and what I'm not going to miss......

Ok this will be a growing list as I think of things ...... and it's pretty random .......

• being asked for correct money even if they've got change

• or cash if we pay card

• or telling me the credit card machine doesn't work, but it does miraculously when you push the point!!!!!

• banking restrictions for women 

• and Dean getting a text message EVERY time I take money out of the ATM or use my credit card (not that that happens very often of course!)

• guards weeing in coke bottles behind the atm

• bare feet

• The Indian airline pilot's SLAM LAND landing

• being stared at

• Men and boys staring at my daughters

• Everyone staring at us, asking if they can take our photos.  Yeah it's kinda funny at the beginning, then it gets annoying.  Emmy started asking people for money when they asked if they could take our photos.  Now it doesn't happen so much anymore, maybe we've just got that "leave me the hell alone" look on our faces

• beggars bashing on our car windows, thinking if they keep doing it we'll give in and give them money .. no actually, I chose who I'll give money to and it's not someone who's about to put a dent in my car or someone I see every day on the same corner, with sparkly clean teeth, dressed in different clothes e v e r y d a y!

• English subtitles for English movies on tv - never did get that one!

• shop attendants greeting Dean and ignoring me (hey I'm the one that'll be spending the roops!)

• being followed round shops like I'm going to steal something any minute

• shop keepers adjusting items the minute I've touched something, like I've ruined their display (I know it's cause they've got nothing else to do but it really REALLY irritates me)

• heat

• sweat

• the sound of whistles - whoever introduced whistles into India ought to be shot!

• uber loud music (or inappropriate music) in restaurants and shops

• being asked to check the temperature of bottled water in a restaurant or cafe

• rubbish

• dust

• not having cold water in the middle of summer - think all water tanks are on the roof after a hell of a lot of 48 degree days ..... it sometimes takes 10 minutes of running the water before it's cooled down sufficiently to stand under!

• power outs

• pointless security checks

• being fondled by female security guards

• being stalked by shop workers and being told what I'm holding is "xxxx"

• having to say hello to every person working in a shop

• 20 minute long ad breaks on television

• cheap medical appointments.  Access to THE most senior consultant for about $10

• oh yeah and self medicating (yeah I know we shouldn't do it, but we are the google doctors we have to be and I'll explain one day why) and having access to everything you need without a prescription is well, honestly it's brilliant.  In Australia if you have conjunctivitis you've got to get a doctor's appointment for a prescription, it's one of those things that you need to treat STRAIGHT AWAY and so being able to go to the local pharmacy and getting anything you need, sensibly of course I'm no pethidine addict or anything!  I mean, I've even heard recently that you can't get anti-histamines in the UK without a prescription anymore, what a waste of a gp's time - doling out prescriptions during hay fever season!

• coming home with filthy dirty & black feet every day

• Neelum insisting on taking the girls school bags from them when they arrive home and emptying their lunch boxes for them

• dust oh did I say that already?

• DUST

• AND RUBBISH everywhere - watching people, cows and dogs rummage through open waste areas

• having to call myself Jana on the phone because spelling Janet is just too damn hard .. J yes J, A .. .E?  No A. E? No it's an A as in Amritsa, oh ok J, E A .. no J A, ok J E .. NO J A ...... yes J A, that's right N. M? ... no N as in Nimboo oh ok Nimboo .. (long confused pause) ... you know Hindi madam? Yes Yes, keep going ... so that's J A N E, Yes Madam J A N A .. yes that's right Jana, that's my name J A N A.  Theekay Jana Madam (ironically, that was my grandmother's name and I was actually named after her!)

• the Hello? hello? hello? conversations on the phone.  You know what?  When you call me you don't say hello with a question, you say hi, introduce yourself and tell me why you're calling me ... otherwise I'll just keep saying hello back to you ping pong style until you give up playing this ridiculous game!

• broken produce .. think crushed crisps, smashed cheese biscuits

• sun affected i.e.; white dry chocolate

• outdated produce or those with 10 used by stickers on top of each other

• chicken ham

• no access to supermarkets

• market owners who turn off their refrigeration overnight (and yes I will well up again when I step foot in Safeway!)

• ridiculously overpriced imported goods

• no decent cheese and certainly a VERY limited selection at that

• off wine - think no cold transport, think market owners who face the rear of the air-conditioning unit (yes the side pumping out hot air) onto the imported (albeit limited) selection of probably already off imported wine

• on that note being told Jacobs Creek is good wine - it's not you know, we only export that stuff and no respectable Australian would drink it, exactly like Fosters beer!

• a really bad repetitive wine selection

• being asked by a waiter, after I've placed my order, if I'd like to try Jacobs Creek

• on that note .. in a restaurant, perusing the wine list, deciding on something then being told that's not available, then your next choice isn't available, then your next and your next, until you give up (but still determined you're not going to drink Sula).

• walking through a market and having shop keepers try to guess where I am from (which I have to admit they're rather good at), the minute I open my mouth, they're telling me how good Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting are .. guys .. honestlyI know it's a national obsession, but I really don't give a shit about cricket!

• Reading in the paper that milk is contaminated with detergent or urea, that the fish has been treated with formaline to keep it looking fresh, or that mangos are ripened with carcinogenic chemicals for about 4 months or the year.

• Public nose picking, weeing and pooing everywhere

• Designer magazines like Elle for rs100, and I can buy them through the car window!

• segregation of women and men .. especially at airport security

• OH YEAH ... airport security!!! Oh My God ... having to have your carryon luggage tags checked about 27times before you get on the plane, sometimes you've only taken like 5 steps and there's someone else holding a rifle wanting to check you're luggage tag is still affixed and duly stamped by security dudes! (having just checked into Bangkok airport, our girls were gobsmacked that they didn't have to face an uzi wielding security guard before they'd even got inside the terminal!)

• oh security checks ... being security checked going from one shopping mall to the one attached to it

• no traffic rules .. no hang on, this is the wrong list .. well ya know, rules are made for a reason, I get that... so .. not adhering to rules is bad, but actually it's pretty cool when it suits you so, it's going on both my lists!

This is another list I'll keep adding to as I think of things (and I'll find some piccies to make it all perrrrrty too!) so stay tuned.....

Living in India, what we'll miss.......

Yes, very sadly our time in India is officially up!  Our belongings have been "stuffed" (yes that's the official term) into containers, yes that's plural containerS ....has been been cleared by Indian customs and is headed to Mumbai and then off across the oceans to the UK.  Well almost all our belongings ... Dean's motorbike! Lil glitch in that it apparently hasn't been registered since 1973, but we're onto Plan B and if it all goes to plan, it will be ready waiting for Dean when he gets there later this month!


So come the end of this week we're joining the gaggle of expats who are deserting these dusty, hot and vibrant lands! (actually I've posted this after we left and I'm sitting by a pool in Thailand).


I honestly don't have the words to convey my feelings so I'm not going to do that here, yet.  Actually I'm not ready to leave, am sssoooooo sad that I haven't been able to bring myself to count the days down, but now, it's THIS Friday and I'm no closer to being ready!

In an attempt to stem the tears that still flow way too easily, I thought a blog about the things I'm going to miss about this crazy place would be in order!!!

So .. in no particular order:

• The noise, the vibrancy, the life … there are people everywhere, life goes on right in front of you, from the man having a haircut on the sidewalk, or his ears cleaned, the children washing in the monsoonal waters in the gutter, wedding processions .. it's all on show and you feel alive every single day!

• My vegetable garden

• Michael Jackson (our resident peacock)

• Having my shopping held by the guard at each shop door!

• Banyan trees

• Wedding season … thumping music, fireworks to rival New Year's at the London Eye, the white horses parading the groom, beautiful saris everywhere!

• the game we play called "avoid security guards" oh it's so much fun .. you know - if you don't barricade an area off properly and you leave a space where people can walk around security .. whaddya think's gonna happen?  It's a challenge and oh so much more fun than being an obedient sheep

• Bling!  Here you can never be overdressed, SO, the more bling the better!

• no road rules

• Just now as I was typing this, we drove through a police blockade (nothing unusual) the police motioned Ranjeet to pull over (we're driving a hire car), I told Ranjeet to keep driving .. I don't want to be hassled by police who think we're tourists and can scam some money out of me or Ranjeet!  So Ranjeet obliged, big smile on his face at my impudence and of course, there was no police pursuit car up ahead to stop us

• No limits to trade.  If you can find a mirror, scrounge up a chair and find a sharp enough pair of scissors, you can be a side of the road hairdresser .... nail your mirror to a tree and whellah, you've got yourself a way to earn money, meagre maybe but it's a job and it's money.  There are no qualifications required, no council restrictions or requirements for a permit for conducting business on council property, there is no professional liability insurance, no tax to pay.  Or, if you can find a few old bicycle wheels and some wood, you can fashion yourself a cart of some description and start making deliveries.  There's no requirement for registering your "vehicle", you don't have to join the wooden cart drivers union. 

And he closes when he wants to .. when the roads are finally deserted, or when he's made enough to feed his family but not because the government has issued a mandate that all businesses must be closed by 6pm Monday to Friday.   This man needs to make money and if he wants to open till 1am he can.  


Yes yes I know there are so many arguments and points of discussion on this subject alone, but this is not the place .. all I'm saying is that the average man on the street CAN make a living of sorts, somehow, anyhow without the "nanny state" mentality stopping him from putting food in his kid's mouths with ridiculous laws, by laws, regulations, taxes n such.  So... back to my list.......

• Sweat everywhere ... NOT!

• SPM'ers - you know who you are!

• Sarojini Nagar (markets) & how our friends buy each other clothes (we're talking rs150! so it's not like we're splashing out!)

• Our mali's

• Service station driveway attendants & not having to put petrol in my car or get out of it to pay for my petrol!

• buying bootleg wine .. it's just feels so naughty!

• Never having to find my car keys (our guard keeps them)

• Having my shopping carried inside and put away.

• the tea towel man at Khan Market who expects I'm going to buy 10 tea towels every time I see him!

• Sneezing my head off in "chill street" at the Spice Markets of Chandni Chowk

• Being greeted with a big smile by Ajay at the photo shop as "Madam Janet"

• Watching our drivers hang out - they form their own little gang based on who their madam's friends are.

• Group shopping and car borrowing - I don't know how many times I've jumped into a friend's car and headed off together on a spontaneous shopping trip, or been able to borrow a friend's driver when I'm stuck!  

• Having my ironing done every day, even if some stuff does get burned and put back in the cupboard in the hope I won't notice.

• Nero's Methi Puri's

• Bollywood style television advertisements

• Our chickens, free ranging it round the garden!  Nothing like having breakfast outside and a lil chicken pops round the corner to say hi.  And their gorgeous orange egg yolks!

• OUR FRIENDS

• Having someone always at home to receive deliveries, be there for repairmen etc

• Cheap mobile phone bills

• Having my car cleaned twice a day - what luxury!

• Not ever needing a taxi

• Bollywood music on the radio

• Our house

• People on the road

• Auto drivers and guards to ask directions

• Driving in Delhi - I've always loved driving and I am a bit of a lead foot normally, but only ever lost points once on my licence.  

• Here, you can get away with driving like a maniac.  Speed limits?  What are they?  Road rules?  Licence?  Red lights?  Pffffthhhhhh! Overtake on the inside lane.  Make another lane at the lights if you'd rather have pole position.  I only have an Australian licence, never bothered with a local one, I had my international licence the first year but only found that 2 weeks ago when we were packing.  I've driven a commercial vehicle here more than once, yelled at a policeman (in my defense he wasn't dressed like a policeman), ignored one who waved me to the side of the road, horned constantly, zigzagged through traffic like a lunatic (safely of course).  The only thing I am worried about is cows, but you know there don't even seem to be as many of them on the roads these days.  I honestly don't know how I'm going to drive in the real world again, adhering to speed limits or not zooming round slow poke drivers .. the bonus of course is if you can drive in Delhi you can drive anywhere in the world, my judgement fine tuned, I am an alert driver, never aggressive, ok just maybe a little bit impatient these days!

• Cows

• Colour

• Holi

• Diwali

• Fruit carts on the side of the road

• The constant amazement that "madam speaks Hindi!"

• The tradition of never returning crockery empty.  So if someone gives you a dish of lasagna and you have to return the dish, you can't send it back empty!

• Never being stuck for a carpark, rs10 gets me a carpark anywhere, 20 if I leave my keys and have the dude find a carpark for me!

• Having my grocery basket carried for me at the supermarket, and being offered a bottle of cold water or a coke while I'm shopping!

• Trust - don't have enough money? sure pay me later PLEASE take the goods now, I insist.

• Mangled, rusted, completely unroadworthy vehicles with boxes stacked pile high and a guy on top to balance them all.

• Overstuffed auto rickshaws

• People hanging off the side of buses (or on top of them)

• Silly indian or very old fashioned words that have snuck into our vocabulary like upgradation, downloadation, prepone (yup think the opposite of postpone!), needful, out stationed, biurfication, degrowth, overspeeding, laning and availabilisation

• Being constantly surprised at the stuff that is transported on the back of a motorbike!

• Restaurants providing a small table for my handbag (Bangkok rip offs mostly!)

• Ok, I admit, having my bed made every day!

• Celebrating EVERYTHING! and how!!!?

• The look of utter disbelief of Neelum's face when I insist on cleaning up my own mess or that I've put a load of washing on before she started work

• The relationships built with store owners.  Mr Shah delivered some handbags he'd made for a bunch of us, I wasn't home at the time, he never called me for payment, in fact I still haven't paid for them.  His attitude is he's in no hurry, he trusts me and knows where I live.  Even when I called him and found out he was "out stationed" til september and told him we were leaving the country, he still wasn't fazed, told me to pay him next time I was in Delhi!!!!  I just couldn't do that, so am leaving money with a friend.  But that level of trust (in such a corrupt environment) still baffles me and does in fact reinstill my faith in human beings!

AND OF COURSE no list of what I'll miss about Delhi would be complete without two people who have made my life so much easier since they joined our family.....

• My driver Ranjeet.  A lovely, gentle soul who joined our family early last year (I wish I'd found him sooner).  He is an absolute delight.  I probably spend more time with Ranjeet than I do with my own husband!  I will never forget the look on his face the day we shared the news we were leaving India.  He was clearly devastated!  And we often have tears in the car, he usually starts it.  He's had a tough time the last few years since his brother was murdered in a fight he shouldn't have got involved in.  We give Ranjeet every day off he needs to attend court to fight for the justice of his dear sadly departed brother.  27 people in his family home and only 3 of them working, all women forbidden to, so we're supporting a really lovely Seikh family. Ranjeet was a mess the week we left Delhi.  When time finally came to say goodbye (at the airport) he hugged Dean like you wouldn't believe, kissed my girls on the heads and hugged them repeatedly, like a cherished Uncle would, hugged me about 3 times and just could not stop crying .. he was clearly gutted we were leaving .. I will miss this sweet sweet man dearly

• 
  
  
  
  
  

  

  Ranjeet treats Dean's bike like his own!

Neelum - our sweetest maid yet.  She's studying her BA and I've had her in tears a few times too as she struggles with the simplest acts of my generosity!  She's only ever worked for Indian bosses and has never been allowed to take time off to do exams or register for her studies so when we have our little chats about saving for her future and the importance of study etc, she usually ends up gulping (as she does when she's nervous) and tears and hugs always follow.  Her brother was also murdered earlier this year, over a trifling 300 rupees.  He left behind his wife and 4 children.  Neelum just took off with no explanation for a week, (as you would) to look after her bereaved sisterinlaw .. when she returned she was stunned that where were no reprimands, that she still had a job, that we cared ... this place, it does your head in when you realise how the locals are treated by their own, that life is so cheap, that people genuinely don't care.  Neelum is eternally grateful that she got to keep the job she now so desperately needs to look after 5 more hungry mouths.

 We have managed to secure jobs for all our staff before we left.  Neelum & Nero (our cook) are able to keep their quarters for the furniture we gifted them.  That in itself is a huge relief as we can't imagine abandoning them to a life without money, food or shelter.  They have touched us, helped us enormously in our journey and for that we are grateful

Ok I'm digressing, ... There's no way this list is complete, but I've gotta start somewhere right?  I'll keep adding to it as I deload all this stuff from my brain

Peacocks are back!

           


OK I should have posted this back in April (not June)! 


The peacocks must migrate for winter and sometime in April they decide to return from wherever they've been - I'd love to know where they hide out!

So the first early morning we're woken with the familiar call of a peacock is much cause for delight!  We never get sick of watching these majestic birds meander around the property.  

And then every morning like clockwork by 6:30am, for whatever reason they are always on our roof!

Late in April, this spectacular peacock and his harem of 6 hens were wandering round our garden.  We've since named him Michael Jackson, cause he makes this WHOOO call.  

Michael and his gals live next door, in the empty block and come visiting often. I love wandering around Vegeland and then hearing the now familiar flap-flap-whoosh as he flies over my head and back onto our roof!

I don't have that many pics of MJ, they're incredibly hard to photograph ... despite his massive tail he's as fast as a roadrunner!

MJ loves hanging out by the chicken coop around dusk, coincidentally after the chickens have been locked in for the night!  So he and the cute lil chipmunks (that I've never been able to photograph) can feast on the organic chicken food left on the lawn!

3 years we've been here and they've not left one feather behind!

No longer having peacocks roaming free in my garden will take a long time to get used to!

Horn Please....

Just before she left Delhi, the lovely Naomi was inspired by the back of Indian trucks and had a canvas painted, 

and you know how much I love Indian trucks!...

So I decided to copy her idea.  

Just recently my brother and I saw these beautiful peacocks painted on a doorway in Haus Khas.  

And then it hit me...

This could be the centre piece of my own Horn Please canvas!

We couldn't find Naomi's painter, so while I was busy with packers, Ranjeet found a truck painter nearby his house, I gave him a mock up and crossed my fingers that, having complete free reign over the painting, Ranjeet wouldn't let me down.  Honestly I don't know why I questioned it, he's the best driver I've ever had, he's become so resourceful and loves the responsibility of doing this kind of stuff!

So here it is, still drying before being packed......

Thanx ONCE AGAIN for the inspiration Naomi! Mwahhhhhhh!!!!!!

I wonder if the truck painters have "stolen" our images and they end up on the back of a real truck!

Showercap trucks

I've said it before…. I love Indian trucks.  Why the owners decorate them so beautifully is still a mystery to me, but I'm so glad they do!  You've probably seen enough of those but have you seen shower cap trucks yet?  I'm not sure why they need to fill them to the gunnels without an obvious regard for safety (of everything on the road) is a source of constant ummmmm.... amusement to me.

Enroute to Ranthambhore a few weeks ago, we dubbed these trucks "shower cap trucks", the reason immediately obvious……

           

this is an empty hay holder trucky thing

after a brief stint in "civilisation"......

Back in May, I spent a week in the UK, trying to find our girls a new school, and trying to figure out where we were gonna live.  Oh it was beautiful, lush and bright green with new spring growth, the trees weren't dusty, there wasn't a soul on the roads.... 





And best not mention ....... SUPERMARKETS!!!! Omg the produce!!!!! OMG the prices!!!!!!

we pay GBP12.50 for this cheese - for the privilege of having it flown in by pilots and stewardess' 
(not that the market owner will ever admit this)

we hadn't even got out of Heathrow and the girls were already fanging for food!

Yup we took home some whopping big field mushrooms
but Xanthe couldn't wait, she ate hers on the plane
and was dubbed Captain Mushroom by the hostie!!!!

After about three days in the UK, and probably a good dose of "reverse culture shock" settling in, it dawned on me just how much I'd changed, or India had changed me, shaped my perceptions, broadened my outlook, made me more aware, lazier, busier, tolerant, less tolerant, oh heaps of stuff, so I jotted down the things I had realised (or forgotten!) as I slowly got used to being back in "civilisation" (don't be offended by the use of this word, it's how it feels to be back in a country with properly laid roads, where there are supermarkets, where you can go for a walk on pavements that aren't death traps, where you don't have to truck in water, where your electricity bills aren't addressed to Mr Foreigner (not us, someone else but it's priceless huh!?).  There's plenty more to come on this list (I might write part 2 once I get my head right from nearly a week of packing!).


Ok, so the first point is obvious but it still needs to be said:

• The motorway known as the M25 is a bitch!
• Having to find a car park is a bitch
• I've forgotten how to check parking restrictions
• AND adhere to them
• I don't walk anywhere!
• I'm going to miss India more than I ever imagined
• and cows
• Carrying my own shopping is not fun
• I'm not used to being alone
• Even in my own car
• I AM permanently attached to my mobile
• Being driven increases my productivity
• There'll be tonnes more chores to do when I move back to civilisation and I won't have that car productivity time
• There's no-one to ask directions here (UK here) - not an auto driver or a guard
• I'm going to miss excess people on the streets
• Driving in Delhi is fun
• Speed limits suck (yes I know they're imposed for a reason, but try driving in Melbourne where most roads are limited to 40km and THEN tell me how much you love speed limits!!!!)
• Everyone wears shoes in the UK!
• I'm adaptable to most situations
• I've developed a better sense of direction
• I'm more confident
• and uber resourceful
• I'm not used to drinking water out of a tap
• Doors are opened by guards here in Delhi and I forget I'm supposed to or able to!
• Same with swiping my own debit card at the supermarket
• Horning is clever driver communication
• The English are very very polite
• and courteous on the roads
• There's real wine to be had and it's gorgeous
• I'm so assertive now it scares me
• I love London
• I have great friends all around the world
• And my Delhi friends have not only supported me but shaped and influenced me too, and I'm really really gonna miss them and their "internationalness"
• Imported products ARE ridiculously expensive in Delhi
• I've got used to crap quality produce
• I don't wanna do normal ever again!
• I haven't put petrol in my car in 3 years
• Or posted a letter for that matter
• I'm permanently wired in Delhi
• I push myself hard and have great stamina
• I'm exhausted
• but EVERYTHING is possible

We've had an amazing adventure, something some people never imagine possible, let alone consider doing.  It has consequences obviously, you can't live in a country like this without it affecting you BIG TIME!  So the consequences are many, and far and long reaching and some may not become obvious for quite some time.  I can see how our girls have matured, how worldly they are already.  Their "bullshit filter" is on (and turned up to max), they can negotiate like you wouldn't believe, they are strong and confident, they see the world through different eyes, they have an understanding of things they shouldn't even know about yet .. I could go on and on .... you know, I'm not quite sure what effects we'll see in the future (I did read Third Culture Kids 3 years ago perhaps it's time for another read and probably a lot of understanding head nodding) but it will be interesting to watch it all unfold as they grow and blossom into true culturally aware, global citizens!


I do wish more of our friends had been brave enough to come visit.  Not only is it an amazing holiday, but seeing us operate AND SURVIVE in this environment would put so much into perspective, maybe not straight away, but definitely as we return home and ... well .. when it becomes obvious we're not the same people who left nearly 3 years ago!  I don't wanna get too deep here, so I'm going to leave it at a that, I know why people are freaked out about the concept of coming here, but as my sisterinlaw said after her near 3 week visit "honestly, India was on the bottom of my must see list, now I've been here, I can't believe we took so long to do it, it's the best holiday I've ever had and we'll be back for sure!".

I'm posting this nearly 2 months later (after being reminded by a kooky friend that I hadn't yet) and a few days after we joined Dean at his work farewell.  Now THAT was an experience!  Usually a work send off is a cake, a speech, a few gifts and that's that.  

In India, everything is a cause for celebration, yes even! a work farewell  They hired a venue, served food and had an open bar, there was a dance floor of course, they played games "minute to win it" style 

 

this is dangle a chill from your belt and aim it into the bottle!

They had prepared a video of farewells from various people around the office, one guy did a 20minute impression of various staff and then 4 people did a rehearsed Bollywood number, we got dragged up to dance too and then of course, were the obligatory speeches.  It was fun, Indian parties ARE fun, backwards (I mean reverse order) but fun.  They get the dancing done first, it's mostly men and boy do they get into it and then food is served last and then it's over quick as a flash!

and of course there were jalabis!!!!

Anyway, all the formalities were over and there was more dancing to be done and who should be busting some serious Bollywood moves?  Emmaline!  Yup just about to turn 12 and there she was dressed in her saree and dancing with everyone from the office!

       

No way she would know these bollywood steps if we'd have stayed in Melbourne.  No way she'd have the confidence to dance with a bunch of strange men and women (it WAS mostly men and I WAS watching like a hawk) 15+ years older than her and hold her own!  No way Dean or his English CEO had had a send off like this ever, and they know that India has had a great effect on them, on the way they do business, on the way they celebrate milestones at work - they will take their experiences with them back to the UK, they will bring a little bit of India with them to the office ... it's impossible not to!

I do love the way India has changed us all.  We are richer for the experience, for the culture, the colours, the vibrancy, the music, the people .. all of it all has had a massive effect on us and I know we will never be quite the same again!

Next blog .... what I'll miss about India .. it's coming, I just don't know if I can do it yet......

Jai Ho!!!!!

Road to Ranthambhore......

Got some stuff to post, it's gonna be out of order so forgive me in advance.


Road to Ranthambhore.....


Unlike my husband, I'm not one for a road trip …… I'm not spoilt, I'd just rather not sit in a car or a train, or a bus for 6 or 12 or more hours.  I don't find it half the fun in the getting there.  I hate that stupid need to eat junk every 20 minutes cause there's nothing else to do while the countryside zooms by.  I get impatient with car games.  I don't like roadhouse food.  I'm sure the threat of DVT is just as high in long car journeys.  I hate that I never remember to pack a thermos of decent coffee!  I'm impatient and I wanna get to where I'm getting to quick smart so I can get on with what I wanna do.  

But not in India!

I love road trips here.  There's just so much activity on the roads that I don't dare blink let alone sleep in the car for the fear of missing some really crazy shit!

My camera is permanently in my hands, my head swiveling so fast, car window up and down.  Sooooo many cool photos I've taken from the car.  Ranjeet is used to me asking him hurriedly to stop so I can dash out of the car to get a pic.  He reads me now and as soon as I've got the camera up for a shot, he immediately slows down the car or gets closer or keeps up with the vehicle I'm trying to shoot.

But OHHHH! the missed photo opportunities, the photos I didn't get .. they haunt me for days! The man perched precariously on top of an easily 25foot high overstuffed load, dressed in a loin cloth, holding out his mobile to get a signal is the most recent image I just WISH I'd been able to capture.

OK, enough babbling, these are the images I caught on our most recent road trip .... Delhi to Ranthambhore:

dust storm, from Rajasthan no doubt!

at the toll, notice the sweets in the bag?
that's for us later!

COW!!!!! in truck!

SERIOUSLY????????????????

and this is why roads in India don't last .. .there's no proper foundation or preparation .. just dump some bitumen down and roll over it a few times!

drunk, stoned or sleeping driver no doubt 

told ya ... sweets in lieu of change 
from the toll dude! 

full of hay

I have no words!

the rain hit on the way home, temperature dropped from

40degrees

to 26 in next to no time!

lil hint, if whatever you're transporting is dangerous enough to put a skull n cross bone on it, then it's probably a good idea to derust your vehicle OR time to get a new one!

too hot to shut the back door, that dude won't fall out at 60km/hr .. surely not?

after the rain, the sky was magnificent! 

Pretty good balancing act at 60kms/hr! 

Jammed on the NH8!