DIARY FROM INDIA

2007-07-03T21:40:00.000-07:00

The first picture shows concrete blocks which form one of the boundary walls, simply washed away.

The second picture shows some of the water whih is left over which has not drained away yet.

In the third picture, there should be a six foot high stone wall right across the top of the round white pipes and it has simply been washed away.

And in the last picture there should be a six foot high stone wall right across in front of the sikh gentlement from left to right - again, all just washed away.

2007-07-03T21:30:00.000-07:00

I understand that trees were all over the place; roots torn from the ground and branches torn from the trees. But by the time I was able to go outside with my camera a great deal of tidying up had already been done. Particularly the removal of trees from roads. Everything must be done to get services, including roads, back to normal as soon as possible.

In fact, internet an e-mail is back to normal already in most the houses and apartments. Perhaps because we have local servers. Offices are not so lucky as the main servers for here are located in Mombai and they are also pretty much under water still.

2007-07-03T21:22:00.000-07:00

People like us survive these situations without too much trouble or inconvenience. But not everyone is so lucky. There are many, many people all over India who live in shanty towns in urban and rural areas. There home is barely more than poles or bits of stone wall or whatever, covered with tarpaulins to make roofs. How these people manage with these types of weather conditions is almost unbearable to contemplate.

Gavin's driver has a small single storey home with stone walls for himself, his wife and two small children, his mother and his much younger brother. The corrugated iron roof blew off on Monday and they were up to their knees in water. They now have a tarpaulin roof. But because a job is so important, he reported to work by lunch time on Tuesday.

There are stories like this and worse all over the place. But the resilience of these people is amazing. They just seem to accept the situation and get on with it.

2007-07-03T21:19:00.000-07:00

2007-07-03T20:57:00.000-07:00

What a day Monday was!!

It seemed dark in the apartment all day. This was really odd and somewhat spooky. Particularly at this time of the year when, in Scotland, we are used to it being light from the early hours of the morning until very late at night.

Torrential (and I do mean torrential!!) rain, huge, huge, huge claps of thunder and lightening streaking all over the place from about eight in the morning until about five in the afternoon. I have never seen anything like it - but have no doubt there are others who have - but I am certainly not one of them!

I have since read that in a normal monsoon in this part of the country there would be an expected rainfall of approximately 175 mm of water. On Monday, I understand, approximately 340 mm fell during the ONE DAY!!!

I battled to keep some of the windows from blowing open; mopped up when some water came inside; listened to the overwhelming sounds of nature and watched from my first floor window. By lunch time all the Reliance and Bechtel offices were abandoned - no electricity, no land line or mobile phone services, no computers, water sloshing about the floors. I understand that for some people the journey back to Jamnagar (which normally takes about forty-five minutes) took up to six hours.

2007-05-14T04:12:00.000-07:00

After that, it was back to Jamangar and, for Gavin, back to work. What a fabulous holiday, with lots of photographs and lots of memories to keep with us long after we leave India later in the year.

We are now enjoying (I think!!) weeks and weeks of temperatures of over forty degrees, which will be with us until the monsoon starts, about the third week in June. The Engineers here all work long hours each day and six days a week. On Saturday evenings we all get together for a barbecue and a beer and have quiet and pretty idle days off on Sundays. The ladies enjoy supervising our drivers, houseboys and other maintenance staff!! Getting together every now and then for coffee and a natter and short trips into Jamnagar for a little shopping. Too hot for much else!!

2007-05-14T04:03:00.000-07:00

We ended our holiday with a leisurely Sunday lunch time trip up the river from Panaji to Old Goa. We had a lovely lunch, were well looked after by the young staff and serenaded by a couple of young men playing violin and guitar and thought the old boat reminded us of Mississippi river boats!!

2007-05-14T03:56:00.000-07:00

The beaches in Goa are quite beautiful, especially the ones away from the main tourist areas which you can enjoy in peace and quiet.

2007-05-14T03:40:00.000-07:00

These falls at the National Park are the second highest in the whole of India. A little low on water during our visit as it is over six months since the end of the monsoon. However, still a beautiful sight and worth the trek through the jungle.

2007-05-14T03:19:00.000-07:00

In the National Park these monkeys were absolutely ALL OVER THE PLACE!!!

2007-05-14T02:59:00.000-07:00

Dudhsagar National Park on the eastern boards of Goa was quite an adventure!

2007-05-14T02:54:00.000-07:00

We found this sign in the shrubbery 'Habitat'. But have a feeling that this is not talking about the international chain of home and garden stores!! But it did give us a bit of a chuckle!

2007-05-14T02:44:00.000-07:00

Old Goa town is about seven kilometres from Panaji and was obviously a big Portuguese catholic centre at one time, with huge cathedral like churches and huge old convent community buildings. All quite beautiful, but now crumbling and neglected.

2007-05-14T02:39:00.000-07:00

We had wanted to try a ride in one of these little put-put tri-cars, but in most parts of India the drivers on the road follow their own rules that we never thought it would be safe enough to risk it. But in Goa we felt things were a little different and so we gave it a go and this wee man and his machine became our driver, guide and taxi for a couple of days as we explored a bit.

2007-05-14T01:59:00.000-07:00

Goa was a Portuguese territory until 1961, when it became a fully fledged State of India. Many buildings, much of the religion and many of the customs are inherited from this Portuguese heritage. This is now completely integrated with the Indian part of Goa's heritage.

2007-05-13T23:42:00.000-07:00

This is the Panjim Inn in the Old Latin District of Panaji (the State Capital of Goa) where we stayed. A place for travellers rather than a modern hotel holiday complex which could have been anywhere in the world!! This place had friendly staff and such character. A good choice of hotel, the details of which we found in the Lonely Planet for India Book. A series of books no traveller or adventurer should leave home without, wherever they are planning to go.

2007-05-11T00:08:00.000-07:00

And then we went to Goa for the second part of our trip.

2007-05-10T23:59:00.000-07:00

Our driver, Pappu, introduced us to a number of Indian fruits which we had not tried before. Some we liked and some we did not!! But we tried! On the way back to Delhi we met his son (on the left) and his nephew, on a holiday from school. I have to say that it was the care, thoughtfulness and knowledge of Pappu that was a huge part of our enjoying this trip and getting the most out of this part of our trip.

2007-05-10T22:50:00.000-07:00

The red sandstone fort in Agra is another magnificent place to visit. The construction of the fort was started in 1565 and buildings were later added to make it more like a palace by the founders grandson, Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal. It later became Shah Jahan's prison when he was overthrown by his own son. History during this period seems to have been just as complicated in India as it ever was in Europe or elsewhere in the world!!

By the way, the view from the fort to the Taj Mahal was another fabulous site. Our eyes and minds were almost working on overdrive by this time!!

2007-05-10T22:28:00.000-07:00

The next outing was to watch these brilliant craftsmen inlaying semi precious stone into marble to make small tables, trays, plates and even great big dining tables. They use mother of pearl, lapis lazuli and cornelian, as well as other colours whose names I cannot remember! Such pains taking work, such tiny pieces and such amazing results. These products are mostly made to order and despatched all over the world. And now two green side tables with a design as shown in the pictures in mother of pearl and cornelian are here in our apartment and will be on their way in due course to a new home in France!!

2007-05-10T22:09:00.000-07:00

A small private sitar concert which we were part of in Agra at a place where they were making sitars. Did you know that the bowl of the instrucment is made from dried pumpkin gourds!! Nor did we . . .

2007-05-03T05:17:00.000-07:00

This is the mosque to the side of the Taj Mahal.

2007-05-03T05:09:00.000-07:00

2007-05-03T05:01:00.000-07:00

2007-05-03T04:15:00.000-07:00

And THEN we went to the Taj Mahal.

A World Heritage Site.

No doubt, one of the most beautiful man made places in the world.

And once inside the gates an almost completely 'tout' free zone.

According to Rudyard Kipling 'the embodiement of all things pure'.

According to one Indian poet 'a teardrop on the face of eternity'.

Built by the Emperor Shah Jahan as a mauseleum for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth with her fourteenth child in 1631.

In total, twenty thousand people from India, Central Asia and Europe worked on the building.

2007-05-03T03:59:00.000-07:00

These pictures show a little bit of the beautiful palace of Fatehpur Sikri.

2007-05-03T03:30:00.000-07:00

Fatehpur Sikri was built on the top of quite a steep hill/mountain in 1571, but was only occupied for about twenty years as not enough thought was given to the supply of water and it all ran out!!

Because this part of it is a mosque it is required that everyoone take off their shoes. The stones were absolutely burning hot and we had to keep trying to explore the place around the shady bits!!

Most of the time guides and people trying to sell things at these sorts of places take 'no, thank you' for an answer (certainly after a ouple of times!) and leave you alone to visit and enjoy, but the entrance to this mosque was teaming with potential guides, and touts of all sorts of food, refreshments and souvenirs. It was impossible to move and at times quite scary as we tried to struggle our way through and, to be perfectly honest it did rather spoil the visit to this special place.

But the Palace next door was a different cup of tea altogether. The mobs of people were outside but not allowed through the entrance gate. So this was a haven of serenity and beauty and we were able to enjoy it.

The people of India are trying hard to encourage tourism and they have so much to offer, but scaring people off by pushing, pushing themselves at you to accept their services is not the way to go about it. Hoever, it is necessary to remember that this could possibly be the only way that some of these people can earn a living.

2007-05-03T03:23:00.000-07:00

These are a couple of views of the hotel where we stayed in Jaipur. At one time it was the town house of a minor Maharaja and is still run by the same family.

2007-05-03T03:09:00.000-07:00

A lovely evening having dinner under the stars and watching the colourful costumes whirling about in the local dancing traditions of Rajistan.

2007-05-03T02:49:00.000-07:00

The Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is a huge observatory built in 1728. The instruments are on a huge scale with sundials, constructions for timetable exclipses and the annual cycle of the entire zodiac. It was the hottest place we had visited so far and we watched (from a shady place!) all the tourists trying to find a sapot out of the heat of the day for even a short reprieve.

2007-05-03T02:42:00.000-07:00

These are just two of the new friends we made along the way!!!

2007-05-03T02:22:00.000-07:00

And, can you imagine, the whole of this ceiling, the far wall and the wall on the left of the picture are solid silver!!!

The whole place was quite beautiful and five hundred years old. There is a huge amount of reconstruction and renovation work going on for this original capital of Jaipur. Including the re-working of the formal gardens. It ws all so worth the long and hot climb to the top of the steep walkway.

2007-05-03T02:02:00.000-07:00

2007-05-03T01:40:00.000-07:00

Our first big stop was at Ajmer to see the Amber Palace. What a stunning place. You can see how high up it is compared to the surrounding area - what a climb!! It used to be possible to do this journey by elephant, but they have all been retired now and the only way is to walk!!!

2007-05-03T01:33:00.000-07:00

From Delhi we had a great driver who also acted as our guide for the six days we travelled through the 'Golden Triangle'. He always managed to find us good places to stop for comfort breaks and lunch! Always particularly important for Gavin!

2007-05-03T01:25:00.000-07:00

We then went to a Craft Market and amongst other things we watched this very talented man painting papier mache boxes with the finest, finest brush. His concentration was incredible and the craftsmanship was fantastic. He told us he had been an apprentice for years before he reached this standard and was able to teach others.

2007-05-02T23:54:00.000-07:00

These are some of the papers with the writing for the carpet patterns. The carpet makers just thread one sheet at a time between the long strands on the loom and follow what is written there!! Quite incomprehensible to you and I!! The other picture is of OUR carpet!!!

2007-05-02T23:33:00.000-07:00

We watched Tibetan refugees making the most beautiful silk carpets in the most intricate and age old designs. And lo and behold, after numerous cups of Tibetan tea and lengthy conversation with a fascinating professor we bought a fabulous carpet for our living room in France!! Not that we have the living room yet!! This will take a little longer!!

2007-05-02T23:27:00.000-07:00

And what do you think of this carving? Hard to realise that it is about eight hundred years old!!

By the way, a big thank you should go to Christopher for reminding us to bring a copy of the Lonely Planet to India book with us to use on this trip. It has been invaluable for finding hotels and telling us about what we are seeing and what we should see and even where to get the best seafood in Panaji, Goa (but more of that later on!).

2007-05-02T23:23:00.000-07:00

2007-05-02T23:03:00.000-07:00

No matter how I try to lay the photographs out in an artistic fashion, they almost seem to turn up just any-old-where. Oh well, I suppose the only thing that matters is that the pictures show up at all!! After all the trouble I have had.

Anyway, these pictures show the Qutb Minar in Delhi. The QM itself is a soaring tower of vistory dating from the beginning of islamic rule in India in 1193 and is of early afghan design. It is a beautiful place and we seemed to be visiting when there were not too many people about. A difficult thing to do anywhere in India!

2007-05-02T22:43:00.000-07:00

2007-05-02T22:35:00.000-07:00

These pictures show the largest Mosque in India in Delhi. And there is no doubt that the place is huge. This was the first of our visits to sites of historial and architectural interest.

2007-05-02T22:18:00.000-07:00

During March this year we were able to enjoy a two week Indian holiday. We had a marvellous time. We saw lots of forts, temples and palaces and covered a fair bit of Indian countryside. We met interesting people and stayed in some lovely hotels converted from old Indian and Portuguese homes and have collected lots of fabulous memories to be enjoyed and re-lived with a glass of wine on the terrace we will build when we retire to France in the coming months.

We visited Delhi, Jaipur and Agra in the north and then went to Goa for a weeks rest and relaxation. As you can see we started off our visit to Delhi with a leisurely outdoor breakfast!

2007-05-01T05:19:00.000-07:00

2007-05-01T05:16:00.000-07:00

The winter months here enjoy about the most perfect weather as far as we are concerned. And also a time for the most fabulous displays of floral shrubbery.

2007-05-01T05:13:00.000-07:00

2007-05-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

The majority of Indian people are Hindus and here are just a few pictures of the small temple that is here in the Township.

A beautiful and peaceful place.

2007-05-01T04:56:00.000-07:00

Just to show you some of the henna hand painting. This was done for me by one of the ladies who lives here at Reliance Greens at a family evening that was held in the Township at the Civic Centre one weekend evening over the winter.

2007-05-01T04:51:00.000-07:00

The majority of Bechtel staff working here returned to their home base (in USA, India, UK or other European countries) for the Christmas and New Year holidays. We decided to stay here and have a quiet time together and save our holiday allocation for a holiday in India after the turn of the year (more of that later).

We had a day out and just popped into the Guest House for a little supper on our return. Certainly not expecting to find Santa Claus had showed up!!!

2007-05-01T04:41:00.000-07:00

We have a beautifully laid out park here at Reliance Greens and the evenings are a lovely time to be there.

Every now and then a large stage is erected there and performances, such as these pictures show, are staged for the enjoyment of everyone.

2007-05-01T04:24:00.000-07:00

During November we were invited by the gentleman on the far left of this picture to a very special function at the Town Hall in Jamnagar to watch his sixteen year old daughter performing a type of dancing particular to an area of India much further south than here (where the family, as I understand it, is originally from).

Charles, John, Gavin and I were priviledged to be included as the only non-Indian guests in an auditorium seating up to eight hundred guests!!

A most enjoyable evening. And neither did my sari fall apart!!

2007-05-01T03:55:00.000-07:00

Winter in this part of India seems to be classified as from November to February. (Not that it is 'winter' as we know it in northern Europe more like the best of summer days, but nevertheless 'winter' for this part of India)

There are so very many hard working people in India who live in the most appalling conditions - with no running water or electricity; with shelters which can barely be called homes; and after having worked a long day in equally appalling conditions there is little warmth or comfort.

Last Otober I joined a group of other resident ladies of Reliance Greens to raise money to try to make at least a small difference to the people who live in the little shanty just outside our boundaries and work on the buildinig sites here. A blanket per household, a jumper or something similar that is warm for as many people as possible as well as some jammy dodgers for the children just to see them smile. I wish we could have done more, but at least it was something.

The plight of these people from first hand experience and from following the newspapers while we have been here means that these types of situations will beimprinted in our minds for life. In fact, should never be forgotten by anyone.

2007-04-16T03:48:00.000-07:00

After trying so many times over the last months to add more photographs and notes to this Blogg, I had all but completely given up hope. But, for some completely unknown reason I have tried again today and lo and behold it appears to be working again!! Why or how, I have no idea but long may it last!!

By the way, this picture is of the two little parrots we had for a while. They lived on our balcony but, un-noticed by us, they gradually ground there way through the paperclip which we had twisted through the bars to keep the door shut. And one day while I was in the UK, Gavin came home for lunch and found they had flown the coup!!

Anyway, now that we appear to be up and running again, I will spend the next little while adding SOME of the three hundred photographs we took while we were on our recent Indian holiday. What a fabulous time we had and the places we saw - fantastic!! We hope you will enjoy sharing some of our experiences. Of course, the first thing to do is send a 'round robin' e-mail to say we are back in business with this Blog. I am stillsomewhat stunned - just hope it is really and truly going to work this time!!

Important Notice . . . .

2006-11-15T19:18:00.000-08:00

There STILL appear to be endless problems at Blog HQ and I STILL cannot upload photographs, which are obviously the most important part of a Blog Diary like this one - I am sorry. I am trying to find out what is going on. If the problem does not get resolved very shortly either I will go up in smoke or I will start a completely new Blog with a different outfit. I am just about at the end of my patience!! It was so easy for the first three months or so and now . . . .

2006-10-28T02:29:00.000-07:00

Because the refinery is being doubled in size the township is also having to be doubled in size to house everyone and so there is building work going on all over the place. But scaffolding never looked like this in the UK or America for that matter!! Hard hats are not seen very often either. And only limited amount of machinery. As much work as possible is done by hand with men and women working as labourers and lifting heavy weights. The women bring their small children with them as well. There are some accidents but not nearly as many as you think there ought to be given the attitude on the building sites to health and safety issues.

2006-10-27T20:22:00.000-07:00

Navratri is a fabulous festival towards the end of September. There is dancing every night for about nine nights between approximately ten in the evening until one in the morning!! Here at the township a huge, huge circle was cordoned off outside the Civic Centre with rows of chairs around the outside and stalls outside of that selling all sort of snacks, soft drinks (remember Gujurat is a 'dry' state), balloons and whatnot.

The colours and glamour of all the costumes was quite fantastic and a wonder to see. I just wish I had learned the dance so that I could have joined in!! The costume below is being modeled for us by a young lady of about twelve years old. She was really pleased to be having her picture taken!! No shyness here!!

2006-10-26T20:16:00.000-07:00

PORTBANDER is about an hour and a half's drive from here and is the town where Mahatma Ghandi was born and therefore is a special place in the heart of many Indian people.

The building on the right with a pink facade is the entrance to a large courtyard surrounded by a museum and gallery and a small shop. Items and personal effects from his life, including all his lifetime's journals are displayed here. Many photographs have been enlarged and are displayed here. His autobiography and other writings about his life and beliefs are sold here. No one is allowed to take photographs inside the building. Because of this I think it would be a good idea if postcards were available for sale, but India (at least not in this area) does not seem to realise what a good idea postcards are for the encouragement of tourism and India wants very much to encourage tourism.

An archway in a far corner of the courtyard leads to the house where Ghandi was born and brought up. His great-grandfather purchased a single story home here in 1777. His grandparents built another story and his parents added another one.

I found the whole place fascinating, beautiful and peaceful. I have purchased a copy of his autobiography which I have started to read. Many,many years ago I was able to visit Ghandi's resting place in Delhi, so feel now as if I have come full circle.

2006-10-26T01:31:00.000-07:00

These are some of the people who are grating up the herbs and spices just using a very old fashioned cutter supported by their feet.

2006-10-25T21:30:00.000-07:00

This is the Spice Market in Portbander, about one and a half hors drive from here. The day of our visit was Sooooo hot, but the herbs and spices were good to see. Everything was so carefully laid out and displayed.

2006-10-24T03:33:00.000-07:00

Although we only had a very short while to explore we did manage a walk on the beach first thing in the morning - and very lovely it was too.

2006-10-24T02:50:00.000-07:00

2006-10-24T02:38:00.000-07:00

The weekend after we returned from the UK (the first weekend in Octobert) a group of about ten of us went to the island of Diu for a couple of days. Some of the roads were alright but some were not . . . so it felt like a nine hour drive each way on a 'off road' driving course!! When we got there the hotel was really lovely as you can see. The island of Diu used to belong to the Portuguese and although still very Indian is also a little bit different. We explored a little bit on our first evening there and had dinner in an open air first floor restaurant overlooking the sea. Unfortunately, Gavin got food poisoning and so we were obliged to stay an extra day and return with Peter Steeb the day after everyone else. But the troubles only lasted twenty four hours and as soon as the dehydration had been taken care of with a large injection of who knows what by a local doctor all was well.

2006-10-24T02:13:00.000-07:00

These are the views from our balcony. Our building is the same as those shown. All through the residential areas of the township are gardens that look like these. Aren't we lucky to live in such a place. The whole township is like a giant oasis in this part of rural India. It will take quite a while to get gardens like this when we move to our Barn in France! But the dreams and plans are there - will just need to put in the effort.

2006-10-24T01:35:00.000-07:00

We have a lovely little balcony which is in the shade all day. Never thought I would think that was an advantage! There is a great little garden centre on our side of Jamnagar where we have bought several potted plants to make us feel as if we are in a conservatory all the time! A lovely place to sit and read a book! A tough life, but someone has to do it!!

2006-10-24T00:34:00.000-07:00

2006-10-24T00:14:00.000-07:00

We moved a couple of weeks ago after about eleven weeks in the Guest House. The last week or so of the refurbishment of this block was fraught with ups and downs. Plumbing that was leaking; air conditioners not working properly; whether this colour curtains should be upstairs or downstairs as there were two different colour ways; whether or not the internet connection was operating or not; whether enough of the selected furniture had actually been delivered yet or not; oh yes, there was no outlet for the waste water from the washing machine; and so the list could go on. But everyone was trying hard and so we moved as soon as we could. Most of the difficulties have now been sorted out. But some never will be and so we just work around them. All in all we have all that we need and will be very comfortable here for the next six to nine months.

2006-10-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

I am so behind with sending you pictures and telling you about the things we have been doing and seeing that it was difficult to know where to begin again!! So thought I would start with our new apartment. So that you can see where we live now that we have moved out of the Guest House.

2006-10-09T02:15:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe that it is a month since I last added anything to this Diary! On the other hand so much seems to have been happening that time has just flown by and so perhaps I CAN believe it is a motnth already!!

Anyway, enough of that nonsense!!

The first hiccup was the fact that I had a few days of severe dehydration. In fact I ended up in the Infirmary here at Reliance Greens having all sorts of tests and then being pumped through with all sorts of re-hydration drinks and monitoring. I slept practically round the clock and then felt much better. I think what happens at this time of the year here is that the outside temperatures are so high that we stay inside in the air conditioning as much as we can and then (because this is quite cool) we forget to drink enough water and then we do go out in the extreme heat and - wham!! But I must say that I was really well taken care of by all the staff in the Infirmary and received heaps of sympathy from all our other ex-pat colleagues and friends.

Then we had the sad news that Gavin's Aunt Frances had died in Fife and so we made plans to return to the UK for her funeral. Within twenty four hours we were packed and off to Jamnagar Airport to fly to Mombai and then to Heathrow, where we hired a car and drove north to Scotland.

All funerals are sad occasions, but in this case we were also celebrating the life of a lady who was ninety-four years old. Who had enjoyed a long and happy marriage; had sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. There were cousins present who had not seen each other for forty years and Fife towards the end of September with the sun, trees beginning to turn for the autumn and being beside the sea is a beautiful place.

It takes two days to get from here back to Scotland and two days to return, with all sorts of time changes in between. We were only away for a week (I think!) but we also managed to see brothers, sisters, mothers, sons, daughters and grandsons and do enough shopping to bring back here to require us to bring a second small suitcase!!

A couple of days after our return there was a Public Holiday here to be added to everyone's one day weekend and so it was decided that all the Bechtel staff and partners would take a trip to Diu, a tiny island around the coast on the southern side of Gujurat (there will be pictures in due course). It was a long way to go on some pretty grummy roads but we saw lots of countryside and experienced other places and sites and walked on the beach and enjoyed good company.

We had a lovely dinner out in the old town of Diu in an open air restaurant. Unfortunately, Gavin ate something which seriously disagreed with him during the night and he woke up in the morning to some severe dehydration. So, more doctors and re-hydration drips and so on. A twenty four hours of almost non stop sleeping and then back to normal (sound familiar!). So Gavin and I, together with Pete, stayed behind for another twenty four hours before returning to the township.

Since our return, two or three others have had the same problems. It really has been VERY VERY hot. Perhaps we had not realised just how hot. Anyway, we are led to believe that the temperature will not go up any more!! That it will now gradually ease off and become more manageable for us 'foreigners'!!

And then during this past week there has been a fair amount of work going on in the apartments which are being renovated for Bechtel couples and we started tidying up as we thought we were about to move out of the Guest House after ten weeks here. But this was not to be. There still appear to be some electrical, plumbing and plastering problems. The Guest House is very comfortable, so I guess we will be spoiled here for a little longer!!

And so, suddenly a month has gone by!! I have lots moe pictures to share with you and I will add these as soon as I can as I want you all to be able to share a little in what we are enjoying here.

2006-09-08T03:41:00.000-07:00

This is the little wood carving place we found. With just a handful of chisels and a hammer these two produce the most beautiful and intricate carving, from small plaques to coffee tables, chairs, front doors, bed heads or whatever anyone may order from them. One of the scary things is that they just hold the wood in place with a bare foot - hardly adhering to any health and safety regularions!! We have two or three little plaques already as 'samples' of their work and are considering commissioning some front doors for our barn in France.

2006-09-08T03:19:00.000-07:00

The little Hindu Temple in the township is really pretty; set in a little garden and the most peaceful place to be. Most of the Indian residents are Hindus and this is a popular place for people and families to enjoy a little time together in the evenings after work.

2006-09-08T03:05:00.000-07:00

Bank and 'hole in the wall' machines do not look the same in Kensington High Street, Aberfeldy or Jamnagar!! This is the one we go to in the Township. But, hey, money is money!!

2006-09-08T02:48:00.000-07:00

Nothing really to say!!

2006-09-01T01:43:00.000-07:00

These are some views of the Fish Market in Jamnagar - I am not sure if I need to make any additonal comments!! The pictures say it all!!

The man in the blue shirt is holding up the biggest prawn I have ever seen!! The lady with the blue headwear is gutting fish and beside her is a hessian bag of live small crabs and a basin of additional crabs on ice.

By the way, a lot of fish is eaten in this area as we are only a few miles from the sea. Not that we have seen it yet - we have just been told it is there!!

2006-09-01T01:30:00.000-07:00

Just some of the flowering shrubs found all over the place in the Township and particularly in the Park right behind the Guest House. The third one down is called Frangipani. I do not know what the others are called!! But just thought you would like to see the pictures.

2006-09-01T01:15:00.000-07:00

This Hindu Temple is only about forty-five years old. Chanting is a big part of Hindu worship and there has been chanting here, twenty four hours a day, every since the building was opened. It is in the Guiness Book of Records and mentioned on the internet, so obviously an important situation.

2006-08-30T01:39:00.000-07:00

Halleluiah!!!

Two brilliant things happened this morning.

Our Air Freight boxes arrived from Mombai.

And the rains must at least be virtually over as the swimming pool has now been cleaned and refilled and is ready for use again.

The Air Freight boxes arrived in Mombai about three days after we did!! But only arrived here this morning!! When we first arrived our passports had to go to the local Police Office in Jamnagar for the preparation of our Residency Permits. So our passports and the huge volume of paperwork could not go to Mombai until after that. By this time the Customs Office at Mombai Airport had almost decided that these boxes were not going to be collected and they were already beginning to arrange for them to be returned to London!! And then, of course, there was the matter of the fact that many roads have been flooded between Mombai and here with the Monsoon rains!! But never mind, they are here now and everything is in good order!! All we need now is the apartment to go with our things!!

The swimming pool is enormous and outdoors. There is 'ladies only' swimming every morning from nine to eleven. And virtually the only people who will be using the people are three of the ex-pat ladies (including me) so it feels as if we have our own private pool, We swam for the first time this morning and it was absolutely heavenly!!

2006-08-28T02:17:00.000-07:00

I tries to put these pictures side by side, but although it can show this way in the draft, it doesn't seem to happen the way I plan when the piece is downloaded to the Blog!! Oh well . . . . !!

Anyway, if Housekeeping arrive to tidy up and clean our room and we are in residence we have found this tranquil place beside the central gardens of the Guest House!! Just the place to read a book for a little while, while someone else does my domestic chores!! A tough life, but I am trying to deal with it!!

2006-08-28T01:57:00.000-07:00

These pictures show the Hindu Temple right in the heart of Jamnager. Surrounded by little shops, people and traffic in a very bustling part of town, it is an oasis of beauty and colour and open to everyone to visit and view as well as those who want to come in to pray to their Gods. We were welcome inside having removed our shoes, but I was not comfortable taking pictures inside although I told there was no reason why I shouldn't.

The whole of the inside was painted in bright colours (and I do mean very bright colours) showing patterns and story scenes of Hindu gods and Hindu tradition. There were two large (and loud!) bells which was rung whenever a Hindu devotee passed by. There were lots of candles as well. There does not appear to be a timetable of services, just the opportunity for devotees to attend and either read from their religious books, chant or simply be there.

2006-08-28T01:48:00.000-07:00

There are hundreds and thousands of Hindu Gods and because of this there can be numerous Festivals almost all the time.

When some people saw me with a camera in Jamnagar yesterday I was asked to take this lady's picture.

Apparently, she has been fasting for a whole month prior to the Ganesh Festival. It was said that this was a personal purification process and a way of proving that she is a suitable candidate to move closer to being a better Hindu.

All things considered, we thought she looked remarkably healthy. All she has taken for the past month is water.

2006-08-28T01:38:00.000-07:00

Today is the Hindu Festival of Ganesh - the God that looks like an elephant. And models of Ganesh are paraded through towns and villages all over Hindu India from yesterday for about a week I think. Not a brilliant picture I am sorry to say, but one I took from the window of the car!! I missed included the camel in the picture that was pulling the cart - sorry, about that!! But I am sure you get the idea!

2006-08-28T01:20:00.001-07:00

We enjoyed a lovely barbeque dinner party with Sheri and Carl Lake, our new American friends, on Saturday evening. Because so many different people are having a look at this Diary now perhaps I should tell you the names of all the people present. The first picture shows Sheri at the head of the table. The other pictures show (from the left) Doina, Joy, Gavin, Carl (Sheri's husband), Laurie, Malcolm and David. What a motley crew!!

Sheri and Carl are from Houston, Texas, Joy and Malcolm are originally from Yorkshire and now call Scotland home, Doina and David are from Romania and Wales. So with Gavin and I from Scotland as well, we are quite a cosmopolitan bunch. And between us we have also lived and worked in all sorts of places all over the world. So you can imagine that the conversation was varied - to say the least!! A great evening was had by all.

2006-08-28T01:12:00.000-07:00

So, what do you think of this as a mode of transport!!! Everything from people (young and old) to animals (sheep and goats); from vegetables to sacks of grain; and from furniture to building supplies and goodness knows whatever else are transported in an out of the busy, busy, busy and erratic traffic!!

I wonder if one would be useful for popping in to town to pick up the groceries!!

2006-08-26T04:50:00.000-07:00

This is the little roadside store where I got a new strap for my watch.

The storekeepers noticed my camera and want to have their picture taken!!

2006-08-26T04:39:00.000-07:00

The parks in the township, all the road sides and apartment building gardens etc are well cared for lovely to see. The gardens in the Guest House area are lovely too and this is one of our gardeners. They have virtually no tools, they just work away all the time crouched down with a bag for the rubbish. Even working all over the lawns taking the weeds out of the grass one at a time by hand. But the results are lovely.

2006-08-26T04:30:00.000-07:00

This is one of the small army of waiters who look after us in the Dining Room and Room Service. I just happened to catch him as he was walking through the gardens!!

They are keen to be helpful and keen to practice their English. English language skills are one of the most important skills they can learn to improve their job prospects.

2006-08-26T03:45:00.000-07:00

I hope you have not been coming in to this Diary too often just lately and not finding anything new to see.

Access to internet can be a little erratic here!! Sometimes we cannot get access for a couple of days.

So my intention is to add bits and pieces and pictures whenever I can, but this has to be subject to access to cyber space!!

2006-08-26T03:32:00.000-07:00

I must confess that I do not know the gentleman's name (the staff here do not wear name badges) but I do know that he keeps our room neat and clean and tidy every day - and always with a smile on his face.

He brings me The Times of India every morning; washes the dishes and fetches and carries the laundry - and always with a smile on his face.

2006-08-18T22:03:00.000-07:00

Have managed to take these close up pictures of some embroidered pieces I bought the other day in Jamnagar. They do not seem to transfer from the camera to the Blog in the order I intend, but I have to be thankful that I can trasfer them at all!! The second and third pictures show a sort of pelmet. This would be put across the top of a front door as a decoration to welcome people to ones home of special occasions. A bit like the Christmas wreaths we might put on a front door. The other two pictures are of a bedspread. All the embroidery is in coloured wool and the designs are prepared free hand. Hope you like them.

2006-08-17T22:06:00.000-07:00

I had a splendid outing to Jamnagar with Abdul yesterday morning. This whole area is widely known for its Bandhani cotton fabric. This is a very detailed form of tie and dye work to the basic material. In this little traditional shop this fabric is stacked up all over the place in all kinds of colours and designs. The owner of the shop provided drinks and seats and told me all about how it is made and distributed.

So, of course, I had to buy some!! I having the pieces I purchased made into a Shalwar Kemeez outfit - not sure about the spelling but the costume is the traditional trousers, tunic and scarf of this area. The tailor will be charging me approximately one pound fifty for the made to measure outfit - how absurdly cheap is that and only taking a few days. There will be more pictures of the modelled finished outfit in time - maybe!!

I am also hoping to go and see where the fabric is actually dyed and the tying design work is done - I hope so anyway.

2006-08-17T21:42:00.000-07:00

Here are my first two photographs of Jamnagar. There were quite a few more, but there were 'not working properly' batteries in my camera . . . Anyway, I hope you like them. There will be plenty morepicutres as time goes on, I promise.

2006-08-17T20:47:00.000-07:00

You have to be here to understand the rain and humidity of the monsoon!! Last Sunday we had fourteen straight hours of torrential rain!! It has rained really hard for at least part of every day since we have been here!! Every time you go outside for even a short walk you feel as if you need to come inside and take a shower!! Thank goodness for air conditioning!!

But then . . . . yesterday afternoon a good deal of thecloud cleared away - there really was still blue sky behind it and the sun came out . . . a most exciting moment!! I suppose it is too much to suppose that this will last - but I am ever hopeful!!

On the other side of the coin, the flooding in areas of India within two or three hundred miles of here has been and continues to be quite appalling. Feet of water and mud have covered a huge area of Surat, a large urban sprawl. Thousands and thousands of people rich and poor, have been without water, food, services or help for days and days and days. How they are coping I really do not know. We understand that this is the worst monsoon season in this whole area of Gujurat for years. How lucky we are that we are north of the disaster area and each day most of the water is draining away.

2006-08-06T21:12:00.000-07:00

There was no monsoon rain for a couple of days and so we were able to go out for a walk yesterday afternoon. The breeze made the heat manageable!! This is part of the park behind the Guest House where we are staying at the moment. We then came back to the Guest House in the evening at watched 'The Return of the Mummy' on television!!

2006-08-04T21:47:00.000-07:00

A certain amount of laughter and hilarity when we went to the dining room for dinner last night!

This young lady was celebrating her twelth birthday.

This is pretty much a rural area and I do not think that many of the young people have seen many Europeans, particularly ladies with light brown or blonde hair - or gentlemen with white hair, come to that!! So we were quite a curiosity!! Several of them came over to ask us where we were from and could they have their picture taken with us! They were also verychatty; wanting to ask us all sorts of questions!! So we asked if we could take some pictures of them for our diary . . . resulting in lots of smiles and giggles . . .

2006-08-04T21:36:00.000-07:00

There are currently just three European ladies at Reliance Greens and we have been provided with our own driver - Abdul. Another something which makes us feel rather spoiled!

We can call him anytime and he will take us anywhere we want to go and advise us where we need to go for something in particular. His English is excellent and he is a very cheery person; only too happy to help us.

2006-08-04T03:05:00.000-07:00

2006-08-04T02:48:00.000-07:00

For the time being we are staying in the VIP Residency in a lovely air conditioned room on the first floor. We are being really well looked after and the meals are great with buffet selections of Indian and International foods for every meal. (The dining room is also lovely and cool.) We are enjoying being spoiled!

The Residency is built around a lovely garden and I hope you will like these pictures, with wide marble corridors; large terracotta pots with beautiful indoor plants and a beautifully carved swinging seat full of cushions to sit and view the garden.

In between the downpours there are several people working really hard to keep all the gardens in the compound looking at their very best.

2006-08-04T02:34:00.000-07:00

The journey must have taken quite a while, but in hind sight it seemed to pass very quickly. A hire car from Aberfeldy to Edinburgh, flight from Edinburgh to London; transfer to a different terminal; plane overnight from London to Mombai; met by a driver and taken to a company rest house for a cool room and lunch; another driver to a small airport and then another flight in a very small plane with just about sixteen passengers - I would like to tell you all that I could see of the ground, but there were moments when I had my eyes shut!! And finally another car journey to Reliance Greens, which is the company town for the Reliance Project here on the north coast of the Gujurat region of India. I am told we are only about three miles from the coast, but must confess I have not see it yet!!

There is no need to see it yet, we have arrived in the middle of the monsoon season and there is quite enough rain and mud all over the place without going to the coast!! It is also very humid. But we are told that the season will end in two or three weeks time and the rains will be over for another year - we are looking forward to that!! Now we know why the women and as many men as possible during the British Raj spent July and August in the hills with the cooler weather!

Amazing to realise we have already been here for a week already . . .

P.S. I saw a red truck just like Rhuraidh's this morning - and it was full of gardeners and their equipment!!

2006-08-04T02:13:00.000-07:00

We would both like to thank Christopher and June for having us to stay with them during the last few days before our departure. And also thank Scruffy, Spike and May for just 'being'.

2006-08-04T01:27:00.000-07:00

Before we left the UK we were able to catch up with at least some of our family while with others we had to settle for sharing a telephone call.

We enjoyed a lively barbecue evening at Kass and Gavin's home a couple of days before departure.