Family Vacation

We had a very relaxing time in Phuket soaking up the sun and enjoying some retail therapy. Merlin Beach Resort was a great place to stay and we all had a few giggles getting up the big hill to the resort in the Tuk Tuk. A few times I thought we would have to get out and push.

Sam has become a master at bartering, he has learnt from the best of course. He loved the shopping and was really living the Thailand dream with a new henna tattoo and a sharks tooth necklace.

Eliza spent a few days in bed recovering from a dose of the flu. She too ended up with a few new Thailand treasures, I think the last count was 5 dresses, 5 pairs of shoes and lots of girly bits and pieces.

Mac was as usual a favorite with the locals and hasn't stopped talking about the monkeys and the baby elephant we met. He is swimming like a fish, doing somersaults into the pool and duck diving to the bottom of the deep end. Give a kid a pool and they don't need too much more to make a holiday perfect. Poor Mac ended up with a visit to the hotel Doctor, $150 later he had antibiotics for a good dose of Bronchitis, which he seems to have now shared with his brother and sister.

Andrew enjoyed the local sea food and has himself a new set of golf clubs, if only he got a bit more time to use them. He relaxed and was pretty thrilled to sit down, pat and get up close to the tiger at the Phuket Zoo. A dream of his for a long time.

For me it was that time of the year to turn a year older. 41 this birthday and loving where my life is at. Andrew and the kids gave me a 3 hour pamper at the hotel spa, absolute bliss. I am also sporting a new black pearl pendant, spoilt girl that I am.

I am still pondering the fact that we are only 3 hours away from Thailand and we have nothing like the shopping that they have there. Tesco Lotus, Carrefour and Boots. Wow! Did I mention that we shopped.........We went with 3 pieces of luggage and came home with 9 and 11 kgs overweight. The tubs are now restocked with school snacks, brown sugar, dry crackers and lollies.

So it's back to school for the kids and back to work for Andrew. 7 weeks till we get to leave India again for our next vacation. The destination, Bali, to meet up with my Mum and Dad for 8 days then we head to Singapore on the way home to stock up on more supplies. So it will be a different Christmas for us again this year on our own in a different country.

Here are a few happy snaps from the Phuket zoo and the resort. I hardly took any photo's this holiday, lets hope we get to go back so I can play the snappy happy tourist.

Diwali Shopping

Was out and about this morning and quickly snapped these photos of our local Firecracker shop just down the street. Had a laugh as they has a sign out the front saying No Smoking. Just across the road the local beggar community were having a right old bonfire. Couldn't get out of there quick enough.

Just a few of the crackers that will be going up in smoke over the next few days.

This is some of the sweet that are given as gifts for Diwali. A lot of it is dried fruits and nuts, some boxes of chocolates are to be found but they don't survive well in the heat.

The window of a big dress shop down the road from our home.

Diwali

As the evening arrives so do the sounds of bombs and crackers blasting through the still dark night, filling the air with the pungent smell of smoke. Silence at last, then another blast from afar and another waking me from my slumber.

No, it's no blurb from the latest war movie but this is life in Chennai over the 4 days of Diwali. The festival of lights. Or sounds, we might say, but to the Hindu community it's like their Christmas. Time to spend with family, sharing gifts, new clothes, gifts of sweets and the time to light up the sky's with Firecrackers. The streets today were crazy, traffic more chaotic than normal with people out and about doing their last minute shopping. This is also the time when most people get a bonus of a months salary,(we wish) so it's the time to shop with lots of stores having good sales. Needless to say the multitude of firecracker shops that have sprung up all over town. I read an article where it said how much people would spend on crackers and it was astronomical.

All the simple rituals of Diwali have a significance and a story to tell. The illumination of homes with lights and the skies with firecrackers is an expression of thanks to the heavens for the attainment of health, wealth, knowledge, peace and prosperity. According to one belief, the sound of fire-crackers are an indication of the joy of the people living on earth, making the gods aware of their plentiful state. Still another possible reason has a more scientific basis: the fumes produced by the crackers kill a lot of insects and mosquitoes, found in plenty after the rains.

Last year we were lucky to have Mum, Dad And Kerrie staying with us. Dad was in his element. Firecrackers to buy and set off, causing no end of stress to his ever so cautious daughters.

"Be careful Dad" we said over and over till it was too late and we had two injuries in the the house. Dad with a burnt leg and Andrew with a burnt finger. Boys will never learn. I vowed then and there that I would be far away from Chennai next Diwali. I was not putting myself or my kids through that again. The crackers started by 5am and stopped around midnight if we were lucky. Not much sleep was had and it really did feel like we were living in a war zone. So much so Kerrie was never so happy but to leave here and head home to the peace and quiet of Australia. So this time tomorrow night we will be on our way to the airport to board a flight to Phuket. Peace and quiet will rein over us, while we leave Chennai to its action packed nights of firecrackers.

Ah the bliss.

Caution! Procede At Own Risk

We saw this sign in a shopping center while we were in Bangalore. I had just stepped back out of the lift because it flashed OVER WEIGHT as soon as I stepped in. Just one of life's embarrassing moments. Do you think that was a sign to loose weight? Possibly, or else it was just saying that it was the only lift in the country that takes its weight limit seriously. Every other lift you step into in India is jammed packed and there is usually the dreaded smell of poor body hygiene and the women's jasmine in their hair in the small enclosed space. GAG.

We had just left another shopping center where I had a major panic attack watching women in their Sari's trying to go down the escalators. This is an accident waiting to happen. These woman had obviously no prior experience using escalators and it was lucky that none of them fell down and seriously hurt themselves. Then we watched a father try to get down with 2 small children. GASP. Major panic attack and sweaty feet now for me....

Technology in India is moving ahead in such a rate that many people are just experiencing things that we have taken for granted all our lives.

We have a lift in our apartment building and it amazes me how much use it gets from the maids and staff working in the building. Maybe it is a novelty, possibly its too hot to walk up the stairs or their all just lazy. Who knows.. I do try to take the stairs as much as I can, my life here can be so idle that I need the exercise.

Obviously I need the exercise...

Wasn't it a lovely day, the day we went to Bangalore

We decided it was time for some adventure, so we teamed up with our friends and headed to Bangalore for the weekend. A train trip is a must while in India and it seemed like an easy way to travel. We booked our tickets some time in advance as it was a long weekend (Happy Birthday Gandhi) First Class A/C Chair Car was where we got our seats. It was a very civilized way to travel considering what the rest of the train looked like. We had an early start with the train departing at 6am. The station was filled with people even at that time of the day. The 41/2 hr journey went by quite fast and it was great to see the ever changing countryside. Much more relaxing than road travel and quicker. We got fed constantly, although as an after thought it may not of been a great idea to eat the train food (I suffered the day after we got home).

Stepping off the train into a vastly cooler climate was a pleasant change. Bangalore is 1000ft above sea level so it is much cooler than Chennai.

The shopping was calling our name so we got settled into the Hotel and hit the streets on foot to explore the town. Footpaths for walking on, what a change!

The following day we hired 3 Auto's to explore some of the tourist sights. The Bangalore Palace was a real mixed bag. It is the summer home of the King of Mysore. In it's day it would have been lovely, perhaps a bit tacky and gaudy, but now it is quite run down and in need of some serious loving. The gardens were pretty and quite English. Lots of colour and flowers, even some Lavender. The kids had fun running around.

We found the Hard Rock Cafe for diner one night and enjoyed a bit of Bangalore Beef. Bangalore is much more western the Chennai. It is called the IT hub of India. Maybe one day Chennai will catch up.

As usual a holiday is never fun with out some TENSION. We were to be at the station for the train to leave at 4.25pm on Sunday. As it happened we got stuck in a major traffic jam were still in the car arriving at the station at this time. We were out of the car before it even stopped and as luck would have it two porters came to save the day. They asked us what train we were travelling on and when we told the it was the Shatabdi Express they said "You must run" So off we took, thinking that we had probably missed the train. The porters had bags on their heads and shoulders, I had my shoes off, as my feet had an attack of the sweaty nervous feet, we got many looks as we dragged the kids along puffing and panting to arrive at the platform to find the train had not even arrived yet. Thank you God. The porters got paid very well for their trouble and I am sure they even got a giggle out of it in the end. The train arrived 20 mins later and it was smooth travelling all the way home to Chennai. Arriving at 10pm to a station packed with people, I don't think Indians ever sleep.

We had a great weekend and it was fun to share it with good friends.

Butcher Shop Joys.

Thought I would share my trip to the "Butchers" yesterday.

It is always something that I put off doing, the smell is enough to turn even the strongest stomach. The young guy that works there is really pleasant and very willing to help, in other words you do not open the chest freezer yourself! Yep everything is frozen, on a good day you may strike it lucky and get something that is fresh and not been frozen. There is an array of other items for sale like cigarettes, tinned ham and olive oil are just a few. The stairway up to the shop also nearly makes me gag, with stains from people spitting their Paan all over the walls. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paan

My shopping yesterday included chicken breast, Bangalore beef mince, bacon, sausages, popcorn chicken and chicken meatballs. All for the grand total of $22. Bargain.

Agra Fort.

On our recent trip to Agra we also got the chance to see the Agra Fort.

This was an amazing place. Quite often it is overshadowed by the Taj, but I can honestly say we enjoyed it just as much as we enjoyed the Taj. Maybe not as beautiful, but still mind blowing.

The stories our guide told us were gripping and the kids really loved hearing about the 444 year old fort. Particularly Sam, who loved the tales of the two moats, the first a wet one that was infested by crocodiles and the dry one that was filled with wild lions and tigers. There was no way anyone could get over the 20m walls and through these moats.
Construction of this massive Red Sandstone fort started back in 1565, on the banks of the Yamuna River by Emperor Akbar. Additions were made through out the years, particularly by his grandson Shah Jahan who favoured white marble instead of the original red sandstone. The fort was built primarily as a military structure, but the Shah transformed it into a palace, which later was to become his prison for 8 years until his death.
The architecture was so interesting, with domed roofs that were built with two layers so in winter could have warm water poured through them to warm the rooms and in summer, cool water pumped from the river to cool them. Such amazing insight so many years ago.