Sunday, September 20, 2009

Touring Delhi with Debbie and Jon....

Debbie and Jon (co-workers and friends) came out for another exciting trip to India and on Saturday we toured parts of Delhi.  The visit included a trip to the Presidents Palace...........Rashtrapati Bhavan...Not quite the White House but the "Red Copper House." The palace also included various government buildings and beautiful sculpted gardens!



Here is Debbie and Kerry in front of the Imperial Hotel with our friend Okahar, after just finishing a wonderful lunch (Imperial is the hotel where Mahatma Ghandi negotiated and signed the indepence document from the British in 1947).  The buffett is an all you can eat buffet and it is pure delight!




This is the temple we went to, but never made it in! It ws 34 degrees outside and no cameras, water or diet coke were allowed past the gates. Also, our bags had to be checked and the bathrooms were a bit "minging" (terms used by DJW). Therefore, we opted for the early lunch at the Imperial.  No worries...I will go back!  (also please note that Debbie did actually go to the bathroom at the temple..I was an eyewitness! Much soap was used thereafter!!)




India Gate is on a long avenue on the opposite end to the Presidents Palace and reminded me a bit of the Arc De Triumphe at the end of the Champ de Ellyse. It is made of massive red sandstone and was built to commemorate all of the Indian and British soldiers who died in WWI.  Names are listed all over the arch..I stopped counting after 1200??? ;-)  On the way we also ran into a snake charmer....and oh yes another monkey by the President's palace.



It is really nice having friends visit................our driver Pawan was an excellent guide and we toured the city music compliments of Kerry's Ipod. J amd D did not like my music to start off but then the Miller sap, classical, motown and dance collection grew on them........;-)




Friday, September 11, 2009

The Moonsoon - another experience??

Both Gurgaon and Delhi reeled over the second wettest day of the year, with the monsoon tail just hitting.  It rained from 2:30 am until 8:30 pm. The roads were watelogged and full with traffic jams, pot holes and lots of floating material. (hmm....)
My driver Balwant, who lives in Delhi, was unable to reach me so I had to get to work through other modes of transportation.  See below.  (just kidding). It took many of my colleagues 4-5 hours to get to work (dedicated team) and we put 40 people up in hotel rooms so that they did not have to experience the traffic challenges as the rains did not subside.

As one point, the water was waist high on the streets. I was late in taking out my camera but what this pictures does not show is the children that were swimming down stream on the tires.  It also does not show the water coming into the car...........not a good day not to have the wellies!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Visit to the Neermana Fort Hotel





The Neemrana Hotel is a 15th Century fort turned into a luxurious hotel. It is set amongst the hills, half ways between Delhi and Jaipur in the midst of the desert. The rooms all have different themes and come in vibrant India colours and shapes with furniture from the period. My deck overlooked the village below and I could see families gather in their "courtyards" for dinner and prayer (very vocal chanting). It is a very simple, peaceful yet luxurious place. Of course if view were many animals including cows, monkeys, birds and more birds and pigs.
We had a bank holiday on the 30th of August so Balwant dropped me off on the Sunday after church and picked me up on Monday afternoon. The best part being at the hotel was of course sitting by the pool, reading books and magazine. The Indian version of "People" Magazine and the India version of "Money" make fascinating reading. I have read six books since my arrival to India - some books on Indian business, maybe a Danielle Steele and James Patterson and how about Eat, Pray and Love ?? which has become my "motto" for the year! (Julia Roberts in in India as we speak filming the movie).
This is considered a 5 Star Hotel, but the shower facilities were a bit ancient. Actually, I really enjoyed the "bucket" experience and sitting on the stone bench. It only took me a half hour to figure out how to turn on hot water, but I will get there!

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Indian Wedding


KAM on her way to a wonderful Indian wedding. I will wear a SARI in the future....but I decided I would wait a few months.....(and yes by the way I am working on getting my tan more even. ;-). The beautiful bride and groom - Arti and Reggie. Both work on my team and met at Fidelity a few years ago. The music, food, flowers and dancing were all fantastic and I felt very blessed to participate.





Some of my colleagues, who looked absolutely beautiful. Jai Ho...... Kushoboo, Deepti, Kalvana and another Kushoboo!


LDS Church In India


The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has 6 Branches in and around Delhi, with around 600 active members. It is slowly but surely growing. I thought there would be more "expats" in my ward, but there are only two other families and one is leaving at the end of the month. We meet in a converted house - first two floors are Church classrooms and the third floor is a home. The missionaries can only teach in English and the stake including Pakistan, has up to 75 fulltime American and Indian missionaires. The Saints in India have beautiful hearts, enthusiasm to learn, and passion to serve the Lord. I hope and pray that I can serve and support.


Around Delhi and Visit To Bird Sanctuary

Debbie, John and Kerry on a day shopping in Dehli. A few pashmina's later and dripping with sweat as it was so so hot - we had a successful shopping day in Dehli!
There are monkeys all over the streets - big, small and usually very hungry. Here is one eating a lime. For the most part, they are friendly but one got into a friends home and ate shoes and tore up items in the flat. Needsless to say - the windows are closed in my flat. I can hardly take all of the lizards around!

The local Shepherd......not sure what kind of cows these are but there were many! They stopped traffic for about five minutes, which allowed me to get out of the car and take the photo. Tally Ho!

Life is not that easy for the Shepherds...but they work hard...

Taxi or Rickshaw?

First Month In India

Shoma - my live in who helps with the cooking and cleaning and just keeps my life in order. My office have grown to love the cakes that she makes them and I appreciate all of the little things she does for me on a daily basis. I work UK hours (10:30 - 8:30) so sometimes things get a bit busy, but Shoma is always there with a smile on her face when I arrive home.













On August 2nd, 2009 I moved for a year to Gurgaon, India - a small city twenty minutes outside of Delhi (on a good day). India has the second largest population in the world (2nd to China) and seventh in terms of size. It landscape is diverse with the himilayas in the north to the tropical southern peninisulas including some of the biggest beaches in the world. It is a country of opportunity, paradoxes and signficant contradictions.
My "look and see visit" was at the end of June and the India I am seeing today is a bit different then the India I saw during my first two weeks whilst I was out here with my colleague Debbie Wates (what - do you mean there is life beyond the 5 star Hotels, spas and pools? Send me back to England!).
After looking at ten flats, I choose a 3 bedroom flat with plenty of room for guests and entertaining company in the middle of Gurgaon. I have a wonderful driver in Balwant and a live in maid called Shoma. Both have been so key for me in this transition to a country that is extremely poor, very very hot, has horrific challenges with infrastructure and pollution (electricity goes off about ten times a day at a minimum) and takes alot of getting used too!. Shoma is a wonderful cook and Balwants understands that Kerry five minutes actually means ten so our relationship is beautiful. Each day brings a new insight into the culture and life in India.