Adventures in India and Beyond

Aaron's US Citizenship

2011-05-10T11:57:00.018+05:30

Last week we applied for documentation of Aaron's US citizenship by birth even though he was not born in the United States. Simply being born to one or two US citizens will automatically make a child born abroad a US citizen by birth, as long as certain criteria are met and lots of documentation is provided.

We had an appointment at the US Embassy last Tuesday morning and I spent a few days before that gathering all of the documentation that was required. This is what I had to pull together:

Proof of parent's citizenship - My passport does the trick.

Child's original birth certificate

Two photos (forward facing, eyes open) - We thought this would be a challenge, but Aaron fully cooperated and has a cute passport photo to prove it!

Prenatal and hospital records - I brought all of the records since I started seeing my doctor last July through out hospital stay when Aaron was born, and also included all of the ultrasounds taken during my pregnancy.

Our marriage certificate

Proof of US citizen parent's physical presence in the United States - This was the most challenging one as I had to prove that I was physically present in the US for at least 5 years, of which two should be after the age of 14. For this I gathered together a copy of my college transcript, 3 electronic copies of W-2s that I happened to have on my computer, and my previous passport with all of my entry and exit stamps. The most challenging part of this requirement is that I also had to write down and include in the application all of the dates for which I was physically present in the US. This was no easy task. While I had my passport stamps to guide me, not all of the stamps where there and I didn't had my pre-1999 passport with me at all. With some guess work, I managed to do a decent job of figuring out when I was out of the country for the past 15 years. As it turned out, they only looked at my old passport since it provided more than five years of proof.

The consular officer went through all of the documentation right then and there and handed everything back to us. Everything was in order and the application was approved. 7-10 days later, we should have Aaron's passport and the Consular Report of Birth Abroad.

2010 - A Year of Travels

2011-01-04T14:07:00.016+05:30

2010 was certainly my best year yet when it comes to international travels. Thanks to some great work opportunities and also some careful planning, I was able to visit 11 countries in 2010 (8 of them for the first time). And Ani traveled to 9 countries (8 for the first time). Not too shabby for either of us!

Here's a brief recap of our 2010 travels:

1. and 2. Singapore and Bali

We started the year in Singapore and Bali and absolutely loved both. We loved Singapore largely for the food and we often talk about going back for a long weekend. If all goes as planned, we will make a return in 2011 where most of our meals are already decided - chili crab at Jumbo Seafood, chicken rice at Tian Tian Hianese Chicken Rice and dim sum at Din Tai Fung. My mouth is water just typing this...

Enjoying a Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel

(See previous posts on Eating Our Way through Singapore and Exploring the Streets of Singapore).

We also had a lovely week in Bali, where we celebrated both my birthday and New Year's. This vacation was a great combination of relaxation, adventure and culture. We enjoyed the beach and pool at our resort in Nusa Dua, cycled through rice fields in Ubud, and enjoyed kecak dance shows and Indonesian cooking classes where I learned some of my now-favorite dishes. We also had some amazing meals in Bali, with the most spectacular being at Mozaic on my birthday.

A kecak dance performance at Uluwatu Temple

(See previous post on Nusa Dua and Southern Bali and Ubud and Central Bali).

3. and 4. Hong Kong and Macau

We hit Hong Kong and Macau in February 2010. I made it into a stopover on my way back from Sydney (where I was fortunate to go for training and where I was even more fortunate to return to later in the year, so more on Australia later). Ani flew from Delhi and met me there for a long weekend. Thanks to my everlasting supply of Marriott points, we had a lovely weekend stay at the JW over the Chinese New Year. This proved to be both a blessing and a curse. It was great to see the city lit up with festive decorations, but it also meant that many shops and restaurants were closed for the holiday. On top of that, the weather was pretty yucky, so our views from the top of Victoria Peak were extremely limited due to the massive fog.

A lion dance performance for Chinese New Year

We also took a high-speed boat over to Macau for a night. Honestly, I found it to be a strange juxaposition of wealth and poverty - a lot like India, but in a more compact space. We did venture over to the Venetian Hotel, which was just like the one in Vegas, but bigger of full of Chinese gamblers there for the holiday. We also had a really nice Portugeuese-Macanese meal at La Lorcha that was the highlight of our 24 hours there.

(See previous post on Hong Kong and Macau).

5. Australia

I spent 6 weeks in Australia for work in May-June 2010 and Ani was able to travel there towards the end of my stay for a visit. I spent the majority of my time in Sydney, but also traveled to Melbourne on a few occasions and Ani was able to see both during his 10-day visit. In addition, we spent an incredible weekend in Queensland where we snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef and visited the wet tropics near Cairns and had a lovely day-trip to the Blue Mountains, which are just outside Sydney.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge and in the Blue Mountains

I also got to spend time with my friend Yomi from the US and her awesome Australian husband, Dave. For those of you who haven't heard their story, Yomi and I have followed similar paths over the past few years. We both traveled to faraway countries for work project, only to find and fall in love with our now-husbands. And today we now live in Delhi and Sydney, respectively.

(See previous posts on my first visit to Sydney, the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, and The Blue Mountains).
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6. Switzerland
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Not wanting to travel all the way to Europe and not visit a *new* country, I added in a weekend in Switerland before our longer visit to Italy. We started in Zurich where we happened to arrive during Zuri Fascht, a street festival throughout the city. This was a great way to explore the streets, the food and the people all in one go. We spent the following day on an amazing day-trip that took us up Mt. Rigi by train, down to the village of Weggis (which we LOVED) by cable car, and then over to Lucerne by ferry. We rounded out the day with another train ride back to Zurich for our final night in Swizterland.

From the top of Mt. Rigi and Hanging out in Lucerne

(See previous post on Our Swiss Holiday).

7. Italy

We spent nearly two weeks in Italy, which was our longest vacation ever. We started with a few days in Lake Como, which is trily as beautiful and relaxing as everyone says, and where we discovered our favorite pizza. This was followed by a few days in Cinque Terre, where we hiked most of the paths connecting the villages. Next was the highlight of the trip, several days in Chianti for Drew and Simona's beautiful wedding. All of this was capped off with a few final days in Florence and a day trip to Pisa and Lucca.

Our favorite pizza and at Drew and Simona's wedding

(See previous posts on Lake Como, Cinque Terre and Drew and Simona's amazing wedding).

8. US

In September, Ani and I both headed back to the US for what has become our annual trip. I started about a week before him and arrived in time to participate in the HL Reunion and Baby Shower Palooza at Brooke's house on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. There, we celebrated the now recent arrivals of Baby Horak, Baby Oates and Baby Henneman Kastellec.

The following weekend was for the annual trek to Mike's house in Maine for relaxation, lobster and a little outlet shopping. And finally, we headed up to Saratoga Springs, NY for Joey and Jarret's weddingh. Somewhere between all of our weekend travels, we managed to squeeze in some quality time at home with the family.

The gang in Maine and Mike, Ani and I at Joey and Jarret's wedding

9. and 10. UK and Sweden

On my way back from the US, I met up with my bossess for a few days of meetings. I ended up being in London fo r barely 24 hours, but fortunately I had a bit longer in Stockholm. Our first d ay of meetings there was literally at the airport conference centert, so we stayed in a nearby hotel and didn't get to see much of the city aside from a brief trip in that night for dinner. The following day, we worked from the Stockholm office and after my bosses left for their flight back to Delhi (via London), I headed to the Old Town to explore for a few hours. I needed to fly back through Paris and could only take an early morning flight in order to connect to the once daily Paris-Delhi flight, which gave me a bit of time to see and enjoy Stockholm.

Old Town Stockholm

11. Sri Lanka

We spent the long Christmas weekend in Sri Lanka for our final trip of the year and our final international trip sans child. We figured that being only a 3 1/2 hour flight from Delhi, a holiday weekend in Sri Lanka was comparable to one in Goa, but probably a bit more peaceful. All in all, it was a nice, relaxing weekend, but we could have done with less road travel. We spent the middle two nights on the south of the island. While it was a mere 200 km (125 mi) from Colombo, travel time on the two-lane road takes about 6 hours.

View from the hotel lobby

So, that's a wrap of our 2010 travels. Again, 2011 will certainly be quieter, but hopefully we'll get in one or two international trips to satisfy our hunger!

Congratulations Drew and Simona!

2010-08-15T23:49:00.007+05:30

The reason for our trip to Italy this summer was to witness the nuptials of Drew and Simona and enjoy a fun-filled wedding weekend with their friends and family from around the world.

The fairytale wedding was held on July 11th at Villa Mocale in Montefiridolfi, Chianti and the settling could not have been more beautiful.

But Simona and Drew didn't plan just a day of festivities, but a whole weekend of activities with their family and friends from around the world - literally. Our table at the reception was representative of the diversity of their friends. There were 8 people at our table, composing 4 couples, and all 8 people were from different countries: France, Spain, Italy, Greece, UK, Serbia, India and the US.

Our hotel was absolutely beautiful. with awe-inspiring views of vineyards from the pool! When we weren't relaxing there, we spent an afternoon in Greve in Chianti, followed by a lovely lunch at Ristoro di Lamole and a pre-wedding dinner at Ristoro l'Antica Scuderia. We also managed to squeeze in an afternoon trip to Florence where we met up with Armen and Nyree, who were also staying nearby for a friend's wedding!

All in all, the wedding in Chianti was amazing. Thanks Simona and Drew for allowing us to be part of your celebration!

Happy Independence Day!

2010-08-15T13:45:00.005+05:30

Today, August 15th, India celebrates 63 years of independence from British rule.

To my disappointment, the holiday falls on a Sunday, which means we don't get a day off from work. No three day weekend here. Boo.

Hiking in Cinque Terre

2010-08-07T15:28:00.012+05:30

To start, here's a view of the five towns of Cinque Terre that we captured over the course of our two days there.

The five towns of Cinque Terre, from top (clockwise): Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.

On our first of two nights in Cinque Terre, we immediately headed to the furthest most town of Riomaggiore for a brief peak of the trail and the easiest of the walks, "Via dell'Amore." We were treated to amazing views of the cliffs and a spectacular sunset.

On the second day, we set off a bit late, but finally entered the trail in Monterosso, where we were staying. From our reading, we knew that the Monterosso-Vernazza trail was one of the longest and should take us about 90 minutes to complete. While we stopped to enjoy the views (and to catch our breathe) at almost every opportunity, we finished the first trail in just over 90 minutes. Our reward was the view of the town from above on the trail, probably the best view of the entire day.

We had pizza for lunch and contemplated whether or not to push on and hike to Corniglia. Feeling recharged after lunch and lots of water, we decided that we could handle another hike and that the hardest one was behind us. Well, in hindsight, I would say that Monterosso-Vernazza and Vernazza-Corniglia are equally hard with their fair share of steep climbs and unstable stairs. And once again, the views and the satisfaction at the end were worth the struggles of the hike. Once in Corniglia, we hung out for a bit before deciding to travel by train to Manarola, the next town. What we didn't realize was that the walk to the travel station was half of the walk. We could have easily pushed on and walked in about the same time it took us to wait for and ride the train.

In Manarola, we found a nice perch on some rocks and used this as our launching spot for dips in the water. The water was clean, cool and super refreshing. We ended this part of our day with gelato (of course) and a ferry ride back to Monterosso. This gave us the perfect opportunity to view all of the towns from the water.

Back in Monterosso, we talked to the hotel staff about our planned travel to Chianti (via Florence) the next day. We were fortunate enough to be there right in a middle of a country-wide train strike. We decided not to let the impending strike get the best of us (like the American family sitting next to us at breakfast that morning who decided to leave one day early as to not risk missing their flight home). I guess, because we had another week in Italy, we weren't as pressured as many other people. We were told by Drew and the hotel staff, that despite the strike, some trains would be running the following day, probably in the early morning. The hotel staff called the station a few times to find out which trains were still scheduled and urged us to run back there to buy tickets for the next day. We (well, I) did just this and encountered a long line of other travelers frantically trying to ensure they could make it to their next destination.

Content that we had our arrangements sorted for the next day, we ventured out for dinner and to enjoy our last night in Cinque Terre. We headed to the New Town of Monterosso and selected a restaurant called Miky's, a popular local spot, which did not disappoint. After dinner, strolled back to our hotel and prepared for our early train to Florence (fingers crossed).

Bye, Bye Cinque Terre

Relaxing in Lake Como

2010-07-30T21:31:00.011+05:30

The train ride from Zurich to Como was a beautiful one and we sat staring out the window for much of it. From the train station, we waited awhile for our bus to Tremezzo. It seemed to be the easiest way to get there because to go by train, we had to reach the other train station, which was across town. After about an hour wait, followed by an hour ride right along the coast, we found our way to the lovely Hotel Villa Marie. To give you an idea of just how lovely it was, this was the view from the window and from across the street:

On our first day, we wandered around Tremezzo, enjoying the combination of wine and spectacular views of the lake and a visit to Villa Carlotta.

We also had what turned out to be our favorite meal of the trip in Tremezzo. We'd found this little restaurant called Pizzeria Balognett through TripAdvisor. Reviews warned that you would need to ask for directions because it was a bit of a walk from the main town. We asked for directions, a few times, but finally made our way there. It was definitely worth it. The pizzas were perfectly thin and absolutely amazing. The small restaurant only has about 10 tables, but it offers a view of the lake and is run by a very nice couple. After dinner, we even enjoyed some limoncello with the owner.

On our second day, we set off for our day-long adventure around the lake and planned to visit the towns of Lenno, Varenna and Bellagio. We started the day by heading off on a 2.4km walk from Tremezzo to Lenno. This was just part of the much longer Lake Como Greenway walk. We didn't have the time nor the energy for the longer walk. We were saving our energy for hiking in Cinque Terre, but we thought the shorter version would give us a great opportunity to wander through some of the smaller towns and capture amazing views of the countryside.

We ended in the town of Lenno on their market day, so we walked around and then searched for Vanini Osvaldo, a highly recommended local olive oil company. You can find this oil in almost every shop in Lake Como, but we were told to buy it here at a much lower price. Once again, we had to stop and ask for directions several times, but we eventually found the small shop, which was guarded by three large, but quite friendly shepherd/wolf dogs. Don't let the dogs scare you off. It's worth a visit.

Next, we made our way to the ferry and headed off to Varenna for lunch, wine and wandering.

After Varenna, we hopped back on the ferry and stopped at the next town - the very famous Bellagio. We stayed here for several hours, doing a little shopping, eating lots of gelato and just wandering the streets and alleyways. With an eye on the time, we managed to have an early and quick dinner at La Grotta before catching the last ferry back to Tremezzo. The pizza was good, but not as good as the night before, and we admit that the fact we were in a hurry probably affected our level of satisfaction.

Back in Tremezzo, we wandered around the town a bit and found a lovely wine bar and shop called Cantina La Follie that is located in the cellar of what used to be the main hotel in town. We wrapped up fairly early, as we had to get ready for another day of travel with a train from Como to Monterosso via Milan.

For anyone planning their own trip to Lake Como, here's a great article that highlights some of the best things the area has to offer: Lazy lakeside frolicking: an insider's guide to Lake Como.

Swiss Holiday

2010-07-30T19:33:00.010+05:30

On July 2nd, Ani and I headed out from Delhi and DC, respectively, and met up at the CDG airport in Paris. This airport remains one of my least favorite in the whole world. On several occasions I've found it challenging to meet up with people (pre international roaming) here due to the size of the airport and the fact that you have to take buses from terminal to terminal. I had the same worries for this trip since Ani still does not have international roaming. To my surprise everything worked out as planned and we met up at the terminal for inter-Europe flights as scheduled. At the same time, I was glad that I'd allowed for a nearly five hour layover instead of a two hour one because we would have never made the first flight.

In any case, from CDG, we flew to Zurich for the first leg of our two week adventure. I quickly realized that while we've traveled a lot, it has been mostly long weekend trip or extended visits to the US with lots of mini-trips and this would be our first two week vacation!

We arrived in Zurich early in the morning, made the easy transfer to our hotel by train, and then ventured out to explore the city. One of our first stops was Sprungli, a very famous confectionery and home of the famous Luxembourgli.

As we continued down Bahnhofstrasse, we literally stumbled upon Zuri Fascht, a major street festival with rides, games, food and tons of people. So, we wandered the streets, alternating visits to Fraumuenster and Grossmuenster churches with stops for snacks at the various food stalls.

On our second day, we woke up early and caught a train to Arth-Goldau, the beginning of our journey to and up Mt. Rigi, one of the mountains near Lucerne. From Arth-Goldau, we took a train up to the top of the mountain where we enjoyed spectacular views in all directions.

We took the train down part of the way, but hopped off at Kaltbad, where we took a cable car the rest of the way. The ride was great and the views were even better. The cable car ended in the small town of Weggis. We enjoyed a lunch and drinks at a cute restaurant right on the lake. Weggis was a super cute town and we put it on our list, in case we should ever return to Switzerland.

From there we took a ferry to Lucerne, the last stop on our day-long adventure.

After a few hours (and a few drinks), we headed to the train station for our one-hour ride back to Zurich. Since Zuri Fascht was all weekend, we decided to return to central Zurich for a little more adventure. The festival offered a wide-variety of food options, making it an easy and smart place to have dinner. We also stopped into the famous Kronenhalle Bar for a drink, but it was unusually empty, probably because of the festival just outside their entrance.

Soon it was back to the hotel for us for a little packing and rest before we headed to the train station (again) for our trip into Italy!

The Blue Mountains

2010-07-26T21:20:00.008+05:30

During Ani's second weekend in Sydney, we headed to the nearby Blue Mountains for a day trip. We started off with a visit to Featherdale Wildlife Center for the sole purpose of seeing kangaroos and koalas. All in all, it was touristy, but gave us a chance to see both animals during our short time in Australia.

The kangaroos we saw were small, but they were roaming free, so you could go right up to them and pet and feed them. This one below was more aggressive than Ani bargained for. He began to chew on Ani's jacket sleeve, which was cute at first, but then he wouldn't let go. Finally, Ani was able to get away from him and I quickly learned to stay away from these little guys.

The koalas were super cute and cuddly. Being protected animals, people are allowed to pet them, but it's illegal to hold them. And We learned that the eucalyptus leaves that they eat are a mild narcotic, causing them to sleep for 17-18 hours a day. What a life.

Next, we made our way to the Blue Mountains, where our first stop was at the Three Sisters rock formation. This sight provided amazing views across the valley, as well as a great photo op.

Finally, we headed to a park where we rode what is claimed to be the steepest railroad in the world down into the forest, and then a cable car back up. Finally, we enjoyed lunch (photo below) in a revolving restaurant. Yes, it was touristy, but it's really the only option and the view was amazing.

We then headed back to Sydney for a little rest, followed by dinner with friends.

The Wet Tropics of Queensland

2010-06-23T08:07:00.014+05:30

On our second day in Cairns, we headed inland to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the wet tropics. Instead of opting for a touring through the rainforest, we took one OVER the rainforest on the Skyrail.

This 7.5 km stretch of cable cars takes you over the tree tops, passing Barron Falls, and stopping at two stations in the forest along the way. The final stop is the small village of Kuranda, where we wandered around and explored the sites (and shops) for a few hours. It had a great small town feel with lots of local artisans and small food shops (we enjoyed German sausages and French crepes). And we found a lovely hand-etched wood platter that will grace our future home one day.

Ani and I on the Skyrail

Barron Falls

Town of Kuranda

At about 4pm, the entire village became silent as all of the daytrippers (including us), may their way back down by cable car or by train. We opted for the latter on the Kuranda Scenic Railway, which was constructed to transport goods inland and provide passengers access to the North Queensland coast.

Ani at the train station in Kuranda

Views of the valley and the ocean from the train

And finally, a fabulous shot of the bay from our hotel room at the Shangri-La...makes you want to be on vacation every day, doesn't it?

Next Stop: Melbourne

Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef

2010-06-22T00:36:00.005+05:30

Ani arrived in Sydney on a Thursday night and the following day, we promptly headed off to explore another part of the country. We decided that even a brief trip to Australia would not be complete without a visit to the Great Barrier Reef, so we decided to fly into Cairns (which is really pronounced Cans and is incredibly hard for me to say). We stayed in the well-placed Shangri-La, right on the marina.

On the first night, we enjoyed a tasty dinner of mussels at a nearby hotel, but decided to retire early and rest up for our early morning snorkeling adventure.

Around 8am we headed off to the marina and joined our group with Silverswift. Everyone that we encountered talked about what a great day it was for the boat ride and snorkeling and I began to think that this was their canned speech for everyone. But on the boat, someone confirmed that it was in fact a great day. There were low winds and high visibility, which was certain to make for a smooth ride (about half of the people on the boat usually get seasick) and a wonderful snorkeling experience.

Silverswift allows you to either snorkel or dive, and they also offer an introductory dive option. We settled for a day of snorkeling and figured we would save the diving for a future trip when we have more time to get certified and enjoy our newfound skills.

We have some pretty amazing photos of our underwater adventures, thanks to the onboard underwater photographer who dives along with the group (and of course, sells her photso at the end). But since we opted not to rent an underwater camera, it proved a wise investment to help us remember the day.

We returned to the hotel and relaxed for a bit. In the evening, we decided to check out a small Greek restaurant, called Fetta's Greek Restaurant, that Ani had spotted when we were arriving the night before. It looked like small, cute place with 4 tables outside and about the same number inside. But upon venturing inside, we discovered that it was much larger than expected and it was packed with fellow tourists.

The food was wonderful. We had a king crab special and a lamb kebab, and the atmosphere was even better. Towards the end of our meal, we were entertained by a dancer accompanied by the sound of breaking dishes throughout the restaurant. The night proved to be an unexpected highlight of our trip.

There's more to come on our Australian adventure...including a visit to the nearby rainforests.

A Journey to Hong Kong (and Macau)

2010-03-06T19:48:00.014+05:30

Since being home, I've heard from a few people that they still check out the blog from time to time to see what we're up to. It's more than fair to admit, that I've left them down over the past few months, so I thought I would attempt make up for it by giving a run-down of our travel since the last post in February.

First up is Hong Kong and Macau. After my training in Sydney in February, Ani and I met up in Hong Kong for a long weekend. We were there over Chinese New Year, which was both good and bad. The good - it was nice to see the city all decked out with festive decorations and there were several events and a parade over the course of the weekend. The bad - many stores and restaurants were closed for the holiday AND it was cold and rainy. Like India, the holiday is not simply a date on the calendar, but it based on the lunar calendar. And with that, the New Year also marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring. It was certainly the end of winter when we were there.

Hong Kong's Happening Nightlife in Lan Kwai Fong

Cable Car up to Victoria Peak

Foggy views of Victoria Harbour and Downtown HK from the Ferry

The Lion Dance for Chinese New Year

On the Ferry to Tsim Shai Tsui

Hanging Out in HK

More views of Hong Kong

After a few days in Hong Kong, we ventured over to Macau by high speed ferry. We had an incredibly tasty Macanese-Portuguese meal at A Lorcha. In the evening, we headed to the Venetian to check out all of the hype. It is much like the one in Vegas, but larger. It was packed with Chinese tourists and gamblers enjoying the holiday weekend.

The following day, we headed out to see the nice, but limited tourist destinations in Macau, which included the ruins of St. Paul's Church and the Museum of Macau.

On the Ferry to Macau

Incredible dinner at A Lorcha

Hanging out in the Venetian

In front of the ruins of St. Paul's

Macau was definitely full of constrasts

After our bit of sightseeing, we headed back to Hong Kong, and then to the airport for our flights back to Delhi. While it was a short trip, it was worth it, only next time we'd plan to go when the weather was better. And Ani may even successfully argue for a trip to Disneyland if we ever return.

Next Stop: Australia

Happy (much belated) Holi!

2010-02-28T15:30:00.010+05:30

I just realized that I never posted anything about our Holi celebrations this year. This was the fourth year that I've been in India for the festival, but the first one that I've actually done anything to celebrate. Either work, a visit to the US or simple laziness got in the way.

So this year we decided that we'd participate in the festivities. Our first stop was a family-friendly party at the Defence Colony (where we live) Club. We were joined there by most of the neighbor and people of all ages enjoyed the food, the music and, of course, the colors!

Those festivities wrapped up around 2pm and we made our way to the party of a local socialite who hosts an annual Holi bash that is widely covered on Page 3. It was definitely an awesome party and now I understand why Ani tried to convince he to go every year. There was amazing food (veg only), free-flowing drinks (until they ran out), great music and a rain tent.

I've included a few more photos from the day below and you'll notice how we got messier and messier as the day progressed.

And on a completely unrelated note, the was what the sky looked light when we walked out of the first party. Amazing...

A brief visit Down Under

2010-02-26T00:00:00.009+05:30

Let me start by saying that I flew Business Class to Sydney (thanks Accenture!) and the HKG - SYD leg was amazing. The seats had individual walls to give you a lot of privacy and they fully reclined to 180 degrees. Here's a photo to make you jealous.

I arrived in Sydney a day before my training class, so I was able to catch up on some sleep and catch up with Yomi, and old friend and colleague. Actually, Yomi was once my boss when I was still an Analyst many years ago. We've been on parallel paths for the past few years - we both went to foreign countries for a project and ended up falling in love, getting married and transferring offices. Only she's in Sydney and I'm in Delhi. Lucky her.

Sydney welcomed me with a lot of rain, which put a damper on my planned afternoon of sightseeing. But Yomi and her husband, Dave, were rock stars and drove me around past many of the major sites, with stops at the Botanic Gardens and the infamous Bondi Beach. In the evening, we watched a movie at the open air cinema in the gardens and fortunately for us, the rain held off for *most* of the show.

If you look through the clouds and rain, you will see the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.

Me and Yomi at Bondi Beach. She swears that it is never this empty.

On my second night, I had the chance to taste an Australian favorite: kangaroo. In the interest of full disclosure, I did not order the kangaroo. Instead I went for mussels in a Thai curry sauce - something I love and cannot get in India. But I did have a couple of bites of Dave's kangaroo dish so I could say that I tried it. Verdict: It tasted a lot like beef, but more gamy.

On the last day of class, we finished early and I had the afternoon to myself. Well, sort of. I was free from lunchtime until 4:30pm when I had to facilitate a call with my team back in India. To make the most of my time, I hopped on the Sydney Hop-On Hop-Off bus, but never hopped off. I did the full two hour circuit around Sydney so I could take in the sights and figures out where I wanted to spend my limited time the following day. The only negative point was that I was watching the time for the last hour, crossing my fingers that I would make it make to the hotel in time to run to my room and start the calls. Here are a few photos from my tour, all taken from the inside of the bus!

On my last day in Sydney, I first headed to Paddy's Market to pick up lots of Sydney souvenirs. From there, I walked through Chinatown and over to the Chinese Gardens, which were lovely.

Eventually, I made my way around Darling Harbour and back to the hotel/Accenture office. After a quick fresh-up (it was 100 degrees that day!), I headed back out and to the Sydney Opera House. I decided to take the Essentials Tour, which lasted an hour and lets you view the main theaters, as well as several smaller theaters located below. It also offers amazing views of North Sydney across the harbour.

And what's the best way to relax after all of this sightseeing? Happy Hour at the Opera Bar with Yomi and Dave. Later on we headed over to Wolfie's in the Rocks with a few of their friends, so I could get in my last bite of beef for awhile. Dinner was absolutely wonderful and was capped off with a massive downpour that left us sitting under a harbour-side canopy getting wet.

And so, I leave you with this lovely (but slightly blurry) nighttime shot of the Opera House...until next time.

Bali - Part 2: Ubud and Central Bali

2010-02-21T18:12:00.030+05:30

We spent the second half of our time in Bali in Ubud, which is the art and cultural heart of the island. It's also physically located right in the middle of Bali. On the drive to Ubud, we stopped in numerous "villages" to check out the local wares for which they are famous. This included Mas for wood cravings, Celuk for silver, and another whose name I forget for Balinese paintings. First, I must admit that these were not quite the villages I imagined from India, but more like small towns with lots of shops along the main road. Many of the ones we stopped in targeted tourists and I didn't get the feeling they were very "authentic."

But that didn't stop us from shopping. We bought a lot of silver jewelry (for me) and some artwork that we have yet to frame and hang on the walls. People say that prices are really inflated and you should bargain hard. But we they said this, I bet they didn't imagine running into Ani, king of bargaining. Ani is obviously no stranger to bargaining and after each of our purchases, Ani left with a smile and the retailers appeared exhausted.

After our successful purchases, we finally located our small hotel, which was on the outskirts of town. It took a few phone calls and several stops to ask for directions, but we eventually made it to Amori Villa. One of the latest trends in Bali is that foreigners buy houses and convert them into bed and breakfasts. This results in places that can really cater to the tastes and needs of tourist, but it also means that less businesses are locally owned. Fortunately, all businesses must have a local partner, so there's some aspect of sharing in the success.

One regret was that we had a packed schedule and didn't have as much time as we would have liked to enjoy the peacefulness of the surroundings at Amori Villa. Nonetheless, we did enjoy the time we had there among the limited five bedrooms.

One of the highlights of the entire trip was my birthday dinner at Mozaic in Ubud. Thanks to my meticulous planning, I made a reservation two months in advance. And fortunately for us, Mozaic lived up to the hype and we were amazed with an incredible 7-course meal. I must confess that I don't remember everything we dined on, but I remember that the pork belly dish (no surprise there if you know my love of bacon) was my favorite among many tasty dishes. The staff was amazing. The service was impeccable, and they even offered to tweak the set menu around my food allergies. The final result was wonderful. If we'd had more time in Ubud, we probably would have gone back for another visit, and I highly recommend that future Bali travels spend the time and money dining at this restaurant which is the only one in Indonesia to be named one of Les Grandes Tables du Monde.

The following day we ventured out on a half-day bicycle tour around Ubud with Banyan Tree Cycling Tours. We were picked up from our hotel around 7am and whisked up Mt. Kintamini. After about an hour (during which we managed to get in some extra rest), we picked out our bicycled and headed off - fortunately downhill. The bike tour proved to be a great way to see the countryside. As we pedaled along, we stopped in a village home, a village temple and walked through rice fields.

If you think those are ominous clouds in the background, you are right. We soon found ourselves in a middle of a torrential downpour. During the last hour of the tour, we ended up pedaling through lots of mud on our way to the final destination - lunch.

The next day I rallied to take a cooking class at the Ubud institution, Cafe Wayan. The classes are actually held at their sister restaurant, Laka Leke. After arriving a bit late (I live in India afterall), I met my fellow classmates and jumped into preparing several favorite Balinese dishes. We tackled the staple, nasi goreng, as well as Balinese chicken salad, Balinese prawns, chicken curry, and two desserts, black pudding and banana caramel.

I can happily report that the lesson didn't go to waste. The chicken curry has become a regular on our dining room and I've also made nasi goreng and the banana caramel a few times.

Photos of the food: Clockwise from top right: Chicken Curry, Banana Carmel, Balinese Prawns, Nasi Goreng

New Year's Eve was our last night in Bali and we celebrated at Indus, another Ubud institution. The owner of Indus is Janet De Neefe, author of Fragrant Rice and an Australian who has made Bali her home. A note for future Bali travelers: Janet De Neefe also offers cooking classes and market tours, but I read before the trip and heard from others while in Ubud that her classes are less hands on than the one I took with Cafe Wayan.

In any case, here's a photo of us ringing in 2010 at Indus...

...And saying goodbye to Bali (Until our next trip)!

Bali - Part One: Nusa Dua and Southern Bali

2010-02-19T20:40:00.007+05:30

I'm finally getting around to posting about our trip to Bali nearly two months ago...

After spending Christmas in Singapore, we headed off for Bali on December 26th. The flight was easy, less than 3 hours and not enough time to finish watching the movie "Up." I'd read some horror stories about the lines for the Visa-on-Arrival, but we didn't have any problems and were headed to the hotel within minutes.

For the first half of our visit, we stayed at the Grand Hyatt in Nusa Dua, which is essentially an enclave of 5-star hotels and resorts. The Grand Hyatt at a lovely beach and pool, which we didn't get to use enough, as well as numerous restaurants, a spa and cultural activities. Here are a few photos of the hotel's environs:

While staying on this part of the island, we spent most of our time visiting temples during the day and enjoying amazing restaurants in the evening. On our first full day, we spent several hours at Waterbom water park and made our way to Tanah Lot for sunset. Our driver tried to convince us that we would be too late for sunset, but we told him to go any way. Good thing we did. We joined the evening crowds and enjoyed an amazing sunset over the water.

That night we had a wonderful dinner at Chandi in Seminyak followed by drinks at the ever-popular Ku De Ta.

We spent most of the next day hanging out at the hotel and grabbed lunch at Bali Collection, the shopping center across the street. In the late afternoon, we made our way to Uluwatu for the Kecak and Fire Dance.

We finished off the day with dinner in Jimbaran Bay where the numerous beachside restaurants allow you to select your fresh catch for dinner. This setup seems to be a big hit with most tourists, but to us, it was exactly like dinner on the beach in Goa, but only more expensive.

Back at the hotel, Ani surprised me with midnight birthday dessert and champagne. What a great way to start year #32!

Exploring the streets of Singapore

2010-02-04T23:17:00.010+05:30

I wanted to share a few more sights from Singapore. Our few days there were like a world tour. We spent time in Little India and Chinatown, which was complemented by drinks at the colonial Raffles Hotel. We skipped many of the usual sights like the zoo, the night safari and Sentosa. Instead, we spent most of our time walking around the different neighborhoods, enjoying the food and exploring the malls.

Little India - Almost like the real thing

Chinatown

Raffles Long Bar - Home of the Singapore Sling

In front of the Merlion Statue

Atop the Singapore Flyer

We were also there for Christmas and got to enjoy the festive lights and holiday decorations, along with the frenzied crowds doing their last minute shopping.

Finally, there were a few things about Singapore that I just loved, all dealing with a woman's place in society. First, I thought it was refreshing to see women wearing shorts. Personally, I haven't worn a pair since moving to India and I only see the occasional tourist wearing them. I will admit that even I think, "What is she thinking?" when I see it. Second, we saw many female bus drivers. Again, not a big deal, but definitely something you never see in India. And maybe my favorite was the visibly pregnant host at the restaurant in the Marriott. Again, working pregnant women are not a sight you see often enough in India.

I realize that these comments will only be appreciated by a few (and most notably, Brooke) but I think they are worth sharing anyway.

So, I guess that wraps up Singapore. I still have to write a few posts on Bali, as well as my upcoming adventures to Sydney and Hong Kong.

Eating our way through Singapore

2010-01-23T22:06:00.008+05:30

I'm WAY behind on posting about our travels, so you probably already know that we spent Christmas in Singapore and then New Year's in Bali. We liked Singapore so much that we went twice! Well, not really, but we did get to continue our exploration of the city with a day and a half on the way back to Delhi from Bali.

And we loved it. Singapore was clean, modern, cosmopolitan and had amazing food. We basically ate our way through the city, enjoying seafood, Chinese food and really anything that we thought looked interesting.

Some of our favorites were:

Prawn noodles and char kway teow at Food Republic in Wisma Atrium. I don't know the name of the stall that we went to. We just picked the one with the longest line. This was a great idea because the food was yummy.

Chili crab at Jumbo Seafood. We liked this so much that we ate at the one at Clarke Quay AND the one at East Coast Seafood Park.

Dimsum at Din Tai Fung in Raffles City Center. It took us awhile to locate the restaurant, which was at the back of the basement food court in the mall. But once again, looking for the big line helped us out. We *tried* to eat here twice - but it closed just as we arrived for one last ride of dimsum before our flight out. Boo.

Prawn Noodles at Food Republic

Char Kway Teow

Chili crab at Jumbo Seafood - yummy!

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We also did several rounds at many of the popular hawker stalls in Singapore where we samples some of Singapore's most favorite foods.

Tian Tian Hainese Chicken Rice at Maxwell Food Center in Chinatown

Duck Rice at Maxwell Food Center, Chinatown

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Chili Crab at East Coast Seafood Center (taken from a moving car)

Satay at Lau Pa Sat

We're looking forward to returning one day and continuing our culinary tour of the city and all that it has to offer!

It's about time

2009-12-05T14:24:00.003+05:30

Anyone who has traveled to India has likely witnessed numerous men peeing along the side of the road. It happens in the city and rural areas alike.

Part of the problem is certainly poverty - many people do not have access to toilets and running water. Alongside railroad tracks, it's a common sight to see men, women and children bathing and conducting other activities in full view of passing trains.

But there's a huge social problem where people (ok, men), think it's fine to do this in public. In the evening, you'll see men stop their cars or bikes to relieve themselves in not so private places.

Last weekend in my neighborhood, two stopped in the middle of a bridge. A guy who used to work in my office told a story of how he stopped on his way home one night. (He was subsequently hit by a motorcycle and slightly injured, so I guess he learned his lesson).

It seems that the New Delhi government is finally taking steps to curb such behaviors. Of course, it's mainly because the city doesn't want to be embarrassed when it hosts the Commonwealth Games next year, but that's fine with me if that's what it takes.

The city is launching a new ad campaign on billboards intended to "shame" people into proper behaviors to help clean up the city. It will tackle spitting, littering, and my personal favoring, urinating in public, all accepted norms here.

New Delhi launches no peeing in public campaign (CNN.com)

I don't know if it will actually work, but it's worth a try. And it's definitely better than doing nothing at all.

Back in India

2009-10-13T11:13:00.004+05:30

We returned to Delhi last Tuesday and I returned with a cold. A nasty cold and a chest infection. I still haven't fully recovered, but I'm feeling much better.

And fortunately, I recovered enough to spend some time with my cousin Randy who was in town. As you may have heard me say before, Randy has the best job ever. Ever. He works for Sports Illustrated and originally worked on their website. But a few years ago he stumbled upon the opportunity to be the "On Location" photographer for the swimsuit edition. So now, he travels with the team as the shoot each year's swimsuit edition.

And that's only half of it - he also gets to travel to amazing locations around the world where they receive star treatment. This year he's been to the Maldives, Portugal and India. And he has another international trip coming in a few weeks, but I can't tell you where. Oh yeah, and he gets to hang out with the models.

In any case, after spending 2 weeks at Amanbagh Resort in Rajasthan, Randy added on a few extra days to his trip so he could visit Ani and me in Delhi. On Friday, I was a pretty worthless tour guide and hobbled my way through a visit to Humayun's Tomb and Khan Market. And on Saturday, I bailed on a trip to the Taj because I didn't think my body could take 8+ hours in a car. So Randy had to venture off on his own, but fortunately he was in the good company of Raju, our driver.

But I think on Sunday, I was back in action as a hostess. First, we ventured to Connaught Place where we hopped on the metro and headed to Old Delhi. The metro was incredibly crowded for a Sunday afternoon, but it still proved to be the most efficient way to reach Old Delhi. Once there, we took cycle rickshaws through several markets to reach Jama Masjid. And of course, we ate at Karim's, a requirement for any trip to Old Delhi.

We continued on through a bunch of other markets: the firework market, the motor markets, the silver and jewelry market, the spice market, the pan market, and of course the paper market. And like all good trips to Old Delhi, we stopped for dahi bhalla and ended in Haldiram's to buy sweets.

On our way back home, we intended to make a brief stop at Ani's house. This turned into a much longer, but incredibly enjoyable visit where Randy got to meet most of Ani's family and enjoy the hospitality of an Indian home. Randy also took about a million photographs of the kids and the rest of the family.

Later that evening, we said goodbye to Randy and dropped him (and all of his equipment) off at the airport. Now, we're patiently waiting for the next visitor (Brooke in late November), so we can continue to show our friends the wonders of India.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

2009-09-15T00:16:00.004+05:30

Delhi has finally emerged from 4 days of straight rain. Monsoon rains, you may say. But actually, it was about two months too late for the monsoon season. June and July were unusually dry for much of India, resulting in drought conditions across the country. While many of my friends and colleagues rejoiced at the cool, wet weather, I exclaimed that it was gross and nasty. Rain + dust makes a lot of mud.

But the worst part is definitely the traffic. Delhi still suffers from poor infrastructure, including crappy roads and non-functioning drainage systems. Heavy rain, even for a few hours, leads to lots and lots of flooding. And I'm not sure what they use to build roads here, but it seems to disintegrate with a drop of water.

Last Friday was Day 2 of the continuous rain and I was headed to my office in Gurgaon. On a typical morning with traffic it takes about an hour to get to the office, despite the fact that it's only 25 km (16 mi) away. One of my colleagues had warned me that it took her well over two hours to reach the office and she'd left home before 7:30am. I didn't attempt to head out until 9:45am thinking that traffic would improve. But on this day, I spent about 45 minutes in traffic and barely ventured 10 kms from my house. Fortunately, my boss called me from his car to say that he was stuck in traffic and was turning around and heading to our other office. I promptly replied that I was going to do the same. It only took about 15 minutes to make a u-turn in the traffic.

And then the rains continued and continued...

The sun finally emerged on Sunday and things returned to normal. And by normal I mean that yesterday we were stuck behind a procession of villagers traveling on about 20 carts pulled by oxen. Oh, India.

Back in Action...maybe

2009-08-20T23:19:00.005+05:30

I just realized that it's been almost three months since my last post and I don't really have a good excuse. I can't really blame it on Bravo, our wonderful puppy. I was also away for a few weeks in late June/early July for my trip to DC/Chicago/Turkey, but I've been back for well over a month.

Four days at home was not enough, but it was certainly better than nothing. The best part was that I flew home for free (and business class!) thanks to my training session in Chicago (well, outside Chicago) the following week. All of this was capped off with a week in Turkey with Kelly and Brooke. We met in beautiful and "central" Istanbul from our respective homes in the 3 Ds - DC, Doha and Delhi. I won't be able to do justice to the amazing trip here, so I will refer to you Brooke's blog where she's done a wonderful job of capturing the sights, sounds and culinary delights of Istanbul and Bodrum.

Now back to India, where I've been since early July. Things are hot-hot-hot, as Indian summers usually are. And this summer has also been quite dry. Many parts of the country are experiencing drought conditions, crops are failing and prices are rising. Despite the serious impact this will have on the economy, it is not the main news story of the week.

Instead, all of India is up in arms about the treatment of their biggest Bollywood star, Shah Rukh Khan, during a recent trip to the United States. US Immigration officials allegedly gave him a hard time when he was entering the country at Newark Airport. They did this by asking him questions like, "Why are you entering the US?," "Where are you going?" and "Can anyone vouch for your identity?" Sure, he's made nearly 100 films and is one of the most recognizable faces in India, but how many people in the US really know Bollywood film stars?

Oh, and there was a similar uproar a few weeks ago when a former president was subjected to additional screening by Continental Airlines on a flight from Delhi to Newark. I think there's more merit in this uproar, but to keep it in perspective, this is all coming from a country where stars and politician always get VIP, or even VVIP treatment. (Do you think those with only VIP status feel inferior)?

VIPs and VVIPs don't get screened at airports, they don't pay tolls, they are given around-the-clock security guards and motorcades that block traffic for hours. In case you can't remember just who qualifies for this status, you can check the lengthy list of "special" designations on display at airport security or the entrance to a toll plaza. Yes, these lists really exist.

So, that's my update for now, but there's more to come. I swear.

Bravo, Bravo

2009-05-30T10:36:00.007+05:30

As many of you have heard, our house is a little more crowded these days with the arrival of Bravo, our German Shepherd puppy.

He's grown and changed so much in the past two weeks. His ears are standing up now. He barks at all strangers. And he's much heavier, which I dont' like since I carry him down the stairs to go outside. I'm not exactly sure, but I think he's a little scared of stairs. Fortunately, he's mastered climbing up.

Bravo's hobbies include laying in the water he's spilled from his water bowl (it's super hot here), chasing the neighborhood stray dogs, hiding in the shower (again for the cool tile) and of course, sleeping.

Today Bravo had his first visit from a trainer, although he's been pretty good so far. He's mastered Sit and is just about housebroken. Ani and I are almost trained too, to know when he wants to go outside or when he's hungry.

Here are a few pictures of the little puppy. Hopefully you can see him soon on your next visit to Delhi.

And the winner is...

2009-05-17T13:16:00.002+05:30

Yesterday culminated a month of voting in India with the Congress party emerging the winner and their United Progressive Alliance (UPA) maintaining power in the government. This also means that PM Manmohan Singh will serve another 5-year term as the country's Prime Minister. The Indian National Congress is the party of the Nehru-Gandhi family and its leaders have included: Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and now Sonia Gandhi. And many think that Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi's son, Rahul, who is also a member of parliament, will be the party's next big leader.

India's claims the title of the world's largest democracy and with a population of over 1.1 billion, there were over 700 million registered voters in this election. Personally, I find this number of 700 million doubtful because I've also read that nearly 50% of the country's population is under the age of 25. So this means that there are 200 million people between the ages of 18 and 25. While this is possible, I also know that not EVERYONE is registered to vote and I know that there are occurrences of voter fraud where people are registered multiple times. Anyways, back to the election...

India's political system is extremely fractured with a numerous parties. Although the Congress and the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) are the two major ones, there are a host of smaller parties that are driven by state/region, religion and caste. As a result, the winning party (usually Congress or BJP) is often forced to form a collation government with several of the smaller parties in order to gain control of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament that is directly elected by voters.

Many of these parties sprout up when a leader breaks away from the Congress or BJP and forms his/her own party or grow to national prominence because of the leader. Lalu Prasad Yadav, the Railway Minister, has his own party, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) that has waning popularity in Bihar, his home state. Mayawati, Chief Minister of the state of Uttar Pradesh, heads the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which is very strong in her home state. The party claims to represent the interests of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Mayawati is a Dalit and, had her party done well in the elections, would have been poised to become the first Dalit Prime Minister.

Voting occurred over the past month in 5 phases throughout the country. Each election day was a mandatory public holiday in those states with voting. I really like this, as it sends a strong message to people that voting is important. Election day, as well as the day preceding the election, is also a dry day, meaning alcohol is not sold in the state. "Votes for liquor" scams are not uncommon and the declaration of dry days is meant to curb this.

After voting, an ink mark is usually placed on the voter's index finger. Without fail, newspapers the next day features photos of politicians and celebrities showing off their ink marks. For some reason, in Bombay, they marked middle fingers, so there were full page spreads of all of the Bollywood stars sticking up their middle fingers. Quite funny if you can here. Here's a photo of the Bachchan family, the royal family of Bollywood, giving the middle finger to the media. I wonder if they secretly got pleasure of out of this?

And I've added this BJP campaign poster below because I think it's funny. What on earth is he doing??

I've only learned a bit in my time here about the complex political system. One important and interesting topic I haven't touch on is corruption within the system. In this election there were a significant number of candidates with criminal cases pending against them - from all parties. Maybe I will pick this topic up later.

Summertime in the City

2009-04-22T20:45:00.003+05:30

The summer is officially here and it came quickly and without warning. Last week, temperatures reached 42C, which is about 108F! Central and Eastern India are experiencing an early heat wave, with temperatures reaching 45C in some places.

The strain on the power supply is also apparent. Yesterday, our power went out several times for just a few minutes in both the morning and evening (and probably during the day too, but we weren't here to experience it). Fortunately, we have an inverter, so we have some power even during outages (but no AC). But the best part of this is that our internet connection works even when the power's out.

While there are many things I hate about the summer (sweating the moment I walk outside, the ants that appear in my kitchen, power outages), I've decided to focus on the things I love about the summer.

Things I love about summer in India:

- Fresh mangoes, mango juice, mango shakes
- Not having to turn the geyser (hot water heater) on because the sun and heat do it for you

So, that's all I've got for now, but hopefully the list will grow as I prepare to deal with the summer heat. Wish me luck.

IPL 2

2009-04-19T18:58:00.006+05:30

This weekend kicked off the second season of the Indian Premier League. The only catch to this year's follow up to the first highly successful and lucrative cricket tournament is that it is being held in South Africa, not India.
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Thanks to the ongoing elections in India (more on the elections in the next post), the entire tournament was moved to South Africa. State governments insisted that they could not provide adequate security near election days and the IPL was forced to come up with an alternative schedule. This schedule had random cities without an IPL team hosting many matches and several host teams without a home game, including Delhi.
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Finally, Lalit Modi, founder of the IPL announced that the tournament would not be cancelled, but would be held outside of India, in either South Africa or England. I think it's quite a shame for India. The buzz and excitement around last year's IPL was refreshing and the money generated from sponsorships, ticket sales, and merchandise is something that is not usually seen in India. Although people can watch from here and buy all of the Delhi Daredevil t-shirts they want, it's not the same as the real deal.
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Already I find that I'm less inclined to watch the matches, but maybe that will change with time.

Bombay

2009-04-04T21:23:00.011+05:30

First off, yes, I call it Bombay and not Mumbai. I've found that several of my colleagues refer to it as this, and most switch between the two.

A couple of weekends ago we returned to Bombay for the first time in over two years. During what was my first visit, we stayed at the Marriott in Juhu Beach, which I now know to be quite far from the center of the city. As a result, we spent most of our time hanging out at the hotel - enjoying the pool, the incredible breakfast buffet and the (once) popular nightclub there.

This time I vowed to get out and see more of the sights. Fortunately, there aren't that many sights in Bombay so we were also able to spend a lot of time relaxing at the hotel pool and enjoy our view of the sea from our hotel room. Here's the view...

View from our room at the Trident

On the first night, we walked around the Colaba area, including the Taj Palace Hotel and Cafe Leopold, both targets in the Mumbai attacks. We stopped by the Gateway of India, which I found utterly unimpressive and very small. It left me asking, "This is it?" After that brief stop, we had really yummy food at Bademiya, a Bombay institution. It rivals Delhi's Khan Cha Cha, but it's even bigger and takes over the entire alleyway with tables and chairs.

The Taj Palace Hotel

On our second day, we did the required visits to Victoria Terminus, Bombay University and the High Court, wandered through the Oval Maidan to watch a few cricket matches and eventually made our way back to the hotel for some pool time. As weekends in Calcutta (at the Park Hotel) and Bombay (at the Trident), I've decided to give up staying in smaller (and less expensive) hotels in major cities. The comfort, amenities and service are too much to give up! We ended the day with a very nice, relaxing dinner at the restaurant Indigo in Colaba. If we lived in Bombay, we would make regular visits to this place!

Victoria Terminus

Bombay High Court and Bombay University

On our final day in Bombay, we gorged ourselves on the great breakfast buffet and squeezed in a little more time at the pool. Finally, we headed off towards the airport, but stopped at Dhobi Ghat and the Racecourse on our way. Dhobi means washer in Hindi and Dhobi Ghat is the main place where the washers do they thing - cleaning laundry in the rows and rows of bins and then hanging them out to dry. And as luck would have it, in the 2 minutes that we stopped at the Racecourse, a race was just about to begin and we managed to catch the horses running by.

Dhobi Ghat - where most of the city's clothes are washed and ironed

A glimpse into the fashion world

2009-04-04T20:58:00.005+05:30

We managed to get passes to one of the fashion shows during Delhi Fashion Week which was held here a few weeks ago. Despite the fact that we arrived incredibly late and missed all but the final walk, it was cool to see.

On a different note, I was shocked at the mall, the DLF Emporio, that played host the Fashion Week. Wikipedia sites it as the most luxurious shopping mall in Asia (with rental touching $20 per square foot) and claims that the mall features gold lining and Italian marble. After the show, we checked out the mall and all of its glamorous stores including: Louis Vuitton, Dior, Fendi, Cartier, Dolce and Gabbana, Versace and even Tiffany.

I just can't figure out who's shopping here?

Oh Calcutta!

2009-03-08T16:24:00.014+05:30

We traveled to Calcutta, sometimes referred to as the Paris of the East, last weekend, which was my first visit to the former British capital. It's the third most populous city in India, after Bombay and Delhi. It's known for its heat, dust and poverty, but also for its food, sweets, arts community and architecture. I loved Calcutta and thought it felt much more like a city than Delhi. You could actually walk places or easily hop on the metro (the first in India). Though old, the metro convenient and cheap. People were also out and about throughout the day and night, unlike Delhi where you would think twice about anyone walking down a street late at night. People also seemed much nicer, but I feel this way about most places in India, so I am coming to the realization that it is Delhi that is mean and rude.

Calcutta is the literary and arts capital of India and this can be seen throughout the city. Book stalls line the streets and there's a bookstore or two around every corner. I couldn't resist the urge because books are so much cheaper in India. A book that costs $10 or more at home, is only about $4 there.

The focus of the weekend really seemed to be eating and we took this opportunity on every street corner. Between bites of rasgulla and prawn curry, we managed to squeeze in some sightseeing to Victoria Memorial, Howrah Bridge, the Marble Palace and even a quick dip into the hotel pool.

Calcutta's architectural history is due to the British, as Calcutta was the capital of the British Raj before New Delhi. Unfortunately, much of that history is fading, crumbling and unprotected. Victoria Memorial is one exception though. The entire grounds are very well-maintained and inside we found a surprisingly nice museum and a photo display from the British era. One of my favorite photos showed a street in Calcutta, with wide avenues and crosswalks to our amazement, all of the cars were in their lanes and all of the people were in crosswalks. Funny to think that 100 years ago, things were much more orderly than they are today!

Springtime in Delhi

2009-03-08T15:42:00.006+05:30

Well, Springtime is long now. It's now a balmy 85F during the day, but I think it feels much hotter. I don't know what that means for me as it gets even hotter. But we took full advantage of the nice, but brief spring weather.

A few weeks ago, we visited the Mughal Gardens at the President's House. Unfortunately, it's a super restricted area where no phones or camera are allowed, so we wouldn't capture the beauty of film.

And soon after that visit, we went to the Delhi Garden Festival at the Garden of Five Senses to enjoy the weather once again. And like all good festivals and tours, it ends with a shop. So we of course, bought several plants for our terrace. Unfortunately, many of these plants aren't doing too well and I spent several hours today trying to bring them back to life. I hope they make it.

An Update from India

2008-11-23T13:40:00.002+05:30

I've been missing for a few weeks, so here's a quick update on what's happened and what's about to happen:

Armen and Nyree left Delhi and headed off on their 3 month adventure. First leg: Australia. They were kind enough to leave us and their other friends with lots of goodies like a beautiful photo taken in Amber Fort, Jaipur, enough liquor and wine to last until their visit in February, and their driver.

Mike came back to India. This time it was for work, which was great for him because he got to stay in incredibly nice hotels in Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi. While he was in town, we met up several times for tasty meals. Mike also earned the reputation of Cultural Attache for his colleagues.

I'm heading to Bangalore this evening for a two day workshop on: Developing High Performing Women. Sounds thrilling, huh?

Nyla also arrives early, early Monday morning (but I will be in Bangalore). But soon after landing in India, she'll head off to Agra for a night and then we'll meet up again in Delhi on Tuesday.

Nyla and I are going to Goa this weekend! Looking forward to a nice weekend of sunshine and laziness on the beach as we celebrate Nyla's 30th birthday!

We also have a wedding and wedding-related festivities to attend over the next week and a half for one of my co-workers. I prepared myself yesterday by going sari shopping. It was tons of fun and I wanted to buy lots of them, but I resisted! I'll pick them up later in the week and will definitely share photos with everyone. There are signs that wedding season is in full swing. You can't drive very far without passing white horses and bands on the roads or seeing firecrackers overhead.

We still don't have our car. Boo. We were hoping to pick it up this past Friday, but there was a delay with some paperwork. Now since we are leaving in just a few weeks, we'll probably wait until January to take delivery. While I would love to have it now, waiting until January will mean that we can get the new 2009 model instead.

Ani and I are coming for a visit in December. Our tickets are booked and we'll be back on December 11th. After the Christmas party, we're flying to San Fran and driving down the coast to LA. From there, we'll head for Vegas for the weekend before coming back home on the 22nd. It will be our first trip back in 8 months and our first Christmas at home, so we are looking forward to it.

I'll get better about the blog and will definitely post updates from Nyla's trip here and the wedding festivities.

More to come!

Fun Times at D-418

2008-11-08T18:16:00.006+05:30

Last Saturday we had to start to do the unthinkable, say goodbye to Armen and Nyree, who are leaving India after spending two years here. We are really said to see them go because they've been great friends, neighbors and colleagues. From workday lunches at the Park or Karim's, to Saturday coffee breaks in Barista and late night dance extravaganzas in Smokehouse, they have been a critical link to our Delhi social life.

To say goodbye to the masses that love and adore them, Armen and Nyree threw an amazing party on their rooftop last weekend. There were lots of drinks, tasty food and crazy dance moves throughout the night.

Armen, Alistair and Nyree

Marco and Sarah

DJ Jaan

Lucky for Armen and Nyree, they are not just returning to the cold and gray winter of London. Instead, they are off on a 3-month adventure through Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia. Not a bad way to cap off two years of ups and down in India. And Lucky for us, we have a few more friends to visit in London when we travel between Delhi and Washington.

My 3rd Diwali in India

2008-11-08T17:54:00.008+05:30

I'm playing blog catch up today, so I'm going to start with Diwali. Although all of my colleagues thought it was my first Diwali in India, it was actually my third. It was also the first after marriage, which is supposed to be a special one.

Diwali fell on a Tuesday this year and everyone seemed to take off the day before and the day after. This resulted in a fairly quiet work week, and I was able to work from home. On Tuesday, we had a pancake breakfast and later one of Ani's sister's and her husband came by with Diwali sweets (yum!). Later in the evening, we headed to Ani's house for puja, dinner and the required Diwali firecrackers.

This is our house (second floor) with lots of Diwali/Christmas lights. And it's blurry because of all of the smoke from firecrackers. Great for the environment, huh?

Laura's Trip to India

2008-10-26T20:21:00.008+05:30

I'm a little late to report this, but Laura finally came to India. Her trip was short, but action-packed. Here's a brief recap.

12 hours after her arrival, we were back at the airport for a flight to Kerala. We spent a day in Cochin (and stayed at probably my favorite hotel ever, the Old Harbour Hotel), before heading to Varkala. The next day were spent at the cliff-side beach and we didn't let the rain get in our way. The timing couldn't have been better...upon heading to the beach on our first day, I exclaimed: I can't believe you are in India! And then right there in front of us was an elephant! Oh, India.

After coming back to Delhi, I set Laura off on her own for the day, while I worked. After exploring Khan Market for a few hours, Laura and Ani headed to Janpath for coffee and then drinks to the Imperial Hotel. I met them there after work and then we went to Ani's house so she could meet everyone.

Friday afternoon we ventured to Old Delhi to see the sights from our rickshaw and to partake in a meat-filled lunch at Karim's. Next, Laura and I headed out for some shopping and hit all 3 Fabindia stores in GK Market! Our next stop was another favorite: Smokehouse Grill. After enjoying a nice dinner, we headed downstairs to meet up with some friends, drink and dance. We didn't let our early wake-up time on Saturday morning get in the way of a fun night.

On Saturday, we were up bright and early for our day trip to Agra. We left at 7am and were joined by Ani, his brother, Bhupinder, his sister, Rajni, her husband, KK, and their daughter, Sheren. 5 hours later we arrived at the Taj Mahal (my 4th and hopefully final trip!).

To see Laura off on Sunday, we had a super yummy brunch at Tonino's, an Italian restaurant. The three of us were joined by Kamlesh and Rajesh, Ani's sister and brother-in-law. With stuffed bellies, we were to Dilli Haat for a final round of shopping. Even though I already own more scarves than one could possibly need, I HAD to buy more! Laura picked up a few gifts - including a few for herself, before we headed home to pack. That evening, we had a quick dinner at Ani's house and made our way to the airport for our farewell.

Only 8 days in India, but Laura is already planning her next trip in 2009. That's a good sign.

Next Stop: Jaisalmer - The Golden City

2008-10-09T13:25:00.008+05:30

After our day in Jodhpur, we headed to Jaisalmer where we spent the next 2 1/2 days. We arrived at the train station at 6am and we're greeted by 50 drivers with signs. Thanks to my well-honed foreign tourist senses, I realized that the guy who called out Killa Bhawan was just rattling off hotel names in an effort to fool foreigners. But he was holding a sign for a different hotel, so I figured it out. Ani did not and headed straight for him. I managed to stop the right guy and off we went.

Our hotel was located inside the fort and had an amazing view of the Fort Palace. The sun was just about to come up and we knew we would never wake up this early on our own, so we decided to stay up and enjoy it. We enjoyed morning chai and the sunrise from one of the hotel's many terraces.

After a brief nap, we woke recharged and ready to explore the city. First we tackled the Fort Palace, and then made our way to Gadi Sagar (a small lake and once the main water source) and a several havelis located in town. For dinner, we went to Trio restaurant, and once again enjoyed a great view of the Fort, now lit up.

Day 2 called for my tourist attractions, but at a slower pace. We walked around a bit, stopping by the Jain Temples and also making finalizing plans for our trip outside of the city to see a few more sights and ride camels. Around 4pm, we met our driver and went to the Royal Centaphs, the cremation site of the Jaisalmer royal family, and another beautiful Jain temple. Finally, we arrived at a small village where we were met by our guide and two camels and set off for our sunset tour. But, we were a bit late and we (well, the camels) had to go quite quickly so we could arrive at the dunes by sunset. We made it just in time and literally ran to the top of the dunes for a great view from the top. And there are so prepared for tourists here. One of the guides met us with (semi)-cold beer to enjoy while watching the sunset.

Back in town, we cleaned up and headed out for dinner in a nearby restaurant. Dinner was fine, but the highlight were more drinks on the hotel's terrace afterward. We were in such a prime location and had a great stop to view the happenings in the town below.

On our final day, we did a bit of shopping and picked up an assortment of things including: spices, a wooden box, and a bunch of cute ceramic door knobs to be used one day. Our shopping trip was almost foiled because we were low on cash and none of the ATM machines in town seemed to be working. We ran around in 40+ degree heat to 3 different ones, only to find they were all out of order. Happily, we were able to use a card in one of the stores and the owner let us charge more and returned the balance in cash. Shopping crisis averted.

After all of this excitement, we grabbed a quick lunch (and another quick shower) and made our way to the train station for our 19 hour trip back to Delhi! I was dreading the trip from the beginning, but it wasn't that bad at all. We shared our berth with a mother and daughter, who had also spent the holiday weekend in Jaisalmer. We talked about all sorts of things along the way, which really helped to pass the time.

We took well over 300 photos in Jaisalmer (and another 200+in Jodhpur), so it's impossible to post them all here. I've uploaded a few highlights below, but you'll have to check out the albums on the right for more. And don't worry. Those are only about 100 photos each. Enjoy!

The Fort Palace from our hotel....

...and our hotel from the Fort Palace

12 Hours in the Blue City

2008-10-06T20:40:00.004+05:30

We spent Thursday in Jodhpur, which is known as The Blue City. It is located in Rajasthan, land of the maharajas. We arrived around 11:30am by train and left at 11pm that night. With no hotel room, we were forced to spend the day wandering around the city. Fortunately, this proved to be a good thing.

First we headed to Umaid Bhawan Palace, located just outside the city. The royal family still resides in part of the palace, but it also contains a museum and a hotel. Next, we stopped for lunch and then made our way to Mehrangarh Fort, where we spent hours wandering around and enjoyed the amazing views of the all of the blue buildings in the city.

In the evening, we explored the central market for awhile before heading back to the Fort for dinner on the terrace. There were only 5 tables, so it was quiet and romantic and the food was quite tasty. From there, we returned to the train station for the next leg of our trip to Jaisalmer.

A much needed break

2008-09-29T00:34:00.004+05:30

I've been working too much lately, including just about the whole weekend, and now I'm ready for a break...or two.

My dear husband has the next 4 weeks off work, thanks to a little Railways athletic competition. Yes, I'm serious. He has 4 weeks off to "train" and then 3 days for the actual event. In any case, we thought we would take advantage of this to enjoy a weekend away and I was planning to take Friday off so we could have a long weekend.

Then I realized that Thursday is a national holiday (it's Gandhi's birthday). So now I'm elated that we will have 4 days to explore another corner of India! After some consideration, we've decided on Jodhpur and Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. Both places have been on my "to do" list, but Jaisalmer isn't the most accessible place, so it takes some planning - and a willingness to travel by train. So, I'm sucking it up and this Wednesday night we will head to Jodhpur by overnight train. After spending the day there, we will move onward to Jaisalmer by yet another overnight train.

I'm hopeful that both will be worth the long train journey. We'll have over two full days to experience Jaisalmer and hopefully this will include a little camel safari. I'm not sure what they actually mean by safari, but I'm up for anything.

The only part I'm dreading is the much longer overnight train trip back that will have us back in Delhi just for me to show up in the office after lunch. I'm sure that will be a looonnng day. In any case, I would happily trade long days in the office for long train travel across Rajasthan.

All of this excitement will be followed by Laura's first visit to India in less than two weeks! She arrives the night of the 11th, and the following day we are off to Kerala for a few days! While I've been to Kerala before, it is one of my favorite places I've seen in India, so I am more than happy to go back.

Stay tuned for photos and stories from the upcoming adventures!

It's a mad, mad world

2008-09-24T20:43:00.002+05:30

On what is becoming an all too frequent basis, I hear a news stories that make me ask, "What kind of place am I living in?"

This happened again yesterday when I read the following headline in the local newspaper: Sacked workers beat CEO to death in Greater Noida. (Noida is a suburb of Delhi and how to lots of MNCs and industries). And now this story has made international headlines - 63 charged with killing the boss who fired them (CNN).

There are lots of instances of "communal violence" in India and this particular instance is being referred to as "industrial violence," which I think they just made up to fit this crazy situation. The government only made things worse when the labor minister said that the man's death should serve as a warning to management: "The workers should be dealt (with) with compassion and should not be pushed so hard that they resort to whatever that had happened in Noida." What?!?

And so, this is the crazy world I live in now. Where over 70% of the population lives in rural areas, but also where 3 of the most populous cities in the world are located. Where nearly 40% of the people live below the poverty line, but the rich are super-rich (the top 1% has over 16% of the wealth).

So is India really rising? Or even shining?

Finally calling it home?

2008-09-23T23:28:00.003+05:30

Well, after 1 year of being back in Delhi and in the same apartment, we finally decided to do a bit of decorating by hanging a few things on the walls.

We also ordered a custom-made dresser for our bedroom to use in place of the too small and poorly made wardrobe. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait another 3 weeks for it to be delievered. But we didn't leave the shop empty-handed that day...we did buy a small wooden shelf for the living room.

For now, you can check out a few photos of the living room and bedroom with our newly hung artwork. While this isn't the final result, it's certainly a step in the right direction.

Don't-Do-It-Yourself

2008-09-21T14:55:00.005+05:30

The Do-It-Yourself culture is just about non-existent in India because you can always hire someone else to do it for you, and that's even at a nominal price. After some initial hesitation, I've come to except this and I now ask others to do basic tasks for me.

I don't even have to go to the market on weekends. Instead, I can call my local store and have everything delivered to my door. Even the trash collectors come to our door every weekend (and during the weekend my maid takes away the trash so I don't even have to think about it). Today, we took a test drive of a car, and the dealer came right to our door. We didn't even have to set foot in the dealership.

Vegetable Seller

Trash Collection

Another example is paperwork. Indian society still relies on a tremendous amount of paperwork to do anything: open a bank account, sign up for a phone connection, etc. Despite the paper inconvenience, it's not that big of a hassle, because they will send someone to your home or office to collect everything for you. I've done this when opening bank accounts, applying for credit cards, setting up a new phone and internet connection.

Over the weekend we even had some photos framed from a nearby store. On Sunday evening, two guys from the shop came to our house and hung everything on the walls. We even had them hang a few other things we had been sitting around. I suppose I would have done it myself, but I don't even have a hammer and nails. Nor do I know where to buy them. And I imagine that people would stare at me like I was crazy if I tried. Why would I need a hammer?

I just hope all of this full-service doesn't get to me and make me into a lazy human being once we are back in the US.

Not so cool

2008-09-13T22:44:00.004+05:30

A few weeks ago I added this National Geographic Photo of the Day widget (yes, I'm a nerd). See down and to the right...

I thought it was pretty cool, until today. Today's photo is of a buffalo carcass. Yuck!

Missing the bus

2008-09-12T23:24:00.006+05:30

The terrace at my office building provides the perfect vantage point for one of my favorite pastimes in Delhi - watching people run to catch the bus.

Our office in the city center is located right above a busy, congested public bus stop. Throughout the day, I'm easily amused by the sight of men running down the street as fast as they can with the hope of being able to jump onto a departing bus. Buses here are generally old, rickety, crowded, reckless and unwilling to come to a complete stop at a bus stop.

Despite all of this, people still need to take the bus, so they stand poised ready to run and hop on, literally. As the bus speeds out of the stop, I always see a couple of men chasing after it. Usually, an unknown hand reaches out of the bus to pull the first man on and he in turns helps the next one, and then he the next one. This usually stops after the third one because the bus is going too fast at this point and the stragglers resign themselves to waiting for the next bus.

old and new buses in Delhi

Delhi buses are truly abysmal, but they are slowly being replaced with brand new, shiny modern buses that you would hope to see in the capital of a country that views itself as the next superpower. Some of these buses have air conditioning (for a higher price) and all of them have...get this...doors! What a concept.

Dinner with Rauhl Gandhi

2008-08-31T13:31:00.003+05:30

...well, not really.

But I did have my first Indian celebrity sighting on Friday night. Ani and I had just finished dinner at our favorite restaurant, Smokehouse Grill. As we got up from the table, we noticed Rahul Gandhi sitting just a few tables away. To our surprise, he wasn't surrounded by a massive security detail, like most Indian politicians and celebrities.

The 38-year old Rahul Gandhi is the "heir" to the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty. He's the son of Rajiv (former Prime Minister) and Sonia (current head of the Congress Party) Gandhi, grandson of Indira Gandhi (former Prime Minister), great-grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru (India's first Prime Minister) and great-great-grandson of Motilal Nehru (leader of the Indian independence movement).

A long and distinguished family history.

An Olympic Outrage

2008-08-26T22:41:00.003+05:30

Today there was an uproar in the Indian media about the Indian Olympics team. Apparently the team was to stay in a dingy 2-star hotel upon its return to Delhi. Anyone who follows cricket here knows that the mens' cricket team frequently stays in the top hotels in the city, and the media was quick to point this out this difference in treatment and lack of support for sports (other than cricket).

Now it seems that the Indian Olympic Committee is back tracking and claiming that was never the case. Either way, the team is now staying at the very nice, and 5-star hotel, Claridges...

And the whole country celebrates...

2008-08-24T20:18:00.004+05:30

My favorite part is the use of mettle instead of medal. I have to assume this is a mistake, but you never know. I've heard some crazy bastardizations of the English language here.

Our Journey to Darjeeling

2008-08-21T22:14:00.012+05:30

Last weekend we headed to Darjeeling for the long weekend with 9 other people. Our group resembled the UN, not only because of the multitude of countries represented, but also because half the people work for the UN (either with UNDP or UNICEF). In all, we came from 8countries: the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Iceland, Ireland, India, and the US. And Armenia was also represented thanks to Armen and Nyree.

On Thursday morning we all met inside the domestic terminal of the Delhi airport (which is much improved and now looks like a real airport) for our flight to Bagdogra in West Bengal. 3 hours later we landed at a civilian/military airport and hopped into the 2 rental cars that would stay with us throughout the weekend. We headed to Siliguri, a nearby town, for lunch and a stop at the liquor store. The following day was Independence Day, which is a dry day across the country, so we had to stock up.

We took the long route to Darjeeling and stopped at a lake in Mirik along the way. The ride was lovely, but cloudy and rainy. We soon learned that we were unprepared rain, except the German and the Japanese. How's that for stereotypes? Fortunately, there are plenty of people willing to sell you umbrellas so we were able to stay relatively dry. We finally arrived at our hotel in Darjeeling around 9pm after a quite scary car ride through the mountains and lots of fog.

The next day we walked 9km to the nearby town of Ghoom. We took the scenic route and through little mountain-side houses and shops. It was pouring down rain when we passed by a small house with a sign in the window saying "Tea & Coffee" and thought it was a good time for a break. We weren't sure if we could all fit inside this house, but we did. All 11 of us. We were served tea through a little window that connected to the kitchen. The house was definitely a bit lopsided and it took some getting used to. After the tea break, we made our way to Ghoom where we visited Ghoom Monastery. Afterwards, we were met by our cars and headed back to Darjeeling for a late lunch.

The following day we took the toy train to Kurseong. It took 3 hours to make the 30 km (~20 mile) journey from Darjeeing. The train is so slow that you could easily run along side it. Half of us actually missed the train in Darjeeling, so we traveled by car to Ghoom and joined the rest of the gang on the train. Finally in Kurseong, we wandered around for a bit before stopping for lunch. Finally, we made our way to Makaibari Tea Plantation for a tour of the factory and grounds and of course, some tea tasting.

Most of the group left the next day so they could make it back for work on Monday, but Armen, Nyree, Ani and I stuck around for one more day. Initially we planned to head to Sikkim, another state in region, but decided against it because of the travel time involved and the cloudy, rainy weather. We spent most of the day and evening hanging out at the hotel, with a little venture into town for lunch.

Making Amends

2008-08-20T22:33:00.005+05:30

This evening while we were at Ani's parents' house, Ani had a little visit from an unknown guy (accompanied by 2 other guys that did all the talking for him). It turns out that it was the driver from our accident last October. I wasn't there for the actual conversation, but this is what Ani conveyed to me about the guy:

He's due in court on August 24th and wanted to discuss an "out of court settlement"
He claims he is poor and wants to avoid paying lawyers fees and what ever settlement the court comes up with
He apologized and even touched Ani's feet (a sign of respect here)
He admitted that he was drunk that night
He offered to pay our medical expenses

It was weird to talk in detail about something that happened nearly a year ago and we had put well behind us, but we discussed the offer. In the end, Ani agreed to accept a small amount in "damages" to cover the camera that was in my purse that night and is now functionality, but badly smashed. I'm actually surprised that this guy bothered to come to the house at all. I would imagine that it was a difficult step and certainly took more courage that showing up in court and fighting the charges would have.

And I'm even more surprised at the slow, yet functional legal system here. We heard from Ani's brother-in-law (who is a Delhi police officer) that the driver was arrested that night and posted bail. And we assumed that because it was a government car, little action would be taken. In the days and weeks that followed, we were so occupied with doctor's visits and recovering that we didn't bother to follow up with the police. It even took us 3 months to collect Ani's bike from the police station. We figured we were healthy and didn't need to deal with the headache of the time-consuming and usually ineffective Indian legal system.

Hopefully, this is the end of it. And don't worry, no more riding motorcycles for me (or Ani).

Olympic Gold

2008-08-12T22:34:00.003+05:30

India won its first Olympic gold medal yesterday. Yes, its first. Ever.

Well, it was the first gold medal in an individual sport. The national hockey team was even undefeated in the Olympics from 1928 to 1956 when it won 6 consecutive gold medals. India last won a gold medal in hockey in 1980. But even India's national sport has lost its luster, as both the men's and women's teams failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.

But back to the first individual gold medal. This is a bit surprising for a country of 1.1 billion people and counting. Did I mention that the gold medal was in 10m air rifle? Yes, 25-year old Abhinav Bindra claimed gold for India, which has convinced the rest of the country that it's the next China, the next Olympics powerhouse.

And what does Abhinav get in exchange for his gold medal? Aside from endless cheers and random dancing in the street from his fellow Indians, he's getting piles of money. So far he has amassed Rs 4 crore (~$1 million) thanks to several government agencies and a few mega-businessmen. Everyone wants a piece of the action.

But the best part...Abhinav has also received a lifetime railway pass. Personally, I would take all that money and buy myself some plane tickets, but then again, this is India.

Surviving the Monsoon

2008-08-10T00:42:00.002+05:30

Most of India is in the midst of monsoon season. Before this summer, I guess I didn't really know what monsoon meant. I thought it was a massive rainstorm, but at least in Delhi it just means that it rains all day, every day. Sometimes the rain is light. Sometimes it comes down in buckets. Either way, it is constantly raining.

Delhi has actually had a poor monsoon this year. There was about a week of straight rain at the beginning of the season. But the past few weeks had been pretty dry, until this week.

This week I learned what monsoon really meant. On Wednesday, I arrived at my office just as the rain started coming down in buckets. I was dropped off right at the front door, but in the 5 seconds it took me to get out of the car and run to the door, I was drenched.

My favorite part of the monsoon mess is how much people LOVE the rain. Here are some monsoon-related conversations I've had recently:

Don't you just love this weather? You mean pouring rain and brown skies? No.
The weather is so nice today, we should make plans for the evening. What are you talking about. It's raining like crazy.
Isn't the weather so nice today? Um, no. Are we looking out the same window?

But one of my colleagues had a good explanation for this difference in thought. A good monsoon means a good harvest. A good harvest is good for the economy. And everyone wants the economy to do well. So therefore, Indians heart the monsoon. Makes sense.

But I still hate the monsoon. Traffic is absolutely horrible in the rains, if you can imagine anything worse than the usual Delhi traffic. Commute times double. And I'm not sure what they use to build roads here, but it seems to dissolve in the rain, leaving giantic potholes for people to attempt to maneuver around.

In any case, I will learn to deal with the monsoon, just like everyone else, and hope that the rains bring a good harvest and that somehow that good harvest puts more money in my pocket.

Salogra and Shimla

2008-08-03T16:22:00.004+05:30

Two weeks ago, we headed out of town to Shimla - a hill station in Himachal Pradesh. Shimla was the British summer capital and a very popular weekend destination in the summer months.

The train journey was fascinating. It started with a regular overnight train from Old Delhi to Kalka. This must be one of the slowest trains ever because it took 6 hours to travel 300 km. We arrived in Kalka early in the morning and crossed the station to wait for the train to Shimla.

Because this train literally goes up the Himalayas, it is much smaller, is on a narrow gauge track and travels at less than half the speed of a normal train. But all these factors made for a wonderful trip because you could literally stick your head out the window and enjoy the mountain air while taking in the spectacular lush, green views of the countryside.

In Salogra we stayed at the Railway Officers' Rest House, thanks to Ani's connections. We were the only people there - plus several dozen Boys Scouts camping on the grounds. Fortunately, the Boy Scouts didn't get in our way and it was incredibly quiet and peace.

The only downfall of our stay is that there really weren't any restaurants around, so we were pretty much on our own for food. In the afternoon we had a simple meal of rajma chawal (red beans and rice) and we bought supplies for our breakfast the next morning and some snack food.

After making our omelettes on Sunday morning, we caught the train to Shimla - another 2.5 hours away. We walked around the main pedestrian-only area in Shimla, along with lots of other tourists. We also found our way to Chapslee, a British-era manor that is now a small hotel (and featured in 1,000 Places to See Before You Die), but we found it closed. The guard was nice enough to let us wander around the grounds and peek into a few windows. We'll definitely need to make a proper stop here on our next visit to Shimla.

Once we were sick of walking around, we grabbed lunched and then stopped in a cafe to pass the time and escape the rain, as our train back to Kalka didn't leave for another 4 hours. After nearly 2 hours in one place, we headed down the street to Barista (basically India's Starbucks) where we had more coffee before going to Domino's (yes, that's right), to pick up a pizza for the train. Our pizza was much better than the food served on the train.

We arrived in Delhi around 6am exhausted and tried. I went back home to shower and sleep before heading into the office. But I got a little too settled in and never actually made it to the office.

Fourth of July in Delhi

2008-08-03T16:00:00.004+05:30

We went to a 4th of July party at the US Embassy, which I thought was an exclusive party for US citizens. That was definitely not the case, as friends from all over the place managed to get themselves in the door too. And it was better that way.

The party was held on the baseball field of the embassy. Yes, they have a baseball field. There were moon bounces and thoughts of summertime games for kids, including a pie eating contest and a tug of war. There was lot of alcohol and tons of food stalls. My eyes lit up when I saw the assortment of "American" food: fried chicken, corn dogs, pork bbq, apple pie. It was almost like being at home for the 4th, except it was the 5th of July and we were in India.

The highlight of the night for sure was the dance-off between two 10 year old girls and a few of my much older expat friends. Despite valiant attempts from Rory and Armen, the girls certainly won.

I'll be back, I promise

2008-07-12T21:25:00.002+05:30

I know it's been sometime since I've posted and you've probably given up on me. But I promise I'll be back soon. I have lots to write about including a Fourth of July dance-off at the US embassy, work work work and an upcoming weekend trip. Stay tuned.

Who's the Fairest Part 2

2008-06-01T22:53:00.004+05:30

I saw the worst commercial today.

It started with a young couple saying goodbye in a busy airport. It's apparent that the guy is leaving the girl behind for some faraway place. Then, we arrive at "3 years later" and the girl sees the guy on a cover of a magazine with another woman and the headline says something about them getting married.

Then miraculously, the first girl passes her former love on the street - but he's with the new girl. She can't help but notice the "beauty" of the new girlfriend who has considerably lighter skin...The spot ends with a photo of the first girl compared to the new one. And a voice says something about wanting to make yourself more beautiful...because apparently in India fair skin = beauty.

I'm not making this up. You can see the whole range of Pond's White Beauty products here.

Protest Capital

2008-05-29T07:52:00.005+05:30

Indians like to protest even more than the French like to strike. Here in the "world's largest democracy," there is always a group taking their claims to the streets of the capital. Unfortunately for me, my office is located just around the corner from the primary "authorized" protest area in New Delhi, so we're often faced with road closures and blocks, and the occasional protest parade.

Well today is going to be kinda like that, but worse. The Gujjars, an ethnic group within India, has been protesting throughout Rajasthan to demand inclusion as a Scheduled Caste (SC). SC status would give the group additional privileges, and most important, would allocate a portion of government jobs and university seats to them. To get there message across, the Gujjars have blocked roads and railways lines to prevent goods and people from traveling across states lines. Trains have been delayed, rerouted or cancelled. The Delhi-Jaipur highway is closed in many parts. At least 12 people have lost their lives in police firings on crowds. A known Gujjar criminal has threatened to attack the Chief Minister's house if demands are not met.

And today, they are supposed to bring their protests to the streets of Delhi and other places across India where there are large Gujjar populations, as people are joining in support of the Rajasthani Gujjars. Even lawyers in Haryana are protesting and as a result, no court cases have been handled for several days. There have been lots of warnings to stay off major highways. People say it's going to be a big mess, and I guess they should know since there were similar protests (with no result) around this time last year. Both my office and the US Embassy sent out warning messages last night. I'm planning to try to go to the office today, but the one in Delhi and not in Gurgaon. Because Gurgaon is in Haryana state, it would be a huge hassle to cross state lines and my travel time would double or triple.

Methnic groups are fighting for Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe status in India so they can reap the benefits of the quota system. This has resulted in a huge backlash from the rest of the population. I've heard that if the government grants quotes to the Gujjars, then the general population will have less than 50% of the seats, since the remaining amount is taken up my other ethnic groups.

So much for affirmative action. Like so many things in India, the government seems to have reacted to a problem or past situation too strongly and tried too hard to accommodate everyone. (Birth control also falls into that category, but I will save it for another discussion). We'll have to see how the day unfolds...

Tan Removal?

2008-05-26T00:00:00.003+05:30

As a follow up to my post on skin whitening creams in India, I wanted to share that I saw a sign for "Tan Removal" services at a spa the other day. Tan removal? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of getting a tan? But again, this is India.

Ranikhet

2008-05-25T23:43:00.008+05:30

Last weekend we went to Ranikhet, a small village north of Delhi in the state of Uttarakhand. To get there, we took a train for 7 hours, followed by a 2 hour car ride on very small, very windy roads. But the journey was well worth it. There were amazing views along the way and lots and lots of clean, fresh air.

We honestly didn't do much when we were there, but that was the point. We relaxed, walked through the woods, saw monkeys and foxes (scary), picked wild berries, and took in as much fresh air as possible.

Life in Ranikhet seems to be the complete opposite as life in Delhi. Things are quieter and slower. People are nicer. The wild animals are more relaxed. We didn't have to fear the monkey as we do in Delhi. In Ranikhet, the monkeys were just monkeys in their natural habitat, not city monkeys that have adapted to being around people - and are trained to steal things from you. Even the cows looked healthier and happier, after all they have lots of grass to graze in, not just piles of trash to rummage through.

Indianisms

2008-05-19T17:30:00.003+05:30

I'm always amazed at how people can speak the same language, but use words so differently. With some help, I've compiled a list of what I think are funny Indian words and phrases. Some of these are simply not proper words. Others are real words, but not ones I'm used to hearing or words that are used in a completely different context.

Can you make sense of these?

upgradation/downgradation - Please confirm you would like an upgradation to business class.
good name - What is your good name? My good name is Chanda.
absconding - A case has been registered and the accused is now absconding.
prepone - I will need to prepone of meeting by 30 minutes. Logical, but not a word!
only - Where are you from? I'm from Delhi only. Only what?!? I've finally learned that it sort of means just, but this still doesn't make much sense to me.
fortnight - We will have a meeting every fortnight. I know this is a word, but I swear I'd only seen it in literature before coming to India. Now I use it all the time. But every time I say it, I giggle.
issueless/no issues - This is specific to matrimonials and indicates that a woman has no children. So I guess children = issues.
deboarding - Watch your step as you deboard from the train. I heard this on the Delhi Metro a few days ago.
next to next/last to last - We're going on vacation next to next week (in 2 weeks). Last to last year we traveled to the US (2 years ago).
expired - He expired last night but the cause is unknown.
cum - I bought a new sofa cum bed for my living room.
the same, the needful, revert - I can even use the last three words in one sentence! Please do the needful and revert to me with the same.

Crazy for Cricket

2008-05-16T14:00:00.004+05:30

I'd like to report that the cricket match was a lot of fun. Armen came along with me and Ani, but unfortunately, our tickets were in different sections so we couldn't actually sit together. Despite that, I think we all had a good time.

Professional cricket at the city level is completely new in India and I don't think people are quite used to it yet. No one identifies with their "home" team and I saw more people with Indian flags painted on their faces than wearing the colors of the Delhi Daredevils.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has players from all of the major cricket-watching countries (except the UK which is protesting or something). But players from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Australia, South Africa and the West Indies play side by side. It must be weird to have your former competitor as your teammate. But I guess when you are getting paid big bucks for 6 weeks of play, you don't really care. The top salary this year is $1.65 million but there are rumors the salary cap will be eliminated next year and estimates are that salaries may reach $15 million. Please remember that this tournament lasts only 6 weeks and includes about 20 match per team. But then again, most of the teams are owned by billionaires, either businessmen or Bollywood stars, so they can afford the ridiculous pay checks.

I don't think the fans really know how to handle it. Of course people went wild whenever the Delhi team scored a 6 (loosely equivalent to a home run in baseball), but they also went crazy when the other team scored! Maybe it was the shear excitement of seeing a 6, but I think they were just confused. There was a lot of whistling, but no chants or cheers (I guess they don't have them yet). All of this increased astronomically when the TV cameras were near. We didn't have a good view of the cheerleaders, who were from only the opposing team, but Delhi scrapped their cheerleading squad a few weeks ago in favor of a bhangra band.

On a random side note, there are no alcohol sales are cricket matches. I don't think I have ever been to a sporting event without alcohol, but I have to remember that this is India. I think people would go absolutely mad with accessible alcohol on top of the cricket craziness.

And oh, Delhi won by 12 runs.

So would I go to another match? Absolutely. It was a lot of fun.

Cricket!

2008-05-14T23:09:00.005+05:30

I'm going to my first cricket match tomorrow! Ani and I are going to watch the Delhi Daredevils, part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament going on this summer. And no, I won't be able to check out the cheerleaders. The Delhi team abandoned cheerleaders last week in favor of a bhangra band.

I think I have enough of the basics down. I know to call it a match and not a game. I know what a wicket is. I can name at least the top 5 players in Indian cricket. Of course, there's still a lot I don't know, but I can wing it.

Unfortunately cameras aren't allowed at the stadium, so I won't be able to capture the moment to share with everyone. But I will do my best to relive the action on my blog in the next couple of days.

All Safe and Sound

2008-05-14T22:47:00.004+05:30

I've received several inquiries about yesterday's bombings in Jaipur. We're in Delhi at the moment so we are all safe and sound, but thanks for the concern. It's really weird to think though that I've been to several of the places that were targeted. And so have Joey, Mike, Jen, and my parents. Security has been increased in Delhi and the entire state of Rajasthan, where Jaipur and Mumbai are located, as well as airports and train stations.

Naturally, all of the news coverage last night was about the bombings. I haven't watched any TV today, so I'm not sure if it's changed. Unfortunately, I think this is the sort of thing that most Indians have come to accept. An article in the Times of India rattled off 8 other serial blast bombings in the past 2 1/2 years, the largest being the blasts in Mumbai in July 2006 that killed over 150 people. I was glued to the television last night and Ani was not. I didn't here a single person mention the bombings in the office today.

The US Embassy did send out a warning message last night to registered American citizens stating, "A series of powerful explosions occurred in Jaipur, Rajasthan including Sangener Gate, Subhash Chowk, Hanuman Temple in Tripolia Bazaar, Chandpol, Bari Choupad, Manak Chowk, Johri Bazaar, and Hawa Mahal at 7:30 p.m. local time, May 13th. Visitors and residents of Jaipur should avoid the areas affected by the blasts. Americans traveling in India should maintain a low profile, and avoid crowded areas and other public places."

Who's the Fairest?

2008-05-11T23:55:00.004+05:30

India's are obsessed with having fair skin and there are numerous skin lightening creams to prove it. I was surprised to see so many people with fair skin in Delhi and I soon learned that having fair skin is equated with wealth and sophistication. The Washington Post just write a story about it (Washington Post: In India, Fairness is a Growing Industry, 4 May 2008).

Sometimes when I'm in a grocery store, the ladies that sell the health and beauty products will try to convince me to buy skin lightening cream. Seriously. They will say, "this will make skin much lighter, skin more fairer." Sometimes they even say it will make me more beautiful.

One of my friends loves to tell a story about she had a lengthy conversation with her maid about skin lighteners. She tried to explain that in the US and Europe, people spend so much money on products and treatments just to look dark, Indians are naturally. Her maid looked at her in disbelief and said "No madam, you have such beautiful skin.

Products for women have been on the market for years, but now they are starting to target men as well. I had to admit that I'm a bit curious to see if they actually work. Maybe I will try to it on my hand and see what happens. And I'll be sure to share the results. I can post before and after pictures!

Welcome Home?

2008-05-01T18:08:00.006+05:30

Delhi welcomed us back with 90 degree heat (at midnight!) and lots of dust. And there was only more dust waiting for us when we entered our apartment. I thought about taking photos, but I thought they would gross everyone out too much. After a quick cleaning in the next morning, the apartment was looking a lot better, but I was feeling pretty miserable. I started the day with 20 sneezes and a very stuffy nose, for which I blame the dust and dirt. That combined with general exhaustion and two 8+ hour flights gave me a nice cold, from which I am finally starting to recover.

Since our return, we purchased an air conditioner for the living room, which is amazing. That one coupled with the one in the bedroom means we move around the apartment in comfort. The living room is quite large and the doors aren't as well sealed as they should be, but the AC still works wonderfully. We also purchased an inverter or "uninterrupted power supply", which is essential in Delhi. While I could deal with no lights for a few hours during the very frequent power cuts in the summer, I could not manage without AC. And now we don't have to worry about that.

Returning to the office after 5 weeks in the US was not as difficult as I thought it would be, but readjusting to the traffic was. On my first day back, my office cab had a nice little accident on the expressway. Fortunately, everyone was fine and the cars only suffered minor damage, but I was a bit shaken up. It's a bit frightening to give someone you don't know total control of your life for a few hours a day. But I only have to deal with this a little while longer because we plan to buy a car (and hire a driver to drive me around). :)

I know that may seem quite privileged back home, but it's the norm here. Even if I wasn't scared to drive, I would never want to spend nearly three hours a day behind the wheel in maddening traffic. And luckily, the cost is minimal. I figure $150/month is reseaonable to pay for my safety, sanity and the ability to come and go from the office according to my schedule. Yes, I will have to relinquish control of my life to the driver, but that's OK because it will be our driver and we can dictate how he drives. And if that doesn't work, we'll just find a new one. So, stay tuned as Ani and Chanda attempt to buy a car in Delhi. I'm sure it will be an adventure and we'll have a lot of stories to share.

Tsummarize: Delhi is hot, hot, hot and getting hotter. Today's high was 43C/109F! Delhi is dusty, but my body is slowly readjusting. ACs and inverters are a must. Our apartment is clean, cool, and continuously being adorned with wonderful wedding presents that are making it feel more like home. Traffic sucks. Work is going well and I'm starting a new (internal) assignment working for the big boss in India. And we are already looking forward to a weekend escape from the heat in mid-May when we plan to visit Shimla, a hill station at the base of the Himalayas. Relief is in sight!

Happy Holi

2008-03-22T17:55:00.006+05:30

Today Holi, the festival of colors, is celebrated in Delhi. I'm missing the festivities for the second time in two years and I'm not thrilled about it. I will admit that I don't really understand what Holi is all about, but I do know two things: It marks the beginning of summer (which in India comes immediately after winter). On Holi people of all ages play with colors and water, making a big mess, but having a great time in the process.

Here are a few photos from the Hindustan Times:

Commuting Nightmare

2008-03-05T09:47:00.003+05:30

At the end of January, construction of the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway was finally completed. Gurgaon is a high-tech suburb of Delhi where my office and many others are located. I like to think that Gurgaon is to Delhi what Reston is to Washington, DC. Shopping, traffic, large corporations...suburbia really.

Despite the tremendous amount of money being poured into Gurgaon to construct high-rise apartment and office buildings, the road infrastructure was completely lacking. There are two main routes from Delhi. The first, goes by the international airport and was always congested, no matter the time of day. I usually avoided this route because it could take nearly 2 hours for the 20 mile commute. The second was a little faster (up to 1 1/2 hours in the evening) on M-G Road. But this sucks. Parts of the road are just dirt, there are no lanes (but no one drives in lanes anyone), and now the Delhi Metro is being built down the center of the road, so it's even worse.

Back on the expressway...It runs over the old road that went past the airport. Without traffic, I can go from my home to the airport in less than 30 minutes and to the office in about 45. Not bad at all. With the wide lanes and tall overpasses, I almost forget that I'm in Delhi when I'm on this road.

But then I get to the toll plaza just before Gurgaon and I remember. Here there is a 24-lane toll plaza, which is supposed to be the largest in Asia. It costs 16 rupees (about 40 cents), which I think is expensive for a 20 mile drive in India. A combination of poor lacking, unwillingness to buy SmartTags, impatience and disrespect have created a mess at the toll plaza. On a typical morning, you can expect to wait more than 20 minutes to get through the toll. 30 minutes is usually the maximum before they just open up all of the lanes and let everyone drive through without paying. This is what happened to me yesterday.

I could write so much more about this road - like how the road had been completed, but officials waited weeks before allowing people to use it because they hadn't had there "official inauguration" or how you are asked to pay your money well BEFORE the toll because they've hired people to stand there and collect it with the hopes of moving people through faster or how motorcycles are not allowed on the expressway, but I've seen them EVERY TIME I've been on it - but that might bore you.

I Love Old Delhi

2008-03-04T11:37:00.007+05:30

We've made several trip to Old Delhi recently for wedding-related purchases and every time I kick myself for not bringing along my camera. Yesterdaty, I finally remembered.

I can't imagine living in Old Delhi, but it's an exciting place to visit...for a few hours at a time. I always think of Old Delhi as quintessial Delhi. This is more of what I imagined when I first arrived. Instead I was greeted by 5-star hotels, modern infrastructure (at least for large MNCs), and wide avenues in Central Delhi.

Old Delhi is the complete opposite. It's known for its markets, the Paper Market (source of the wedding invitations), the Book Market, the Spare Parts Market (my favorite) and many others. It's also known for the variety and quality of street food, or chaat. Dahi bhalla, samosas, tikki and of course paan and chai are readily available. Ani and I skipped the street food and instead had a wonderful lunch at Karim's, probably the most famous restaurant in Old Delhi and maybe even all of Delhi.

A traffic jam with no cars!

The other end of the traffic jam - we got off the cycle rickshaw and walked

A street shave

Samosas

Paan - a tobacco-like leaf stuffed with something that everyone here loves. You'll see lots of red stains on the streets from people's spit. Nice, huh?

Breaking News?

2008-02-26T11:14:00.002+05:30

You will have to take my word on this, well Ani's since he translated for me, but this breaking news caption says "Amitabh Bachchan catches a cold."

I thought 24-hour news channels were bad in the US in declaring news as breaking. It's even worse here. One reason may be the absurb number of 24-hour news channels. There are at least 10 channels in Delhi, if you count both Hindi and English channels, and the struggle to find stories to fill the airtime.

A few weeks ago, we saw a feature of "possessed piano" complete with haunted house sounds, which was just a self-playing piano, the type we often see in malls in the US. But a news channel turned it into a 20 minute story that was repeated throughout the apparently slow Sunday afternoon.

In any case, an aging actor catching a cold is not newsworthy. Not at all.

Security?!?!?

2008-02-24T23:07:00.005+05:30

Ani and I just returned from a few days in Goa. We took two flights and stayed in two different hotels, but our ids were only checked once, in the cheaper beach hotel in Goa. All of this in a country that claims to be under a constant security threat. All hotels are supposed to check ids for all guests. I'm not sure why, but this is more stringently enforced for foreigners. Doesn't seem that logical. And of course airports are supposed to be secure places, right?

Last year when we went to Goa, Ani's ticket had the wrong last name. I don't think anyone even noticed that his name was not Sharma.

Sure, I have to go through metal detectors at the movie theater and provide photo identification to set up a phone or tv connection, but no one bothers to match the name on my ticket with my passport?

Craziness, I think. Anyways, Goa was lovely and I will write more about it when I have more time and once I've downloaded the photos from my camera. More to come.

Veggies

2008-02-18T12:18:00.004+05:30

One of the things I love about my apartment is it's promixity to the Defence Colony Market. Although the apartment could be better, its location is great. I’m close enough to the market that I can easily walk there, but not too close to be disturbed by all of the noise and traffic.

On weekends, I usually head to the market to pick up groceries. If I’m feeling particularly lazy, I will pick out my items and then have them delivered to the apartment a few minutes later.

I always stop by the same vegetable stand to pick up the Indian necessities - red onions, tomatoes and green chilies. It’s hard to make any Indian dish (I’m getting pretty good!) without these.

So here’s my collection of vegetables from this weekend. Only 30 rupees! That’s about 75 cents. Not bad for ½ kg of tomatoes, 100g of green chilies and 4 carrots. The cilantro was thrown in for free!

And just like that...

2008-02-17T14:28:00.002+05:30

Winter is gone. In a matter of days, gone. There was neasy transition over a few months. It went from the 50s one day nearly 80 degrees the next.

The weather this weekend as been beautiful. The days are warm and sunny and the evenings are pleasant. It would be perfect, if only it would stay this way. But I know it won't. Spring only lasts for a few weeks, if you are lucky. Most Delhiites are happy with a few days before the heat sets in.

For weeks I had been complaining about the chilly weather. And now that it's gone and the scorching is on it's way, I wish I could go back in time and enjoy the cool weather for just a bit longer.

The Book Fair and Zoo

2008-02-12T23:37:00.003+05:30

On Sunday, Ani and I took Sheren and Suhani to the Book Fair and the Zoo. Sheren is 5 years old and was obviously more interested in the book fair. Suhani is only 2 years old and she was definitely more interested in the zoo. Nonetheless, I think both girls had a good time at both places.

By the end of the day I was wiped out. I think that was thanks to repeated ice cream/juice breaks, unscheduled bathroom breaks, and tired little bodies that required carrying.

This monkey was NOT in a cage, but just hanging out in an enclosure with deer.

More on the Tata Nano

2008-02-12T23:34:00.000+05:30

There are a lot of jokes about how the Nano will actually do on the market once it's released in October. Indians are INCREDIBLY brand and image conscious and people often joke that they would never buy the car because people would know they only spent $2,500 on it.

In fact, used cars (or should I say pre-owned cars), don't do that well here because someone else owned them first. In general, people would rather own a new, lower model car than a used, higher model car. Maybe this notion will help the Nano afterall.

The New Nano

2008-02-07T23:51:00.000+05:30

I'm referring to the car not the ipod. At the Auto Expo in Delhi in January, Tata Motors, one of India's oldest and largest car manufacturers unveiled its One Lakh Car, the Nano. One lakh is 100,000 rupees or about $2,500, making the Nano the cheapest car in the world.

With work, I've somehow managed to work on several automotive proposals over the last few months, so I've been following the developments around the Nano very closely. There a lot of talk about the Nano before it was unveiled, both positive and negative. Many doubted that it could be done and there was a lot of spectulation that the market price would be much higher than 1 lakh. But as Rata Tatan, Chairman of Tata Group, said, "a promise is a promise," so he delivered a one lakh car.

At the unveiling, Ratan Tata also referred to his personal dream to make automobiles more affordable to the common man and he kept in mind the image of a family of four riding on a two-wheeler - a sight common to anyone who has traveled to India - when envisioning and designing the Nano. The goal is to make cars more affordable and replace two-wheelers with passenger cars for a large part of the population. And now India and the rest of the world have "the People's Car."

A family of four on a motorbike - a common sight in India

If you thought the first family had it bad, at least they are not on a bicycle!

In addition to making an incredibly cheap car, the car meets Indian and global safety standards for crash tests and emissions. And the product was developed entirely in India by Indians, a huge accomplishment for Indian R&D and manufacturing.

The full impact of the Nano is still unknown, but used car prices are already down in India as people wait for the car to be available on the market in October.

President's House and Parliament

2008-01-31T13:47:00.000+05:30

Starting on Republic Day and ending 3 days later with the “Beating Retreat” ceremony, the President’s House and Parliament are lit up in lights. I completely missed this spectacle last year, so I was determined to see it this year. The top of India Gate is also lit with green, white and orange lights – forming the Indian flag.
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I didn't actually see the ceremony, only the lights, but that was cool enough. The ceremony signifies the retreat by armed forces after a day at the battlefront and is accompanied by armed forces bands and bagpipers.

By the way, until last week, I thought that the President’s House was Parliament. It turns out that Parliament is the round building NEXT to the President's House. Anyway, it made sense because the building sits at the end of a long road a pedestrian avenue called Rajpath (a la the US Capitol and the National Mall) and I never thought that a president would need a house that big.

Me, Sarkozy and the Taj Mahal

2008-01-30T14:04:00.001+05:30

My cousin Lewis made a brief visit to Delhi on Friday and Saturday after spending a few days in Bangalore for work. The French president, Nicholas Sarkozy, threaten to ruin our plans since his visit to India (without Carla Bruni) coincided with Lewis's visit. But we managed to not let him get in our way.

On Friday evening, we ventured to Old Delhi, giving Lewis the chance to take in the “real” India. After picking up wedding invitations, we took a cycle rickshaw to the main street, Chandni Chowk. There were eat street food, dahi bhalla and tikki, before going to Haldiram’s to load up on (and taste) Indian sweets. ccccCCCCCCCccOn a cycle rickshaw in Old Delhi

Stocking up before the dry day!

Haldiram's Sweet Shop

Enjoying Street Food

Later on, we went to our favorite restaurant in town, Smokehouse Grill. We managed to get there just in time to enjoy one drink with dinner – restaurants and bars stopped serving alcohol at 11:30pm because the following day was a dry day due to the Republic Day holiday.

On Saturday, Lewis and I battled road closures, awful roads and even the French president, but we prevailed and managed to see the Taj Mahal, if only briefly. We planned to leave Delhi at 6am, but our driver claimed he couldn’t make it through town because many roads were blocked for the Republic Day parade through the center of town. Of course, roads were still open, but you had to go around the action.

Ani spent the next hour or two on the phone trying to locate another cab for us. Fortunately for us, he was successful and we finally left the apartment around 8:30am. Unfortunately for us, this also meant that we would arrive in Agra at just about the same time as Sarkozy. And that’s exactly what happened.

As we were approaching one of the side entrances to the Taj, we noticed that the road was blocked up ahead. They had stopped traffic for Sarkozy’s motorcade. At first we though he was leaving, but instead, he was running late and was just arriving at the Taj Mahal.

On a side note, Sarkozy was the guest of honor at the Republic Day parade and flew to Agra from Delhi - a 30 minute flight. It takes me longer to even get to the airport, and that doesn’t include the wait time just to enter the airport!

Agra Fort

Because the Taj Mahal was closed for a “private viewing,” we made our way to Agra Fort, along with every other tourist in Agra. Despite the crowds, it was a nice visit and my first. At about 4:30pm we finally made our way to the Taj, again, along with everyone else in Delhi. The lines were enormous and I waited for almost an hour in the “female” security line, while Lewis’s “male” line went much faster. Once inside, we made a mad dash around the structure. We needed to get back to Delhi because Lewis’s international flight was to depart at 3am and we had no idea how traffic would be on the return.

Me and Lewis at the Taj Mahal

I promised Lewis he would see the Taj and I delivered. I was very worried on Thursday when I realized that Sarkozy planned to visit the same day. And I was even more worried when I realized that roads would be closed on Saturday morning. But we found a way and while the visit was brief, it was well worth it.

How cute are they?

2008-01-18T15:34:00.001+05:30

A Welcomed Change to Shopping in Delhi

2008-01-15T11:11:00.000+05:30

I'm sad to admit it, but I was so excited when I recently visited a newly opened mall in Delhi. There's one mall near my house that was the first one in Delhi, and it looks like it. It's old, crowded and not that exciting. Most other malls are out in the suburbs, so I've never visited them. But thanks to Delhi's emerging middle class and booming development, new malls are popping up across the city.

CityWalk mall in Saket is amazing! My excitement started when we pulled into the garage, or rather, we tried to pull into the garage and had to wait in line to get an electronic ticket. Ani was immediately annoyed and ranted that it was a mistake to come because it was too much of a hassle. A hassle because you have to wait in line and park in an orderly fashion, I asked?

Once I stepped into the mall, I was even more excited. It was huge, clean and filled with nice stores. Levi's, Nike, Calvin Klein, Clinique, Bennetton, Guess, Puma and many others. To our surprised, we stayed in the mall for quite some time and even ate dinner at one of the new restaurants. On several occasions, I actually forgot where I was.

More than anything else, it's really nice to be able to go to one place and do all of your shopping. Normally, you visit one store in a particular market and then travel to another store in another market for something else. While Ani may not be looking forward to our next visit, I certainly am.

Why I Hate India...

2008-01-10T11:23:00.000+05:30

...bad traffic, worse roads and even worse drivers!

The past week was Road Safety in Delhi and it feature even more corny slogans than normal to encourage safe driving. Some of my favorites are: "Get off the phone or get off the road," "Lane driving is safe driving" and "Speed thrills by kills."

You might be confused at the thought of having to remind people to drive in the lane because that's just how driving is done. But not in India. As anyone who has traveled here will agree, lanes are merely a suggestion and not required at all. In Delhi, it's completely normal to drive in the middle of two lanes.

I've talked to several friends and colleagues about the situation on the roads and it boils down to the fact that driving is viewed as a right and not a privilege here. The only concern anyone has is getting to where he needs to go and not for the person in the car behind him or the person trying to cross the road. People say it's slowly getting better. Today for instance, Ani and I were driving through the market and a car was trying to turn around in front of us blocking the way. The driver signaled for us to wait a minute. Ani patiently waited and never honked the horn. And finally, once the driver passed us, he waved 'thank you.' How nice and civilized.

Of course traffic is complicated because it's not just cars and buses on the road. You also have to compete with trucks, auto-rickshaws, cycle-rickshaws, motorbikes, bicycles, hand carts, people and cows on the roads. Everyone is telling me that I should start to drive here, but there's no way I'm ready to do that - especially since I can't really drive manual and I've never driven on the left side of the road.

For now, I will just remain petrified of Indian roads and dependent on others for my transportation needs.

Why I Love India...

2008-01-04T20:15:00.000+05:30

...because everything comes to you!

This morning as I was leaving for work, I realized that there wasn't anymore cereal. Feeling bad that Ani would have nothing to eat for breakfast, I remembered that I could call my local grocery store and have everything delivered to the apartment! So, when I got to work, I called to order cereal, milk, eggs, orange juice and Coke. (I figured if I was placing an order, I might as well save myself a trip to the store this weekend).

And miraculously within 30 minutes everything was delivered to the apartment. I love India!

A Postal Adventure

2008-01-02T12:57:00.000+05:30

I went to an Indian post office for the first time on Monday...There's a post office right in my market and I walk by it almost daily. But I haven't never really had a reason to go. I usually mail things from the office or give them to Ani. But I had a stack of late Christmas cards in my apartment and I was anxious to finally get them in the mail.

The post office wasn't that bad, but it definitely was a little confusing. After waiting for the woman at the counter to acknowledge me, I asked for stamps to send 14 cards to the US. After tearing off the right amount of stamps and inaccurately totaling the cost, she handed over several strips of stamps to me.

I found a little side table in the post office and started to apply the stamps to each envelope. After licking the first stamp, I noticed that it wasn't actually sticking to the envelope. And then I realized that there's not glue on the stamps. Fortunately, I noticed the bowl of "glue" also sitting on the table and I realized that I was supposed to apply this to the stamps (with my fingers?). In any case, I got the job done and made a bit of a mess on the envelopes.

Now, I'm just crossing my fingers that the stamps will stay in their places and that my belated Christmas cards will arrive in a few weeks.

The no-glue discovery also helps me understand why there is no glue on envelopes here either. As a result all of my Christmas cards are taped closed - sorry.

So even though it's been over a year since I first arrived in India, almost every day offers new challenges and things I just don't understand. My next adventure...a visit to my local bank. Wish me luck.

Christmas, Delhi-style

2007-12-28T17:45:00.001+05:30

I spent this Christmas not only in India, but in Delhi this time. While the holiday season has been a big change from last year's adventure in Mumbai, Pune and Goa, it hasn't been without holiday cheer.

We started out by spending Christmas Eve at Armen and Nyree's apartment, which is conveniently located in our neighborhood. We were joined by old friends and new friends, and even some Christmas carolers.

Unlike Christmas at home, all shops are still open on Christmas Day - and they are jam-packed because everyone has the day off! I wasn't brave enough to hit the markets, but Ani did and was quickly overwhelmed. I just made a quick visit to the grocery store for some last minute dinner items.

In the evening, Ani's family came over to celebrate Christmas with me. Although I didn't prepare a turkey and stuff (I didn't prepare anything), we enjoyed a nice Indian meal together. We had a little Christmas tree decorated in the corner of the living room - and there were even present underneath it. Everyone enjoyed the evening and I got rave reviews on my gift wrapping abilities.

Caption: Kamlesh (Ani's sister), Rajni (Ani's sister), Puneet, (Rekha's son), Rekha (Ani's sister), me, Souhani (Bhupinder and Madhu's daughter), Rajesh (Kamlesh's husband), Sheren (Rajni's daughter), Bhupinder (Ani's brother), Madhu (Bhupinder's wife)

So while it wasn't a typical Christmas, it was a nice one, complete with family and friends.

Christmas Extravaganza 2007

2007-12-14T18:25:00.000+05:30

On Saturday we went to the 10th Annual Christmas Extravaganza at the Carnegie Institute. My involvement this year was remote and rather limited, but my fellow hosts did an amazing job and managed to pull off the best party yet.

Guests were greeted at the entrance with carolers and skysearcher lights and a photographer took photos as people entered. Once inside, they enjoyed drinks at our upgraded bar - complete with Grey Goose, Patron, a huge Scotch selection and my favorite, CHAMPAGNE! We even had a nutcracker ice bar with an ice luge serving our signature Tentini martinis.

The band, Kristen and the Noise was awesome. People danced up a storm. And everyone was able to hang around until 1am this year, instead of the usual midnight.

And the highlight was the huge gathering of family and friends that came to help us celebrate Christmas.

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My Apartment

2007-12-02T00:38:00.000+05:30

I've been meaning to post a few photos of my apartment, which is still only half-decorated. But it's a start. I also have a pretty nice balcony, but it's dark outside right now, so those photos will have to come another day.

The living/dining room - one day I will have a dining table set instead of a mattress.

The kitchen - including my beloved oven / roaster / griller or OTG.

The bedroom - with a pile of clothes on the bed because I have closet issues.

My next steps are to buy curtains and hang things on the walls. And maybe paint, if we decide to stay here for another year. But, it's definitely coming along and a vast improvement over what it looked like in March when Mike and Jen saw it. And it's WAY better than when Joey and Jarret were here - but that was only a few days after I moved in. Just remember, visitors are welcome!

Tremors

2007-11-26T09:13:00.000+05:30

Today I woke up around 4:30am to rumbling. Ani didn't move an itch, so I just assumed that I had been dreaming. I went to the bathroom, then hopped back in bed and fell asleep.

A few hours later, I was riding in the car to work and my colleagues where yapping away in Hindi. I finally asked what they were talking about and they said that there was an earthquake this morning!

Turns out it was relatively minor, only 4.3 magnitude, but a little scary nonetheless. Fortunately, reported damage is minimal, which is remarkable in a country with such shoddy infrastructure. I'm sure more stories will come out throughout the day, but for now, all is well.

And I'm happy to know that I'm not crazy and I really did feel something this morning.

Reuters India: Quake measuring 4.3 hits New Delhi, surrounding areas

Playtime at Chanda Aunty's

2007-11-25T13:39:00.000+05:30

Two of my favorite people came over today for breakfast. They were Sheren and Souhani, Ani's nieces. Sheren will be 5 in a few weeks and Souhani turns 2 in early January. I quickly realized that the apartment is not child-proof and that I was lacking entertained for kids. Fortunately, I had a stash of bubbles (thanks Laura!) that did the trick for awhile. And when the novelty of those wore off, I could always turn to my collection of shoes and jewelry to keep the girls amused.

(This photo is from a few weeks ago, but I love it, so I had to post it)

Oh yeah, this is India

2007-11-14T13:38:00.000+05:30

Early today I was returning from my daily visit to the doctor by cycle rickshaw and we were got in an enormous traffic jam at the side entrance to my neighborhood. I soon noticed that there were two police officers trying their best to direct traffic and I thought to myself, how nice. Progress was slow, but things were moving.

Then I noticed a police vehicle that was also trying to get through the madness. Eventually, the car was able to pass and disappeared down the street. But then I noticed that the police officers also disappeared.

Apparently they were only there to help their car and not the numerous cars, trucks, motorbikes, bicycles and pedestrians that were also trying to maneuver through the intersection.

Oh yeah, this is India, every man for himself.

Chokhi Dhani

2007-11-11T10:24:00.001+05:30

After a REALLY long car ride to Jaipur from Agra, we finally arrived at our hotel Chokhi Dhani. We rested for a bit and then made out way to the grounds for a Rajasthani dinner and village entertainment. We enjoyed a spicy, veg meal while sitting on the ground - Rajasthani style! These photos will look very familiar to some of you, especially Joey and Jarret.

Afterwards, we walked about the ground and listening to the music, watched the dancers, and sipped yummy chai. My mom and I even took a camel ride! Unfortunately, both of our camera batteries died at this point, so we don't have any proof!

Agra and the Taj Mahal

2007-11-11T10:13:00.000+05:30

On Sunday, we ventured to Agra by car to visit the Taj Mahal. After an early start (6am) and nearly 5 hours in the car, we finally arrived. Our timing was great and we got there just before the masses arrived.

My favorite part was the discrepancy in prices for India nationals (20 rupees or $0.50) and foreign nationals (750 rupees or almost $20). Somehow this price difference is justified because the foreign tickets include a bottle of water and slippers to use while inside (otherwise you are requried to take your shoes off).

Anyways, once inside, we thoroughly enjoyed it. We hired a guide to show us around, which was great because I missed a lot of the details the last time. After about 2 hours of walking around and touring, we headed back to the car and avoided all of the tourist-trap shops.

Next stop: Jaipur

Meet the Parents

2007-11-11T10:09:00.000+05:30

Well, it was more like the parents meeting each other. Last Friday, on my parents first full day in Delhi, we had dinner at Ani's family's house. We were warmly greeted by his entire family - Dad, Mom, 1 brother, 3 sisters, 1 sister-in-law, 2 brother-in laws, 2 nephews and 2 nieces! We had a wonderful dinner at their house and most of the time was spent chatting with one another. Ani's brother-in-laws took the lead and ensured that my parents were entertained and felt at home.

It couldn't have been a better first meeting. Everyone really enjoyed themselves and is looking forward to more similar evenings.

The First Day

2007-11-08T12:17:00.001+05:30

My Mom and Dad arrived in Delhi late on Thursday night. By the time we were back to my apartment and ready for bed, it was already 4am. They were up early the next morning, which meant so was I. After breakfast, we set off for the start of sightseeing in Delhi. First we visited Humayun's Tombs, one of my favorite places in Delhi.

My actual favorite place is a huge interchange near my house. I love it for two reason. First, it is incredibly efficient, something you don't see every day in India. Second, among all of the on and off ramps are huge green spaces, another thing you don't see too often here. Ani and his family laughed at me everytime we pass through and they remark, "Oh, this is Chanda's favorite place in all of Delhi!" But it's true.

After touring Humayun's Tombs, we drove by Parliament, India Gate and the President's House. Our final stop of the afternoon was at Khan Market, where we enjoyed a little shopping and lunch before heading back to my apartment. By this time, the jet lag was setting in on my parents and I was exhausted from only having a few hours of sleep.
After resting, we got ready for the big event...The meeting of my family and Ani's family. You'll have to read the next entry to hear all about it.

Henna Time

2007-10-31T11:52:00.001+05:30

On Sunday night I was finally able to check off one of the remaining items from my original India Checklist - Henna!

Monday was the Hindu festival, Karva Chauth, which is celebrated mainly in the north of India. On this day, married women fast for the long life of their husbands. The ritual is supposed to signify the woman's extreme love and devotion to her husband.

While it sounds very one-sided, husbands also give their wives a nice gift (jewelry) after the fast is broken - which is after the moon (or chand) is seen.

On Sunday evening, Ani and I went to dinner with all of his siblings, their spouses and their children to celebrate the 9th wedding anniversary of one of his sisters and her husband. After dinner we all went to a local market where the women got henna in preparation for the festival the next day. I didn't actually participate in the festival (nor did I receive any jewelry), but it was a great occasion to finally get henna.