we arrived there, it was still dark outside. We went into reception and it looked like there was no-one around. Then we realised, the receptionist was asleep on the sofa. Pen literally had to shout at him three or four times to wake him up. He explained he had a conference at the resort and we wanted a room for Saturday night. He negotiated to be able to go into the room immediately (as it was already Saturday morning). The guy kicked up a bit of a fuss saying check-in time was at 12 p.m. Penri told him he was bringing 40 guys there for a conference and surely the hotel could be a bit flexible. I was very impressed with his negotiating skills and we managed to get a room straight away.

We had to wait while the receptionist went to wake up the other guy so he could carry our bags to our room. As soon as we got in, Pen went for a nap (as we still hadn't been to sleep at all on Friday night). His conference was due to start at 9 and there was a bus bringing all his guys from Tidel Park to the resort (which was due to leave at 8.15 a.m). He called Rams (one of his colleagues) at 10 to 9 to see where they all were and she told him they hadn't even left Tidel Park yet and most of the guys weren't there!! Pen was furious as it's quite a drive from Tidel (a good 40 minutes) and there he was, ready in his suit and they hadn't even managed to get to the bus yet!

The bus finally left Tidel Park at 9.20 and they all arrived at the resort just after 10. By which time, Pen was all set up in the conference room and I was sitting having breakfast. I had looked at the buffet, but it didn't appeal to me at all. I asked the waiter for just toast and tea. The resort is not like Fisherman's Cove, GRT Temple Bay or even Ideal Beach; it's very much an Indian orientated resort. The menu is mostly curry and the few items that were Western were Indianised.

Anyway, to give you an idea of what I mean - when I went to get my toast from the buffet, the waiter picked up a bun with his hand and passed it to me (in my hand). I was kind of a bit shocked and took it dumbfoundedly. He then picked up two pieces of bread (again with his bare hand) and put them in the toaster. I just stood watching. He told me to sit down and he would bring my breakfast over. Having seen the lunch menu (of curry), I knew I had to eat something as I wouldn't be eating much at lunchtime.

On a very positive note, the view was really nice. As I was sat at the table - this was what I could see ...

I had my breakfast and paid my Rs.40 (which is about 50 pence) then went back to the room to change. It was only 10.20 but it was already very hot. I put on my swimsuit (which was hilarious as it no longer fits properly and I had to stretch it every way possible to make it fit), then I threw on some comfy clothes and went out with my camera. I took some photos of the beach and the resort, which you can see below. It actually looks very nice in the pictures, and apart from the food, it was ok. The room was very basic, but it was clean and comfortable enough. Anyway, here are the pictures:

The beach

After I finished taking pictures, I was so hot that I went for a swim. There were a few other people in and around the pool so I wrapped my towel around me and went right up to the edge of the pool and sat on the side, then I subtly slid in to the pool whilst dropping my towel. It was very well done and I was pleased no-one caught a glimpse of my overstretched swimsuit. It was all going so well as once I was in the water no-one could see me anyway and my towel was right next to the steps ready for when I wanted to get out. Then, one of the men working by the pool, picked up my towel and laid it on the bed. I just watched in horror as I realised I would have to get out the pool and walk over to my bed before I could reach for the towel to cover myself up!

I only swam for about 20 minutes, but it was really, really nice and refreshing in the heat. I got out and got to my towel and then laid on the sunbed (under the umbrella) wrapped in my towel to dry off a bit. I went back to the room and put all my stuff down and then tried to figure out where to dry my towel. I decided to put it outside on the porch area. I opened the front door, bent down and laid my towel there and as I stood up I heard a click behind me. The door had shut and locked and there I was in my swimsuit (with my towel) and nothing else - not even a pair of flip-flops. I wrapped myself in my towel again and walked back to the pool. I asked one of the guys to call reception for me as I couldn't go myself. He told me to wait by my room door, which I did and luckily within 5 minutes they had come to let me in. He then gave me a lecture about every time I leave the room, to take my key with me. I did try and explain that I wasn't going to leave the room, I was just putting my towel out to dry and he just smiled and said 'In future, take your key with you'. He was very nice about it.

I showered and changed and then Pen called to see if I wanted to join him and his colleagues for lunch. It was all curries and spicy things. I ended up eating a bit of soup with some naan bread. I was so relieved that I had taken a box of Ferrero Rocher and some shortbread with me (just in case) as it kept me going. After lunch, they were doing team building games, so I sat in and watched and helped a bit too. It was interesting and fun to watch and I enjoyed it. Most of the games were sensible things like - which companies are these logos from and questions about brand and figures. The last game though (which was organised by one of Pen's team members) was CRAZY!

Each team had to drink 5 litres of water and see who could do it the fastest. They had to line up and each person could only drink once. When they put the bottle back on the table, that was their turn over and the next person had to step forward and drink (a bit like a relay race). My goodness, you should have seen how competitive they were - it was crazy!! Some people managed to drink a whole litre in one go!! The team with the best score was 5 litres in 2 minutes 47 seconds. Pretty impressive! I could never do it - I would be so rubbish at it cause I can only sip my drinks! The funny thing is before they started the game, they all got psyched up for it and were outside jogging on the spot, going to the bathroom and mentally preparing themselves. Craziness!

Anyway, I think a good time was had by all.

Oh, I have two more photos to put in. As we were leaving I saw the lake next to the car park (which I hadn't seen before because it was so dark when we arrived).

I just had to attach this photo also. Only in India! This is the shower in our room. See where the plug socket is for the heater!

Baby Bump - 34 weeks

2008-03-13T13:19:00.002+05:30

Tatjana took lots of pictures of my bump at the baby shower - so here I am at 34 weeks! Not long to go now!

Baby Shower 05.03.08

2008-03-10T22:44:00.025+05:30

I had my baby shower on Wednesday last week (I'm sorry it's taken me so long to put the photos on my blogsite). It was a really nice experience for me as I've never been to a baby shower before and so many lovely people came along to share the experience. I was overwhelmed by the beautiful gifts I received and would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who spent time and money choosing us gifts. I really appreciate your kindness.

I have only just finished my 'Thank You' cards today and need to give them out this week. I would post them, but due to so many people not receiving their invites to the shower, I think hand delivering them is a better idea.

Anyway, I have some nice photos to put on here from the shower. It was held downstairs in Sparky's and Rebekah made it look really nice with tablecloths and hanging balloons, bibs and babygros (or onesies as they're called in America). Although the lighting is not so good in this picture, it's the only one I have that shows the decorations.

One of the buffet tables:

The cake (which Pam sent from Asiana):

The guests
Me and Rose

Natalie and Elizabeth

Me and Gwen

Patty

Me and Christine

Dalina, Stephanie, Jo and Louis

Me and Chelle

Dalina and her gorgeous baby boy, Louis

Me and Tatjana

And finally, Penri's favourite photo from the shower

32 weeks pregnant

2008-02-26T15:45:00.008+05:30

I spoke to my sister last night and she asked why there weren't more pictures of my bump on my blog. The honest answer is - it's very difficult to take pictures of your own stomach! Anyway, she asked me to take one and put it on here - so here it is - taken this morning. My bump at 32 weeks.

I had my scan done at the hospital yesterday and am happy to report that I was told everything seems to be normal and looks good. The sonographer said I was very lucky that I haven't got stretch marks. She said some people just have skin that doesn't leave stretch marks and apparently, it's genetic. I was very happy to hear this and glad that I don't have any marks. I am being very good and using Cocoa Butter cream on my stomach twice a day, so maybe that's helped. Who knows?!

First Lamaze class on Saturday was interesting. Penri came with me, but there wasn't really much for him to get involved in. We just learnt some breathing exercises; all of which came very naturally to me as they are the same as my singing exercises. Then we learnt some stretches for our legs and I had no problems with these. I'm glad to be flexible though; some of the women looked very uncomfortable and in pain! Apparently, next week we are going to learn more exercises. I told Pen he doesn't have to come, but he said he'll be there.

Speaking of Penri, he is in London working this week. Keeping incredibly busy, he has back to back meetings every day, but I think he is also glad of the break from India. He comes home on Saturday and I can't wait! I don't like being here alone - even though I have the two cats for company, it's not the same.

Not much other news to report - things are just going along nicely and I'm feeling well in myself. I must admit, I get tired a lot quicker these days but I'm told that's only normal! Only about 8 weeks to go and then I won't be getting any sleep at all. I can't wait!!!!

That's all for today.

Sparky's

2008-02-22T22:23:00.004+05:30

I went into Sparky's today and took some photos of our friends who work there.

Christine and Pharmei

Rebekah, Stephen and Gloriana

Gloriana - how cute is she?!

The road we live on ....

2008-02-22T20:34:00.013+05:30

I decided to go out and take some photos of the road where we live. I never thought about it too much before, but actually, we have EVERYTHING we need extremely close to us. Next door there is a pharmacy, next to that is our ironing guy and behind him is a gift shop called Cocos. Across the road there's a cash machine and Post Office; in our basement is the restaurant and just round the corner there's a petrol station and a supermarket. What more could you need???

I have lots of photos to post, so here goes. Firstly, the front of our building. We live on the top floor so the windows you see up there are the front two bedrooms in our flat.

Next is Cocos gift shop.

Just in front of Cocos, on the road, is our Ironing guy, who was happy to oblige in letting me take a photo of him.

Next is the Post Office. It's a tiny little room tucked away - you can just see the red and white sign behind the trees.

Also taken on our road, I saw this guy just riding along very slowly in the middle of the road (of course) and had to take a picture. In case you didn't notice (as it's not very clear) - he is sitting on top of all the flatpacked boxes.

This billboard is not far from our house, but I just wanted to include the picture. Good advert or not?

Our Flat

2008-02-16T00:46:00.009+05:30

So I started a cleaning frenzy today at 4 o'clock and tidied and cleaned until 9 p.m. I was like a possessed woman! By the time I was finished my back was SO painful that I could hardly stand straight! On the plus side, the flat is tidy and looks really good. Perfect opportunity for me to take some photos to show you. Remember - it's nothing fancy! Very basic, but suits us fine.

This is the entrance hall of our flat and Socks' favourite place to sleep. She loves the puzzle that's on the table because it lights up in the dark. To the right of the picture you can see the front door and behind the curtains is our balcony (which we never use).

From the entrance hall/dining room there is a long corridor to the rest of the flat:

Here is the lounge:

This is our bedroom:

Guest bedroom:

Kitchen:

Finally, the office, where I spend a lot of my time on the computer (you can see how tiny the room is)!!

Doha Random Pics

2008-02-15T12:50:00.015+05:30

I was going through all my previous posts and I realised I haven't put my photos in from my trip to Doha. I didn't take too many but there are a few I can put in here. I know it was last year in October, but I'd still like to post them.

Beach

The first few are of our trip to the beach. My sister and I decided to walk out to the sea even though we weren't going to swim. My dad took this photo from where he was sat by the car.

The reason for going to the beach was so my dad could take photos of birds (hence my sister with the binoculars, see below).

Out and About

This is the new stadium which was built for the Asian Games.

Next to the stadium there's this tower, I can't really remember what's inside it, just that the bit that sticks out is the floor with a swimming pool.

Inside the shopping mall Villagio. The ceiling is made to look like the sky and changes brightness depending on the time of day i.e. it will be lighter at lunchtime than it is late afternoon.

I love the new shopping malls in Doha. They have everything - Marks and Spencer, Claire's Accessories, Body Shop, Virgin Megastore etc etc. I thought it was really funny that they had a prize draw in Virgin where you were able to win a boat!!

This shop is in Electricity Street and I just love the name of it. I bought some really nice clothes from there (and very reasonably priced too)!

Melissa singing at Garvey's (I think that's where it was taken).

Finally; while I was in Doha I spent a lot of time at home, so I made a lot of ceramics. Most of the stuff I made is for our baby's nursery whenever we get settled somewhere (who knows where we'll be?). I took a few photos of some of the things I made:

Moon lamp

Teddy Bear Clock

Baby Plate

That's it really - just wanted to post the pics to show you. Will write soon. I think the nearer I get to April, the more I will be posting as I seem to be spending more time at home and less time going out!

Traffic

2008-02-14T18:43:00.008+05:30

I forgot to write in my last post - on my way to the Garden Tea, the auto driver was lost and asked me where we were going. I wasn't sure - just had the address, so I called Pam to ask her where it was. She put her driver on the phone to the auto driver so they could speak Tamil. As he was talking, we were going up onto the flyover. He obviously couldn't hear what Raja was telling him, so he just pulled over on the top of the flyover. I couldn't believe it. It was very busy on the roads as it was still rush hour. I decided to take the opportunity to take a few photos of the traffic! See below:

Traffic in Chennai

Garden Tea

2008-02-13T22:52:00.021+05:30

Today was the OWC (Overseas Womens Club) annual Garden Tea, which was held at the Japanese Consulate. There were a couple of stalls there raising money for charity and there were three demonstrations: a Japanese Tea Ceremony, Ikebana and Maki. I think it went really well and everyone seemed to be having a really good time. Here are a few photos I took:

(from L to R): Chelle, Alison, Lisa, Gwen and Pam

Patty

Gwen

Pam and I

Stephanie and Danie

Natalie

Tatjana

Sejal and Lakshmi

Gwen and I

Thanks to Gwen for the following pictures of the demonstrations. I didn't take any as it was outside in the sun and it was scorching hot.

Sushi demonstration

Japanese Tea Ceremony

Discoveries in Chennai

2008-02-12T15:49:00.000+05:30

Over the last few days I’ve discovered new things here!

Whilst out shopping yesterday with my friend Tatjana, we went to check out a shopping mall as one of my friend’s told me there was a good baby shop there. On the ground floor there was a place called ‘Snow World’ and outside the door there were lines of Wellington boots and coats. I asked Tatjana what she thought it was, but we didn’t know.

When we were in the baby shop, the assistant spoke excellent English, so I asked him ‘What is Snow World?’ He told me it’s a place where you go (meant for kids, but adults can go too), and you can hire a sled and go down a snow slope. He also told us it’s -5 degrees inside. I couldn’t believe it – how cool! If I wasn’t pregnant, I would’ve gone in just to go down the man-made snow slope! Also, in the same mall – they have dodgems! Who would’ve thought it! Here in Chennai.

The other thing I found out yesterday is that there is a Post Office directly opposite my house. I was really happy and even more overjoyed to find out they do registered post (which is the equivalent of recorded delivery). I went over to post a parcel to my Greek penpal, Efi, who had a baby boy on January 18th. It’s a tiny little post office, which is why I’ve never seen it before. Very handy though.

Finally, I found a place that does Lamaze classes here. So, I signed up, booked us in and we start on the 23rd February. I’m hoping they’ll be useful. It’s a six week course and apparently covers everything from relaxation techniques to childbirth education. I’m really looking forward to going and feel even happier that it’s run by a renowned doctor.

My Hosptial Visit

2008-02-12T15:40:00.000+05:30

So, I had my 30-week check-up today at the hospital. I had made an appointment with my doctor prior to going as I know how chaotic the hospital gets and sometimes even if you have an appointment, you still have to wait for all the people who arrived before you to finish before you can go in.

I left home at 9.30 a.m and took an auto rickshaw to the hospital (which is only about 5-10 minutes away). I arrived there just after 9.40 a.m and went inside to queue up at counter 6A for my test results (from the tests I had done the last time I visited). Luckily the queue wasn’t too bad and I picked up my results and went up to see the doctor by 9.45. The waiting room wasn’t too bad – there were only about 10 people in it (and there were three doctors on duty). So, I made it in to see the doctor at 10.10 a.m.

My appointment went really well and she said the baby seems to be developing fine. We chatted briefly about the labour and what I wanted and she told me next time I go in to take my birth plan with me. She is very open minded and told me she will try to make the labour as comfortable as possible, which is why she wanted to know how I felt about different things. I am so happy with my doctor; she is really lovely and puts me right at ease whenever I see her. She gave me the prescription for my second tetanus shot and also a prescription for an ultrasound, which she wants to do in two weeks time.

I left her room, paid the doctors fee and then went outside to the Pharmacy Counter to pay for my tetanus shot. I waited there for 10 minutes while the guy working at the counter went off to another place to get the shot, syringe and needle. It’s so weird how it works here – you have to pay for everything first! He brought it all back and then I had to go to another place with the bag of stuff for the injection and gave it to a nurse who administered it. She was very good and I didn’t feel a thing and actually, even now, a few hours later it’s not hurting like it did last time.

After the shot, I had to go up to the second floor to book my appointment for my ultrasound. I told the woman I needed to make an appointment for two weeks time and showed her the script (which had a date at the top for when my appointment should be). She told me I had to go and pay for it first. I questioned this, asking her ‘Do I have to pay today or can I pay when I come for the appointment?’ She looked at me like I was daft and told me I had to go and pay for it now. I got the money out and she said ‘No, not here – first floor, cash counter’.

So, off I went again down the stairs to the first floor and queued up to pay for the ultrasound. The queue just wasn’t moving at all and it was really, really hot. I went up to the counter to ask the woman what was taking so long. She told me the computer was broken. I gave up waiting to pay and went back to the ultrasound counter. I explained to the two women there that the computer was broken and asked if I could just pay when I came back (for the appointment). They both said ‘No, no, you must pay now’.

I was starting to lose my patience, but I thought, I might as well get this done and get the appointment made while I am here otherwise I’m only going to have to come back again and it’ll be worse if I just turn up without an appointment. I went back to the cash counter. The queue still hadn’t moved and the woman behind the counter was stood doing nothing. I went up and asked her if there is another cash counter. She said: ‘Ground Floor, counter 4’. So, off I went to the ground floor.

When I got downstairs I could not believe my eyes. There were people EVERYWHERE! There wasn’t space to move. People were just standing around in every part of the room. I managed to push my way through to counter 4 and there were 3 very long queues. I joined one of them and prepared for a long wait. Just then one of the hospital staff asked me to move to a queue around the corner. There were only 5 people in it, so I joined it gladly.

By the time I was 3rd from the front, the queue behind me was as big as the other queues. This man walks up the corridor and goes straight to the window with his prescription. No-one said anything, so I piped up ‘Excuse me’ (no response), ‘Excuse me’ (still no response from the man but other people were looking at me); so I said even louder ‘Excuse me, there is a queue’. The man just looked at me and said nothing and kept waving his prescription at the man behind the counter. I was furious that no-one else was saying anything. It was only when the guy behind the counter was going to take this man’s prescription before the man in front of me, that he said ‘Line! Line!’ The man looked up, as if seeing all the people for the first time and said ‘Oh, Line!’ and went to join the back of the queue.

I paid for my ultrasound (finally) and went back upstairs to the second floor. I handed over my receipt and said ‘Now, can I make an appointment?’ She gave me a form to fill in while she entered my details into the computer. She then looked up and said ‘Wait over there; I’ll call you when we’re ready for you’. I looked at her puzzled and said ‘No, I need an appointment for the 25th – in two weeks time’. She looked at me as if this was the first time she’d heard me say it and said ‘Oh no’. She’d already entered all the information in the book for me to have an ultrasound today. I told her that I had explained all this to her the first time I came to the counter and the date on the script was even circled in black pen. Anyway, between the three of them behind the counter, they managed to sort me out with an appointment. Finally!

I left the hospital at 12.15! Caught a rick and came straight home! What an experience!

We have A/Cs!!!!

2008-01-31T22:44:00.000+05:30

Pen went off to work at 9.30 a.m this morning and I got up and called the a/c guy to confirm that they were coming before 11 a.m as promised. The guy didn’t answer my call, but called me back about 10 minutes later to say they should be here by 11. There was no point in going back to bed, so I passed the time doing some housework and watching a bit of TV.

At 11.30 the a/c guys still hadn’t arrived, so I called again. He told me within one hour they would be there, then in the next sentence he said ‘Before 3 o’clock’. I told him between now and 3 o’clock is not 1 hour – it’s 3½ ! He told me that they were waiting for the motor blade to arrive but they would be here before 3. I called Penri and told him what the guy had said. He asked me to give him Soloman's number and he tried calling to see what the problem was. He was told the same as me.

Guess what ... 3 o’clock came and went and they still weren’t here. I called Pen at 3.30 to tell him that they hadn’t come and he said ‘Leave it with me, I’ll call you back’. He phoned back to say they should be with me any minute as they left the workshop ages ago. They arrived at 10 to 4 and fixed both a/cs! Yey! I was so happy!!

The a/c in the lounge (where the plug socket actually blew up and they had to peel it off the wall in pieces) was working, but instead of putting a new plug socket in, they’ve just put the wires straight into the hole in the wall. They told me they were finished work and I asked what about the hole in the wall – it doesn’t look safe. The guy called his boss and I was told that it was fine and they would come back in a couple of days with a new socket, but we could use the a/c in the meantime. I was just happy to have working air conditioners!

While they were here fixing the a/c I had a fainting spell. I started sweating and could just see white blurry dots, I felt as if I was going to pass out. It's a horrible feeling. I called down to the restaurant and asked Christine to bring me a glass of juice up and sit with me for 5 minutes till it passed. I didn’t want to faint while I had two repair guys here ... I probably would have woken up in some Government hospital! She came upstairs and sat with me till the feeling passed, which luckily it did.

Feeling fine now and all ready to go to the doctor's tomorrow morning for more blood tests! Fun!

Pregnancy

2008-01-30T15:38:00.000+05:30

Everyone's been asking to see my bump, so here it is. 28 weeks pregnant (taken a couple of days ago).

Nightmare!

2008-01-27T21:48:00.000+05:30

You won't believe this! I was just on the phone to Penri's mum and there was an almighty bang! Penri shouted from the other room to ask what the noise was. I had no idea either, but my first assumption was it was one of the cats. I got off the phone and shouted both Pepsi and Socks. Pepsi was asleep in one bedroom and Socks was asleep in the other (lazy cats).

I walked around the flat looking for some sign of what it could be. When I walked back into the lounge, there was a horrible gas smell and the a/c was off. It was the stabiliser box from the a/c which has blown. So, we now have two out of three a/cs not working ... fantastic!

Tomorrow I plan on getting them fixed which means staying in the house ALL day because there's no guarantee when the electrician will get here. I must be mad, cause I also have the plumber coming to fix two leaking toilets. Chances are - neither of them will turn up, but we will see.

Just had to write and get this off my chest. It is sweltering hot in our flat now!

Shopping, Cravings and more ...

2008-01-27T16:18:00.000+05:30

We’re still plodding along here in Chennai. The weather is getting hotter now ready for the summer months. Our a/c in the bedroom is not working again – it wasn’t the current at all because it stopped working the same evening the guy told me that was the problem … there’s an internal fault on it. We had a quote from one company who said they could take away the parts and get it fixed in about four days. We decided to wait and get someone from the company it was bought from to come and give us a quote. They were supposed to come out to look at it yesterday but they never turned up. Consequently, we have been sleeping in the spare room on the small bed, which has an extremely hard mattress, but at least it is cool enough to fall asleep. The ceiling fans just don’t cool the room down enough which is why we can’t sleep in our bedroom. I’ll have to chase up the a/c guys tomorrow.

After the whole bookcase charade the other day, we decided to get a quote to have someone fit shelves into the three alcoves we have in two of the bedrooms and the hallway. Even just for a few planks of very cheap wood and some brackets it was going to cost Rs. 5000 (about £65)! So, I am going to hit the shops again on Tuesday with Gwen and try and find somewhere else to get one. The problem is you can’t even see the floor in our spare room for boxes and bags. I have nowhere to put the stuff and it’s just such a mess. It just can’t stay like that – it’s driving me crazy!!

We finally got our gas cylinder for our table top stove on Friday; it just needs to be connected now. It’ll be great when it’s working as it means I can boil eggs and make pasta and that kind of thing and I don’t have to rely on the restaurant for every meal! There is only so much you can do with a microwave and a toaster; although I did figure out that you can make cheese nachos in the microwave, which is quite cool as I had a craving for it the other day. My mum also sent me some custard powder as I’ve been craving a bowl of hot custard for months now (you can’t buy it here)!

My pregnancy is going well and my ‘bump’ just keeps on growing, which is great. Trying to keep fit and active, but I must admit it’s getting harder and harder! I have to go back to the doctors next week to get my glucose test done and also have to have my second tetanus injection. They advise all pregnant women here to get a tetanus shot as a precaution. I’m really glad I decided to do it as last week Pepsi scratched my stomach by accident, but she drew blood. Having the shot while you’re pregnant protects the baby as well, so it’s worth it. Also, I guess with the amount of street dogs here (although I don’t really come into contact with any) and germs and infections everywhere, it’s worth it just to be on the safe side.

I had a lovely birthday (even though I didn’t really want to celebrate). I’ve just finished the 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle that I got for Christmas, so Penri bought me a 9000 piece one for my birthday. It is MASSIVE! It’s really cool but I’m not sure how I’ll ever finish it. I have just started sorting out all the edge pieces – I spent over an hour and am not even a quarter of the way through it. Here’s a picture of the finished product:

Not much other news here really, so I’m going to go now and I’ll write when I have more news. Hopefully I’ll be able to post on here on Tuesday saying that I’ve finally found a bookcase … we’ll see!

Shopping

2008-01-23T18:42:00.000+05:30

I went shopping with my friend Gwen yesterday. She is also expecting a baby so we decided to visit baby shops around Chennai and price a few things up. I didn't really intend on buying anything and I haven't bought anything yet as I didn't want to get anything too early on in my pregnancy.

Anyway, I saw this lovely baby glider that can be used from newborn. It glides back and forth or side to side and plays music and also has a mobile across the top with some toys hanging down. It's made by Fisher Price as well, which made me even more keen to buy it as I know the brand.

A lot of the things we were looking at here were made by unknown brands, which I wouldn't feel happy about using. Some of the stuff was Avent or Fisher Price, or at least brands that we knew. Anyway, I bought the baby glider and a few little babygros and wash cloths and things. The only big shop we didn't get to was Mothercare as I've heard how expensive it is, however we are going to go and look on our next shopping trip.

I also bought a couple of things for the flat ... some paintings to hang up and a couple of bedside lamps. It is always easier and more fun shopping when you have someone with you.

Final piece of news ... great news actually - all my kids passed their piano exams with Merits and Distinctions! I was so happy to hear that - and so proud!

AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!

2008-01-23T17:45:00.000+05:30

I went out this afternoon with the sole purpose of buying a bookcase. A pretty easy task, you would think! It was a NIGHTMARE! I found a couple of nice teak bookcases with glass doors, but they were very expensive and there's no guarantee we could take them with us when we leave so I decided to look for something cheaper.

I went around so many furniture stores and none of them stocked just simple bookcases - just shelves in a frame - that's all I want. The options are either really extravagant or really cheap. In the end, I decided to go and check out the cane or bamboo shelf units they sell on the side of the road. Because I knew I would get ripped off, I took an Indian guy with me to help me negotiate. It didn't really help - as soon as the guy making the stuff saw me, he quoted a ridiculous price that was nearly as much as the teak units!

I told him there's no way I would pay that much. The guy who was with me negotiated with him and he managed to get the price down a little bit, but even then, it would only cost a little bit more to buy the teak ones - what's the point of spending that much money on cane furniture (that we wouldn't take with us when we leave)? I got very frustrated in the end and got back in the car and said 'Forget it' and I came home.

When I got back to the flat, the air conditioner in the bedroom wasn't working and it was quite hot today as well as me being angry and frustrated over my uneventful shopping trip, so I called the electrician. I think he must've realised how annoyed I was because even though he said he'd be here at 5.30, he arrived at 4.45 (which is unheard of in India)! He turned it on and guess what ... it worked! He told me the reason it wasn't working before is there wasn't enough current in the building. I guess too many people had a/cs on or something. Anyway, the main thing is it's working now.

So, still no luck with the bookcases and I still have all these boxes of books lying around which is driving me crazy, but I plan on getting it sorted somehow this week.

Wireless Internet

2008-01-19T13:28:00.000+05:30

So, we finally got wireless internet! It's really cool. After Airtel (the Internet company) promising us they'd come last Wednesday, then it was 150% they'd come on Friday and guaranteed they'd come on Saturday, they finally turned up this week. It was a job that took about 10 minutes and the internet was working straight away. I'm really happy (and so is Pen) cause now we can use the net anywhere in the house on our laptops and we don't have to wait for the other person to finish in the office to use the net.

When I say the 'office' it's a very loose term. It's a tiny room which has had a desk put in it and you can literally touch all four walls if you spread your arms out, so there's definitely no room for the two of us. It's cool though, somewhere to sit and work or surf the net.

I drew a floor plan of our flat as it's really hard to explain the layout (see below). Unfortunately, I haven't been able to take any pictures of the flat as there is still SO much to do. I desperately need to buy a bookcase cause I have about 8 boxes of books that need unpacking and then I need to move a few things around and just get all the rooms looking good. The problem is, I just don't have the energy or the motivation at the moment! I will get round to it soon.

Not much other news here really. Nothing exciting happening. Will write soon.

Playing Cards

2008-01-16T03:05:00.001+05:30

I just had to write a post to attach this photo. Earlier on we were playing cards and Pepsi decided she wanted to play. She loves the game where Penri throws the cards in the air and she pounces for them. I got a great photo of her chasing a card ...

Moving House

2008-01-10T22:11:00.000+05:30

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.

Happy New Year 2008!

2008-01-10T20:55:00.000+05:30

It’s been a while, I know. I apologise for the delay in writing on my blog. Things have just been so hectic here!

For those of you who haven’t already heard our good news – Penri and I are expecting our first baby in April. We couldn’t be happier and are getting really excited now that my bump is starting to show.

Christmas was pretty good – we had a nice relaxing day with just the two of us. We decided we’d spend the day at home and just played computer games, watched TV and then went out to the Park Hotel for dinner, which was lovely.

Penri's mum sent the cats some catnip and because they haven't had any since February 2007, they went crazy for it! We gave them some in the morning and then decided to put a bit away for later. Well, that was the plan ... however, I went in the kitchen to get a drink and Socks had found the packet of catnip. She'd gone crazy and eaten most of it. I managed to catch her on camera ...

Aren't her eyes amazing?

I had my Drama Show (MADRAS Kids) on December 8th, which went really well and I was so pleased with the outcome. There were 31 kids involved and they all did a fantastic job. For me though, that’s it for my Drama Club. I have passed it onto a friend of mine who is going to run it from January. I wish I had more time and effort to put into it as it could potentially grow to be something huge, but with the baby due, I just don’t want to commit to something that I can’t see through. I must admit I have really enjoyed setting up the Drama group and both the shows I did were really successful, so I guess I’ll always have that to take away with me as fond memories of living in Chennai. I'll really miss running it as well; the kids are fab!

Madras Kids December 2008

I am still helping out with the OWC (Overseas Women’s Club) till February when we have the annual Garden Tea. It’s a very posh event, which I was involved in last year (playing the piano) but this year I’m on the Entertainment Committee so there’s a lot more to organise. There are only two of us on the committee and the other lady is on leave from the end of December till February, so I’m pretty much on my own on the committee. Luckily, the president of the OWC is Stephanie, who’s a really good friend of mine and I know we'll be working together and she has it all in hand, so that's cool.

The last reason I have been run off my feet, is we have just moved house! We decided if we are going to be here for another 9 months then we are going to move somewhere a bit more manageable and a bit more baby-friendly, which our last house was not! With all the power cuts and water shortages and the winding staircase, it just wasn’t suitable, especially with the baby being due in April – it’s the hottest time of the year! So, I spent two weeks packing boxes and suitcases in preparation for our move. I was trying to take things slowly as I don’t have the energy I used to have, but I never actually realized how much stuff we have acquired and what I thought would possibly fit in 10 suitcases and the same number of boxes ended up being a whole truck full!!

I'll write about our move in another post otherwise this one will be incredibly long!

Bad Day yesterday!

2007-09-30T11:42:00.000+05:30

Yesterday (Saturday 29th September) was a bad day for me. I woke up early in the morning to go to the bathroom and saw that the air conditioner in our bedroom had leaked all over the carpet. That wasn't the worst part about it - my laptop charger was there sitting amongst the puddle of water! As you can imagine - it completely soaked into the adapter and it is now useless!

I got my main computer (not laptop) delivered back yesterday from the shop. They had been repairing it as the USB ports had all stopped working since we had a power surge. They told me they had put in four new USB ports. I was pleased because at least I still had a computer until I could replace the laptop charger. Anyway, I plugged in the computer and powered it up, but would you believe - none of the 10 USB ports on the computer were working?!

I phoned up the service number and tried to explain my problem. The man spoke to me as if I was a five-year old. He said "Madam, you have to switch the computer on". I explained that I'd done this. His next helpful tip was "You have to plug the mouse into the USB port", again through gritted teeth, I explained that I had done this. Then he suggested re-starting the computer which I had already done 3 times. I told him that I had tried all of this and none of the ports were working. His response to this was "Well, they were working when the computer left us yesterday". Again, I told him they were not working now. He told me to hold while he got a pen and paper to get my address so that someone could come out and fix it. I held, and held, and held. After 15 minutes they cut me off and then when I phoned back the line was busy. By now I was getting really frustrated!

I called my friend and asked her to phone them up and speak in Tamil to explain what I needed. She called me back 5 minutes later and said "The engineer will come out today and they will deliver you a new laptop charger also". Fantastic!

My mood was starting to lift as I was talking to a friend on the phone, but then as I reached over to get a tissue, my mobile (which had been balanced on my shoulder and pressed to my ear) fell and landed straight into the yoghurt I was eating. I fished it out and cleaned it all up but it's now not working! Luckily I still had my other mobile phone, so I was able to just move the sim card across, unfortunately, I lost nearly all my contacts as they were saved on the phone (not the sim card)!

Anyway, at about 5 p.m the engineer arrived, he couldn't fix the computer there and then so he took it away, but I have a new laptop charger! So, I am back on the net and feeling good that all is not lost!

Today has been much better. Got up at 10 and have been surfing the net, updating blog, answering e-mails etc since then.

September News

2007-09-30T10:36:00.000+05:30

I was at an OWC meeting a few weeks ago when one of the ladies there told me she’d looked at my blog. She then followed up by saying ‘You haven’t posted for ages’ and it got me thinking that I can’t even remember the last time I wrote on here, so it’s about time I caught you all up on what has been happening.

We had been looking to move house, mainly for somewhere cheaper but also for somewhere with less problems and we ended up finding some really nice properties – one in particular that we thought we would take. It was a brand new three bedroom house in a place called Thoraipakkam. Still not too far from Penri’s work and about 3 kms from the American School, which is handy for me for my Drama Club. We met the landlord and negotiated the contract – length of stay, deposit, extra hidden costs etc and everything was fine. Then we found out that it is very likely we will be leaving India in December. That kind of changed everything because the new landlord wouldn’t accept such a short term let and it seemed silly to up heave and move when it would only be for a couple of months. So, we are still in the same house and staying here till the end of the year.

So, our big move in December. Nothing is decided yet and definitely nothing is set in stone, but Pen and his bosses are negotiating relocating us to America, which would be really exciting … something completely new and somewhere different to India! I must admit, the prospect of leaving India is sounding very appealing. While it has been a great experience, I think both Pen and I have done our time in India and are ready for something new. We always thought we would be coming here for two years and by the time we leave in December, it will have been 18 months. We’re still not sure where we’re moving to … New York is a possibility, and if not then it could be Chicago, but who knows? Will keep you posted.

Life here has been more than hectic over the last few months. Penri is working the craziest hours you can imagine – sometimes the day shift, sometimes the night shift and some weeks he works a combination of both. As you can imagine, he is shattered! I have been busy with MADRAS Kids (Drama Group) and it’s taking up a lot of my time. There are 35 kids involved from the age of 6 up to 16 and I am planning a big show in the first week of December. The kids are all working really hard and seem to be enjoying it, which is nice. I am just hoping the parents will enjoy the show and realize the effort and enthusiasm that has gone into producing it.

I am also planning a trip home to Doha in October to see my parents and sister. Once we move to the States, I’ll be so far away from them that the chances of seeing them are slim – it’ll only be if one of them comes over to see us. I haven’t seen my sister since mine and Penri’s wedding in 2005 and I haven’t seen either of my parents for a year. I’ve been trying to persuade Penri to come with me, but it looks like he has to work and may even be making a trip back to the UK for business.

Penri went on a business trip in August – first to London, then onto New York, Connecticut, Wealing (West Virginia), back to New York and then back to London (all in 10 days)! You can imagine how exhausting that was for him, but he really enjoyed America (as much as possible when you’re moving around so much). He loved New York and thought West Virginia was beautiful. He took some pictures – I’ll have to see if I can find a few to attach.

The Empire State Building

Time Square

Hard Rock Cafe

I’ve been helping out at the Overseas Women’s Club and joined the Entertainment committee. This was obviously before I found out we were leaving! We have the big annual event (which is a ball) coming up in October so preparations are crazy for that at the moment. Then the last event I will be involved in is the Santa Brunch (as I was last year – playing the piano for the children’s carols). Then that’ll be it.

The builders are still frantically working on the two properties right next to our house. They are trying to get finished before the monsoon comes, but to be honest I don’t think it’s going to happen. It is still very frustrating because every time we come home and try to drive down our road, they are either mixing cement (on the road, in the middle of the road) or sieving sand (again onto the road) or hammering things (in the road). It always takes them ages to move out of the way. As you can imagine, it really winds us up, especially Penri. If he comes home and there is a pile of sand in the road (that they have usually just sieved), he will drive straight over it and flatten it!! Anyway, I’ll attach a couple of pictures to show you.

In front of our house

Right outside our bedroom window

I saw the cutest thing the other day. I did my best to get some photos of it, but they weren’t great. They were building on the site (just below our bedroom window) and there was a couple who were carrying stones on their head and dumping them in the foundation. They were going backwards and forwards and I just watched in fascination – it looked like exhausting work. Then all of a sudden, this tiny little girl, she can’t have been more than 2, comes around the corner carrying a tiny pot on her head with stones inside. She followed her mum up the slope and dumped them and went back for more. It was the cutest thing! I will attach a couple of photos to show you – I just couldn’t get over it! She went backwards and forwards more times than I can count – it was just so adorable!

The lady on the building site

The little girl

The whole family working

Penri and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary on July 30th. He took me away for the weekend to Fisherman’s Cove (down south on the East Coast Road). We had a garden cottage, which was beautiful. He had booked the ‘romantic package deal’, which included a massage, a champagne bath and a candlelit dinner on the watchtower on the beach. It was lovely and the food was amazing! I don’t normally eat meat in this country, but I ordered a peppered steak and it was one of the best I’ve ever had! We went swimming and just relaxed at the beach. Our cottage also had an outdoor shower (obviously with high walls built around it), but you could go outside at night and shower under the stars – it was really nice and a lovely weekend away from the hustle and bustle of Chennai.

Driving through Chennai, you see some unusual sights (as I’ve already mentioned) – things like buses packed to the core, motorcycles with families of five on them, people driving like maniacs etc but you also see some unusual signs on the roads such as “Speed Thrills, but Kills” and another one, which I thought was good was this one “Driving Faster can cause Disaster”. The other one, which we’ve seen a few times here is when you’re coming up to a junction, there is a sign there that says “Stop at Stop Line” (which makes me laugh every time)!

Anyway, this is a good time for me to stop writing as we have just lost all our electricity (again). Thank goodness for laptops! Anyway, the room is getting incredibly hot, so I think I’ll pop my swimsuit on and go for a dip to cool down.

I will write soon (before we leave) and let you know where we’re going and when.

July 2007 catch-up

2007-07-27T22:11:00.001+05:30

Wow! I can't believe it's been over a month since I've written on here! Things have been so crazy and the time has just flown away with me.

Things here are going really well. Penri is still really busy at work and the builders near our house have been even busier ... take a look at the photos of how quickly the house (or flats) have gone up. There are two different building sites: the first one is directly in front of our house (now blocking the view of the beach from our house) and the second is directly underneath our bedroom window.

Can you believe they are starting on the 3rd floor before they've even put walls in on the first two floors????? I'm not a builder, but I'm sure that's not right!

This one seems to be developing very quickly!

I have joined the OWC Executive Committee, which is keeping me busy. I am on the Membership committee and my friend and I have been updating their directory, which has taken hours of phone calls to different companies to confirm addresses and phone numbers! A lot of them were out of order, which then meant phoning directory enquiries and trying to find out the correct number ... all fun! It certainly kept me busy for a few days.

I just don't know where the time has gone to! The last month has flown by and on Monday (30th) it will be mine and Penri's second wedding anniversary!

School starts here again next week so most of the expat families will be back here over the next few days. I am really pleased about this as it will be good to have people to meet up with and go shopping with.

I have some photos I want to add of pictures taken around India - there are some great photos here (from chennaiist.com) which I wanted to share with you.

Not an uncommon sight in India - 5 on a bike ...

Building a bridge (I think for train tracks) near the airport - can you see the scaffolding? I wouldn't climb up that!

Anyone who has been to India will know how busy the buses get ... anyone who hasn't been - see below:

We have this to look forward to in a couple of months:

People everywhere:

I really like this photo:

Ok, so I didn't really write much information, but I wanted to put a post on here so that you all knew we were still ok and to let you know I will write again soon.

2007-06-24T14:05:00.000+05:30

We left Pondicherry on Friday morning and drove back up towards Chennai. We decided to stop in Mahabilapuram as there are a few nice resorts there. On the way down south we had noticed a sign for a new beach resort called Fortune Chariot Resort and the billboard picture looked amazing, so we decided to try it out.

As we were driving back past the salt fields we were discussing what we thought the salt felt like and the process it went through after it left the field and before it hit the supermarket shelves. Interesting conversation, I know! Anyway, I asked Penri to stop at the next pile of salt that was near to the road so that I could have a look at it. A few minutes later there was a big pile not far from the roadside, so we stopped and I got out to go and take a look.

Between the road and the pile of salt there were all thorny bushes and Pen said he didn’t think I’d be able to get through, but as I was wearing my wedge flip flops, I was sure I’d be ok. It was hard work getting through as the thorns kept sticking to my clothes as I walked. Anyway, I made it through and picked up a pile of salt. It was really large chunky bits (like rock salt) and the pile was quite solid. Penri asked me to bring him a handful back to the car, so I picked up some and made my way back through the thorns.
We put the handful I brought into an envelope and put it in the glove compartment (and I’ve only just remembered it’s there)! Not really sure what we’re going to do with it – anyway – it’s a memento from our holiday.

Also on the road on the way back up north, we saw this billboard and I just had to take a picture of it because the message is very strange. They have this new law in Chennai about wearing cycle helmets and they are really clamping down on it with police stopping motorcyclists and fining them and signs being put up everywhere. Anyway, as you can see this sign not only warns against safe driving, but it talks about safe sex aswell.

We followed the signs and found the Fortune Chariot Resort. It seemed very nice, very new and very empty. They told us they were full and they only had Deluxe Cottages available. As the price was fairly steep, we decided to have a look around and see if the Temple Bay or Ideal Beach Resorts had any cottages available. Temple Bay had one but only for one night (and we wanted two) and Ideal Beach only had standard rooms available and Penri wanted a cottage. So, we decided to head back to the Fortune Resort.

We checked in and paid for the Deluxe Cottage and were then taken there in a golf cart which was fun! Because we had paid for the deluxe room, we were supposed to get a massage chair in the room, however it wasn’t there and the Assistant Manager who had taken us to our room asked us to just wait a minute and they would bring one in from the adjoining cottage. So, we sat there in an uncomfortable silence (me, Penri and the manager) waiting for one of the men to come and move the chair.

They opened up cottage number 20 next door and tried to bring this huge massage chair through the small adjoining door. There was no way it was going to fit through, so the manager asked us if we would consider moving into the cottage next door even though it wasn’t quite finished as there was a spare bed without a mattress there. We looked around and it seemed fine, so we said that would be ok.

The manager left and we showered (in the very cold water) changed and went and played table tennis. After which, we had some lunch which was delicious and then went for a swim. The pool at Fortune is the largest pool in Chennai and it is massive and very nice, although not very deep. We were both tired after our swim and being in the sun for a while so we went back to the room and had a nap.

When we woke up I wanted to use the Internet as there was an auction closing on ebay and I wanted to bid for something. The Internet wasn’t working so I decided to make a cup of tea and relax until Penri woke up. The kettle wasn’t working and neither was the fridge. When Penri woke up, I told him we should complain about the room as not only were none of the above things working, neither was the air conditioning control, the safe or the hot water. For the price we were paying, you don’t expect to have to ‘manage’.

We took my laptop and went to reception (to try and use the wireless Internet connection) and Penri spoke to the manager. He was very nice and suggested he move us to another cottage. Penri told him that when we checked in we were told there were no cottages available, however as it turns out there was one. So, while I struggled with the Internet connection (as even the wireless wasn’t working), Penri went to look at the other cottage.

The manager came back and I explained that the wireless Internet wasn’t working, so he let me use the computer in the office while I waited for Penri to come back. As it turns out I had already missed the auction on ebay anyway.

Penri came back, having moved all our stuff and we went and had some dinner. I had spaghetti bolognaise and Penri had a curry. The food was amazing. We went back to the room and slept. Penri woke up at midnight and reminded me that when we had gone for our swim earlier, because the safe wasn’t working, we had put our passports under the cushion of the sofa and now we had moved cottages and left them there. So, I had to phone reception and explain to the man that we needed someone to go over to our second cottage to retrieve our passports. Luckily, he was very understanding and said he would send someone over straight away.

So, we got settled into our third cottage in a day and started to relax and enjoy the holiday. We spent all our time playing table tennis, swimming and enjoying the food in the restaurant. When we swam on Saturday, we were only in the pool for about an hour, but Penri managed to get sun burnt on his back and neck. While I remember I have to include the sign from by the swimming pool – a few of the points made us laugh. Only in India do you have to put a bullet point about not spitting or urinating in the pool and the fact that the hotel won’t provide swimsuits!

Overall, we had a really nice stay at Fortune – very relaxing and a nice break away from Chennai.

Pepsi and Socks

2007-06-21T11:26:00.000+05:30

Pondicherry

2007-06-21T11:04:00.000+05:30

Penri and I have come away from Chennai for a few days. We haven't gone far - we are in Pondicherry (see map above). Pondicherry used to be a French colony and the entire city is divided into two sections - the French quarter and the Indian quarter. We are staying in a nice hotel in the French quarter.

The drive down here was pretty good and only took us a couple of hours. We checked into the hotel, showered and changed, then went out for a wander around the town. When we came back to the hotel we both booked a massage. Penri had a back massage and I opted for reflexology, which I have never had before. It was very relaxing, although when she got to the end of the massage, she pulled each one of my toes until they all popped (it was painful and unexpected)!

We have just had our breakfast and are now going into the town to do a bit of shopping. Pondi is very different to Chennai. There are still lots of people, but nowhere near as many. The shops are different too and you can buy alcohol here (which you can't do easily in Chennai). It was very bizarre having a cocktail with our meal last night.

Anyway, that's all my news for now but I will take some pictures while we are out and about today and post them on here a.s.a.p. It's easier to add to my blog while we're here because the Internet connection is so much faster than ours at home.

Oh, I almost forgot - on our way down here we passed a Salt Farm where they harvest salt from the sea and make huge piles of salt which look like snow. It was really cool so we stopped and took a photo (see below):

Builders

2007-06-21T10:58:00.000+05:30

Here is a picture of the building work going on next door. It is actually much further along than this picture shows, but this is the last photo I took two weeks ago. The picture is taken from our bedroom window so you can see how close to our house they are building.

Tuesday 12th June

2007-06-12T09:10:00.000+05:30

So Penri went to Immigration on Friday to pick up his residence permit. On the receipt we were given, it had both of our names and the guy behind the counter couldn't understand why he couldn't find mine. Penri kept trying to explain that I had already picked it up.

He called me when he left and told me that he had to wait for the signature. I asked him 'What signature?' and he told me once you get your permit stamped, you need to go to another office to get it signed off. I was never told that, so yesterday (Monday), I made the trek over to Immigration again.

I arrived at 2 and went to the office to get my paper signed. There was no-one there, so I asked someone behind the main counter where he/she was. I was told he had gone to lunch and would be back in 10 minutes. I must say, I had my doubts, but 10 minutes later he appeared.

I got the permit signed, which took seconds and then left. From there, I went to a really nice shop called Auroville to buy a snack. I bought Penri some savoury biscuits and myself some sweet ones.

As I was reversing out of the car park I saw a young calf tied to a post. His neck was so close to the pillar that he could hardly move. It was baking hot and the poor creature was covered with flies and he couldn't move. I stopped the car and opened the window and threw him a biscuit. He ate it really quickly and then looked at me, so I threw him another one. This time my aim wasn't as good and it was just out of his reach. So, I got out of the car and pushed the biscuit with my foot nearer to the calf. Again he ate it and looked at me.

I went back to the car and got the whole packet of biscuits and tipped them out right next to the calf. He sat there happy and ate the biscuits. I wish I could have done more for him, but he obviously belonged to someone and from the stares I was getting from drivers and autorick drivers, I felt I had to leave.

I drove back to Penri's work. Just as I approached the turn for his road I saw a dog stuck on the central reservation. He was trying to cross the road, but everytime he put a paw on the road he had to pull back because the traffic was crazy. I slowed right down so that he could cross in front of me, which he did but then he couldn't get across the other two lanes. He went back onto the central reservation and started walking along it again. I had to move on as the traffic behind me was getting heavy and agitated.

I got to Penri's work after another crazy battle with the traffic in Chennai.

Update 8th June.

2007-06-08T10:18:00.000+05:30

They have started building a new property just next to our house (by the fence near the swimming pool) so we now have two building sites next to us. It’s really annoying because they start work early in the morning and the new site is just below our bedroom window.

I have been ill over the last week with a stomach upset so I haven’t really left the house much. Yesterday was the first day I went out and it was a hectic day. I had to go to immigration to pick up our residence permits. They told us to be there at 3 p.m but I thought I would go earlier to miss the crowds of people. I arrived there at 2 and although there were five people there working, I was told I had to wait until 3 p.m to see a lady who would sit at the desk in the corner, so I sat and waited.

At 2.40 p.m, the lady came in and put her stuff on the desk and then spent ages going between her desk and the counter, picking up stamps and a stapler and other stationery. I did feel kind of bad for her as she was heavily pregnant, but she seemed happier finding other things to occupy her time than helping me. I was getting really impatient, especially when the room started filling out with people all waiting to see this one lady. At 10 to 3 she disappeared out of the room and came back just after 3 o’clock.

I made sure I was first, by sitting at the chair next to her desk. I gave her my paper (and I had already searched through the 3 huge stacks of forms and pulled out mine and Penri’s and put them on the top). When she took my paper she told me to go and sit and she would call me. She then collected in ALL the papers from the other 40 people in the room. I didn’t move and take a seat (for starters there weren’t any spare ones), I just stood up right next to her desk.

Once she had collected in all the papers, she called me to her desk. I pointed at mine and Penri’s forms and she pulled mine from the pile. She gave me my residence permit (extended till April 2008) but wouldn’t give me Penri’s. She said he had to come himself to collect it. I explained to her that when we applied for them, we specifically asked if we both had to come to collect them and we were told ‘no, just one of us’. I was annoyed but there was no way she was going to back down, so I just took my papers and left.

From immigration, I had to go to the music shop to pay for my piano hire. The traffic was crazy and it took me nearly half an hour to travel 2 miles. After that I had to go and pay the rent for our house. Again, it took a while to get there because of the traffic. Once I had paid the rent, I felt relieved that I had accomplished all three important tasks for the day and got in the car to go and meet Penri for dinner.

I turned on the engine and put the car in first gear to move forward, the engine revved but I moved nowhere. I got out to see what the problem was and I couldn’t believe my front tyres were stuck in mud! The car wasn’t going anywhere. I stood looking at the front of the car for a moment and then went and asked the security guard nearby to help me. We both tried pushing forwards and backwards. I tried driving while he pushed (all that accomplished was covering him in mud!) The car would not move.

Slowly, a bit at a time, more and more people stopped to help – each with their own idea of how we could solve the problem. One man told me that axel had broken and the car wouldn’t move anywhere. Even I knew that wasn’t the case and we just had to get it out of the mud. They put stones and wood under the tyres but as soon as I tried to move, they just sank further into the ground. They tried pushing (all 20 of them) and still they couldn’t move it.

I was just looking at the car thinking ‘I have no idea what to do’. Only one of the men who had stopped spoke English, so he was translating for me as the rest of them were all discussing what to do. After about 10 minutes, two men from the Pizza Hut next door came out to help. One of them went to the tyres and the other got into the car to drive. It was like there was nothing wrong with it. Within seconds the car was out of the mud and on the road. I couldn’t believe it.

When I told Penri the story he asked me if I gave them money. I had actually considered this but how much money would you give to 22 people without it being an insult? I didn’t have that much money on me, so I just shook the man’s hand (who had spoken to me in English) and said thank you to all of them and drove off. I still laugh about it now – it’s so embarrassing!

On my way to meet Penri, I decided to go for some retail therapy. There’s a really nice shop (kind of on the way to his office) called Anokhi. I managed to find a couple of tops and a nice pair of earrings.

Anyway, it’s Friday today (the last day of school) so most of my friends have either left last night or are leaving today. Chennai will be very quiet over the next few months. Maybe I will finally get to finish the musical I have been writing!

Summer Holidays are nearly here ...

2007-05-31T20:35:00.000+05:30

There is only one more week before school here breaks up and everyone will be leaving Chennai and going back to their respective countries, so it is going to be extremely quiet here.

We've been keeping pretty busy and all is going well. The MADRAS Kids performance was excellent ... the kids did really well and I think all the parents enjoyed it. I must admit I am quite relieved it is over. I can now relax and enjoy some quiet time.

I've heard the weather in the UK is pretty bad at the moment. Guess what it's like here? You got it - it's hot.

Penri keeps very busy with his work and seems to be working longer and longer hours. I don't know how he does it, but he seems to be enjoying it.

Not much other news from here really - all is still the same. It would be lovely to hear from some of you! Write soon!

Bad Day!!

2007-05-17T20:46:00.000+05:30

Today started off badly ... it's been one of those days where I just have no tolerance whatsoever; this has not been helped by the little things that have been happening all day. Let me explain ...

Penri took me to the post office first thing this morning (on his way to work) and I stood patiently in the queue as there were two people in front of me. When it was my turn, I moved to the counter, handed over my packages and the man weighed them for me then I handed over the money. He then served FIVE other people while I was stood there like an idiot. I was starting to get hot and bothered and aggravated that I was being made to wait while he served other people. I picked up my packages and said 'Come on, I don't have time to wait' so he went over to the label printing machine and started typing in numbers. He managed to print one, after he had tried the label in a variety of different directions.

By this time I had three people on my right hand side all holding their money out, a lady on my left hand side waving her money and a man stood right behind me. The lady on my left called to the man saying 'Give me this' pointing at envelopes and waving her money at him. The man started to walk over to us - at which point I lost it ... I turned to her and said 'Wait. It is not your turn. He is still serving me!' She looked at me and said nothing and the man behind the counter went back to print my second label.

Eventually, I got the labels stuck on the parcels, he gave me my change and I was out of there. I was furious - it had taken 20 minutes just to get them posted, when in reality, had he stuck to just serving me, it would have taken less than 5!!

Anyway, I dropped Penri at work and then went off to meet some friends. At 5.30 p.m I decided to go shopping, so got in the car and headed over to the Music Shop. I was so surprised at how light the traffic was and wondered what was going on. Anyway, I browsed the music books for a while and selected a few. Then went over to Spencers Plaza Shopping Mall.

It was heaving with people (as is the norm), so I decided I wouldn't browse - just go in and get what I want and get out of there. Why is it when you are in a rush there is always someone who decides to walk in front of you at a snails pace?! I bought some tracksuit bottoms and some DVDs and then headed back to the car park. I couldn't remember where I had parked and was trying to remember what shop was near me when I came in. The car park at the shopping mall here is not like the UK car parks - there is no common sense to it at all. Anyway, I eventually found it.

The traffic was HORRENDOUS. The worst I think I've seen it and definitely the worse I have driven in. It took 20 minutes just to get from the shopping mall, 200 metres down the road! Anyway, it was during this time sitting in the traffic that I was thinking what a bad mood I've been in all day (must be the 45 degree heat or something) and I realised ... there were motorcycles in the lane in front of me ... motorcycles in the lane behind me and no other cars in my lane. It was then I noticed that the motorcyclists were giving me the weirdest looks. I was in the wrong lane! So, I indicated to pull into the next lane and would anyone let me out? Not a chance!

Unfortunately, the Indian people drive like they queue - every man for himself! Eventually, I bullied an ambassador car into letting me out. I pulled so close to his front that he thought I was going to hit him and considering there is a HUGE dent in the car on that front side where Penri hit a bus - he probably believed I would hit him.

I did actually clip a motorbike on the dual carriageway, but this was not my fault. I was driving fairly fast as the road in front of me was clear ahead (as were the two lanes either side of me), and this motorbike came whizzing in front of me and cut me up, I braked really hard but I clipped his back wheel. Luckily he was fine and didn't even look over his shoulder - just drove on.

By the time I got back to this side of town, I had a headache from all the blaring lights (as the mentality here is that it's easier to see with your headlights on!) and my left leg was killing me from all the clutch control. So, there you have it - my bad day today! At least tomorrow is a new day!

See some more pictures below: a family on a motorbike (not an uncommon sight - the most we have seen is 5 on 1 bike) and one of the Chennai buses - I just wanted to show you how they all just hang on the outside. It is so dangerous!

Builders and Trucks!

2007-05-17T00:55:00.000+05:30

See the pictures above of the builders working outside our house. It's strange to see so many women working on a building site although this is a regular occurrence here. I can't believe how they balance things on their heads - they do the same thing with huge baskets of fruit and jugs of water!! I have also put a picture of the trucks just to show you how considerate they are where they park (bear in mind this is the only road leading to our house)!!

So, they have filled the foundation with sand and are now using wooden planks for the base of the floor - I wonder if this new house will stand through a monsoon! Another thing you see a lot of on building sites is scaffolding made out of bamboo!!

Unbearable!

2007-05-10T13:28:00.000+05:30

The last few days have been SO, SO, SO HOT! Our electricity went off on Tuesday early afternoon - the whole house. We had no lights, fans or air conditining!! As you can imagine, it was a pretty horrendous night. At the moment, the temperature during the day is between 42 - 45 degrees and although it cools down in the evenings, it is still hot. So, we both hardly slept; Penri kept getting up to have a shower and then trying to go to sleep, but nothing seemed to help.

The landlord's secretary arranged for someone to come out from the EB (Electricity Board) on Wednesday morning, which they did at 8 a.m - very unusual for India as normally they say they'll be there and 4 hours later you are still waiting for them. Anyway, he turned up and fixed the electric and off he went. So, Penri and I went back to sleep as we were both shattered.

Two hours later, the power went off again. At this point, I had to get up and go out - I couldn't cope with it anymore. I went to have a shower and turned on the tap ... no water! Would you believe?! So, I put on my swimsuit, went downstairs and jumped in the pool, where I stayed until I had cooled off.

The electricity is now working again, but every hour it goes off for about 10 minutes, which is frustrating but at least it is on more than it is off! The picture above gives a pretty good idea of how it feels. I can't decide what is worse being too hot or too cold! Roll on October/November for the Monsoon season!

At the Hairdressers ...

2007-05-05T19:20:00.000+05:30

I decided it was finally time to get my hair highlighted. I had every intention of having it done while we were in the UK, however as we were so busy, I just never got around to it. So, I booked myself an appointment at one of the 5 star hotels here. I've never had my hair done there before, but I decided that as it is one of the most expensive hotels in Chennai, the salon couldn't be that bad!

I went into my appointment at 12 p.m and there was only one other lady in the salon having her hair done. So there were two of us (clients) and eight ladies working there! The other lady was just finishing as Edna (the lady doing my hair) started to put my foils in. When she left, I had four ladies stood around me watching everything Edna was doing. When I say they were stood around me, they were literally blocking me into the chair - they had no sense of personal space! They kept asking Edna questions about what she was doing and they were all trying to help by passing the foils and the brush etc. I was very relieved when two more ladies came into the salon as they had something else to occupy themselves with.

I have never understood people who enjoy going to get their hair done! I just find it a nuisance, but something that must be done every so often. I don't enjoy it and could think of lots of things I'd rather do with 2-3 hours of my time.

Anyway, another lady came into the salon and I think she must go there quite regularly as they all seemed to know her. She sat down and had her hair washed then she went over to another chair. She had one lady dyeing her hair, another lady giving her a pedicure, another lady doing her manicure and a fourth lady sitting right next to her talking to her. I couldn't believe it. Can you imagine getting that kind of service in the UK? Hair, pedicure and manicure all at the same time and four people waiting on you?! I guess India is just so different from the UK in many ways.

The result of my highlights was ok. Not as good as the UK, but then what can I expect for 20 pounds?

While I was there, I thought I might as well get my eyebrows threaded. For those of you who have never experienced this - it is most bizarre! It is done by knotting a piece of thread and creating a trap to pull the hair out from the root (see picture above). Does it sound painful? It's not the most comfortable thing I've experienced, but apparently much better than waxing or plucking. I can cope with the eyebrows but I don't know how anyone has their entire face threaded (which a lot of women do) - I don't think I could cope with the pain of that!!

Hot, Hotter, Hottest!

2007-05-01T16:50:00.000+05:30

Well, here we are back in India - back in the hot, hot month of May. I can't remember who said this about Chennai, but when asked what the seasons were here, their reply was "There are three seasons in Chennai: hot, hotter and hottest", which unfortunately is true. The month of May just happens to be the hottest and as you can imagine, coming back from England to this 38 degree heat is quite a shock to the system!

We had fun at Heathrow Airport on Saturday morning as they are SO strict with luggage and hand luggage now that I had to repack all of our hand luggage so we could check one of the bags in. On the BA website, it says that you can have a laptop as well as one piece of hand luggage, however when we got there we were told that this information was wrong and we could only have one piece of hand luggage each. So we had to pack one of the holdalls between our two laptop cases and pack the other holdall to go through into the hold. For those of you who have had this problem before - kneeling on an airport floor trying to make things fit and pulling out items of clothes, books and whatever else may be in your case is not an easy task, especially when there are so many nosy people around watching what you are doing! However, it happened to quite a few people while we were there and we saw lots of people packing and re-packing cases.

We arrived back on Sunday morning at 7 a.m and got a taxi from the airport to our house. Penri had managed to sleep quite a bit on the plane, but for some reason, I wasn't able to. So, by the time we got back to Chennai I was exhausted. We got into the house and put all the cases in the corner of the bedroom and went to sleep. The house was immaculate - cleaner than it has ever been before. This is because while we were away, our maid and her family stayed in the house to look after Pepsi and Socks. I think they must have cleaned the whole time they were there as everything was absolutely spotless. The cats also seemed very well and happy. I later found out that both the cats had made good friends with the family and Pepsi was sleeping in the maid's daughter's bed with her!!

At about 10 a.m. we were woken up by the air conditioner stopping. Guess what ... on our first day back in India we had a power cut! I did my best to try and sleep through it (as it is the easiest way to deal with power cuts otherwise you just dwell on the fact that it is so hot, and it becomes unbearable). The power came on a while later and we slept through most of the day. I finally got up at about 6 p.m. and unpacked all the cases and began the mountainous pile of washing. I also made a few phone calls to catch up with people and to check all had gone well with drama and things while I was away. We then ordered a pizza home delivery, ate and went back to sleep.

Yesterday (Monday), I got up at lunch time and continued with the washing. We decided to give our maid the day off as she worked so hard while we were away. In the afternoon, I went out to the supermarket. I don't really think it can be called a 'super' market when compared with Asda and Tesco. I think I had forgotten how different it is here. Just to give you an example (or two). I decided I was going to make a salad for dinner, so I began picking out tomatoes and onions. I picked up a cucumber to put in my basket and as I brought my hand back from the shelf, I saw a cockroach on the cucumber ... it made me jump (and squeal) and I threw the cucumber back onto the shelf. I finally found a couple of cucumbers (after looking through very carefully) and then I picked up a lettuce; well, would you believe - the same thing happened. There was a baby cockroach sitting on the top of it!!! I finally got everything I needed and went to the till. It took nearly 20 minutes to put through a bag of tomatoes, onions, cucumber, lettuce, carrots, mangos and a loaf of bread!! And, it took 3 girls to serve me! Oh, how I miss Tesco!

After coming home and soaking all the salad in water with a sterilising tablet (as is so important in India), I spent the afternoon with a friend and her two children. Penri came home at 11.30 p.m. and had dinner and we went to sleep at about 2 a.m.

It's amazing how when you go on holiday (even though Penri was working, he was out of his normal routine), you come home and it takes your body so long to adjust back into your normal routine. I am still absolutely shattered today and I'm sure it will take at least a week before I feel like myself again! Anyway, in keeping with my word, I am updating my blog frequently from now on so make sure you keep reading and I'll keep you updated on life in Chennai.

London - Part Three (Local)

2007-04-27T22:01:00.000+05:30

This morning (Friday) I decided I wasn't going to go out very far as I walked so much yesterday that my feet were still hurting this morning. So, I only walked out to the local shops (by the hotel) and to the Post Office.

While I was out I thought I would get something for dinner that we don't get in Chennai - very simple, but delicious - I got a French stick, pepperoni, cheese, coleslaw and a variety of crisps as well as things like pickled onions and homous. It is all so simple, yet living in the UK and always having the wide variety we do, it is so easy to take these simple things for granted!

Anyway, once I'd finished shopping I thought I'd better call Penri to tell him that I'd bought dinner (just in case he thought to pick something up on his way back). I went into a phone box to call him and just after I'd put all the shopping down at my feet and I was about to pick up the phone, someone tapped on the phone box behind me. I'm always very wary in London anyway, so I anxiously turned around and there was a man standing there. I felt a bit panicky but said to him "I won't be a minute" and he said "Are you working?" Well, you can imagine the thoughts going through my head - my instant reaction was "Do I look like a call girl?" but I said "No. I won't be long" and picked up the phone. There was no dial tone - then he tapped on the window again and said "Is it working?" I couldn't help but laugh out loud (and breathe a sigh of relief) and told him that 'no, the phone wasn't working'. He then walked away. Thinking about it afterwards (when I was walking back to the hotel) and even now it makes me chuckle.

Anyway, it is now late afternoon and Penri will be back from work soon so I am going to finish this post and write again soon.

London - Part Two (Shopping)

2007-04-27T21:38:00.000+05:30

Yesterday (Thursday) I decided to go shopping in central London. Penri left early for work and I relaxed and watched rubbish morning TV until 8.30 a.m. Then I got up and showered and dressed to go out. In preparation for my day of shopping I took with me, a small wheelie suitcase, this is a trick I learnt from my mum. It means that all the shopping I buy goes in one place and I don't have to carry it ... brilliant!

I started off in Oxford Street and walked all the way from Oxford Circus Station to Marble Arch. This may not sound like much but I walked it twice! Long story - basically I went to John Lewis and then walked on, but realised I'd forgotten to get something, so I walked all the way back again. Oxford Street was really busy - see photo above - nearly as bad as India!

Whilst walking I saw this sign ....

I couldn't believe it - what a way to make money! It looked really nice inside. I wish they would introduce something like this in Chennai. For anyone who has ever been to India, you will know that you just do not use public toilets! It is not something you want to do. Hey, maybe I have found a niche in the market in Chennai!

Anyway, while I was walking up and down Oxford Street I was doing a very good job to avoid all the people standing on the side of the path trying to get money off you for one thing or another. However, this one lady stopped me by asking "What is your favourite TV show?" and after thinking about it, I couldn't actually name one. So, instead she asked "Well do you have a favourite film or musical?" As soon as she said 'musical' about 20 popped into my head. So I told her I liked loads but if I had to choose one I would probably choose 'Starlight Express'. She then asked me to sing one of the songs from it. I just looked at her and asked "Why?" She explained she was trying to get a job and as part of the interview they want to see if she is able to get people to talk to her. So, I stood there in the middle of Oxford Street and sang 'Next Time You Fall In Love' from 'Starlight Express' (which I thought was very brave of me - normally I'm not that courageous). When I finished, she smiled and thanked me. I then asked if I was being filmed for some hidden camera show and she laughed saying I wasn't (it wouldn't be the first time - I was caught out on 'Ant and Dec's Secret Camera Show' a few years ago). Anyway, that was that and I went on my way. I did notice that after walking away she tried to stop loads of other people, but no-one would stop - not one person!

After finishing my shopping, I went on the tube to Ealing Broadway. I studied in Ealing and I haven't been back there since so I was curious to see it again. I had a wander round and then came back to the hotel. By the time I got back my feet were killing me! I certainly have done a lot of walking this last two weeks.

London - Part One (Radlett)

2007-04-27T21:18:00.000+05:30

We arrived in London on Tuesday evening and after dropping the car back at the airport we got a train to Liverpool Street Station and checked into our hotel (Holiday Inn Express). We had a quick walk around the block and picked up some dinner and then came back to the room so Penri could watch football.

On Wednesday morning, we both left early and Penri went to work whilst I caught a train to Radlett. I spent the day with Indeg and Manon. I cannot believe how much Manon has grown - she is such a beautiful little girl and so well behaved and I had so much fun at their house. I took lots of photos - there were so many but I have chosen four of them. The one of Manon on her own is one of my favourites! Penri came and joined us after work (at about 7 p.m) and spent a bit of time with Manon before she went to bed. Then Inds, Pen and I had a chinese takeaway. We left Indeg's house at 10.40 and pretty much ran all the way to the train station to make the 10.56 train. We got there at 10.53 and found the front entrance to the station closed so we had to run all the way around to the back gate to get into the station. I thought I was going to pass out! Anyway, we made it onto the train and got back into the hotel and crashed out!

Sandwich and Norwich

2007-04-27T20:55:00.000+05:30

Well, this has to be one of the most beautiful, relaxing places I've ever been to. I took so many photos that I found it hard to choose which ones to put on my blog site (hence there being 3 photos).

We arrived in Sandwich on Sunday evening and went out for a walk around. It was very small, but very nice. On Monday morning, we checked out at 9.40 and I met up with Lara (my friend from Scunthorpe who I've known since I was very young). While Pen went off to work, Lara and I sat and had coffee and caught up on what's been happening in our lives. Lara had to leave to go to work at 12 and Penri wasn't finished until 3 p.m so I went for another walk around Sandwich. I bought some books and some feta and olives for a snack. Then I sat and read outside the museum (see picture) until 2.30 and then headed back to meet Penri.

From there we drove up to Norwich (my geography is certainly improving and I think even Penri would agree that my map reading is getting better)! In Norwich, we got a bit lost when we were looking for the hotel (we didn't have a map and Penri had asked for directions but we just seemed to be going around in circles). We finally found the hotel (Maid's Head Hotel) and checked in. We then got some dinner and chilled out watching TV.

On Tuesday morning Penri went off to work and one guess as to what I did .... shopping! Norwich was actually a really nice place to shop although, again, very large and lots of walking involved. I met Penri at 2 o'clock and we drove from Norwich to Stanstead Airport to take the car back before moving on to London.

Scunthorpe

2007-04-27T20:36:00.000+05:30

On Friday afternoon we drove over to Scunthorpe (which was only about half an hour from Grimsby). I had a wander around the shops while Penri was on his second conference call of the day. We then enjoyed a bag of chips and scraps from Kingston fish and chip shop. Those people who have never had chips from up North won't know what scraps are (they are just batter from the fryer) and they're delicious.

Late afternoon we went over to Aunty Viv and Uncle James'. We enjoyed a lovely afternoon and then played some cards before going to bed. On Saturday morning I got up at what I thought was an early time (8.40 a.m) and went in the shower. When I came out the bathroom my Aunty Ann and cousin Dawne Marie were already at Aunty Vivian's house (and they had driven down from Redcar)!

Saturday was a lovely day spent catching up with Aunty Ann, Aunty Vivian, Dawne Marie and my Aunty Doris. I think Penri and Uncle James felt a bit outnumbered by the amount of women (and we're all fairly loud)! It was wonderful seeing them all - see a photo below of us. Actually, the only time Penri and Uncle James were in the room was when we dragged them in to take photos of us.

On Saturday evening we (me, Penri, Aunty Vivian and Uncle James) went to Lincoln to meet up with Aunty Ann (a different Ann) and Uncle Mike. We went for an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. The food was delicious ... really enjoyed it. After dinner we played some more cards and then after showing Aunty Viv how to play Sims, we went to bed.

On Sunday morning we drove over to Aunty Sandra and Uncle Chris' house and spent some time catching up with them. We then hit the motorway and had a LONG drive to Sandwich, Dover.

York then Grimsby

2007-04-27T20:22:00.000+05:30

York - isn't it beautiful?

Arriving in York, it was already early evening. We checked into our hotel (The Royal York Hotel) emptied the car and then went out to get something to eat.

On Thursday morning Penri dropped me off near York town centre at 9 a.m and went off to work. York is quite big and I walked around shopping (and spending) until 2 p.m. I really liked York - it was colourful, pretty and the shops were great! It felt like I walked for miles.

While I was shopping in York, I saw something unusual. There was a busker on the high street ... this may not sound unusual until I tell you the next part ... he was playing a piano! A full size upright piano. I was very impressed - not so much by his playing (although he was pretty good) but for his innovative idea. I must admit I've never seen a busker on a piano before! See below:

Penri picked me up at 2 p.m and we drove to Grimsby. We were supposed to be going to Norwich on Friday (for Penri's work) but the people in the office there postponed it until Tuesday, although Penri still had to work on the Friday - he had two conference calls. While Penri worked on Friday, I walked around the shops in Grimsby high street.

Chester

2007-04-27T19:56:00.000+05:30

We arrived in Chester just after 6 p.m and checked into our hotel (which was a Holiday Inn Express). We showered and changed as we were meeting Amanda and Linda at 7 p.m (they drove over from Manchester to see us). We all went out to dinner at a hotel called The Crowne Plaza. The meal was lovely and it was really nice catching up with them. I have known Amanda since we were about 2 years old and we've grown up together and even though she moved to England when we were 9, we've always kept in touch. I think it's lovely to stay in touch with friends, especially as the older I get, I don't seem to establish as solid friendships as I had when I was younger. Is that just me?! Anyway, I'm going off on a tangent as I do when I talk, so back to the trip. Amanda dropped us back at our hotel just after 9.30 p.m and we were both so tired that we went straight to bed.

In the morning Penri was supposed to be at work at 10 a.m so we started getting ready about 9 o'clock. Penri needed to go down to the car to get his suit out and asked me where the car keys were. I didn't know so we both started looking. Well, we turned the room upside down and I emptied and re-packed the suitcases and the hand luggage and I must have emptied my handbag at least 3 times - they were nowhere to be seen! Penri went to look if he'd dropped them outside and to check if the car was still there. The car was in the car park but there was no sign of the keys.

We went through the options - they could be in the restaurant where we had dinner or Amanda's car. So, I called Linda at home as I knew Amanda would be working and I didn't have a contact number for her at work. Amanda checked and she found them on the back seat of her car (so Penri's keys were in Manchester 45 minutes drive from where we were). By now it was approaching 10 o'clock and obviously Penri couldn't go to work as he had nothing smart to wear. He called the office and explained the situation and re-arranged his meeting for 2 p.m. We then had to decide the best course of action:
1. Take a train to Manchester to pick up the keys (but with no guarantee we'd be back in time for his meeting);
2. Go to Chester and buy a new suit, shirt and tie (this would cost a lot and we'd still have to figure out a way to get the keys back as Pen had to work in York the following morning);
3. Get a courier to pick up the keys from Amanda and bring them over to us (seemed like the best option).

So, a few phone calls and 65 quid later, we were told the keys would be delivered by 1 p.m which would give us enough time for Pen to get changed and go to work. We extended our check out as long as possible, which was until 1 o'clock so it seemed to work out nicely ... or so you would think ...

At 1.15 p.m there was no sign of the driver so Pen called the company to see what was going on. Apparently, the driver had got lost and phoned the hotel. The receptionist told him he had the wrong hotel as there was no-one waiting (she was so stupid - Penri had told her twice!) Anyway, because the driver couldn't find us, he had started heading back to Manchester! Penri was obviously really annoyed so he called the company AGAIN.

The driver finally arrived at 1.58 p.m. Penri got changed in the car park and raced off to work. I took the bus and went into Chester. I had arranged to meet an old school friend, Lucy. I haven't seen her since we were 18 years old and living in Doha. Ten years and yet she had hardly changed. We had a really nice time catching up and talking about "the good old days". I left Lucy at 5.30 to get a bus back to meet Penri so we could drive to York.

Me and Lucy

Swansea and Bristol

2007-04-27T19:33:00.000+05:30

So, we hired a car from Heathrow and drove to Swansea to Penri's mum's house. We unloaded the car of all our cases and then the three of us (me, Penri and Laura) went to the supermarket. I needed to buy an adaptor for my laptop (as it has an Indian plug). Penri and I were a bit overwhelmed ... I think we'd forgotten what a real supermarket looked like. It was HUGE and CLEAN and sold everything you could ever want. Laura told me afterwards that she will never forget our faces - I guess the best way to relate it is 'It's like seeing snow for the first time - you can't quite believe your eyes'.

On Sunday we were up early (ish) and went around all of Penri's family that live in Swansea starting with Penri's dad. From there we went to Mam and Dats (we caught up with Penri's Aunty Eiry and Uncle Tony at the same time) and also spoke to his Aunty Delyth on the phone; finally we went to visit Val. It was really nice seeing the family again - it makes you realise even more how much you miss them when you're away. Hopefully it won't be too long before we're back again.

On Monday morning we woke up early (again) and had some breakfast before setting off to Bristol. The first place we went to was our house. It was very strange being back and knowing that we weren't staying and even stranger that someone else was living in our house! Once we'd caught up with neighbours (our neighbours, not the TV show) we headed into the centre of Bristol to sort out a few things (Estate Agents and banks etc). By late afternoon we were shattered and went to check into the hotel we were staying at. It is called Jury's Hotel and is right on the water front in the centre of Bristol (see picture below). It was very nice - seemed very posh! They even had a white baby grand piano in the bar area (which my fingers were itching to play but there were too many people about)!

Later in the evening I caught up with Sarah (a friend from the school I used to teach at), which was lovely. We finished off a nice day with kebab and chips (which to a lot of people is nothing special but for us ... we haven't had a kebab for nearly a year and it used to be a weekly meal for us when we lived in UK)!

On Tuesday morning Penri was working in Bristol so he dropped me off outside the Axa Centre where my friend Jackie picked me up. I spent the morning with her catching up over tea and cream cakes and then we went to Cribbs Causeway Shopping Mall at 11.45 so I could meet up with some students from my old school. It was so good seeing all my Bristol friends again and I must admit, it did make me feel a little sad knowing that I was only there for such a short time.

Trip to England

2007-04-27T19:13:00.000+05:30

Well it is literally months since my last posting (appalling, I know) but I will make a real effort from now on to try and update this at least once a month. We are still in London and leave tomorrow to go back to India so I am updating this blog from our hotel room in the centre of London. I have so much to write about the trip that I am going to put it in sections based on the area of England (or Wales) we were in at the time.

For those who don't already know - we arrived in England on Saturday (two weeks ago) and have been to Swansea, Bristol, Chester, York, Grimsby, Scunthorpe, Lincoln, Sandwich, Norwich, Radlett, London in that order. Penri has driven 1,300 miles in 10 days as well as working in between!!

In addition to all the info I am going to put on my blog, I also have some photos to include (which I find always makes it more interesting to read).

The flight over from India was 10 hours and 27 minutes. I actually managed to sleep for about 5 hours of it, which was brilliant as it made it feel at lot quicker. Anyway, onto my next post and destination one: Swansea!

Temples, Catfish and Autos

2006-12-27T20:06:00.000+05:30

Some random photos from India (that I haven't yet put on my blogsite).

Firstly, Mylapore Temple - a well known landmark in Chennai. The second picture shows the catfish at the back of Mylapore Temple. Someone told me they were eels and I was all excited and couldn't wait to see them, but they're only catfish (albeit hundreds of them). And finally, an autorick being repaired. You see this quite frequently around Chennai - you just have to pray you're not in one when they decide they need to change a tyre or something!

Do you like what you see?

2006-12-27T19:54:00.000+05:30

Fancy a massage and then a holiday at the Santana beach resort? Photos taken at Mamallapuram when we were last there. Fancy putting a sign up for the hotel beach resort when it's not even built? It's like the Carry on Abroad film!

Another year over

2006-12-27T19:52:00.000+05:30

Christmas is over and now we can look forward to the New Year, making lots of resolutions that we will never keep and working our way through 2007 as quickly as we have through this year. Isn’t it amazing how time flies?! If you’d asked me a year ago where I thought I would be in a year’s time, my reply would’ve been – ‘still teaching at Patchway, still living in Bristol’ … who’d have thought I’d be here in India?! Speaking of resolutions – I must think of some before January 1st.

Christmas Day was lovely. We woke up at 7 a.m. and opened our presents. Santa was very kind to me this year (and so was Penri). We spent the morning together and then set off to Stephanie and Richard’s house for lunch. We had delicious chilli (I know Chilli on Christmas day) but it truly was lovely. She’s such a good cook. Sophia (their 2 year old daughter) was so cute and wouldn’t go to sleep cause she was too excited with people at her house and new toys and everything. I will come back to this and attach a picture of her playing her keyboard (that we bought her) when I get home (I’m typing this from Penri’s work). She’s so adorable. Anyway, we sat and chatted for the afternoon and set off home at around 5 p.m. Driving down the ECR on Christmas Day you wouldn’t have a clue it was Christmas. All the shops were open and people everywhere going about their daily routines. Can you imagine trying to go to Asda or Tesco on Christmas Day? No chance! In the afternoon we played computer games and I added our new DVDs into our collection and we just relaxed. It was lovely.

On Boxing Day I got up at about 11 a.m. and started preparing lunch. We decided that we were going to have a roast dinner on Boxing Day so we had been out on Sunday to get all the vegetables and chicken etc. Would you believe that our “Christmas dinner” cost us £3.50? That was for all the veg and trimmings! So, back to where I was …. Boxing day morning I started preparing all the food – you know the deal – peeling potatoes (with the new peeler Penri bought me for Christmas), chopping veg and even making stuffing and Yorkshire puddings from scratch. I also got to use my food mixer (again), which Penri said I would never use (just had to throw that in there)! Penri came downstairs at about 1 o’clock just as I was finishing things off. He helped to make the stuffing and mash the potatoes (which I hate doing)! We sat down to eat at 1.30 and listened to some Christmas carols … it kind of felt like Christmas.

So, today is the 27th and Penri is already back to work. I decided to join him in the office and take the opportunity of updating my blog site as I was having trouble attaching pictures from home. I was in working with him last week (sending invoices and stuff) so he could finish his month end.

What else have we been up to? Well, I played piano for the Children’s Christmas Brunch on Sunday 10th December. It was certainly interesting. We (Sarah and I) arrived at the hotel at 7.30 a.m. to find that the room hadn’t been set up and was still in a mess from the Christmas do the night before. There were 120 people arriving between 9 and 9.30 expecting to see Santa Claus. The people at the hotel didn’t quite grasp the urgency of how much work there was to be done. However, credit given where due, after Sarah had words with the manager (and cried) they pulled their fingers out and actually did some work! I have some photos (again at home), which I will attach to the blog later. I got to play carols on a lovely black baby grand piano! It is always fun with kids and quite a lot happened while I was playing … just a few examples … when I started playing (when Santa Claus was coming in), there was a young girl (who can’t have been more than 2 years old) sat next to me who started crying. She was not happy about Santa being there! Also, when I was playing the carols, this little boy came up to me half way through a song and said ‘hello’. I smiled at him and he smiled back and said ‘hello’ again so I said hello back to him and then he just stood next to me and watched me. Next thing I got poked in the bum by a little girl leaning on the piano stool; I missed a cue cause I was blinded by a Japanese lady taking my photo, and everyone sang ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’ wrong even though I’d been through it that morning to make sure my music matched the words they were using. It didn’t matter though – everyone had fun and all the kids seemed happy enough.

I also played the piano for the OWC (Overseas Women’s Club) OAP lunch which was even more interesting as this time the piano was very old and dodgy and some of the notes were way out of tune. We sang through a few carols and they kept requesting things I didn’t have so I just had to make it up as we went along. Again, it was ok … I couldn’t hear them singing because of the size of the room we were in, but Sarah was stood behind me singing and we were in time with each other and it sounded ok from where I was sitting. Although afterwards my friend Yvonne told me that the singing from where she was standing was awful (I’m just glad she said singing and not playing!) Then the OAPs were coming up in pairs and requesting songs which I would play for them so they could sing to all the others. It was only when a dear little old couple asked me to play ‘C is for Christ and H is for Herald’ that I had no clue what they were talking about. Luckily the hotel/club pianist seemed to know it and he played for them and then I didn’t have to play anymore. I had a good time (even if the piano was out of tune).

On January 31st I am playing for the OWC Garden Party, which should be nice. My friend Stephanie (who we spent Christmas with) is a trained singer (she has an amazing voice) so she’s singing and I’ll accompany her. Quite looking forward to it actually although we seriously need to get some practice in beforehand. Also, Penri’s mum arrives on the 30th January, which is really exciting, so she’ll be able to come and watch. It’ll make me more nervous, but I hope she’ll enjoy it.

Not much other news to write about now but I will be more active in updating my blog more frequently … there’s my New Year’s Resolution right there!

Fisherman's Cove 24.11.06

2006-12-26T14:14:00.000+05:30

On Friday we went down to Fisherman’s Cove again for lunch and then we visited Mallamapuram. We went to the Shore Temple and Arujuna’s Penance and looked at all the carvings in the rocks. Again, there are people trying to sell you things everywhere you went. My dad bought some carvings (two sets) for 600 rupees. David (who is great at bartering) then bought two sets for 100 rupees. My dad was annoyed cause he thought he’d got a good deal. It’s amazing how much they try to rip you off here. There’s always room for negotiation – another example is I bought six moonstones for 200 rupees. David then bought five moonstones for 100 rupees. My dad then (trying to get one up on Dave because he’d bought the same as him with the carvings for six times the price) bought six moonstones for 100 rupees. They started off asking for 250 rupees for two moonstones (just to give you an idea of how much you can barter with them). The only problem is once you’ve bought something they continue to follow you and hassle you and try to get you to buy more! Here is a classic photo of my dad – trying to get rid of the three men (who knew he’d paid 600 rupees for two sets of carvings) trying to sell him postcards and paintings.

I've included some pictures of us at Temple Bay and a picture of a group of women cutting the grass. It's not like in England where they use a lawnmower - here they have tiny scissors (which look like nail scissors)!!

Marina

2006-12-26T14:13:00.000+05:30

On Monday we decided to head over to Chennai Marina to see about hiring a boat. I’ve never been that far north of Chennai. We had a look around the marina but they were all commercial fishing boats. After that I took my dad and Dave to Santhome Cathedral, Fort St George and then Spencer’s Plaza for some shopping. Another long day, but it was really good. I took lots of photos on my new camera – here are a few.

Bird Sanctuary

2006-12-26T14:10:00.000+05:30

On Sunday we had decided we were going to set off at lunchtime and head over to the Bird Sanctuary as my dad wanted to take photos of the birds (his favourite pastime). We set off at 1.30 p.m. and followed the map down past Mallamapuram. We drove and drove down the East Coast Road and after a couple of hours driving, stopped for petrol to find out where on earth we were. The guys in the petrol station told us we had gone too far and the Bird Sanctuary was about 30 kms back the way we had come. So, we turned around and drove back the way we came. We stopped and asked someone else who hadn’t a clue what we were talking about so we kept driving until we came to a little village. We stopped to ask some guys who were sitting under a shade listening to some music. When my dad opened the door, the smell that wafted in was definitely not cigarettes. The guys were high on whatever it was they were smoking so I told my dad to get back into the car and we’d ask someone else. We finally found someone who seemed to know the place we were talking about and he told us to keep driving until we came to a crossroads then we should turn left and head down that road. So, that’s what we did. We ended up driving through this tiny village and out the other side. We spent the next 40 minutes driving down the road pictured below. Penri was dodging potholes and buses (which kept coming towards us) as well as crazy people walking down the middle of the road.

The most hilarious thing was when we stopped to ask someone who was walking down the road for directions. He obviously spoke no English so Dave tried to explain where we were going by bending his arms and flapping like a bird …. Well, you should have seen this guys face! His jaw dropped open and he just stared at the four of us as we cracked up laughing and drove off.

At this point my dad kept saying ‘we should turn back’ – there was no way we were going to give up after we’d come so far (even if no-one knew where we were going). We finally found someone at a petrol station who knew the way exactly. He directed us right to the town where the sanctuary is. When we got there it was 5.30 p.m. and we had been driving for four hours! The sun was just about to set so we thought we’d check out the bird sanctuary anyway. My dad took a couple of photos although we didn’t have much time before it was too dark.

The idea was that we would find a place to stay near the Bird Sanctuary so that we could get there first thing the next morning (before sunrise) so my dad could take photos. We checked out the only hotel nearby and it was a dump! We drove into the entrance, took one look at the building and decided it was worth heading back to Chennai. Once we left the sanctuary we came out on a massive dual carriageway! A road, funnily enough, that leads straight back to Chennai – the map we were reading was completely wrong! So, coming home wasn’t half as bad as going as it was motorway all the way. We were all tired and starving so we stopped at Cedar’s (a Lebanese restaurant) for dinner on the way home! When we got back to the house we all crashed out. It had been such a long day.

Croc Bank 18.11.06

2006-12-26T14:04:00.000+05:30

On Saturday we took a drive over to Fisherman’s Cove (a beach resort south of Chennai) as my dad and Dave wanted to hire a boat to go fishing. The only boat available to hire was a small, very basic boat with a little engine on the back and the fishing wasn’t with rods but with a net, so they decided to think about it (and see if there was somewhere else they could hire something better). We had the buffet lunch at the restaurant there (which was very nice) and then decided to head over to Crocodile Bank (which was only about 10 km away). It was starting to rain but we decided to go over there anyway. By the time we got to the Crocodile place the rain was minimal and it seemed to be stopping so we decided to go in. We had a good walk round and took some nice photos and this time I was brave enough to hold the baby crocodile! Penri wouldn’t hold him and there was no way my dad or Dave was going to. It was quite scary as I kept thinking he was going to turn round and snap at me so I probably held his neck a little too tightly (see picture). I also took some pictures including one of two street children with a monkey (unfortunately it’s not a great picture as it’s a bit too dark).

Learning to Cook

2006-11-05T17:27:00.000+05:30

I've been going regularly to my 'Tiffin Club' (cooking club) and the last session was held at the Courtyard Marriott last week. We were learning how to make different soups and salads. I'd had a really late night the night before (well, I didn't actually go to bed) as I was playing Sims so I was late to the meeting.

The Chef made the most amazing tomato soup and minestrone soup. I didn't try some of the salads, such as Caesar because of the anchovies. It was really nice and I'm learning how to make all sorts of new dishes. The next Tiffin is a Cookie Exchange, which should be nice.

Magic Hand

2006-11-05T17:25:00.000+05:30

Penri and I went shopping the other day to Spencer's Plaza. As we were driving there, this guy walked in front of our car (even though we were going quite fast) and put his hand out to tell us to stop as he was walking. You would be amazed how many people do this in India. Whether they're walking, driving or on a motorbike, they put out their hand to indicate for you to stop so that they can go in front of you. Penri calls it the 'Magic Hand' because they never consider that you might be going too fast to stop or that you might not want to stop for them - the Magic Hand stops all! It's really crazy - they cross main roads and just put their hand out to stop all the traffic coming towards them and as you have probably read in my previous blogs, the traffic here is CRAZY!

Using my new food mixer

2006-11-05T17:17:00.000+05:30

The other night, my friend Megan came over to play computer games. We were both playing Sims (her on her laptop and me on my computer). I have just introduced her to Sims 2 and she is totally addicted - worse than me I think.

Anyway, I decided to have a break and make some humus and babbaganoush with the new food mixer we bought (that Penri said I would never use). Before I could start cooking, I spent about 20 minutes trying to figure out which piece of the mixer to use as there are about 30 different attachments. Once I finally got it all together and put all the ingredients in it seemed to be going smoothly. I was cooking like my mum cooks - no measurements, just throwing a bit of garlic in, then a bit of olive oil and then some lemon juice and just really hoping for the best.

I was so carried away with making the humus that I forgot I had put the aubergines in the oven. The next thing I knew there was a massive BANG! like a gunshot. One of my aubergines had exploded and when I opened the oven door it was everywhere - hanging off the sides, stuck to the back and all over the door. Luckily I managed to salvage the other aubergine before it exploded.

So I successfully made humus and babbaganoush, which I have been eating every day since.

Feeling Better

2006-11-05T17:15:00.000+05:30

As I've been writing on my blog recently my health has been up and down and I've been back to the doctor several times. I am really happy to say that I am finally feeling better. I think whatever it was has passed and I'm feeling better. Don't know about 'Dehli Belly' is there something for Chennai?

Buying a Blender

2006-11-05T17:14:00.000+05:30

Last week I bought a food mixer from a lady who was leaving Chennai to go back to the States. We agreed that I would pick it up from her house (where Penri and I have been once before).

We set off at 11 a.m. to head to Erin's house. Penri was driving (as I still haven't risked the roads here yet) so that left me navigating. If I've told Penri once, I've told him a hundred times 'I cannot map read', but he just told me to follow from here to here and tell him which roads to take in between - sounds simple!

Erin told me they lived on 2nd Avenue in Alwapet so I found it on the map and led Penri towards it. We missed a few roads on the way (which was probably my fault) and had to double back a few times. Eventually we got to 2nd Avenue in Alwapet which was the tiniest little backstreet I have ever seen. There were fruit stalls down both sides and small shops behind the stalls and there were people everywhere. Penri literally had to drive down the street with his hand on the horn to get people to move out of the way.

We got to the end of the road and I said to Penri that it didn't look at all familiar. So he snatched the map off me and said 'Let me look'. I phoned Erin in the meantime to ask here where on earth we were. She said they lived in 2nd Avenue, Venus Colony in Alwapet. So, there are TWO 2nd Avenues in Alwapet. While Penri was trying to read the map to figure out where we were, I spotted a shop called 'The Museum Company' and remembered that Erin lived on the road to the left of it, which I told Penri. He argued that there was no way they could live on the left as we were in completely the wrong place. I told him to just drive down the road on the left and he would see. I was right - even if I can't map read, I have a good memory.

So, I ran inside to get the blender/food mixer while Penri waited in the car. He was then going to drop me at my friend's house to play Mah Jong before going to work. Here we had another dilemma - I had to direct him to my friend's house. I'd only been once or twice before but both times I'd been with Megan's driver so I hadn't really paid much attention. So, we got lost again. By the time we finally got there it was just after 1 o'clock.

When it rains ...

2006-10-29T08:19:00.001+05:30

It all started last night at about 9 o'clock. Penri suggested we go over to Sparky's for dinner. It had been raining all day but because we were inside we didn't really notice it too much.

When we started out we saw the weather was bad, but decided to brave it over to Chetpet (where Sparky's is). We got there about 10 p.m. and had a lovely meal. When we got up to go, the rain was horrendous and we got drenched just running to the car (with an umbrella). We set off on our way home through huge puddles (nothing like I've ever seen before) and dodging crazy people walking on the road. It was really dark and the rain was still falling very heavily. It was so bad that we could hardly see through the windscreen because the wipers couldn't wash the water away fast enough.

We had only been driving about 20 minutes when our car shuddered to a stop (on a main road) - the engine was completely flooded and we couldn't get it started again. Penri had to get out the car and push us to the side of the road (where there was a petrol station). We waited in the car for about an hour, trying to start it every 10-15 minutes. It wasn't going to happen, so Penri got out and pushed the car to the back of the petrol station where we decided to leave it for the night.

There was no way we could get an autorick home as the weather was too bad and we still had a long way to go. So we decided to take an autorick to the Park Hotel and spend the night there. It also meant we weren't too far away to pick up the car in the morning. We locked up the car and walked to the main road where we had to cross over. The water on the road was up to our knees and we just had to wade through it to get to the other side. We caught an autorick (fairly easily considering) and went to the hotel. When we got there we looked like drowned rats. We actually squelched across the lobby floor to the check in desk.

We checked in and went up to our room. By then it was 12.45 p.m. We arranged a wake up call for 6 a.m. By 6.30 a.m. we had washed and dressed back into our still-soaking clothes (bad time to be wearing jeans!) We went and checked out and got a hotel car back to the petrol station.

When we got there, all thoughts of nearly being home, the car still wouldn't start!! We tried, and tried, and tried. Even the hotel taxi driver tried. In the end we called a mechanic. They told us they couldn't come until after 9 a.m. - another 2 and a half hours away. I then telephoned my mum in Doha to ask for her help. She tried to explain to us where the distributor plug is so we could dry it out but I couldn't find it. Then while I was on the phone to her a miracle happened - Penri managed to get the car started. So I got in and we slowly made our way home. It was kind of a scary trip as Penri didn't want to stop the car in case it stalled and we couldn't get it started again. So every time we came to a red light, he was revving the engine constantly and all the other drivers around us were looking at us like we were mad.

We finally got home just after 7 a.m. and now having showered and changed I can relax and be glad to be home. 'There's no place like home'.

Diwali - a poem by me

2006-10-21T06:55:00.000+05:30

It's a beautiful day to be awake in Chennai
The sun's coming up and fireworks fill the sky
It's Diwali weekend, for those who don't know
It's like our Christmas, as celebrations go.

It's the 'Festival of Light', that's what they say
Fireworks and gifts, celebrations night and day
The streets are lined with fairy lights as far as you can see
Hanging from the buildings and entwined within the trees.

Even the drizzle of rain falling from the sky
Does nothing to dampen the mood, of the people in Chennai
Everyone's so happy, it's so nice to see
Spending time together with their friends and family.

It's a beautiful day to be awake in Chennai
As I watch the sun rising overhead in the sky
And the fireworks coming up over the sea
What a nice celebration called 'Diwali'.

Not a happy bunny!

2006-10-20T17:23:00.000+05:30

Well, I've had a rough couple of days. On Tuesday I had really severe stomach cramps and was feeling nauseous and my temperature was rising. I saw a nurse who gave me pepto-bismal and some re-hydration drink. The following day (Wednesday) I was feeling slightly better in the morning but by 3 p.m. I was back to feeling terrible again and my temperature and gone back up and I was shivering, freezing cold.

Penri took me to the Apollo Clinic and went in to try and see a doctor. We were told there were no doctors available until 5.30. I just burst into tears and asked the receptionist if I could wait. Penri asked her if she could contact a doctor to come in (as they're supposed to be 24 hours). She told me my doctor only works mornings, but she will contact a doctor to come in. So Penri went back to work and left me at the clinic.

The receptionist came to the waiting room 5 minutes later and told me she had called my doctor and she was coming in especially to see me. By the time the doctor got there (which was only about 15 minutes later) I was still crying and my temperature was high and I was having pains in my stomach. She checked me over and said it could be a couple of things - either a really bad virus or it could be malaria. She gave me an injection (in my bum of all places) which really hurt (and today is bruised) and then told me they were going to take some samples to run some tests.

She gave me all these different antibiotics - some strong anti-malaria tablets (which is a 3 day course), some tablets to reduce my fever and some tablets for the cramps. I left the hospital at 20 to 6 and came home and went to bed.

I am feeling much better today (Thursday) although still sweating lots. The only positive about feeling this crap is I have no appetite. Anyway, the fact that I am feeling a lot better is really good - it's likely it's not malaria and was just a horrible virus. I have to go back in on Monday to get the test results.

It's now Friday and I haven't posted this blog, but I am pleased to say I am feeling much much better - pretty much back to normal. I can only imagine that I just had a nasty virus.

Losing my sanity in India

2006-10-13T12:41:00.000+05:30

Today is one of the days that I HATE living in India. There are some days when things are going well and I feel like life is fine and I am happy here. But on a day like today I just wish I could be like Dorothy and click my heels together and go home to Bristol.

First off, our water dispenser has broken so we haven't had drinking water from it for just over a week now (so I've been having to buy bottled water and stock up the fridge). Anyway, the dispenser is only two months old so I called up the place we bought it to ask them to come and repair it. This was about a week ago. There was an answer machine service with the message all in Tamil. So, I called one of the few people I know who speaks Tamil (our landlord's secretary) and asked her if she would mind phoning them up to explain our problem. She was very kind and agreed to do this for me. She called me back and arranged a time for them to come here to fix it. We agreed that at 3 o'clock on Thursday (today) someone would come over to the house and fix the problem.

So, I was out this morning with my friends and rushed back here at 2.45 to make sure I was here for the repair man. By 4.30, with still no sign of him, I called the secretary again. She called the guy and phoned back to say he was stuck on another job but would come within an hour. Fine - at least I know he's coming (that's what I thought). So, while I was waiting, I thought I'd do a bit of housework and general tidying up. I must've got carried away mopping and sweeping because the next thing I knew Penri was ringing and it was 6.45. No sign of the guy. So, I called the secretary again who told me that when she spoke to him he told her he was definitely coming and she was at home (not at the office) so I'd just have to wait for him. I said that was fine. I'd actually made plans to go over to a friend's house, which I then had to cancel. It is now 7.30 and there is still no sign of the repair man and I cannot ring him as he doesn't speak any English. Great!

In the midst of all the above happening, I put the washing machine on and was cleaning the kitchen when the water ran out! I figured it was an easy enough problem to fix so I went and asked Bala (thank goodness he's back) to pump some water up. While he was doing that I thought I'd better ring my friend to cancel our plans for this evening. As I went to ring her, the power all went off. No lights, no air conditioners and still no water!!

So, I laid down on the day bed in the lounge (as there's not much you can do when there's no lights and no a/c) and just waited. The longer I was waiting, the more stressed and down I was getting.

Anyway, the power came back on after about 20 minutes, then the water tank filled up (and the washing machine started up again), but still no sign of the repair man! Frustrating or what?!

The Return of Bala

2006-10-13T12:35:00.000+05:30

Last week we got a phone call from the landlord's office to tell us that Bala (the security guard who used to work here) was coming back. It was all a bit strange when he left (a month or so ago). He told me one day that he wasn't well and he was going to the hospital and then we didn't see him again after that! It was very odd.

Anyway, he returned to work the night shift here as our security guard and it's really nice to have him back. It turns out that he went off on some Pilgrimage for a month (I don't know why he didn't just tell us that in the first place). Anyway, so now our night guard has changed shifts to be here in the day and Bala is here at night.

We also got a new postbox fitted outside our house, which I am really pleased about. Before, when we got mail, the postman would ring the gate bell and just push the letters through the gate (as he couldn't be bothered to wait for us to answer the gate).

Also, they have finally sorted out the road leading up to our house. It used to be a dirt track, but they came and laid a road down - they even had a big red steam roller (see picture) which I was impressed with. Unfortunately, because they laid the asphalt so thinly, grass and weeds have started to grow up through the road. So, I would imagine within a few months it will be back to being a dirt track!

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

2006-10-13T12:30:00.000+05:30

I went to have my hair done yesterday after the salon in question was recommended to me by a few people. I was told they could do blonde highlights and it wouldn't be a problem; so I made the appointment and was all set to go. One of my friend's here then told me the first time she went to the salon, instead of blonde highlights, her hair turned orange! I was mortified and worried they would mess mine up. But she told me that she's been back a couple of times since and it was fine. So, I decided to bite the bullet and just go for it.

I had highlights and a cut, which took just over 3 hours! I was starting to get fidgety after an hour and a half, but I'm glad I saw it through. The Sri Lankan man who did my hair made a really nice job of it and I'm really pleased with it. I always have it shorter than planned but at least it grows back (eventually)!

The price was the same as I would pay in the UK (which means it's expensive compared to India prices), but it's worth it to have it looking nice. So I will definitely go back to 'Bounce' (the salon) again.

Pimp My Ride

2006-10-07T16:52:00.000+05:30

As I mentioned in a previous message I went looking for a car to buy yesterday. My day started off earlier than predicted. I had asked Selvam (the autorick driver who was going to take me shopping) to pick me up at 9.30 a.m. however at 5 to 9 (having only just that minute got out of bed), the doorbell rang and Selvam was here to pick me up! I asked him to wait while I quickly got showered and dressed ... no time for breakfast!

We set off at 9.15 and drove across the city to a car showroom. We arrived there at 10.30 (ish). I had a look at all the cars they had to offer ... when I say 'all' - there were only about 20 in total. They had a variety of cars (mostly Indian made) such as Maruti, Tata Indicar, Ford Icon etc. While I was waiting for the salesman (who was going to help me) to arrive at work (they don't work the same hours as the UK - everyone is much more laid back here); a car arrived in the showroom. It had just come on the market and was a Hyundai Santro 2000 model. Selvam was telling me he thought I was very lucky to have first pick at a car that hadn't even gone on to the shop floor. So, he told me to sit in the front, which I did, and the salesman arrived to take us for a test drive. We drove for about 15 minutes before ... wait for it ... the car broke down. Well, that's what we thought until the guy realised it had no petrol in it! We were on a main road so they just pushed it to the side and he called for someone from the showroom to come and pick us up. It was really hot so we opened all the windows. The next minute, this huge green and white bus drove past us and all the fumes from his exhaust pipe filled our car! It was so bad that I couldn't actually see Selvam and the salesman, so I had to get out of the car. After about 20 minutes, another car arrived to take us back to the showroom. Funnily enough, Selvam said to me 'this car, no good ma'am'- I think I'd figured that one out for myself! It would probably be alright with a tank of fuel but I didn't have the time or the inclination to find out. Anyway, Selvam was telling me that the Hyundai Santro is a good make of car which is cost effective and it's easy to replace parts so I had a look at another one on the shop floor. It was nearly twice the price of the first one and an older model, so I told him it cost too much. Out of all the other cars I looked at, they were either overpriced or in bad condition. Then the salesman made a phone call and two more Hyundai Santros turned up. A metallic blue-green one, which looked good and a white one, which had definitely seen a couple of minor accidents! So, we took the blue-green one for a test drive.

The drive was nice and the engine sounded good, the interior was ok and in good condition and the a/c was good (which is a must in this country). So I called Penri to see if he wanted to check out the car. He agreed so we decided to drive the Santro over to Kottivakkam to our house to pick him up.

We got to the house and Penri came out and took the car for a test drive along the beach. He complained that the car was much smaller than he thought and he wasn't too keen on it. I tried to explain to him that it really was the best I'd seen within our price range, but he wasn't sold on the idea. So, when we got back to the house, I suggested he come back to the showroom with us.

The four of us got in the car and drove back across the city to the showroom. We had a look around all the other cars and Penri said there was nothing there he liked within our price range. The problem with car showrooms in India (and well, actually most places in India), there are no prices on things, so when we were asking how much is this car, how much is that car? It was like the woman was coming up with numbers off the top of her head. The thing that really put us off was Penri asked how much one of the Tata Indicars was and when she told him the price, it was 1 lakh (about £1000) more than the salesman had told me that morning. Penri lost his temper then and told Selvam to take us to other car showrooms and we left.

We drove around looking for another showroom but before we found any, we had to go to fix Selvam's autorick as there was problem with it. After an hour and a half of driving around in the rick we still hadn't found another car showroom. So, Selvam stopped and asked someone who directed us back to T.Nagar (the area the first showroom was in). We drove back there and looked at 3 or 4 other showrooms, who were even worse than the first one! They were completely trying to rip us off. Selvam spoke to us and said the first showroom was probably our best bet as the sales people see a white face and automatically double the prices (Selvam's words). So, we agreed and went back to the first showroom.

We had a look at a couple of other cars and then Penri negotiated the price on the blue-green Hyundai Santro that I had found that morning and brought home to show him. We spent a couple of hours sorting out all the paperwork and payments etc before we managed to leave the showroom. By now it was 6 p.m.

The back two tyres on the car were worn right down so the first thing we had to do was go and get new tyres (which we did, with Selvam in the car to help us go to the right place and get the right price). From there we went and had black film put on the windows (as many people do in India). It makes the a/c more efficient and it stops people staring at you. This was the most hilarious part of the day. We had pulled over so that Selvam could go and check whether we were in the right place to get the film done and this traffic policeman (not sure what to call him) knocked on Penri's window and told him to pull in, otherwise a car or bus might hit him. The man was kind enough to move two motorbikes out the way so we could park. So, he helped direct us into the parking space and then walked round to Penri's side of the car and knocked on the window. He then proceeded to pull a ticket book out of his pocket and ask us for 5 rupees for parking. Penri and I could not stop laughing! We thought he was just helping us when all along he just wanted some money off us. It was perfect timing as we both really benefit from laughing after such a stressful day!

While the film was being done (as it took about an hour), Penri bought some hubcaps to put on the tyres. It reminded me so much of the programme on TV 'Pimp my Ride' where they take a car and add all these things to it to improve it. An hour and a half later, our car was finished.

We drove down the road from the car place and turned a corner where we were pulled over by the police. I couldn't believe it! They wanted to see Penri's license and explained that he had gone through a red light (which he didn't realise). Anyway, when they saw his license and he paid a fine, we were good to go.

We dropped Selvam off so he could get his autorick and we went to Penri's office (as he had a meeting at 8.30 p.m). It was at this point I realised I hadn't eaten a thing ALL day and all I'd had to drink was a small bottle of Pepsi. After Penri's meeting (at 10 p.m.) we drove to Kebab Court for a celebratory meal. It is SO nice to have our own car and our freedom! And do you want to hear the funny thing? When we were driving to the restaurant I said to Penri 'I thought you didn't like this car?' to which he replied 'It's not so bad once you get used to it; even the interior is growing on me'. I commented that this was the car I had brought to him in the morning and he had moaned and complained about it, and he said 'well that was before I saw the rest; this was definitely the best of the lot' ... so all I can say with regards to the car hunting is ... MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Just what Chennai needs ... another car on the road!

2006-10-05T18:34:00.000+05:30

We haven't had much luck with getting a car here so we are still travelling everywhere by autorickshaws and call taxis. It is SO frustrating as with the autoricks - you have to haggle and haggle to get a fair price (they always try to overcharge you) and with the call taxis - you are lucky if they bother to turn up! The thing that is even more frustrating is when you call the company and say 'I ordered a taxi, you said it would be here at 10 o'clock - it's now 10.45' they respond '5 minutes, car will be there'. And guess what? An hour later you are still waiting. Honestly, I am not exaggerating ... one day we ordered a taxi and we waited nearly 3 hours before we started walking for an autorick. As we were driving down the road near our house in the auto, the taxi went past us going the other way (obviously to our house). 3 hours late!

So, I am now on a mission ... to find a car. I am going car shopping tomorrow with an auto driver called Selvam (who met Penri when he was staying at the Park Hotel in his first weeks here). Once we have found and bought a car, we will make the decision whether or not to get a driver. Most expats use a driver here for two reasons: the traffic is SO chaotic and there is no sense of logic (see picture above) and secondly, for convenience. You just get in the car and say where you want to go and you're on your way. So, fingers crossed we get something sorted. We need to try and sort it out before we have visitors staying with us. It's fine if there are only two of you in auto, three is a push, but four is a definite no-no. Unless you are Indian - somehow they manage to squeeze five or six into an autorick (which really doesn't look comfortable!)

I'm not made of plasticine!

2006-10-05T18:25:00.000+05:30

I have joined a Beginner’s Yoga Course. It is three times a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) from 4 p.m – 5.30 p.m. I thought it would be good for me to do some exercise (nothing too strenuous) and it gets me out of the house when Penri is at work. Well, whoever said that yoga is not strenuous and hard work and tiring was wrong. It is all of those things and I am finding it quite hard … I am definitely not as flexible as I used to be! Anyway, I am going to persevere to the end of the course and then instead of going on to the Intermediate Course, I am going to redo the Beginner’s Course. The worst thing about the course is that all the other people (okay there are only four others) but they can all do all the stretches and don’t seem to have a problem – it’s only me who can’t do it! I can’t hold all my weight on my arms alone and I don’t enjoy thrusting different parts of my body into the air while my arms feel like they’re going to collapse with the weight – so why am I doing it?!

Eating Out

2006-10-05T18:20:00.000+05:30

So, it's been a while. Things here are going well and we seem to be finding our feet. Although we still make some errors in judgement. A perfect example ... the other day Penri met me from work on the ECR so that we could go out for a meal. It was early - only 6 o'clock - so we were looking round for a place that was open. There was one restaurant (I don't recall the name of it), which is above Spencer's Daily Supermarket. Penri persuaded me to try it, saying he had been there on his first week here in Chennai, so I agreed. When we went in we very obviously stood out from all the other customers. We were led to our table and given menus. I couldn't actually see anything I thought I'd like except for a vegetable korma so that's what I ordered. The service was terrible and when the food finally came (served on a banana leaf, which was cool) it was quite disgusting. I ate naan bread and the sauce from the korma. Penri had a South Indian meal called Thali, which he seemed to be able to eat. To put it into context of the standard of the meal - when the bill came it was £2.40 each!

We are very happy to have found a cool American restaurant here called Sparky's Diner. It was recommended to me by a friend and is well worth the 45 minute drive from our house to go for a proper burger and chips. They also serve Mexican food too, but so far we've been eating all the American stuff. The whole ambience of the restaurant makes it more enjoyable - the chef (who is American) has decorated it like a diner with the black and white chequered floor and knick-knacks from all over America. It's really nice.

Sunrise

2006-09-12T15:11:00.000+05:30

I just wanted to put this picture in. The other morning I woke up at 6.15 and the sun was rising above our neighbours house - I just had to take a picture. It was beautiful. I stood on the roof listening to the sound of the waves from the sea and just enjoyed the sunrise.