The Russells In India

North Korea and beyond...

2007-09-28T12:44:00.000+05:30

Dochi Township North Korea, September 2007.

I (Andi) tallied up that I have visited in the last nine months - six countries and even more cities, four of these countries in the past two-three weeks. And now I'm home after being away with work and is time for another blog. Is so nice to be back with Gareth who has also been busy recently, organising and leading a global conference with his work.

We are in the midst of heavy monsoon rains and as I write this the water is pouring down the streets and thundering off the roof of the apartment. Is actually quite refreshing as it cleans a lot of things up, cools things down and fills up the tanks for when the weather turns hot and dry again.

So back to the recent trips. I rivaled Gareth's last crazy schedule with one of my own. Heading to North Korea as a World Vision delegation of 3, to assess and respond to the floods which hit the country last month and also check on our shipments. I was curious to visit this secretive, little known country which in 2002 George Bush named as part of an "axis of evil". I don't often quote George Bush.....
Beijing, China.

Is difficult to operate as an NGO here but World Vision have had development programs and relief response to disasters since 1997.

The three of us included the WV DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) National Director who's based in NYC to be close to the UN, is Taiwanese and the Regional HEA Director who's also a friend as we've worked together now for five years. He's British but based with his family in Singapore. Then me.

My journey to get to the country included Bangkok, Singapore, Beijing and then North Korea. You can only get your plane ticket and visa to NK from Beijing. So I was in the WV Singapore office for few days and then Beijing for few days inc a chance to visit Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden Palace. This visit was special for me as this was my first visit to the country my Mum was born in.. Then we traveled onto North Korea.

Forbidden Palace, Beijing.

We were only allowed to visit DPRK for five days as you have to seek permission for NGO delegations. Part of this included inter-agency meetings we had arranged with The Red Cross, UN, World Food Programme etc and visiting some of our field programs, seeing the flood damage and making reports, assessments, gathering footage, photos, stories, interviews etc.

On arrival at the airport our mobiles were confiscated and we were given a receipt to retrieve them on exit, as calls are monitored and you are allocated 'minders' or officials who check your itinerary and again monitor your movements.

I was surprised at how beautiful the country is and the average person was so welcoming, but this is in contrast to the dictatorship, poverty and a crumbling infrastructure and it felt so surreal at times as we traveled and were watched at every move. North Korea by the way has the world's fifth largest army of one million, despite only being a population of around 23million.

On this note I also had a scary moment when a gun was cocked and held at me in the dark, but it all worked out ok and my security training kicked in as laid my things on the floor, held my hands up and kept calm (until I got back safely to my room that is!)

I was also really encouraged when global news agency Reuters offered me a job based on my photos, footage and stories, as we met them and other media to do planned media interviews in Beijing as we exited North Korea.

Then briefly back to Bangkok on route home to Hyderabad, I was up until 4am the night I arrived editing the footage for our global offices/media to use. I have never slept so well on a plane when traveling later that day.

Since being back we've had a Hindu festival in India again. Ganesh took place this Tues, as the night before India had won the T20 cricket world cup and seeing the city light up in fireworks the sound of shouts and drums, bikes racing down the street with flags on the back was really fun.

We've also caught up with friends since we've been back. I had a girls night out here recently for a birthday and Gareth had a boys night out while I was recently away (a night of sport on TV and pizza). Its also been another round of birthdays and different events for us so we've been kept busy gift buying, cooking meals and eating too much!

I could share so much more about my trip to North Korea and China etc, but maybe I'll save it to this short update and update you more individually if interested. On a final note huge congrats to our friends Athena and Paul on the birth of their son William.

Legends

2007-09-18T10:58:00.000+05:30

This is possibly the best commentary ever.

The night boys became men.

All singin', all dancin'

2007-08-07T16:54:00.000+05:30

The last few weeks have seen us dancin' and singing a number of times, continue to travel the world, see family and friends, take part in courses, have busy work period and be involved in some great church events and daily life. We completely recognize we have been rubbish at updating the blog recently, life has taken over a little and we have had even less time to post news.

But one singing all dancing night was to the music of Martin Smith and Stu G from the band Delirious? visiting our church Pearl City. This was an amazing event, many people who hadn't been to a gig at church before really enjoyed it and the place was packed out. More pix and news to follow.

Delirious command the stage, Martin Smith & Stu G...

Another dancin' moment was a dinner party including expat and Indian friends we had over to our apartment. I cooked for 10 people a Jamie Oliver, 'proper bloke sausage pasta' dish. Took some effort and many pans on our hob, but with a salad and bread courtesy of the Marriott we had a fabulous meal, that's not me saying this but friends, honest! We then went onto dancing all night in our kitchen/tiny balcony to some great 80's sounds.

Good friends; Lynden and Rajani..

Other news we need to share is our weekend trip to Jaipur - including elephant riding, visiting some amazing forts and palaces.

The stunning Amber Fort

Plus I (Andi) recently had a visit to Australia with part security/conflict training for both personal and team situations (some interesting stories to tell inc being 'fake' shot at, ambushed, evacuated at 2a.m.) Then having few days to see my sister and family after and again some stories to tell of both these events and promise I will write these up. Plus Gareth's brief trip to the UK for his Aunt & Uncle's 70th birthday celebrations and a Cam's wedding all held on same weekend.

Sadly there have been more bombings in Hyderabad and many lives lost so please pray for peace and for the city to settle. Thankfully no-one we knew was affected but this doesn't negate the fact that a normally peaceful city is losing lives and experiencing terrorism. Last night saw a lock down by police of some businesses/schools/restaurants etc as they keep peace in the city and try and find out those who committed the act.

There has now been three bombs in three months, but most people on the street are determined to carry on as normal and not let this change life in this fantastic city.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070828/ap_on_re_as/india_bombings_1

I (Andi) head off to North Korea with work next week but before this Gareth and I have friends visiting from Australia for few days and a trip is planned to the Taj Mahal for the first time. Again we will have to update you with pix and stories. So this is a holding page! for more news to come and we'll be in touch again soon.

Hope you're all well.

Love,

Gareth and Andi.

Sacrifices...

2007-07-26T12:35:00.000+05:30

We've had another relatively busy week after Gareth's return from his marathon global trip. Taking Monday off to recover meant he had a much needed long lie in especially as jet lag kicked in and a number of days of not being able to sleep till 4am was starting to take its toll. Eventually he got back into a regular sleep pattern and was able to take some time to rest.

Good-bye guys, we'll miss you

The weekend after he returned saw us wave goodbye to one set of expat friends after their two years in India. Paul, Athena and son Taylor waved a teary farewell before boarding their plane back to the States where Athena is due to give birth to their second child later in the year. After the group lunch with them we almost immediately said 'hello' to our friend Pete from London, visiting us in Hyderabad for a couple of days as he was over in Chennai with work for a little while.

Was lovely to see him standing there at the airport and we whisked him off for dinner that evening in a restaurant, that as far as possible did not serve spicy food. Pete is not a lover of spices and his taste buds are highly tuned to seeking out any errant chilli flakes etc lurking in the dish. This skill was quickly demonstrated, as in India asking for 'no spice' translates as 'less spice' to most restaurants. Pete's meal therefore had to be sent back and made again, this time in their minds as bland as possible so he could enjoy.

Andi, Pete and Gareth (two cameras on us at one time meant eyes in different directions!)

However it was a nice start to our time with him and we rose early Sunday to head to church and go on after for a tour of some of the sights of Hyderabad. This day however we hadn't realised was a festival unique to the city - a festival of colour. So when we arrived after lunch at our first stop Golkonda Fort, which we've talked about in earlier blogs, we were suddenly struck by the abundance of colours stretched out before us.

How many different colours can you count...?

Sarees, scarves, blankets, pots, pans etc were brightly coloured and looking beautiful with the place itself packed out. Sunday being a day off for most we knew it would be busy, but the Fort was heaving as people came out to celebrate the festival. Some were plucking or chopping up chickens to then cook in pots for family meals and there was a number of different smells as dishes were being prepared.

This leads us to our first unique part of the story, witnessing the sacrifice of a goat or more correctly the goat had already been sacrificed and we were seeing the aftermath. Out of the three of us, I the non-red-meat-eater saw the most of the goat with its throat cut being held down in the last throes of death, as blood streamed down the path. A 'glorious' moment for me and one I am unlikely to forget or encourage me to eat goat.

Then pushing up the path being greeted by many 'namastes' or 'hi's' as we were one of very few western faces visiting that day. Hearing the beat of the drum and passing the crowds who were keen to touch the shrine of the Hindu god, we reached the top of the fort and had an amazing view of the city and could imagine something of the lives of those who lived in this impressive structure many, many years ago.

Then the rain started, so working our way back down Gareth the Pied Piper of Hyderabad surrounded by 15 young guys desperate to chat to him, created much excitement as he spoke to them in Hindi and handled some of their many questions.

Pete and I also got caught up in the fun and both Pete and Gareth teased the guys, that they had to pay 50 rupees for every handshake they were asked for.

Making it down to the bottom again we took shelter for a short time, crouched in one of the archways with others, we eventually made a run for it to discover our car had been blocked in by a 4WD and auto van.Drenched by the monsoon rains, the men take charge of the auto van blocking our exit..

This is where Pete impressed the local men while Gareth had to do a 20 point turn, as he and the car park guys managed to push the auto back far enough for us to squeeze out and dripping wet we headed off to our next stop, Charminar in the old city. Scene of bombings a couple of months ago it is now back to normal, we didn't however spend that long before we needed to get back for dinner and rest/dry off at home, as we were saying goodbye to Pete at 5.30 the next morning. This evening also involved the men avidly watching the golf, football and Grand Prix coverage.

We really enjoyed our time with him and also having the chance to later that night skype his wife Fi and son Josh to catch up quickly and say hi, as they wait in the UK for Pete to return home.

A couple of days earlier I (Andi) had been going through a slight cooking revival, suddenly enthused to try some new recipes as much as possible with no oven, one day saw me looking at a recipe for broccoli soup. Preparing all the ingredients I did exactly as Jamie Oliver said and added part of the hot water from the pan into the blender with the softened veg. This is where it started to go slightly wrong...

The blender obviously not coping with the heat, mid blending decided to blow its top off as I stood over it - hot green veg flew up in the air landing mostly on me, the wall and the floor. Gareth hearing a 'small' cry from the kitchen came rushing through to find me standing there head to toe in broccoli. Very sweetly he packed me off to the shower as he set about cleaning up.

That was the end of the soup, but have still been inspired to try some new dishes and Gareth's (and my) stomach is benefiting from the more successful efforts! Attempting to counter balance this, I've been able to enjoy regular swims recently, as the monsoon weather has meant many people locally think it is too 'cold' to swim and at times I have had it to myself and not had to play dodgems in the normally packed pool.

The other amusing but great example of life in India re effects of a power cut, was when I got stuck in our apartment block lift. Coming back from picking up some groceries, dragging in a few heavy bags to the lift I pressed for our floor and half way up the power cut in the building. Now this is a normal occurrence so not something to be worried about. However our back-up generator which powers up the lift and emergency lights in these situations was not responding, so left me stranded between floors and therefore unable to crawl out, for over 20 minutes. Eventually the poor watchman was able to get the power on again and the lift slowly wound its way up to our floor and let me escape the heat.

The coming few weeks see us next Sunday enjoying UK worship band Delirious lead worship at our church, Pearl City, plus play at an evening event the church is also hosting. Tickets for it are also being given out on the streets and going fast - so we hope it's another opportunity for new people to visit and enjoy the music and talks.

Gareth and I have then planned the following weekend a short break to Jaipur in Rajhastan, one of the most beautiful parts of India which boasts stunning palaces, forts, hills and walks. We plan to do some exploring but also take advantage of the hotel amenities to relax.

Amber Fort just one of the many beautiful places to visit on our trip.

After this I (Andi) will then have one more week before I fly to Australia on the 12th Aug with work, where I will be trained in personal and team security during conflict scenarios for when I travel to different countries or respond to disaster situations with my job. This might involve being kidnapped at 5am from my bed and held at 'fake' gunpoint, or walking through an imaginary minefield, as I have to respond as taught...

Some theory and some practical training, it will most definitely be an experience and honestly if someone kidnapped me and held a gun to my head I think most people would have the same reaction - and not sure if any training can ever fully prepare you! "Don't panic Mr Mannering!" (A quote from an old UK TV show, 'Dad's Army', if you're unsure who Mr Mannering is..)

After this I have meetings in the WV Australia office and then a few days holiday to visit my sister Nikki and the family, including seeing how much our niece Ella has grown since the last visit at New Year. Gareth's got some trips with work later in the year, which includes the Philippines this time and America again. Tonight we have dinner with some of his international STL/IBS colleagues who are visiting for a few days.

Work for both of us is still busy but rewarding and we continue to be excited about the church. We've been chatting to them about setting up a 'life group' our end of the city, as existing groups meet far away and with many living this side and currently no group set up, we hope to change this fairly soon. I've also been asked to get involved with the music group.

Our friendships continue to grow and we feel really blessed by these and also knowing, investing into and learning from so many people with different backgrounds, experiences, cultures, countries, languages and religions.

Avocado, Australia and memories...

2007-07-09T15:39:00.000+05:30

The Birthday Boy with Andi, Ben and Libby

Hillsong Conference

The Birthday Breakfast

Do you ever look back at your life so far and are thankful and amazed at the people met, communities part of, friends made, experiences had, cities and countries visited, some mistakes made, some great choices/decisions or a life you may have impacted in some tiny way..

Risks taken (including for me jumping out of a plane!) opportunities, career developed, funny memories, sunsets, crack of dawn moments.. Times you have laughed so hard your side hurt, cried so much your eyes could hardly open, celebrated birth and celebrated the lives of those you've loved and lost - asked yourself and God so many questions and sometimes got answers...

Well I have (Andi) and at this privileged and happy point in my life with my husband in India one of the world's most colourful, rich, poor, generous, tragic, beautiful, unjust and amazing countries, I was reminded of a period in my life as I watched a travel programme the other day. I love travel, history, biography or nature programmes!

The programme was showing St Patrick's Day in Dublin, Ireland this year and I sat there feeling so nostalgic, I could almost smell the air and the atmosphere as I was taken back 14 years to when I was 19 and doing part of my degree in Dublin. I was involved in a local church who that year were part of the annual parade past St Stephens' Green and down O'Connell Street, and there was a group of us taking part.

As an English girl I was dressed in green with Shamrocks all over me and a painted face, belting our hearts out waving flags and banners and walking alongside a float. It was such a great day despite the dismal weather and I made some good friends there during that time. I also got the chance to go to the Trinity University Ball, a famous event which goes through the night and ends up with breakfast, a big greasy fry up at a local caf'.

Though I was studying at DCU I had many friends at Trinity Uni and was formally invited by a guy to the event and even given a corsage, which I pinned to my gown not always a norm in the UK, more American Proms I think.

Why am I telling you all this, I don't know really! Maybe I'm just thinking about the past few weeks and events in our life here and how much has changed and yet how much remains the same. In the sense of friendships, community, church involvement, love, food, laughter, dancing, great cities etc, etc.

These last few weeks we've celebrated a number of events some of which were birthdays including Gareth's. One birthday for a friend Rajiv was great fun and involved a game of football boy/girl mixed teams. Only four-a-side we were all shattered at the end, but took me back to high school when I played in a girls side and we won the Yorkshire schools championship. I felt I played ok after so many years, and even managed to score past Gareth twice, though his version of events may include the comment, "I let her" . That is blatantly untrue.

I had a women's' church breakfast one Saturday morning, which was a great way of getting to know many of the women in the church better most of whom are Indian and just two of us expats and hear more about plans for community work etc. Plus as per many women's get togethers, it involved a lot of good food including homemade banana and toffee muffins!

Gareth's birthday was also lovely. As is our tradition for each other I planned a surprise day for him prior to a dinner in the evening with friends. I had a cake made with the MK Dons (football or Soccer for you Yanks)logo on the front, which was a bit of surprise. The evening dinner itself was held outside, candles burning we had our own 'tent', and despite the high winds that night we had a lovely meal with good friends.

Part of the birthday day itself rained as we are in monsoon season, which means lovely cool weather and rain which cleans the dusty roads. After a special lunch I had then planned for a swim in the hotel pool, secretly packing our cossies and then next driving onto one of the palaces in Hyderabad we had not visited. Well with lunch done and the rain still coming down we discussed our options and thought why should the weather stop us, hey we're British after all!

So as the only ones in the pool we hopped into the cold water and in the rain had a game of volleyball, well as much as you can with two of you and me being 5ft 2". Was so much fun and a great memory of the two of us - when Gareth lost his wedding ring... for the third time.

Yes, that's right while hitting the ball over the net the water had loosened the ring which came flying off. This then meant we had to borrow goggles from the hotel (who thought we were mad swimming in the rain) and spend a little time underwater 'Lord of the Rings' style hunting for the ring. Eventually we found it glittering in a corner, Gareth was extremely relieved and will never wear it while swimming again!

Currently he's in the States with work for the last week of two weeks away before returning home, having experienced eight flights in total. The week before he was at the Hillsong Church conference in Sydney. Has been an exhausting but rewarding time for him.

Also while in Sydney he got to spend time with my brother and sister-in-law, Matt and Amanda and their son Noah. They were visiting the conference and know Gareth enjoyed catching up with them when he could. While at Hillsong he had a number of meetings and was also asked to speak at one of the conference seminars, focusing on digital music.

I miss him terribly and can't wait for him to get home, but thankfully the two weeks have managed to fly by with work and time with friends, church.

This is so sad but I got excited about lettuce and avocado being on sale again (well in one grocery the other side of the city!) When I say 'on sale' I mean 'now and again', but for the first time in a long time I made myself a tuna, lettuce, avocado and tomato salad and for those who know me well they know this is heaven with a bit of sweet chilli sauce dressing on the side!

I've also worked out or been given recipes for some new dishes inc using some favourites such as courgettes, kiwi and sweet potatoes plus how to make a chicken and herb lasagna, great mexican salsa and a prawn Pad Thai dish, and all comes off the microwave or the four top gas stove.

We are planning ahead for a number of visitors.. Our friend from London, Pete Garratt is coming for a night and day while in India with work, so will be lovely to have him stay. Then literally three days later one of my best friends and bridesmaids Rachel is flying in for a week.

Later in the year we may see my sister Debs arrive and then Gav and Natalie from Glasgow come for New Year, 2008. Is always fantastic and special to show those we love our lives here and be able to share some of India with them.

I (Andi) am also heading to Australia with work in August for 10 days and will give you more of an update soon.

So a longer blog this time as know we've been very slack over the past months. Pix will be downloaded and added to this blog update soon, when I/we have a chance or the time to save them to my laptop! Hope you're having a good week...

Operational Hazard

2007-06-22T12:50:00.000+05:30

Not sure if this story from South India will have crossed the globe, but it is a bit scary...

NEW DELHI (June 22) - The 15-year-old son of two doctors performed a Caesarean Section birth under his parents' watch in southern India in an apparent bid to gain a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest surgeon.

Instead, the boy's father could be stripped of his licenses and may face criminal charges, officials said Thursday.

Dr. K. Murugesan showed a recording of his son, Dhileepan Raj, performing a Caesarean section to an Indian Medical Association chapter in the southern state of Tamil Nadu last month, said Dr. Venkatesh Prasad, secretary of the association. The video showed Murugesan anesthetizing the patient.

"We were shocked to see the recording," Prasad told The Associated Press, adding that the IMA told Murugesan that his act was an ethical and legal violation.

Murugesan owns and runs a maternity hospital in the city of Manaparai, Prasad said in a telephone interview from Manaparai.

Murugesan, who could possibly be prevented from practicing and face criminal charges for allowing his son to perform the operation, expressed no regret and accused the Manaparai medical association of being "jealous" of his son's achievements, Prasad added.

"He said this was not the first surgery performed by his son and that he had been training him for the last three years," said Prasad.

Murugesan told the medical association that he wanted to see his son's name in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The family could not be immediately reached for comment.

Indians have long had a special fascination with world records, and reports of unlikely feats are staples in the Indian media. The underage surgery is not the first time that record-setting zeal has proved dangerous.

Last year, a 4-year-old boy, Budhia Singh, attempted to run a 43-mile marathon in an attempt to earn a spot in a local record book. Doctors stopped him after 40 miles when he showed signs of extreme exhaustion. Afterward, they found the child to be undernourished, anemic and under cardiac stress.

The baby that Raj delivered was born with a noticeable lump on the spinal cord, Prasad said, but added that the birth defect had nothing to do with the surgery having been performed by a 15-year-old.

Prasad said that his team had reported the surgery to the state's top medical association in state capital Chennai.

State health secretary V.K. Subburaj told reporters Thursday that the government would investigate.

"We'll get the report and then we'll see whether there are any violations ... prima facie it looks like there is a big violation," he said.

"We will definitely take action against the concerned medical officers."

Dinner in the dark...

2007-06-11T10:18:00.000+05:30

We had a round of social engagements and entertaining last week. Josh D'Souza, a friend from STL OM Books came over for dinner Weds night and Thursday we had some American friends Athena, Paul and their son Taylor also over for dinner. Midway though eating we had a power cut, which is a fairly normal occurrence here and when candles come in handy. However we're also lucky that our building has a generator, which kicks in when the power goes off and allows us to use one light and one fan!

Was fun seeing Taylor create a play area in our normally child free apartment, we had an area dedicated to puzzles and books etc and for the first time switched on to the cartoon channel for him to watch. He's a really clever child who has picked up some of the local language Telagu, and speaks English and Spanish also. As they head back to the States his parents are aware that he will now have to adjust to life in the US, as his home has become Hyderabad.

Friday night we drove to the other side of the city for dinner at the home of our friends Rajiv and Renee, where an indoor BBQ was set up and very yummy. Gareth particularly appreciated the homemade red meat burgers. Then Sunday was church. We've started going to a new church called Pearl City, which we're excited about as they focus on community, the poor and have great music and teaching. The church, which is only nine weeks old already sees over 100 people coming and new people arrive each week. Has also got a lot of young people though the church is a mix of ages - next week I (Andi!) am attending a women's breakfast and we also hope to go to one of the 'life groups' held in a coffee shop across the city during the week.

After church we went onto Taylor's birthday party as he turned two. Held at Pizza Hut the Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh characters there to entertain the children, had most clearly seen better days. The outfits needed a good wash and brush and one child was so bemused by them he held off having a drink, which meant he would need the bathroom, which meant he would have to pass by these guys on the way to get there! Despite this it was a lot of fun and Taylor enjoyed himself. Watching the expat and Indian children dancing together to a mix of Hindi/Bollywood music, with their faces painted with either Spiderman or butterfly masks was really cute.

The monsoon is now moving towards Hyderabad and we have seen a marked difference in the weather as it has turned a bit cooler, with more rain. This is lovely as the other day working in my home office I had three power cuts, one of which lasted over an hour. When it's in the 100's and you're trying to work with no fan on or any air flow at all - a cold shower is the most pleasurable thing in the world!

Work continues to be busy for us both, but manageable with some good things being achieved and we're enjoying an extended time at home before Gareth heads to Australia and the States at the end of June.

Passed The Test!

2007-06-04T20:16:00.000+05:30

Yesterday I (Gareth) sat and passed my official Indian driving test! Without any lessons! (some of you may be thinking I have already posted about this, but that was to get my "Learners License", this is the real deal).

The test itself was a bit of a joke...I had to drive in a figure of eight (without hitting anything) and then reverse around an "H" shaped course before finishing - a little less intense than the UK version. There is also no one in the car with you, they watch from strategically placed CCTV cameras.

So, it's all very exciting and the license lasts until 2027, so we should be ok before it expires. Andi will be next and I'll be able to prep her on all the necessary details..."go forward"..."go back"..."well done, you've passed".

Of course nothing could prepare you for the reality of the Indian roads - that is a lesson in animal instincts (literally, when trying to dodge the cows).

Celebrating 365 days of Marriage!

2007-05-22T22:11:00.001+05:30

Well, we've just arrived back from a long weekend in Mumbai celebrating our first wedding anniversary. It was such a great weekend, filled with relaxation, swimming, sight-seeing, catching up with friends, eating some great food, and most importantly spending some quality time together. We both loved the city and were also glad to be out of Hyderabad during all the bomb commotion.

Andi flew to Bangkok the day after we got back and will be back Saturday, so I am on my lonesome having to cook for myself (or remember the Domino's number...not difficult as it is in my phone memory) and motivate myself to get back to the gym.

Here are a few pics of the anniversary weekend...

Andi and I with Arun and Reena at a Goan restaurant in Bombay

The Elephant Caves, a short boat trip from Bombay

Andi at The Gateway Of India

Our champagne breakfast celebrating 1 whole year of married bliss!

Latest news from Hyderabad..

2007-05-21T13:31:00.000+05:30

As we were waiting for our flight to Bombay this was the news that hit the TV screens in Hyderabad airport...

We take for granted our safety and freedom in this lovely city and have visited the historical area of Charminar many times, which is mostly peaceful and so generous and friendly. We are very sad for the families who lost loved ones or those injured and caught up in this tragedy.

Taken from BBC Online South Asia news..

Bomb hits historic India mosque

At least 13 people have been killed in a bomb explosion at a historic mosque and subsequent rioting in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, police said.

At least nine people were killed and dozens more hurt in the blast during Friday prayers at the Mecca Masjid, one of India's biggest mosques.

Several more people were killed when police opened fire on a crowd of protesters near the mosque.

Police said they also found and defused two homemade bombs near the mosque.

Interior Minister Shivraj Patil said the explosion at the entrance to the mosque was caused by a "crude bomb".

It is not clear who carried out the attack.

People started running helter-skelter, there was such confusion - people were bleeding, running around in a very bad condition

Abdul Quader
Injured man

The BBC's Omer Farooq, in Hyderabad, says police have sealed off the area around the mosque but there are reports of clashes between both rival groups and police and protesters elsewhere in the city.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the attack and urged citizens "to maintain peace and communal harmony".

YS Rajashekhar Reddy, chief minister of Andhra Pradesh state, of which Hyderabad is capital, said the bombing was an act of "sabotage on the peace and tranquillity in the country".

Injured

The blast took place as thousands of Muslims were ending Friday prayers at the Mecca Masjid.

Hyderabad is one of the biggest cities in southern India and has a large Muslim population, many of whom live in the congested old city where the mosque is located.

There was chaos and anger after the explosion. Many in the congregation ran for cover, some covered in blood. Ambulances ferried the injured to hospital.

"I was very close to the spot of the blast," one man, Abdul Quader, who escaped with minor leg injuries, told the Associated Press news agency.

The area near the mosque was left strewn with personal possessions

"As soon as prayers ended, we were about to get up, there was a huge deafening blast sending bodies into the air," he said.

"People started running helter-skelter, there was such confusion. People were bleeding, running around in a very bad condition."

Crowds angered by what they said was police failure to protect them gathered and began throwing stones at riot police, who responded with tear gas.

Some reports say police fired live ammunition at the protesters.

Several people were killed in the clashes, officials say.

There are fears that the number of dead from the bombing could rise further. Police say some of the injured are in a serious condition.

Last year more than 35 people were killed after bomb attacks near a mosque in the western state of Maharashtra. It is still not clear who carried out those attacks.

We're Back!

2007-05-13T18:10:00.000+05:30

So we’re back home in India, after a whirlwind three weeks some of which saw us experience:

One dislocated knee, travel to four countries, seven cities, take around 10 flights (Scotland is of course included in these countries!) and sleep in 11 different beds (between us). Attend two weddings, be best man and sing at one of these weddings (Gareth and I respectively) and MC at the other.

Gavin & Natalie's wedding, near Edinburgh

Have an early celebration of our one-year wedding anniversary plus my brother and sister-in-laws pregnancy and nephew Noah’s first birthday. Organised by Andi’s parents, dinner was held in a candlelit private room in the hotel where we had our reception. A funny moment was our very cute nephew Noah, with fabulous pick pocketing skills quietly routing in my bag to be later found wandering around clutching a box full of tampons...

Noah...

I (Andi) did a school presentation about my job and World Vision to 50 11-year olds in Glasgow organised by my niece Erin it went well, but the highlight for me were some of the questions they asked after which include: “How is your self esteem working for such a large organisation?” What???

Another goodie... “Do you feel your salary matches your lifestyle?” Okey dokey then, 11-year-olds going on 50.

We ate more three course meals than you can shake a stick at, (put on weight), visited many friends, a couple of fantastic BNO’s (if you were there you’ll understand), attend three different church services one of which I, Andi bumped into an old University friend, renewed visas and passports. Had meetings and worked, Andi in the World Vision UK office for a week and Gareth in both the States and then a few UK meetings - met/cuddled the two babies of friends for the first time.

‘Planes, trains and automobiles’ movie has nothing on us!

It was a really special, slightly exhausting time, but overall we achieved everything we needed to do with an occasional hitch along the way!

We unpacked the night we got back and some of the interesting items we collected on our travels include... Silver polish, a hard drive, liquorices, cous cous, green tea with lemon, leftover wedding confetti (spilt in the bag) DVD of the movies 'The Queen', 'Little Miss Sunshine' and the series 'Extras', other DVD’s/CD's, books, a knee strap, and some packets of sausage casserole mix and cheese sauce.

Waking up this morning I (Andi) had to remind myself we’re back in India, however the heat clearly confirmed this, we are not exaggerating when we say it is very, very hot. We had dinner with friends Saturday night in their home. The coolest place was their bedroom so we sat on their bed eating pizza and catching up, slightly weird but very comfortable.

We officially celebrate our one-year wedding anniversary on the 20^th May, which also makes it almost five years overall together and have planed a weekend in Mumbai (Bombay) to do this. We’re staying in the Hilton, having lunch one day with some WV friends, Reena and her husband and going to completely relax taking advantage of the lovely hotel and pool and also explore the city, though right now floating in the pool is looking really good!

On the road again...

2007-04-24T16:20:00.000+05:30

Guess what, we're traveling again! Gareth's in the States and I'm in the UK. He's had meetings in Colorado Springs and then onto Nashville for a conference and more meetings. I am currently working in the World Vision UK office in Milton Keynes having first had a weekend in London staying with good mates Fi & Pete, meeting their baby Joshua, catching up with my friend Wendy and bumping into an old university friend at church on the Sunday, small world syndrome. We also have to renew our visas and passports while here.

Is lovely catching up with friends, old work mates in Milton Keynes and am staying with some other good friends Kate & Kenny who are very kindly giving me a home/bed while here and when G arrives on Thursday night. We then fly to Glasgow to see family and back to MK for a few days and wedding. Then Edinburgh for another wedding and down to York for more family and onto Heathrow to sleep our way back to India.

Also over the weekend I caught up with my friend Rach one of my bridesmaids. Some of our time was spent in the beautiful country around Godstone in Surrey, walking for a few hours in the sunshine, daffodils, bluebells etc. That's something that you miss - the change in seasons and UK in spring is gorgeous.

Coming back after a longer period of time and having made Hyderabad home, I can feel/see the differences a bit more and does feel a little strange at times, but of course is all familiar. Things like cost for example - a 45 min train journey in peak time cost me 40 pounds the other day, as opposed to paying $10 for a 12 hour overnight journey from Hyderabad to Chennai inc a bed and sleeping pack.

The huge choice in UK supermarkets is also obvious, you don't notice it when living here, but again you can see the differences. These are just obvious examples, however Indian logic, thinking or attitudes, social interaction are also different and again I can see that coming back this time.

But neither are right or wrong, though I think British Rail still overcharge, I guess it's just relevant to the culture and economy. We've hired a car and I (Andi) picked it up the other night and had to mentally force myself not to beep someone to move lanes, alert them to my overtaking or give a warning etc, as per daily driving in India, scary!

Is sometime hard to explain life for us in India when people ask what it's like, of course there are some things that people can identify with, but is also unique or almost hard to describe.

Anyway this is just a little update blog, as we'll try and write some more news when back in India.

"I think we should get a plumber"

2007-04-10T15:01:00.000+05:30

Two events this week, the first is we've joined a gym. Whether that will last we'll see!

The other is we had a mini flood in the apartment. Possibly due to the excessive heat our emergency water tank in the roof burst a leak and started gushing out - at first into the main shower (throne) room. This was not too much of a problem, as it could be contained and head down the drain. However the tank borders onto the kitchen and water started running down one of the walls and pouring out onto the floor.

As Gareth was out at the time I (Andi) called the landlord having first tried to climb up and turn the main water mains off myself (my dad would be proud).. However this was not the problem. There was an actual leak in the tank and the water just kept a comin'..

So calling Mr Yadav our landlord, a lovely man but who has a tendency to be a little slow to react, I asked him if he could call a plumber asap. He wanted more details than,"water is coming down the walls and flooding the floors" and asked me to check with our watchman if there was any solution I may not have spotted....

So I did this and Srinivas made his way slowly up the three floors to check if he could do anything, which he couldn't. Standing there, slowly shaking his head he said, 'I think you should get a plumber.'

I then called the landlord again, he asked to speak to Srinivas in Telugu to check on the situation. Fine, then after this he comes back on the line to me and says, 'I think we should get a plumber'.

By this time the water was lapping my feet and no amount of mopping it onto the balcony or frequent emptying of buckets was making a difference... Are you getting bored with this story yet??

All this culminated in my being told at 12pm that a plumber would be there by 1.30. So by 2.30 I called to check on the status/eta of the plumber and was told he will definitely be there at 3.30.

5.30pm the plumber arrived, we have never had such a clean floor. The leak was stopped and we managed to get a couple of other things fixed at the same time.

So endeth the story..

I love Indian stretchable time.

Have a heart for ducks...

2007-04-04T14:32:00.000+05:30

Wow what a past few weeks, has been especially busy. As the weather moves into the 100's we don't seem to have slowed down, but wonder why we get tired, duh!

Having been last week in Chennai for another conf (Andi), where this time I took part in training mostly program officers around comms for a regional disaster team, which meant helping them understand how communications and media works and putting them through interviews and writing reports, stories etc! But was good time despite the 8 a.m. starts and late nights.

Three of the conference leaders in Chennai - (From left) Edward, Mike and Richard...

Then got back to go straight to friends daughter's two-year-old birthday party held at the Hyderabad Marriott - was a fun 'do', a highlight of which was after the children had finished a number of us 'adults' hopped onto the bouncy castle!

Then Monday morning as many of you might have read/seen on the news, a tsunami hit the Solomon Islands, which meant that from early morning every day till now and will continue over the next few days, I have been focusing particularly on responding and supporting the communications for the World Vision global partnership, media and region. This means not just media but updates, news releases, overall situation reports and making sure the right pix, stories and footage are being facilitated from the Islands.

As World Vision are one of the largest NGO's there, this meant that the response was fairly swift in helping people whose lives had been devastated by the earthquake/tsunami.

Tonight after work I cook a meal for friends for our (well we try and doesn't always work out) weekly American Idol update and have tried to tidy the apartment, which seems to gather dust every day and then welcome my husband home from Mumbai where he's been in meetings for the day.

Another interesting, or to me at least, story from the past few weeks is that I almost ate a duck's heart. That's right - when in rural Thailand recently we visited a very local cafe for lunch and the only dish on the menu was duck and noodles. So that's what I ordered... When it arrived I saw a number of what looked like almond nuts. Lifting one up with my chopsticks I happened to mention this fact to the Thai WV staff and saw their expressions change as they explained to me, that that it wasn't exactly going to taste like a nut...

On a different note I have had my position as crisis and relief comms manager for Asia Pacific re-confirmed as due to budget was originally on a six month contract, which means I must be doing something right! Then in two and a half weeks I head back to the UK - one week of which includes work. Gareth is in the States at the same time and then we meet in the UK for visa renewal, weddings, family and friends.

So finally. Gareth and I wish you a blessed and happy Easter and look forward to catching up with you again soon.

The Kerala Adventure - Part Two

2007-03-29T09:08:00.000+05:30

The second installment of my journal entries during the trip to Bangalore and Kerala...

"So yesterday was the wedding and it was very nice - almost entirely in Malayalam (the local language of Kerala) - but very nice. It was completely different to our wedding and really any wedding back home. It was more a formality, but this largely because the couple do not know each other - so the western focus on celebrating the couple's love is not something that can play a major part.

There were THREE sermons (yes, THREE), two of which were in English translations, and many felicitations (their word, not mine) and considered advice shared. We had a GREAT meal afterwards and then had the two-bus journey back to Bangalore.

I enjoyed visiting rural Kerala - there is something very authentic and genuine there that is not so apparent in the metro cities. People are content with who they are and what their lives consist of, whereas in the city, people are striving for something more, and usually something more western.

Something I have never done before is pray for a car! The driver we had from Sultan Batheri to Pulpally had bought the car the day previous - so we were his maiden voyage. Because of this, Ummen asked me to pray for the driver and for a blessing on his car...which I did from the back seat - another first.

Prices were not high in this area - the Bangalore - Mysore bus (3 hours) was £2 each ($4), Mysore - Sultan Batheri (3 hours) was £0.70 each ($1.40), and breakfast for three people was £0.40 ($0.80) in total.

Other new things tried during the trip were Karangali water and Geera water (boiled water with different ayurvedic additions, including tree bark), and paththiri for breakfast which cam with a lamb dish (FOR BREAKFAST!?!?)...."

The Kerala Adventure - Part One

2007-03-26T10:10:00.000+05:30

I completely forgot to put on the blog my experience in Bangalore and Kerala (including the Indian wedding), so thought I would give you some excerpts from my journal...(pictures to follow)

"Yesterday was an interesting day.

Life is full of choices. You can choose to play it safe or you can choose adventure. Neither is necessarily right or wrong, just a different path. When Binu invited us to his wedding, it was going to be a difficult choice. He is a good friend and was desperate for us to be there, but we knew Andi would be in Thailand, so I had to decide whether or not to go alone. After a few discussions, I worked out that it may be feasible to incorporate a work trip to Bangalore and go to the wedding in Kerala (another state) on the Saturday.

So yesterday, I travelled by train (12 hours), car (6 hours), bus (6 hours) and auto (10 mins) – I crossed three states: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala, and I finished up staying in a Catholic seminary in a tiny village called Sultan Bathuri. All this because I chose adventure.

I travelled with Ummen, which definitely helped break any language barriers and also provided some company for the trip. I also tried Appam (rice dish) for breakfast for the first time (it came with an egg curry).

I love seeing the authentic India – the one you can only see when travelling by train or bus – especially bus. The first bus was a decent air conditioned vehicle which included a TV showing the latest Bollywood offering. The second bus from Mysore to Sultan Batheri was “old school”…to say the least, and was populated by many guys in the lungi (wrap around) and rags around their head. Just before the Karnataka/Kerala border, an elephant was just standing by the side of the road – the people nearby seemed to be taking no notice.

Tonight we had a great meal at a restaurant that has not seen a foreigner for a VERY long time…if at all! The meal was topped off with a Keralan speciality, lime tea – which was amazing! Looking forward to the wedding tomorrow…"

Seven Reasons I Am Becoming More Indian

2007-03-22T21:05:00.000+05:30

1. THE HANDKERCHIEF: I always thought I would have to be 60 years old before I bought the real deal cotton handkerchief. However, it is actually a necessary part of Indian life - not just to blow your nose, you also need to dry your hands, clean your face, and many other things. So I finally succumbed and am now the proud owner of 4 pristine 100% cotton handkerchiefs. I feel old.

2. THE HEAD WOBBLE: I never thought this would affect me. It's one of the first things you notice when conversing with Indians - they don't just nod, they wobble. And recently I noticed an inadvertent, subconscious movement of my own head that has never been part of my persona before. It definitely makes things easier and makes me more understood, more quickly (which is not an easy task for a Scotsman in Hyderabad)

3. WATER DRINKING: When you buy a bottle of water, especially a large bottle, you cannot presume that you will be the exclusive user of that bottle, therefore most Indians have developed the technique of pouring water into the mouth without touching the lips. Previous attempts from me have resulted in more water across my face and clothes than in my mouth. However in the last few weeks I have mastered the technique and can now proudly say I can drink like an Indian.

4. HAND GESTURES: Indians are very expressive and use their hands frequently as they talk. I have begun recently to use my hands as I talk. Not sure how much it helps in the clarity of my communication, but sometimes you just have to realise that the people around you rub off on you.

5. THE MOUTH NOISE: When Indians are slightly annoyed or are being misunderstood and want to correct that misunderstanding they make a noise by a sharp intake of breath and the sound of the tongue against the inside of the mouth, a bit like a "tut" (not an easy noise to describe). It is not a particularly nice noise and one I actually found quite rude when I first arrived here. But recently it has become a habit of mine - especially if someone cuts in front of me while driving. Not sure if I want this to continue, but it's not easy breaking a habit.

6. EATING WITH HANDS: If you eat in the less developed parts of Indian cities and villages, it is unlikely you will automatically be given a fork and spoon - and almost definitely not a knife. Therefore you have to learn how to use your right hand as an eating implement - and I love it! Maybe it's psychological, but I think the food tastes a lot better that way. It's more fun too.

7. BOLLYWOOD CD'S: Bollywood is huge. DVD, VCD (Video CD), and audio products sell in huge numbers - not to mention theatre ticket sales. Recently I have used our well earned money to purchase two such CDs - and I love them. They may be cheesy, but there is definitely a time and place for that!

Learner Driver

2007-03-19T09:54:00.000+05:30

(click on the image for a bigger picture)

Well, I (Gareth) can now officially announce that I am the proud owner of an Indian learner's driving license (I realise that may sound like I have found an Indian learner driver and taken their license from them, but that's not what I mean). The even more exciting news is that in one month's time, I will have my very own full license!

The process of obtaining the learner's license was very entertaining. First of all, it took about 5 months to actually get the agent to contact us. But once he called, the process went ahead at full steam...to the point that I drove to the driving school centre, waited about 20 minutes, was then ushered into the office where I was told to sit behind one of the three computer screens. They hadn't even mentioned a test, but obviously this is what I was about to do...or thought I was about to do.

In the end, all I actually had to do was hold my finger down on the control key of the keyboard, while the examiner answered all the questions!!! He slowed down for a couple to see if I had any idea, but even if I said the wrong answer he pressed the correct button. Most of the questions went so fast, I didn't even have a chance to read them! The funny thing is that he only got 16 out of 20 correct (although he did the same for the other two "students" and got 16 with them also).

What a country.

English lessons...again!

2007-03-14T13:22:00.000+05:30

When we first arrived in India, we knew there would be some language barriers, and there has been. However, we did not expect to have language barriers when it came to using English! However, we have discovered that in India there are a few words here and there that we have had to add to our English vocabulary. Some of the words are olde English words, but others are completely new and could potentially be the fault of the British Raj during their reign in the country. Here are a few examples...

And finally......

2007-03-13T10:39:00.000+05:30

While I was away I was also asked by various curious people about my wedding and the day's events, as each country often has its own traditions. So if you're interested and to my colleagues who wanted to see photos - here is a link to our photographer's website as she was keen to display some of the photos from our day on her site.

http://www.annemarieking.co.uk/gallery02/gallery02.html

Coming home after 12 days away, Gareth had been a fantastic husband stocking the fridge with food, putting flowers in the vase and wait for it... sweeping two of the floors in the apartment! He said that after two rooms, he was so hot and tired he couldn't do anymore.. I appreciated the effort!

Also while away I read 'Blue Like Jazz' by Donald Miller. This book has challenged and encouraged my spiritual life as I seek truth and honesty in my Christian faith. He doesn't shy away from difficult questions but communicates so effectively and simply. I really recommend checking it out for, as he describes it, "non-religious thoughts on Christian spirituality".

This is also a couple more pix from my trip, the one I took of the pig is completely irrelevant to the conference but I just like the photo! As I took it the flash went off and the pig/bird stirred. As you might see from the picture he's kinda big so as he moved towards me - it was time to leave..

The following day after I got back, Sunday, we were at church in the morning and one of the best quotes I have heard for a while made in light of marking International Womens Day, was, "Women are God's favourite creation." I think some men may have a comment on this!

Later that day we attended an Indian friend's birthday celebration. Held at the Hyderabad Boat Club, it was great fun with some interesting Hindu traditions, including wrestling the birthday boy to the ground and then kicking him (slightly too) hard on the backside as many times as the age he is celebrating...he then had the birthday cake smeared across his face, all in all he has a pretty rough time of it!

Two weeks in Thailand. Part two...

2007-03-12T17:08:00.000+05:30

One of the two teams taking part in the disaster planning simulation....

After a weekend of setting up and final conference plans, plus eating lots of Thai food inc seafood, which I LOVE (I must have had Tom Yum soup every day for 10 days!), Sunday night rolled round and on the opening evening for the conference we held a photo competition and official dinner/speeches, with an exhibition displaying each of the WV country offices submissions. The subject was HIV/AIDS and some powerful photos and captions were on display as everyone wandered around wearing their national dress.

I surprised people by wearing my saree, having decided before to dress in my current national dress from India...this made the WV India team very proud! Besides apart from a Morris dancer outfit or some Union Jack shorts (never going to happen) there isn’t really a UK national outfit (not an English one anyway)!

Our special guest speaker was an 11-year-old boy from Cambodia who is HIV positive and has lost both his parents. He moved all of us to tears, but inspired at the same time. He was just a typical young lad in many ways who WV Cambodia were supporting with his brother, but had been through so much and again reminded us all that children are our priority and helping them use their voice to tell their stories.

One of the photos I took while in a World Vision community programme...hasn't she got a great smile!

The week itself was great, despite early starts and late nights as per usual conference mode - it was a great time of learning, sharing and getting to know each other. Overall around 14 plus Asia Pacific countries were represented in the week. Another encouraging aspect was meeting some of the teams I have worked with in the past four/five months and have them say how they appreciated it, felt supported and have seen good work outputs/learnings.

However one of the sad things of being in Pattaya, a tourist resort where WV also has some projects, was seeing so many white, western older men with very young, pretty Thai girls and boys. It is easy to generalise and judge, but nine times out of ten it probably is sex exploitation. At the same time many of the Thai men and women were controlling the situation, earning some money and waiting for the next flow of tourists to fly in.

During the week I was speaking at and managing a few seminars, as well as making sure with Katie and James that the conference ran smoothly - so at times I was feeling a little out of my comfort-zone. But with prayer (!) and lots of preparing/planning, I felt my sessions and entire week went really well with good involvement and feedback.

Here's a couple of pix from the week...

The Asia Pacific regional communications team posing... Katie, me and James.

Two weeks in Thailand. Part one....

2007-03-12T16:51:00.000+05:30

Sounds good doesn’t it and it was - but not because I was lying on a beach sipping a pina colada, as at times I may have wished for! I was there for the regional communications conference and also some meetings I had before in Bangkok, which went really well. I flew out from Hyderabad on the 27^th Feb to arrive the same evening and make my way to the hotel in Bangkok. The next few days were spent finalising plans for the conference and lots of meetings with the Asia Pacific office directors, among others. I love my new laptop rucksack, which crammed full was flung on my back each night as I hopped onto the back of one of the many motorbike taxis, which whiz around the city... Cheap and effective they beat the heavy Bangkok traffic and are great fun into the bargain.

On the Friday we left Bangkok stopping off at the airport to pick up my colleague Katie and head further in Thailand. On the way we spent time at one of our World Vision long term community programmes, to check on a disaster preparedness simulation we had planned to train a few teams the next week. We met some of the fantastic community members and WV staff who were helping us by being actors for the day. Having provided scripts, notes etc for them I needed to check everyone was happy and prepared, which apparently they were as they asked if an Oscar for the best performance would be presented at the end!

Leaving them with everything ready for a fake flooding scenario the next week (!), we went on to our final destination Pattaya, where we were staying in a hotel shaped like a ship, very interesting! Was nice to see the ocean and to be honest that’s all I did the whole week - gaze longingly at the sea as we didn’t have any time to do much more but work!

More to come in part two, hope it's not too boring!

From the frying pan...

2007-02-28T13:27:00.000+05:30

We have always been told to expect the real hot weather from March to May...

...well...

...it has begun...

...in February! The last few days have been in the low 90's and it's only expected to get hotter in the coming weeks and months. Of course, Andi and I have had the experience of tropical Scotland and Northern England to acclimatise ourselves, but I'm thinking that this may feel slightly different.

One of my colleagues told me that he thought he might be able to judge the temperature outside by the redness of my face!

On Our Travels

2007-02-26T16:20:00.000+05:30

Well, it has been nice to be in Hyderabad for a prolonged period, but it all changes this week. Tomorrow Andi heads off to Thailand for a 10-day conference with World Vision Asia Pacific. She will be in Bangkok for meetings and final conf planning for the first few days and then off to Pattaya for the remainder of the time where she will be speaking at a few seminars and planning a disaster simulation in the field for the teams involved. She'll then have about two weeks back home in Hyderabad before heading off to another conference, this time in Chennai, India for just over a week.

On Thursday, I (Gareth) get the evening train to Bangalore (which takes 12 hours) to visit some of my colleagues and also attend a wedding, which is actually in another state called Kerala (I'll be going there by bus...6 hours), before heading back to Bangalore and then home to Hyderabad early next week. (At least this trip cuts down the number of nights I have to cook for myself!)

Living In Hyderabad - Part One: The Driving

2007-02-22T18:59:00.000+05:30

Many of you have asked us, what is it like to live in India? Obviously it is difficult to put it into words, but we thought we might share a series of videos with you, starting today, on our day-to-day lives here in Hyderabad...and what better place to start, but with the driving. Andi is the driver and we are on our way to my work...

(by the way,if the video is stopping and starting, let it load completely and then play from the beginning, it should play smoothly once you have done this)

Scotch-Indian

2007-02-21T15:07:00.000+05:30

News today that an Indian is ready to take over a Scottish drinks icon...(by the way he is the second alcoholic drinks magnate in India to also own an airline, Kingfisher being the other...it has never seemed a great combination to me, drink and flying!)

Indian eyes Scottish whisky giant
An Indian businessman could be the owner of one of the UK's most famous whisky firm within two weeks, according to press reports. Vijay Mallya has been linked with Glasgow-based Whyte & Mackay since last year but is set to clinch a deal, the Hindustan Times says. Mr Mallya's UB Group is reportedly scrutinising the firm's books ahead of a £550m takeover. Whyte & Mackay's brands include the Jura and Dalmore single malt whiskies. It also owns the Vladivar Vodka and Glayva liqueur and Kingfisher beer labels. Mr Mallya also owns an airline and a fashion label.

Whyte and Mackay said in October 2006 that it had received an unsolicited offer from UB Group. Now the Indian newspaper says a deal is believed to have been agreed and that "the formalities would be completed within a fortnight". P.A. Murali, chief financial officer of UB Spirits confirmed that the process of looking at Whyte and Mackay's books, known as due diligence, is underway. But he said it would be "speculative" to comment on when an agreement would be signed. UB Group dominates the Indian spirits market, which is the world's largest for whisky. But Scotch whisky has only a 1% foothold in the Indian market, because of the tariffs imposed by national and state governments there.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/business/6381339.stm
© BBC MMVII

Ramoji Comedy

2007-02-20T10:11:00.000+05:30

A couple of moments that made me laugh during the trip with my colleagues to Ramoji Film City...check out that landing!

A Weekend Of Firsts

2007-02-19T09:05:00.000+05:30

When you live in a place like India, you find that everyday you see something or experience something that you have never seen or experienced before. This weekend was definitely a weekend of firsts for me (Gareth), here's the list...

First first: I had a toddy.
In Scotland, to have a toddy is to have a whiskey. In India, it is something a little different. On Saturday I was heading to Ramoji Film City (a bit like Universal Studios in the USA) with some work colleagues and we had stopped to have some breakfast by the side of the road. As we were standing there a guy arrives on his motorbike dressed in his underwear and a unkempt shirt...and a rope around him (picture the Indian Indiana Jones). He proceeds to drive passed us to a nearby tree. At the top of the tree there were four or fives items hanging - which I thought were coconuts, but it turns out they were pots. The pots collect the dew from the palm trees, this guy climbs the tree to collect whatever dew has been caught in the pots overnight and he sells the juice either direct (which is diluted with water) or to a local toddy shop, who add some sort of chemical to the juice and make it into alcohol. Now, 8am is a little early for an alcoholic beverage, but we decided to buy some of the pure juice from him (literally just collected from the tree) and actually it was quite refreshing! See the video below where the guy is collecting the juice from the pots (sorry about the camera angle, I wasn't really thinking when I was filming!)

Second First: I ate a chilly
Indian food is spicy - of that there is no doubt. However, Andi and I have definitely begun to acclimatise to the local cuisine and can handle a great deal more spice than when we first arrived. During my visit to Ramoji on Saturday, we had a snack time. The snacks were the usual, samosa, french fries, sandwich. However, there was also a green chilly on each plate. I was holding it in my hand and told by my colleagues (who I thought were to be trusted) that this particular chilly was not actually that hot. After a few moments of quiet consideration, I decided to take a bite. I knew at once (partly due to the surprise and gleeful delight in the faces of those around me) that this indeed was a rather hot chilly. Stinging my mouth first, the sensation then worked it's way to my nose, then eyes, then throat. I coughed, spluttered, and began to cry (like a real man, of course) and water bottles were flung at me from all directions. That may be the last chilly I eat for a long time.

Third first: The Road-side Coconut
We have always been warned not to eat too much from the side of the streets - especially that which has already been cut or opened. However, I have often seen the vendors at the side of the road selling coconuts that they cut open, insert a straw and sell to drink the coconut milk directly. This is something I have been wanting to do, so on Saturday evening as I passed one vendor, I stopped and purchased my first coconut for Rs. 5. I took one sip and decided it may not be wise to use the straw they had given, so drove all the way home with one hand holding the coconut and the other holding the wheel (not easy reverse parking when holding a coconut, don't say I didn't warn you!). It turned out that once I had poured the juice into a glass and had a drink, I didn't really like it, but I am glad I tried it.

My first birthday... in India

2007-02-14T09:38:00.000+05:30

I (Andi) had a really lovely birthday this year, a surprise weekend planned by Gareth started early on the Saturday morning when we visited parts of the city we had not had a chance to get to yet. This included the Qutub Shahi Tombs, that are a stunning display of blended architecture including Persian, Hindu and Pathan, plus explains some of Hyderabad’s history. Amidst beautifully laid out gardens of Ibrahim Bagh there are seven tombs, erected in memory of the departed kings of Golconda. Kings and Queens have lain buried here for over 500 years, around the time the city was forged and you can see Golconda Fort (the old city) in the distance perched on the hill.

Gareth had planned a number of things, which incorporated all the places or activities he knew I had wanted to visit. One was having a massage, which was very relaxing after a long/busy week at work. Thankfully unlike Gareth’s comment from the masseur, I was not told I was too hairy! In fact it was the opposite, as many Indian women do not shave their legs but often their arms, which are more visible.. They are intrigued as to why Western women do and she enquired as to where my hair had gone?!

Later we had a lovely and romantic dinner at the beautiful Marriott Hotel in Hyderabad, where we also stayed for the night. It was such a treat and a few friends who work there had helped Gareth make it even more special. The picture below shows the view from our bedroom window.

Then Sunday my actual birthday, we were woken with an early morning phone call from Australia with my parents, sister, brother-in-law and nephews singing, ‘Happy Birthday’ in beautiful harmony and high volume! We had a quick swim in the pool, breakfast and then went round one of the famous museums in Hyderabad (Salar Jung), which again was a good way of understanding more of the history of Hyderabad, its heritage and rulers over the years.

After a relaxing lunch we popped over to share some birthday cake with Ben, Libby and Shane (3 days old at that point!) and then home to collapse and relax, including taking a few phone calls from family and good friends from the UK, was nice to hear their voices and hear their news.

The following evening we had arranged a dinner with some of our friends here after work. Though it was officially planned for my birthday, it was as much to catch up properly with people, eat great food and enjoy good conversation. There were around 16 of us, a mixture of Indians and expats, with a couple of friends including our neighbours Chitra and Rahul meeting others for the first time, meant it was fairly mixed group of people but we all had a lovely evening.

Overall I can safely say this was a truly special birthday in India and one I won’t forget!

Flower Power

2007-02-12T09:41:00.000+05:30

It is wedding season here in Hyderabad - February considered an 'auspicious' month for Hindu's to get married - and nothing says "I love you" more, than a little bit of flower power! We passed this car as it waited for the bridal party to emerge and thought we had to share it with you all. The amount of flowers used means there's certainly no need for air freshener (however it may not be so easy to see out of the windscreen)!

New arrival...

2007-02-09T15:50:00.000+05:30

We would like to announce a new addition to our family. Wait, before you get excited or start questioning why we didn’t tell you, look below…..

That’s right we are now proud owners of our first ever air con unit. Isn’t it beautiful - the rough hardboard in wood chip colouring, the perfect whiteness of its shiny new buttons, we even have a remote! In all seriousness as the weather starts to go up into the 40’s over the next few months this is going to be essential. Not wanting to spend money on installing air con in the whole house we just have the one, but most importantly it's in our bedroom so we can sleep at night. But we've been assured that the cool air should creep into the rest of the apartment.

On a more exciting and important note we want to say a huge congrats to a number of friends who’ve had babies recently, one set of friends in Hyderabad gave birth literally this morning! Ben and Libby we cannot believe that after having dinner with you the night before we might have triggered the early birth of Shane! We are so happy for you both and cannot wait to spend time with him. Lib maybe when he’s older we can introduce him to the delights of swimming in our local pool!

Also a massive congrats again to Dave& Ro, Fi & Pete and Alistair & Catherine on the birth of their sons. We are really excited about the new additions to your family and hope that in the not too distant future, as we are scattered across the world we might get to spend time with you all.

It's A Small World

2007-02-09T09:59:00.000+05:30

We thought it might be interesting for you to see the breadth of countries represented by people visiting our blog in the last 24 hours. We've still got a bit of work to do on South America and Africa (come on Spearsy!)

(as with all our photos, you can click on the image below to see a larger version)

A Cold Snap?

2007-02-08T13:41:00.000+05:30

It sounds like many of you (especially in the UK and USA) are experiencing some bitterly cold weather at the moment, so we thought we'd add a weather outlook to the webpage....(has anyone any spare sun tan lotion?)

Do you still want to be our friends?

The Joy Of Playing

2007-02-08T09:21:00.000+05:30

Last weekend when we played cricket, there was a little Dalit boy playing cricket with his grandmother next to us. As we have previously mentioned, Dalits are the "untouchables" of Indian society - some upper castes do not even recognise them as human. Despite this, it was so great to see this kid enjoying himself, the same way any kid in the world does when they are playing. Here is a short video of him...

What are you listening to?

2007-02-06T15:25:00.000+05:30

Recommendations for some of the music we’re listening to, books we’re reading and DVD’s we’ve watched… What are yours…?

Music

- Once Again, John Legend
- The Chronicles Of A Bohemian Teenager, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.
- Continuum, John Mayer
- Standing In The Way Of Control, The Gossip
- World Through Your Eyes, Reuben Morgan
- Marga Darshan, Aradhna

Books

- Searching For God Knows What, Donald Miller
- The Sound of Laughter, Peter Kay’s autobiography
- Empire, Niall Ferguson
- News From No Man’s Land, John Simpson (Thanks Nik & Tim for the loan!)
- Lead Like Jesus, Ken Blanchard

DVD’s

- Season 7 of The West Wing... we have an addiction!
- The World’s Fastest Indian, starring Anthony Hopkins
- Still Game Series 5
- Water, by Eric Seema, Raghubir Yadav, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, and Dolly Ahluwalia Tewari

Christmas in February...

2007-02-06T14:26:00.000+05:30

Our watchman Srinivas and his wife have a little boy called Chintu. He is possibly one of the cutest little boys you will meet and incredibly shy. Whenever I (Andi) see him I always say hi or ‘Namaste’ and try and use a little Hindi - generally establishing a friendship with him. The other week I gave him a balloon animal I was given while leaving a restaurant after lunch with a friend - his face was a picture, as he had never seen anything like it. Glancing up at me he gently smiled his thanks.

He never usually speaks or initiates conversation, however he is always curious to see what we ‘whities’ do, or when his father brings up post etc he stands at the door staring into our apartment. So imagine my surprise the other day when waiting for the lift to arrive, Chintu runs towards me and opens his mouth to say, and bear in mind this is now February, “Happy Christmas ma” - I had made a break through!

At Christmas, Gareth and I gave his family and others working in the block, a gift in an envelope marked "Happy Christmas", plus he must have remembered us wishing people ‘Happy Christmas’, as so many times in the past they have wished us ‘Happy Diwali’ or whatever weekly Hindu festival is taking place! So now my friend Chintu can’t stop speaking to me, generally in Telugu the local language, which I don’t really understand. But again the other day he came rushing after me saying, “car, car” as I had left one door open, he had noticed and wanted to warn me.

I love these moments here. They may not seem that amazing or even interesting, but to me it was very special and as I see so many kids scrabbling in bins, working on the streets, begging for money, it is good for the heart to see my little buddy smile. As my birthday approaches and I look forward to celebrating with my husband and friends over dinner, I decided to say to those who were asking me what I would like for a gift this year, to consider instead donating that money or whatever they chose… to the Dalit Freedom Network, which we highlighted in a previous blog.

It sounds so pious I know and I cringe at that, but I do have so much and it’s a small way for me to reconcile some of the poverty we see every day, as close as the next street or the garbage skip up the road. So thank you to my in-laws Gillian, Linda and the family for their generosity and to other friends who may do this. And hey I’m no angel, Gareth still had to buy me a gift to open on the day!

Caste clouds India's high hopes

2007-02-06T09:10:00.000+05:30

Indians want to see their country punch its weight around the world - but are worried the caste system is holding it back, a BBC poll suggests.

Almost two-thirds of respondents in the World Service poll said India being an economic superpower was important.

But 55% thought caste issues were still a "barrier to social harmony".

Visitors to BBC websites chose questions for the survey. A nationally representative sample of 1,616 Indians was interviewed in December.

The poll found that a majority (71%) are proud to be an Indian.

Most also thought it was important that India should be a political (60%) and military (60%) superpower.

A majority were optimistic about many aspects of the modern Indian state - more than half (55%) think the Indian justice system treats rich and poor people fairly, a statistic which some may find surprising given perceived failures in the police and courts.

Nearly as many (52%) think being a woman is no barrier to success any more.

And the survey found that twice as many people (48%) would rather work for a private company than for the government (22%).

But on other topics respondents were less positive.

Forty-seven percent agreed that "corruption is a fact of life which we should accept as the price of doing business in today's world", although younger people were less tolerant of corruption than older people.

And if Indians are agreed on the need for India to be an economic superpower, they are less sure they are seeing the fruits of recent economic growth.

Asked whether India's economic growth over the past 10 years had benefited them and their families directly, exactly the same proportion (45%) said that it had, as disagreed.

One in two (50%) felt that "people in India don't take their religion seriously enough", while two in five (40%) believed that "young people have lost touch with their heritage and traditions".

In total 1,616 citizens in India were interviewed between 5-15 December 2006.

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/6320413.stm

Published: 2007/02/05 00:03:10 GMT

A Sporting Chance

2007-02-05T09:53:00.000+05:30

Well, it was almost inevitable, but finally I (Gareth) have succumbed to the call of India's unofficial national game...cricket! Yes, on Saturday morning I donned the whites and headed off on the back of a teammates motorbike (which was great fun in itself) to bat, bowl, field, and sunbathe.

...and it was a huge success. We were playing a team made up of colleagues from another company and we beat them handsomely by 6 wickets (they were 138 all out and we were 139-4). It was a really great way to spend a Saturday morning, and although I didn't get a chance to bat (because our top order batsmen were too good and finished it off early), I really enjoyed the match. It is actually a great way to get to know people and as the team was made of my colleagues from work, it meant getting to know them a lot better.

It sounds like we may be playing the same team again in a month's time, so I am looking forward to that.

On Sunday, I had my second opportunity to have a round of golf at one of the local courses - and although the fairways are not perfect flowing lawns (due to the intense heat), it actually is a pretty good course. I also won the golf, so am feeling pretty good about myself at the moment, although I know I need to keep my feet on the ground and understand there is still a long way before I can compete with Tiger.

(the only problem with the course is that they charge Rs. 1000 (approx £12) for foreigners and Rs. 150 (approx £2) for locals - a bit hard to take, but you do get a knowledgeable caddy who helps with club selection and other tidbits, so I can stomach the higher fee for the moment)

Tata - An Integral Part Of Indian Life

2007-02-02T09:47:00.000+05:30

Before reading this article, you should be aware that we drive a Tata Car, drink Tata (Tetley) Tea, and watch Tata Sky Television. It is another indication of how fast the Indian economy continues to grow. (thanks to Adam for pointing out this article)
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"We also make steel."

This was the triumphant punch line of a happy Tata Steel television commercial not very long ago.

The commercial wasn't wide of the mark.

If you wake up in India, you are likely to sip Tata tea, make early morning calls on your Tata mobile phone and take a Tata sedan to work. There is a good chance that you will be wearing a Tata watch or shoes sold by Tata as well. Back home, you may be leaving your wife and children surfing more than 100 channels on the local direct-to-home television system launched by Tata along with Star.

Your children may work in any of the Tata companies which already employ nearly 250,000 people or opt for higher studies at a science or social sciences school run by the Tatas. If you fall ill, you might head to the nearest Tata hospital.

If you are growing up in India, the smoke-belching Tata buses and trucks are among the first vehicles you will ever see in the cities and countryside. Two years ago, the oil-epic Syriana starring George Clooney opened with a shot of oil workers struggling to get into an overloaded Tata bus.

There is no other Indian business conglomerate which quite dominates the lives of middle-class Indians the way Tata Group does with its 96 companies, seven business divisions. Its turnover of $21.9bn, unsurprisingly, equals nearly 3% of India's gross domestic product (GDP).

There is also no other Indian company which straddles the new and old economy with equal ease - the group owns the country's largest integrated steel company with a 100-year-old flagship plant, and Asia's largest software company, which is also one of the biggest employers in the country.

Now that Tata Steel has won a tense takeover battle for Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus, with a bid of £5.75bn ($11.3bn), the group seems finally ready to flex its considerable muscles on the international stage.

In recent years, under Ratan Tata, the Tatas have become hungrier.

Last year the group set up a new drug discovery centre, signed deals to launch hotels in Qatar and build a new undersea submarine cable linking India, the Middle East and Western Europe. It also entered China with its software company in collaboration with the Chinese government and Microsoft.

The group bought a stake, too, in an international vitamin water company, sold its four-millionth vehicle in India, bought hotels in Boston, plotted a coffee plant in Uganda and entered the promising direct-to-home television market in India.

For the moment few companies in India or Asia can match Tata for the range of goods and services it offers.

Aradhna

2007-02-01T10:06:00.000+05:30

On Tuesday night, we had a real treat as we attended our first live music concert in Hyderabad. The band were called Aradhna (which means "worship") and the venue was one of the local Hindu temples. Despite the fact the band were Christian, it was refreshing to see how the Hindu and Christian community worked closely together to put this event on. The band is made up of two Americans (who were both born in India), a Brit and an Indian. It was an amazing concert and something we will both remember for a long time.

The level of musicianship was also outstanding with one of the American guys Christopher mostly singing in Hindi while playing the sitar, the atmosphere in the venue was really unique. We got a chance to speak with the musicians afterwards and congratulate them on a great performance, plus pick up a CD so we can listen to the songs at home. Hopefully this will be the first of many such events that we get a chance to experience during our time in India.

If you want to find out more about the band or check out some of their unique sound, log onto www.aradhnamusic.com.

The Monkeys Are Back!!

2007-01-31T09:26:00.000+05:30

Just to update you that the monkeys have returned to East Marredpally! This morning Andi and I went down to the car park and were met with the sight of around 15 monkeys scampering from our apartment block across the road as the watchman wielded a huge stick at them to scare them off. Many of the monkeys look as if they have been in some sort of fight and they were certainly getting the local dogs backs up.

Please keep Andi in your prayers as she has to spend the whole day at home wondering if one of the little (and not so little) flying furballs might pay a visit through the window!

New Link Added

2007-01-30T09:19:00.000+05:30

Most of our posts highlight some of the more humorous or unusual aspects of life in India, but both Andi and I have really been impacted by the reality of the way a lot of people are forced to live here in India. Because of the caste system, those who are thought of as "Dalits" (meaning "The Untouchables") are not even considered as human beings by some of those higher in caste.

A man who we hugely respect here, Joseph D'Souza, runs (amongst other things) an organisation called the Dalit Freedom Network. The aim of this organisation is to free these "Untouchables" from the oppression that caste forces upon them.

We have added in the link on the right hand side of this page, please have a look to find out more about this issue - an issue that we see in reality every day.

Going For A Stroll...

2007-01-28T19:50:00.000+05:30

Just thought we'd give you an idea of what it's like to go for a stroll in downtown Hyderabad

The Massage

2007-01-26T17:34:00.000+05:30

One of the gifts Andi bought me for Christmas was a massage and I decided to make an appointment on my day off (I have a day's public holiday due to India Republic Day). The overall experience was great, if not a little painful - but there were a couple of moments that could only happen in India:

1. Two power cuts do not prove a stumbling block to my masseur - he just carries on, in the pitch dark and complete silence.

2. Someone decides to start drilling in the room next door, causing the mood to be temporarily disrupted.

3. The masseur said at one point "Sir, I have to go get some more oil, as your body is very hairy"..

I do feel relaxed though.

When Bollywood Met Superman

2007-01-25T14:16:00.000+05:30

Look out for some incredible special effects...

Autos On Strike

2007-01-25T11:46:00.000+05:30

Just when we thought the roads couldn't get any busier, the autos (auto rickshaws) have decided to go on strike! There are over 100,000 autos in Hyderabad and because the Government in Andhra Pradesh are forcing them to switch from mechanical to digital meters (to reduce the possibility of the meter being tampered with), they have decided to take their little three wheelers off the road in protest. As of today about 20% of the 100,000 have begun working again, but on Friday (Republic Day) there is to be a state-wide strike in support of the Hyderabad automen. The Government have put on an extra 500 buses as a result, but this has only served to cause even more congestion.

The strike has also meant that the autos who are operating, are charging through the roof even on small distances. Andi had to pay 4 times what it should cost to take her back from the World Vision office to home. (Actually on the way there she had to walk for a few miles and then managed to get the bus for the rest of the journey, which was another interesting experience!).

Tata Indi-gone

2007-01-24T09:20:00.000+05:30

Our beloved car, the Tata Indigo, had an interesting experience of its own last week. Andi and I had decided to check out one of the new malls that are springing up across Hyderabad. We parked the car and went inside to do a little shopping. Once done, we went up to the top level and had ourselves a relaxing lunch in one of the restaurants there. Finishing our food we decided it was time to head back home, so got down to the ground level, walked outside and....the car was gone!

Mild to not-so-mild panic set in. Where was it? Did we park somewhere else? Had it been stolen? If it had been stolen, who do we speak to?

There was a security guard standing near where we were and we asked him if he had seen anything. Although his English was not great, we were able to decipher that indeed the police had been in the area and had picked up a car. We inquired as to whether that car was a Tata Indigo and he gave the affirmative. It sounded like our car had been towed.

We jumped in the nearest auto and asked the driver to take us to the traffic police (which is different to the regular police). The first policeman we spoke to said that the shopping centre was actually on a border of two different police jurisdictions, and that our car was not with him, but could be with another office. So we jumped back in the auto and headed off again.

Once we got there, we saw our poor little car abandoned with two other cars that looked like they had been there since biblical times.

Now, in the UK, if this sort of thing were to happen, there would not only be a mountain of paperwork/admin, but also a hefty fine...not so in India...I signed two different slips, paid Rs. 300 (about £3.50/$7) and we were given the keys. We weren't even told "don't do this again" or "be careful next time", we were simple given a "here are your keys" and "thank you"!

Cambodia, Bangkok and Beyond...

2007-01-22T22:30:00.000+05:30

I, Andi had just over a week in Cambodia recently. This was my first time to the country and was there for an emergency communications conference where a group of us had been handpicked for training, plus it related to my role in Asia Pacific. This training means when a high level emergency happens we are asked to fly out within 24 hours to respond.

At the start of the week those of us who had arrived on the Sunday afternoon took the opportunity to explore Phnom Penh and understand more of the history of Cambodia. This included a trip to the Tuol Sleng Khmer Rouge museum, the actual HQ of the party, where many people were tortured or imprisoned.

The Khmer regime is remembered mainly for the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million people, estimates range from 750,000 to 3 million, under its regime, through execution, starvation and forced labor. Although directly responsible for the death of a large amount of that number, the policies of the Khmer Rouge led many others to die from starvation and displacement. In terms of the number of people killed as a proportion of the population of the country it ruled, it was one of the most lethal regimes of the 20th century. After four years of the brutal rule, the Khmer Rouge regime was removed from power in 1979 as a result of an invasion by Vietnam.

It was very moving and a reminder that though this period has passed in Cambodia, around the world today there continues to be many more wars, injustices and human rights abuses taking place in countries like Sudan, Palestine, Iraq, Sri Lanka and so on. Sadly it’s often the vulnerable that suffer the most, woman, children and the elderly and though it was sobering and tragic to see these pictures and read some of the stories - many of which involved brainwashed or coerced child soldiers. It was also a powerful tug to my heart as to why I do my job, even as a tiny cog in a much bigger wheel, I can do a little bit that adds to the much more and that inspires me.

The week’s training also included a day’s simulation. Dropped off in rural Cambodia we had been split into three teams and as leader of the third team my group had to respond to a fake Super Typhoon and some of this meant setting up satellite phones and connections to send out global reports, stories and photos plus take footage, conduct interviews and handle rebels who held guns to us while questioning our presence in the village. A first…

We had originally been driven into the area and then as the truck stopped unexpectedly, post crossing a bridge that was missing most of its wooden slats… We were left in the village to make the rest of our way carrying our gear to the spot where we would set up camp and respond to the situation. This included taking a boat, which had seen better days across to the other bank. Unfortunately one of the girls in our group couldn’t swim and this was definitely not a boat with lifejackets! However we arrived safely.

Overall we handled all this well and learnt a great deal during the week, while having the chance to meet some fantastic, talented and passionate people in the process and the course leaders James, Kevin and Steve were inspiring, experienced World Vision guys. I also had a chance to catch up with Chris a good friend of Gareth and I, who I also worked with at WVUK and hear all about the World Vision Challenge Anneka Tsunami Boxing Day project he was organising!

(Chris using the old charm with Anneka)

The final day culminated in a Friday night boat trip, which included the team letting its hair down to karaoke and having a good boogie to the most eclectic and at times seriously dodgy music, while sailing down the Maekong, not an easily forgettable memory!

I then went onto Bangkok for four days, which meant meeting as our mini regional comms team, James, Katie and myself. We had a productive few days, getting to know each other better, planning strategies, an upcoming conf and sharing work plans and progress. Then home to find my lovely husband waiting for me at the gate, though apart for two weeks, which neither of us was looking forward to, the minute we were back together it felt like minutes… What a slush puppy I am!

A Flying Bullet

2007-01-19T22:16:00.000+05:30

A guy, named Mr Wadia (who is a well known industrialist in India), managed to fly from Mumbai to Dubai today with a gun and 30 live bullets in his luggage. It was only discovered when he tried to get through security after arriving at Dubai. He was promptly arrested - although was released later, as he said it was his servant who packed the bag and he himself was unaware of the gun and bullets being there. It goes to show again the inefficiencies of Air India - although, in an interesting twist, it turns out he is actually the Chairman of rival airline, Go Air - so could it have been a huge publicity stunt?

One of the main problems and reasons for the security breach is that for important, influential and powerful Indians - and no-one disputes that Mr Wadia falls into that category - security checks at airports are cursory.

In addition to the previous post...

2007-01-18T10:49:00.000+05:30

Driving Me Crazy

2007-01-18T10:26:00.000+05:30

Just a quick summary of my (Gareth's) journey into work yesterday...

8:35am
I nearly hit a father and son on a motorbike because they went before their light went green and caused me to skid the car (big noise and everything) as my light was at green. (of course I got the usual initial look of disgust, followed swiftly by intrigue as he realised I was a whitie).

8:38am
Actually hit an auto rickshaw after it sandwiched me between itself and a bus (I just kept going as it really is not worth the hassle).

8:50am
Nearly got hit by another bus as the driver was looking behind him back into the bus, whilst at the same time pulling out in front of me across oncoming traffic.

8:55am
At least I got to work on time

Monkey Business

2007-01-17T11:48:00.000+05:30

***THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED, SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS***

It seems that over the past couple days some new residents have moved into the local area...a family of monkeys!!

On Monday night, most people were out on their rooftops flying their kites in celebration of the Sankranti festival (everyone goes onto their roofs, flies their kites, and uses the wire - not string - that they are flying their kite with, to try and cut down everyone flying in the same vicinity as them). All was fine, until on one of the rooftops below us, about 8 monkeys sprang out of nowhere and caused the 10 or so people who were up there to scamper. Not that funny for them, but a little humourous for us on-lookers. They did see the funny side however, and laughing was heard for a good hour afterwards. The monkeys stayed, however, and have done ever since. Last night they were running amok with some of the local dogs and making a lot of noise in the process - not a nice noise, a monkey screaming.

We'll keep you updated with any more Monkey activity as it progresses...

***UPDATE***
I (Gareth) had to walk through a street lined with monkeys this evening with the shopping bag tight in hand. After one of them jumped out in front of me, I must have looked scared enough for the old man walking towards me to, first of all snigger (stupid whities), then offer some advice on whereabouts I should walk and how I should hold the groceries! The number of monkeys is about 12 now. One method the local children are using to get rid of them is to throw rocks. I can't imagine this will be the most effective of strategies. All for now.

Britain and India

2007-01-17T10:35:00.000+05:30

an interesting article from the BBC...

Sea-change in UK-India relations

Gordon Brown, who is widely expected to be the next UK prime minister, begins his first trip to India on Wednesday. The BBC's India correspondent, Sanjoy Majumder, reflects on the changing times between London and Delhi.

"While we hold on to India, we are a first-rate power. If we lose India, we will decline to a third-rate power. This is the value of India."

The words of Lord Curzon at the turn of the 20th Century may well find a strange echo in the 21st century and as India enters its 60th year of independence.

India continues to captivate Britain, especially in the popular imagination.

So, Shilpa Shetty makes more news on Big Brother than she does in her own film industry, Bangladeshi-owned Indian restaurants have elbowed fish and chips shops off the high street, and hopes of an Ashes revival were pinned on a turbaned Sikh.

But the relations between India and Britain are grounded in a reality that goes beyond culture, curry and cricket.

'Brand Brown'

India is now the third largest investor in the UK, with more than 500 Indian companies opening offices there.

More importantly, nearly 1.5 million people of Indian origin live in Britain and that more than anything else is fuelling the relationship.

The British Asian community is steadily rising in prominence and is easily the most influential among the minority groups in the UK

Now, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, who is widely expected to succeed Tony Blair as prime minister later this year, is arriving in India.

Amazingly, it is his first official visit to the country - a fact not unnoticed back home with many political opponents suggesting that he had missed the boat.

For Mr Brown it is an important visit, a chance to build brand Brown and demonstrate that he possesses the qualities of an international statesman.

But for India, it is Mr Brown's record as chancellor that can provide Delhi a glimpse of his approach and an outline of his vision for the future of the relationship.

For the past two years, Mr Brown has publicly warned about the growing economic clout of India and China, in particular the more than four million skilled graduates that both countries produce each year.

'Sea-change'

These are the people who are quietly making up the numbers in the UK workforce and, increasingly, calling the shots.

Britain faces tough choices in the era of globalisation, particularly because of low-cost production centres in India and China.

One solution, and one that is endorsed by the prime minister-in-waiting, is - if you cannot beat them, join them.

So nearly four centuries after an intrepid naval commander arrived in Surat to seek permission to trade with India, the saga continues. Except that the world of Captain William Hawkins is vastly different from that of today.

Perhaps the best illustration of the sea-change in trade relations is in the battle over India's mobile phone industry.

'Hardnosed reality'

UK telecom giant Vodafone is rolling up its sleeves in what promises to be a bruising takeover bid for Hutchinson Essar valued at nearly $20bn (£10bn).

Among its international rivals over the bid are the controversial UK-based billionaire Hinduja brothers. And pitching up for Vodafone is its Indian-born CEO, Arun Sarin.

So, a British company is competing with another British company for an Indian telecom firm - or, to put it another way, several Indians are slugging it out in the middle. So what if they have different coloured passports.

Perhaps it is a hardnosed reality or a maturity brought about by aged ties.

But the frosty sensitivity of the past, when a comment by Robin Cook on Kashmir raised hackles in India or a perceived slight to Queen Elizabeth II drew sharp comments from the British media, is clearly history.

Instead, it is the Clinton-campaign slogan of 1992 that appears to hold pride of place - it's the economy stupid. And the future of Britain is even more closely tied up with its former colony.

British Asians

But there is also politics.

The British Asian community is steadily rising in prominence and is easily the most influential among the minority groups in the UK.

And it is not just their votes that count.

Steel billionaire Lakshmi Mittal has pledged £2m ($4m) to the cash-strapped Labour party, almost certainly bailing it out of financial crisis. The party's deficit last-year amounted to nearly £27m ($53m).

This is perhaps the one major element in the Indo-Britain equation that India has perhaps underplayed, the British-Asian community and the value they bring to the relationship.

In a Britain that is embracing multiculturalism, the Asians appear to have pride of place.

If the first wave of Asians helped revive the retail shops on Britain's high streets, their children are now making their mark on the financial and business world.

British Asian influence has now crept into the arts, culture and music.

The sounds of the Asian Underground is more than a record label - it is a new genre of music.

And sporting icons Amir Khan and Monty Panesar may just mean that the next generation of Asians may well pass the Tebbit test - coined infamously in 1990 by the Conservative MP Norman Tebbit who suggested that people from ethnic minorities should not be considered truly British until they supported the England cricket team.

Politically influential and economically powerful, the British Asian community is a significant factor that will govern Indo-British relations and shape them in the decades to come.

Final twist

There is a delicious irony in this.

British colonialist Thomas Macaulay once famously aspired to create in India "a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste".

In modern, multicultural Britain, that has been turned on its head.

And there is a final twist in the tale.

The impact of British colonialism was felt most in India's cities - in Calcutta, Madras and Bombay.

But the Asians of Britain today are largely drawn from small town Asia - from Surat and Navsari, Jalandhar and Ludhiana, Mirpur and Sylhet.

This is the constituency that will in many ways define British policy towards India.

Call it the revenge of the proletariat.

The Greatest Musical Collaboration Ever?

2007-01-16T16:03:00.000+05:30

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Happy 2007!

2007-01-08T14:17:00.000+05:30

Happy New Year! We hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and want to wish you every blessing for 2007.

We had our first Christmas as a married couple in India and it was a really special day. We spent the morning together and shared a glass of champagne as we opened the various pressies from under the tree, then in the afternoon we had lunch in the Marriott hotel with some of our good friends in Hyderabad and enjoyed turkey, salmon, and some good old Christmas pudding (all imported of course!)

The next day we left for Melbourne and apart from the passport scenario (detailed below) we had such a lovely time with the family. It was really special to meet our two-week old niece for the first time and also to spend time with Nikki, Tim, Sam, Jo and of course Debs, Dorothy and David who were also in Melbourne. We helped organise with Nik, Tim and Debs an Aussie version with friends and family for Mum and Dad's 40th wedding anniversary celebrations, which after their UK event meant a relaxed 'do' in the lovely garden of Nik and Tim's home. This included speeches from the sons-in-law, a yummy ice cream cake and song from Andi (requested by Mum!), plus lots of relaxed conversation and sunshine.

We went down to Melbourne's city centre for the fireworks display, which was beautiful and sampled a fantastic atmosphere with the local crowds.

New Year's Eve (or Hogmany) in Melbourne...

We also spent a couple of days in Sydney where I (Gareth) had some work to do and Andi managed to go for a swim in the sea near her old home in Bronte. We were also able to meet up with Ali B (a good friend from the UK) and catch up on what has been happening at home. Ali also had a spare ticket for the Ashes, so I saw the last few hours of day two in Sydney, which was great.

We then flew on to Singapore and spent the first day exploring the city and stocking up on some of the essentials not available in India. Day two was Andi's Christmas pressie from me - a day at a spa. We both had a few treatments and definitely felt the better for it before our long flight home (again, details below). That night we visited the world famous Raffles Hotel and both enjoyed the signature Singapore Sling. It was a fun experience and we also had a great meal at the hotel's steakhouse (I have had to eat as many steaks as possible during the trip to get my red meat fix before flying back).

Andi with a Singapore Sling

It is great to be back home and we are both looking forward to getting back into work and catching up with our friends and life here. At this point there is no more travel planned until March when Andi has a work conference in Cambodia, so we at least have a chance to stay put a while.

A little difficulty...

2007-01-08T14:09:00.000+05:30

It all began when the travel wallet carrying our passports, visas, air tickets, and ashes tickets went missing in transit. The holiday was fantastic, a great time in Melbourne with the family and meeting our beautiful new niece, then two days in Sydney and onto Singapore. In Melbourne, we were able to replace the passports, the Indian visas, and I even got to go to the Ashes in Sydney. All the airline tickets, except the Air India tickets, we were able to replace easily as they were e-tickets. We had tried all week to contact the Air India office, to no avail, so decided to arrive at the airport earlier to make sure we made the flight. However, this is where the wheels began to come off a little.

The Air India ground staff told us they did not accept e-tickets or even the receipt we had with us, which had both our reservation numbers and booking details, and that we had to go back into Singapore city and cancel the missing tickets and buy new paper ones. This would have meant an extra two-night stay in Singapore as the next day was Sunday and the office was closed. Obviously this was far from ideal. However, after much negotiation and many “can I speak to your manager” comments, we finally came to the solution that we could buy two new tickets and get them delivered to the airport asap by a 24-hour travel agent, then apply for a refund on our return. So this is what we did.

This then enabled us to get through to the departure gate to our 9.20pm flight on time - plus as there were a few gifts we had promised to bring back to India, we were able to do a super quick trolley dash including my saying the phrase “keep the change” to a toy store employee – something she hadn’t heard much I’m sure.

Once we got to the gate, there were still passengers going through security and, in fact, we ended up waiting a little while before boarding. Once boarded, we eventually took off around 15 minutes late. However, all did not seem right. The cruising altitude seemed very low and the plane continued to turn from left to right on a regular basis. An hour into the flight we noticed that the seatbelt sign had not yet been turned off, the captain then announced that the radar was not working and the plane would have to return back to Singapore. By the time we landed in Singapore, it was around four hours since the original take off time. The organisation on our return to resolve the situation and establish the next course of action for each passenger was was slightly chaotic and a little reminder of our new home, India! No queue. No order. No chance.

However to be fair, an hour or so later we had managed to get our revised tickets onto an alternative flight, this time with Indian Airlines the following morning and were on our way to find somewhere to lay down for the seven hours we had until our new flight was due to take off. At this short notice the airport transit hotel was fully booked, so where did we end up…. That’s right a massage table in the Rainforest Spa with a blanket and pillow each! Air India covered the cost for this ‘bed’ and a shower and we did get a couple of hours sleep, despite the lights being near full beam, the Spanish guitar music still pumping through the speakers, and a man with the longest and possible loudest snore sleeping within 10 yards of our makeshift beds.

We had gone past tiredness at this point, but thankful we were safe and had a flight back home to Hyderabad, which meant we were both able to be at work the following morning.

Our makeshift beds...

Santa Sinatra

2006-12-22T10:52:00.000+05:30

Something to get you into the Christmas mood...

http://www.thecompassgroup.biz/merryxmas.swf

(thanks Linda for sending this on!)

The North/South Divide

2006-12-08T20:39:00.000+05:30

I am currently in America, and yesterday I got asked "Is Scotland near England?"...

I responded, (trying to hold back any patronising tone or laughter) "Yes...they actually share a border."

To which came the response, "That is so cool"

I love America.

Interactive Advent Calendar

2006-12-04T11:41:00.000+05:30

Can I (Gareth) please encourage you all to go to https://www.worldvision.org.uk/take2 and download the new interactive advent calendar that has been created by World Vision (Jonny to be precise). For all you Scots, don't worry it is free! Thank you!

It is a great wall...

2006-11-27T10:27:00.000+05:30

First off, let me apologise on behalf of my wife and I (cue wedding speech cheer) for how rubbish we have been recently at updating this thing. The past three weeks have absolutely flown by - between us we have travelled to Kerala, Calcutta, Chennai, Singapore, Beijing, and Singapore again - unfortunately the victim has been our blog. However you now have a bonanza of three posts to catch up on, so that should keep you busy for a while.

My trip to Singapore and Beijing went really well. It was a work trip and I had some really good meetings with retailers and publishers in Singapore, before flying out to China to look at the possibilities for STL out there. It is a really exciting time to be in China at the moment what with the Olympics in 2008 and the general opening up of market restraints.

Despite it being a work trip I also had the privilege of visiting Tiannamen (spelling??) Square and also The Great Wall Of China. It was breathtaking and also slightly surreal to think that I was actually there. I enjoyed some GREAT chinese food and met some great people, but I was happy to get back to my wife before she then flew off to Chennai.

Happy Thanksgiving to all you Americans.

As Andi has mentioned in the blog below I am off to the USA next week and Andi is in Cambodia and Thailand. It never stops. We are SOOOOO looking forward to our first Christmas as a married couple though. Sometimes I can't believe we've only been married 6 months, it seems so much has happened.

Anyway thank you for your emails and keeping us in touch with your own news. We've only just realised that we are supposed to reply to posts on the blog, so please look forward to some two way communication from now on!

Next update will be a lot sooner than these have been....we promise!

A wee break

2006-11-27T10:17:00.000+05:30

Our good friend Sam visited us after her trip around the golden triangle, which includes the Taj Mahal, Jaipur, Delhi etc.. We met her off a long train trip from Delhi to Hyderabad and immediately whisked her away for a hot shower and pizza, two things she was looking forward to after back packing! Was so good to see her, share news and introduce her to our home. The next day crack of dawn we flew out to Kerala south of Hyderabad - this is a must if visiting India. Set on water the area is full of natural beauty, peace and tranquility it feels like an island, something we all enjoyed after the noise and business of the cities. We only had two days there but they were very special, one day was spent on the famous waterways, drifting along in a pontoon boat we also had a chance to experience the fabulous south Indian dishes prepared for our lunch, and have a turn at driving the boat!

A lot of our time there was spent relaxing, sadly Sam was not feeling too well after all her travelling and we were ready for a break - so it provided us all with a much needed rest. Sitting in the pool, which overlooked the water watching the sun set will be always be a special memory.

We then returned to Hyderabad Sunday morning, and only a few hours later we waved goodbye to Gareth who was heading to Singapore and China with work. Sam and I then spent the next few days having a girlie catch up, shopping, showing her the city, chatting for hours, bliss!

Then Weds after saying goodbye to her at the airport I headed back to work. This included a two day visit to the World Vision India HQ in Chennai a city I hadn’t visited yet. Was an intense few days, but very productive managing to assess their crisis and relief plans and get to know the team, plus pick up my laptop and camera. It also included a surprise meeting with two friends from the UK none of us knew we would be in the same city at the same time, but ended up having dinner before I flew back home.

All in all a busy past month, cannot believe it is Christmas so soon, before that Gareth has a trip to the States and I to Cambodia and Bangkok both with work. Christmas day will be together and then we fly to Oz to spend New Year with my family in Melbourne. 2007 looks a little more relaxed travel wise so far, but we can’t complain it is all amazing opportunities!

Calcutta (or Kolkata)

2006-11-27T10:08:00.000+05:30

Gareth and I spent almost 3 days in this huge city, which houses 17 million residents. You feel the size of the city the minute you touch down it spreads for miles and miles and feels so much more crowded and busy than Hyderabad does and that is saying a lot!

We were travelling with our friend and guide Tony Sargent whose involvement with OM and the Emmanuel Ministries date back decades. His love for India and obvious passion for this country and its problems is evident, you can also see how long his involvement here has been by his friendships with the team, one of which is a former student of the theological school in Glasgow he is head of.

After he had spent two days in our home in Hyderabad we travelled together to Calcutta - Gareth and I particularly wanted to visit slum schools projects and other community schools and orphanage and the general work of Emmanuel ministries, which also includes a HIV/Aids clinic, counselling etc etc.

Initially met at the airport by Mahadeb and his wife (a couple who run an OM operated school and church project in the local slum), we first visited their home. Their home was so welcoming and we sat for a couple of hours chatting, sharing stories, asking questions and eating their delicious home made fried chicken. Tony had also had a hand in helping them design and build their home, one picture in particular stood out of a piper fully kilted up brought back by Tony from Glasgow.

We then went on with him to Emanuel Ministries headquarters, which also have a few guest rooms, and is where we stayed for our visit. Meeting the temporary head of the organisation, Primela and her assistant Jeng a South Korean, we were again made so welcome and spent time getting to know each other and understand their work in the city. This organisation’s drug rehab programme has been used a model by the Indian government. Later we went onto a light show at the Queen Victoria Memorial, which explains the history of the city and then dinner with the group in the centre of Calcutta. We were actually giving others advice on the Indian menu, we must be eating too many local dishes!

The next day bright and early we spent visiting schools, an orphanage and slum projects.
Was a busy day full of meetings with inspirational people dedicated to caring and giving their lives to providing an education, hope and future to so many children. We met so many amazing children so focused on their education, and in the orphanage a four-year-old-child came up to me - taking my hand he wanted to show me the plastic table and chairs someone had given him. Brought here after his father died and mum has Aids, all he knows is his big brothers and sisters in the orphanage and the lower bunk of the bed he shares. Yet this place has provided him with such love and protection it broke my heart – his innocence remains despite such a harsh start to life and I pray his life continues to be full of hope.

We also had time one early morning to walk a very short distance from where we staying to Mother Teresa’s tomb and visit the ongoing work of her convent. It felt very peaceful being there, also giving us time to reflect on all we had experienced and felt. Her words of wisdom resonated with us in particular statements such as, ‘It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving.’ spoke volumes.

We had a short tour around the city by one of the team from Emmanuel ministries, now an adult he was a former street kid, one of ten children who managed to stay within the center’s support programme as the others eventually returned to the streets, as this was all they’ve ever known.

Leaving Calcutta lunchtime the next day we felt so many emotions - challenged, encouraged, sad and inspired. Sharing this experience as a married couple was also special as often I travel to projects with work unable to share this with Gareth, so this was a growing time for the two of us also.

Andi's back to work!

2006-11-06T09:55:00.000+05:30

Good news! Andi has officially begun her role at World Vision as Regional Crisis and Relief Communications Manager. She will be working with World Vision Asia Pacific, so she will be interacting with and travelling to the different country offices as she analyses, supports and develops relief and crisis communications strategies across the region, plus in certain situations directly coordinating the comms response in emergencies, which take place across Asia Pacific. She will be in Cambodia in December for an emergency comms conference and then onto Bangkok for meetings.

We also need to update everyone on our trip to Calcutta and we'll be sure to post something this week - suffice to say it was a very impacting visit and really challenged the two of us.

We have our friend Sam coming over this week from the UK and we're all going away for a couple days to Kerala, which is supposed to be beautiful. We get back Sunday and then Gareth flies that night to Singapore and then Beijing on business - so it's all go!

Hairy Krishna

2006-10-25T16:40:00.000+05:30

Before

Many of you will be delighted to know that I (Gareth) have decided to grow my hair back. Keep checking out the website for updates.

After?

Diwali

2006-10-20T10:50:00.000+05:30

Don't get me wrong, I like fireworks. HOWEVER, I am not so appreciative when I hear the neighbours' display lighting up at 10.30pm, 11.30pm, and this morning...6am!! Who wants to see a fireworks display at that time??

Hyderabad is in full swing in the run up to Diwali this Saturday. Diwali is "The Festival Of Lights" and is a mixture of Christmas (because people give each other gifts) and Bonfire Night/5th November (for obvious reasons). It's actually a great time as the city seems to have the air of excitement as the big day approaches - there are fireworks, fairy lights, marching bands, and dancing all across the twin cities (Secunderabad and Hyderabad, for those not "in the know").

We are heading off on Saturday to a party that our friends, Rajiv and Renee, are hosting - so we are looking forward to that.

We have now fully acclimatised back to the Indian temperatures, although Andi is still nursing a cold she picked up in the UK. Work has been busy for me and it looks like I will be in Singapore and Beijing in mid November.

Andi and I are also traveling up to Calcutta (or Kolkata as it is now known) for a couple of days next week, with a friend from Glasgow, Tony Sargeant. Tony works with many organisations trying to help those in need all across the world, so it is a real privilege that we will be shown the work up there.

We will endeavour to continue updating the blog a bit more regularly so that we keep things interesting for you all. See you later!

Around the World in 12 days!

2006-10-16T11:26:00.000+05:30

Well we’re back, having had a great two weeks for Gareth and one for me in the UK.
The first week for Gareth consisted mainly of work and meetings, the week we were together we had a chance to spend a bit of time with friends in Milton Keynes, then flew to Glasgow for 2/3 days for a wedding Gareth was best man at, but also had fun seeing family and catching up. The wedding was really lovely and both bride and groom looked gorgeous - Gill maybe more than Dave! Congratulations again guys!

We also had time to pick up a few items in the UK we can’t get in India – furniture polish is not normally high on anyone’s shopping list but becomes a desirable purchase when you can’t get it, that plus decent chocolate and couscous made it a slightly strange list. If Gareth could have brought a Big Mac back he would have also added that to the list.

Then driving down on Sunday afternoon to York having to stop ourselves from beeping the horn constantly as per driving here, we spent a few days with Andi’s family, including a chance to cuddle our five-month-old nephew Noah. All in all an exhausting but really special time – coming home was lovely though and being back in our apartment we knew that Hyderabad now feels like home.

Being back in the UK after just a few months in India also meant we were able to evaluate some of the cultural and social differences between the two countries and appreciate or be challenged by those differences.

Finally getting off the plane after 11 hours of travel to sunshine was the medicine for the colds we managed to bring back - that and going to bed at 8.30 that evening also helped with the lack of sleep from the overnight flight. Drinking lemsip while in 30 degree heat, I can safely say is surreal. The weather is actually hotter than when we left when it seemed to start to cool down, we move into ‘winter’ soon so the temperature should get down to, oh at most 18 degrees!

We now also have gas to go with our hob, I’ve never been so excited about being able to cook! No more random microwave meals. Gareth’s gone back to a busy office and also looks like the HR things, which needed finalising are getting there for Andi who should start work in the next month prior to a conference in Cambodia at the end of the year.

Gareth has managed to begin playing football this weekend (on a very dodgy pitch) – albeit just for fun, we’ll let you know the score but if the MK Dons are anything to go by….

So there you go, we’ll post another blog with more news soon.

All Change...

2006-09-25T09:53:00.000+05:30

Latest news… We are both now driving our new car (the uniquely named Tata Indigo), which arrived a couple of weeks ago. Gareth surprised me with it when he picked me up at the airport after Sri Lanka. We both feel fine about driving here especially if you remember to forget all the rules of the British road, never stop at roundabouts (no different from Milton Keynes then…) and avoid all cows. Haven’t hit one yet but we’ll keep you posted. When Gareth picked it up he had to drive it home with a big ribbon wrapped around and heart balloons filling the back seat – very romantic!

We have now moved into the apartment, yippee! Which has been our home for almost 10 days! Organising furniture and the practicalities of setting up the flat took a little time, but overall everything ran smoothly and pretty much arrived when it should! One funny moment was Andi surrounded by four dominant Indian men ranging from painters to delivery guys to the landlord all telling her to ‘come here’ as the word ‘please’ does not exist in Hindi!

Another memorable moment was being shown by the landlord how to lock a door and which way the key needed to be turned, we have a lot to learn! We also now have a phone and internet access, which is key as in the future I (Andi) will work from home a lot. We also have a hob/gas cylinder for Gareth to cook on, mango chicken here we come....

Really feels like a proper home for us and have met our lovely neighbours as the word spread that the whities had arrived, we have been invited to almost everyone’s homes and look forward to getting to know them better.

Our view over the city is very special and we have a little balcony to sit out on and watch the sun go down - here are some pics for you to look at…

The view from our balcony.

The master bedroom, looking very tidy (cleaning was done especially for the photo).

The Throne room (we do have two western toilets also)

The Dining Room.

The lounge. We have had Tata (same company as the car) Sky installed, so Gareth doesn't have to miss a minute of the Premiership action. Unfortunately, League Two and the SPL are yet to come on air here.

A few days later one of our close friends from the UK, Kate was over with a small team from STL for a week’s visit of the operations in India. This meant we had a chance to spend a little time with her on the Sunday after church and took her out to see a bit more of the city. It was so lovely to just chat with someone we have such an easy and close friendship with and for her to share in some of our life here as though you try to, you can’t fully explain. She was also a brilliant passenger as we drove her around Hyderabad, not once saying a word just clutching the handle of the door occasionally…

Another couple of events worthy of a mention and huge congratulations was Andi’s parents celebrating 40 years of marriage on Sep 17th and our nephew Kieran celebrating his 15th birthday on the 19th. So glad you all had a special day and look forward to seeing you very soon. x

We head off to the UK in the next week for both work and a wedding, we’ll also have a chance to spend time with family and friends, which we’re looking forward to and will post another blog on our return.

Adventures in an Auto

2006-09-14T10:10:00.000+05:30

I am not completely sure this story is blog-worthy, but I found it funny...

A couple of days back we were travelling in an auto (rickshaw) back from spending time with some friends. All was normal for the first 70% of the journey. We then stopped at some traffic lights and the guys on a motorbike next to us became fascinated by the fact that there were a couple of "whities" in the vehicle next to them. At first they smiled a lot.

The traffic light went green and our auto moved off. (There are no windows or doors in an auto, this is an important fact in this story). As we were travelling the motorbike caught up with us and they started shouting in, "where are you from?"...depsite this being an unusal setting for such a conversation I told them we were from the UK. They liked this. However they sped up and went ahead of us.

About 2 or 3 minutes later, they pulled up along side the moving auto once again (unbeknown to us they had slowed down deliberately and come back for more). This time the passenger (I forgot to mention there were two guys on the motorbike) stretched out his hand as if to shake. Again, despite the rather dangerous conditions (i.e. two moving vehicles) I, not wanting to come across as rude, stretched across Andi and tried to shake hands. We held for a moment, but at that stage the auto slowed down and the motorbike sped up...meaning I was actually now pulling the passenger off the bike! However, we both managed to let go in time and any potential accident was averted.

You may think this is where the story ends, but there was still one final twist...

Once again the motorbike had slowed down and once again came from behind to draw along side us. This time, the passenger was brandishing a bottle of Kingfisher (the local beer). At first he drank it himself, but then he offered it to us. (Let me reiterate at this point that both vehicles are still moving and at quite a pace) The driver of the motorbike kept insisting that we drink and the passenger was forcing the bottle into the auto we were in. However, you will be glad to hear we politely rejected the offering of golden nectar and decided it best to ignore the terrible twosome from this point on. It worked and they sped off into the sunset.

Only in India. (and maybe Glasgow!).

Sri Lanka

2006-09-10T19:35:00.000+05:30

I (Andi) spent five days last week in the World Vision Sri Lanka office based in Colombo. The country is seeing renewed fighting in Sri Lanka's 20-year civil war, which began in late July with air strikes on rebel territory amid a dispute over a blocked water supply.

A 2002 ceasefire between the government and rebels still technically holds, although both sides accuse the other of trying to force a full-scale return to war.

The fighting has effectively cut access by road to and from the Jaffna peninsula, leaving thousands of people trapped and running short of vital supplies.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced and the capital Colombo has witnessed two bombings in the past month. Many families/ mothers also fear for their children, as some have been captured by the LTTE to be used as soldiers, and with a number of aid workers murdered a few weeks ago, this is yet another tragic situation faced by a beautiful country and its people.

Staying in a hotel in Colombo and predominantly working in the office for the week, James my new boss and I were there as the Asia Pacific Regional Office, which due to the heightened humanitarian crisis meant we are there to support and advise the comms team. Helping them put together a communications advocacy relief strategy, establish clear messages and respond to the media etc.

It was a good though intense week, personally I learned a lot, met some great people and developed relationships, which is important as I will work with them at times in the future. Plus also had time to get to know James and discuss my future role.

It was also a nostalgic trip for me, as I spent a couple of weeks travelling round the country with a friend six years ago and I have some great memories. So on my last day as I had a little time before my flight, I revisited the Galle Face Hotel just down the road from where I was staying. Situated on the ocean this beautiful colonial building brought back the memory of two backpackers treating themselves to a slap up meal and swim in the seawater pool, which overlooks the beach. Sadly didn't get a chance to do that this time.

Coming back to Gareth was really lovely after a week apart and we spent the next day just catching up and relaxing, especially as I had brought back a special present with me – a cold! After church we met up with our Aussie friends for a late lunch at local cafe Mocha, going on later for a cuppa and visit to their new home in Banjara Hills for the first time. A relaxed end to a busy week.

Quick update

2006-08-27T16:35:00.000+05:30

We spent an evening this week at Golkonda Fort a stunning example of past Hyderabad architecture dating back to the 1300's. After wandering through the ruins as the sun went down, we were treated to a beautiful light show explaining the history of the Fort and the city.

On a more important note it has been very encouraging to see that the MK Dons have won 5 out of their first 6 matches... Not only this, but Gareth has now found a way to watch all the games on the internet so he doesn't miss one kick of the ball... Come on you Dons!

Andi spent the last few days of this week organising her trip to World Vision Sri Lanka on 28 August. She has been invited to join her soon-to-be new boss James on a week's visit prior to officially starting her job. They will be supporting and advising the communications team and SL office during this difficult period of the ongoing crisis in the country. It will also be a good learning opportunity for her and chance to begin building relationships with this particular office in the Asia Pacific region.

She also spent some time one afternoon visiting a local street kids project/home/school with friends Sarah and Jonny. Run by a guy called Philip, this is a man who defines the word inspirational. Giving up his job he set up the small charity a number of years ago with little money but a sense of purpose and vision, to among other things provide an education and safe place for kids who've been abandoned. Most were living on the streets, a few disabled sent out to beg by their parents and in some cases children who had been bought and sold like animals.

Since then he has struggled at times to keep afloat, as he's seen hundreds of children come through his doors. However he's continued to be blessed and provided with resources to just keep the charity going. With a few volunteers and his family's support they continue to help change many lives. Jonny, Sarah and I were very moved by the children we met and the work Philip and his team are doing. In this photo Philip is stood at the back far right, Sarah is center back with an arm blocking her face, Jonny is taking the photo and just in case you're not sure I'm the one who's only a wee bit taller than the children, stood in front of Philip...

The "India" Effect

2006-08-27T16:28:00.000+05:30

Since we posted the picture of Andi in her sari, many of you have been asking how living in India has affected me (Gareth). As you can see from below, I too have been impacted by this diverse and magical culture....

Andi's Very Sari

2006-08-21T10:32:00.000+05:30

Ok, so it’s happened. I’ve done it, I’ve worn my first sari. Choosing the material from a dazzling array of materials, colours, and designs - in a store with hundreds of people pushing around you can be a bit mad. Then you have to take this material to the local dressmaker, one was recommended to me, and explain what style I wanted for the blouse, which is worn under the ‘dress’. I was welcomed by a lovely lady who though she spoke no English and my Telagu/Hindi is minimal we still managed to communicate, I felt very proud of myself for achieving this task! Some of the Indian ladies at STL OM books couldn’t believe I had done it!

Next came the part I wasn’t able to manage myself, putting it on… Thankfully an Indian friend helped me get ready and I couldn’t have done it without her. She tucked, folded, pinned and wrapped - until as you can see from the picture I was saried up! I loved it as the colours are so vibrant and the outfit feels very elegant, plus it hides your stomach after a curry!

This particular sari was more of an evening outfit, as we were attending an event that night with her and a few Aussie friends we’ve also got to know. However I will wear a day sari in a much lighter material and hopefully be able to dress myself at some point (I sound like I’m three-years-old!)

On another note we’re starting to learn a little Hindi, Andi’s been asked to speak at a women’s group and we have also found an apartment, yippee! We move in two weeks time.

More to come on all this…

Dhaba-ling with Cuisine

2006-08-21T10:29:00.000+05:30

The Dhaba is an institution in India, an outdoor family restaurant which have playgrounds, local music and some great food. They welcome in people from all over the community for a low cost meal. It is definitely something you have to do while in India as they line the road in certain parts of the city and is a true local experience. Taking friends Jonny and Sarah - we caught the bus (another interesting form of transport) up the road to a recommended Dhaba.

Gareth and I have embraced the Indian practice of eating with our hands a few times, which is not necessarily a new skill we’ll bring home to the UK, but as our Indian friends say it does actually make the eating experience better! The skill is not to have too much gravy and use the rice or naan to soak up the meat, dal or sauce. For just £6 (in total) the four of us had a great meal. We must have had 7-8 dishes between us plus drinks, bargain! We had a great night and then decided we needed to walk off the food and as we weren’t too far from home wandered down the road where, we spent most of our time avoiding the ‘sacred’ cows blocking our path….

Independence Day

2006-08-21T10:21:00.000+05:30

Millions of Indians across the country celebrated 59 years of India’s independence from the British on Tuesday, 15 August 2006. As it was a national holiday, Gareth had the day off work and we were keen to see some of the festivities planned and learn more of the history of this amazing and diverse country. We had been invited to the local Good Shepherd School where 200 plus students from primary to secondary age were performing a series of plays, dances, songs and speeches for parents, teachers, guests and dignitaries gathered in the playground.

Around 8am we wandered down and took our seats ready to witness the display. Just before 9am we got started. With Uncle Alfie sat beside us, an inspirational man who helped found the school eight years ago and whom everyone loves hence the term Uncle, we enjoyed an array of performances, some of which included demonstrating how they fought the British for their freedom (this is where I assumed my Australian nationality and Gareth pleaded ignorance, as hey, it really was the English to blame.)

It was a fantastic morning and actually quite emotional at times as the children gave speeches celebrating figures such as Ghandi, raised the Indian flag and sang the national anthem. Other parts were more light-hearted including a dance sequence by a group of 19-year-old strapping lads who all really looked around 40 years old, gyrating across the stage with tassles attached to their trousers and shirts. As Gareth said if you tried that in Glasgow you’d not live long…

The school is special for another reason, as 90% of the children are from Dalit families. Called the ‘untouchables’ these are children who along with their families are the poorest of the poor, the lowest caste in India and often not seen as worthy of any interaction - never mind an education. Part of the emotion of the day was witnessing these children and young people some of whom live in slums, speaking so eloquently, dressed in their smart uniforms donated by a local business, explaining what a difference the school had made in their and their families lives.

Late morning the event finished and a snack of Bombay mix was given out as a gift. Chatting with some of the other guests we eventually left to spend the rest of the day quietly, as westerners whether British, American or Canadian etc are told to be low key on that day i.e. don’t go into town wearing a, ‘I love Britain’ t-shirt. There is generally no trouble as most people are happy and excited during the day. But we heeded the advice and stayed in the vicinity of the campus, where the school and our temporary accommodation are both based.

In the news...

2006-08-15T12:07:00.000+05:30

Well, it didn't take long - last week Gareth made it into the Deccan Chronicle, one of the largest selling newspapers in the region. At the exhibition he attended in Chennai, they had a 2km Bible, a hand-written Bible, and the smallest Bible (not in the world, just "the smallest Bible"). Gareth was asked to hold the smallest Bible and the next day his debut in the Indian press was captured on page 4 of the daily newspaper.

Floods

2006-08-11T14:23:00.000+05:30

We mentioned in a previous blog that it had rained quite a bit in Hyderabad. It turns out that we have actually been very fortunate because the rain continued throughout our state and also in many other states on the west coast. In our state alone, over 100 people have died and around 250,000 families have been displaced. One city on the west coast of India is 90% under water. It really shows how under-developed the infrastructure is over here and, despite having monsoon weather every year, millions of people have been affected.

We didn't think this would be covered in the western news, so wanted to let you all know.

The Chennai Express

2006-08-11T13:47:00.000+05:30

When I (Gareth) was told that I would need to travel to Chennai (formerly Madras) for a few days on business, I thought "great, I'll get to see some more of India"......when I heard we were taking the train, that the train was 13 hours each way, and that we were travelling in third class, I've got to be honest, my feelings were mixed! However, after travelling this way I can honestly say it was a great way to travel. Not only do you see parts of India that would normally be unseen from the road or air, but you also see more of Indian life and the way Indians interact and live. I've put a few photos up on the blog to give you an idea, but I would say that it's not until you have done it for yourself that you really know what it's like.

The train is divided into 4 or 5 different tiers - 3 of which have A/C. The A/C carriages are divided into First (where you get a carpet), Second (where there are 6 people to a compartment) and Third (where there are 8 people to a compartment). I was in Third.

The way the beds work is that during the daytime, everyone sits on the bottom bed as it is used as the seat, the middle bed is stowed away, and the top bunk is used for keeping the blankets/pillows/etc. Once everyone decides to go to bed, the middle bunk (pictured below) is pulled out and attached to the hooks from the top bunk. I was on the bottom bunk on each journey and was suprised how well I slept - it really was very comfortable. You are given a pack which includes two bedsheets, a towel, a pillow, and a blanket.

All throughout the journey, people walk through selling food, drinks, and even pirated DVDs!! Johny and I had bought some food previously so did not indulge in the on-board dining. However what we did have was amazing, and I am now totally sold on the offerings of the Indian bakery.

26 hours on a train was a long time - don't get me wrong. But, because the beds are really quite comfortable you sleep well and the journey flies by. It certainly won't be my last train journey - I have heard that there is one journey that takes THREE DAYS!!!! I'm not quite ready for that one yet.

Wildlife

2006-08-10T14:56:00.000+05:30

In the true spirit of our blog along with the more serious updates on what we’re doing, we’ve also shared a few ridiculous moments, which go hand in hand with moving to another country and culture. This little exert focuses on wildlife (kinda) of Hyderabad.

Let's talk gekos (lizards). We have had a few running around our bedroom in the past week, they’re not bad for getting rid of mossies but they also have a habit of running across your face as you sleep.. They've generally eventually left by the bathroom window however on the evening of Gareth’s departure to Chennai for a few days with work, I was alone in the apartment…

Now don’t get me wrong I’m not a particularly queasy or girlie girl and quite happily cope with spiders etc, but that night there was just me and a fair sized lizard sharing our bedroom and one of us had to go.

Considering sleeping on the couch I decided no! this was our bedroom and I was tired after a long day so would take the 'little' beast on by myself. Grabbing a bowl we had a playful chase around the room as I tried to stifle screams anytime it crossed by my feet or over my head.

Taunting me with speed I couldn’t match it ran round and round the room, till at last after having pulled every bit of furniture into the middle I trapped it in the corner. Raising the bowl I went to close over its body however though my intention was just to trap it then release outside, I actually managed to chop its tail off while putting the bowl down.

This is where it gets a little nasty - the nerve endings in the tail were still active, which meant the tail was still alive and wriggled about for minutes after, so I had to get another bowl to cover that, while keeping the almost intact though tailless lizard under the other bowl. I felt like I was in a horror movie.

Following this little drama I stood there feeling like a murderess, red faced and exhausted, though secretly relieved. The next half hour consisted of me inching both bowls little by little across the carpet to the main door to get both bits of animal outside. Eventually I did this and locking the door went straight back into the bedroom, where taking wads of newspaper I stuffed every conceivable hole I could see with paper, the room looked ridiculous but I felt better and slept like a baby that night. Am sure in the future I'll be used to sharing a room with them, but am looking forward to seeing Gareth on Friday!

A few highlights from last week

2006-08-10T14:24:00.000+05:30

I (Andi) spent a day last week with Lissy Jonny, the wife of Gareth ’s boss who is quickly becoming a friend and advisor on all things Indian. Back in March when we or actually I visited Hyderabad for the first time, Lissy and I met and she made the rash promise to try and teach me how to cook a real Indian feast, none of this jar rubbish! So off I pottered at 10.30 am and with her two girls at school and Jonny at work this meant we had the house to ourselves.

Lissy is an instinctive cook and therefore following her recipes for meat masala, chapatis and dal, meant I had to make up versions of the measurements used in the dishes. For example what she described as a pinch was in fact 2 tablespoons of some form of spice - this could be very dangerous... It was impressive to watch her throw everything together and the meal we were preparing was to be shared by the family and Gareth and I that night.

Occasionally allowing me the responsibility of stirring a pot or chopping a tomato, I mostly sat and watched the master at work. Sipping chai (tea) and taking notes as we went along, just as importantly we started sharing stories and getting to know each other better, with Lissy telling me about growing up in Kerala a city further south than Hyderabad it takes 24 hours to get there by train.

As the steam rose from the pots Lissy’s stories of her childhood flowed, she also shared with me how she became a Christian, worked with OM (Operation Mobilisation not OM Books/STL who Gareth works for) for two years, which is also where she met her husband. Her stories brought to life another part of India with its different cultural practices, food and language.
It was fascinating and she handled my many questions with patience. Lissy also has a great sense of humour and would often break out into infectious giggles especially as I tried to roll the dough, used for the chapatis, into a perfect oval shape as she had tried to show me, but didn't quite master ..

Around 3.30pm her two girls Brija and Silja returned from school and immediately dragged me off to watch a performance from one of their school open days. This mostly consisted of me admiring their dance moves and singing abilities…

Finally the day’s cooking was completed and with Gareth and Jonny back from work around 6pm, we eventually sat down to eat the amazing array of dishes Lissy had whipped up for us (unfortunately though I’d like to I can’t take any credit for them).

Now I just have to use the recipes myself, trying not in the process to subject Gareth to any serious stomach issues….

Lissy’s next lesson she has told me, is to demonstrate how I wear a sari properly so it doesn’t look like I've wrapped a bandage around my body (for those on my MK hens night this might ring a bell!)

The next day I spent some time with Leah Kadwell. Leah and her husband Kevin are from the States but have lived in Hyderabad for over eight years now. Their two children Clark and Claire were both born here and they give invaluable advice on how to settle in/integrate as expats and make it your home. Leah and I met up to walk round the community she lives in to see if any of the homes were available to rent. This is sometimes the best way to find somewhere to live, apart from word of mouth. However there was nothing for us to look at that day, but it gave me a good idea of the sort of area we’d like to live in and again had time to get to know Leah better.

We really value and are enjoying developing friendships with both Indians and some of the expats who we've met and are starting to feel more and more at home in Hyderabad and India.

Finding a permanent home is part of this process and we've spent a good deal of time recently looking for apartments and had thought we found the right place a few days ago. Unfortunately the landlord was unsure about renting to non-Hindus who may cook meat in the apartment. So there you go, we either convert or stop eating meat… Ok, so we couldn’t handle not eating meat....

Faux Pas Of The Week

2006-08-05T17:31:00.000+05:30

Gareth in a telephone conversation with an Indian telecoms agent...

The agent introduces herself and the reason for calling

Gareth: "Sorry, could you please speak in English?"

Agent: "I am speaking in English, sir"

Gareth: "Carry on..."

Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

2006-08-03T21:22:00.000+05:30

Let me start by saying that, we don't mean to only put stories up here that are more extreme or unusual, but let's be honest - it definitely makes for more interesting reading.

In light of which, we decided to go to watch the new Superman movie at the IMAX cinema in Hyderabad.

Once we had bought the tickets and had something to eat, we headed to the screen. As the cinema was an IMAX, it meant that the screen was massive...and it also meant that we were given 3-d glasses as we entered (something I was never given in a UK cinema) - every time the glasses logo came on screen, we were to put our glasses on and the images literally flew out at us. It certainly brought the film to life.

Another peculiarity of the Indian cinema experience, is that they have an interval half way through the film. The actor could be in mid sentence and the screen literally goes black, the sound is cut off, and the house lights go up. I (Gareth) had experienced this once before on a previous visit to India, however this time a very official looking man in uniform asked us all to leave the auditorium to allow the sniffer dogs in!

Although they assured us it was a routine drill, it turns out there had been an anonymous and, as it turns out, hoax (or bogus, for all you Americans) call that there was a bomb in the building. Every one of the 6 movie theatres in the building had to be evacuated.

To our relief we were allowed back in after about 25 minutes, but the experience certainly added a little more excitement to our cinematic experience than we had anticipated - and it made the front page of The Hindu Times.

Best Quote Of The Week

2006-07-30T12:20:00.000+05:30

"Marriage is not all suits and saris" Rev Marcus Chacko

(meaning that, behind the smart suit and nice sari, marriage also has a lot of challenges)

Home Sweet (Temporary) Home

2006-07-29T17:42:00.000+05:30

Here are a few pictures of the house we are currently staying in. The apartment is situated in the campus of my (Gareth's) offices. We are hoping to have our own place in the next few weeks.

The Cooker

Andi has already put this to good use and cooked a spicy chicken and spaghetti dish - the ironic thing being that has been the hottest (spicy) meal we have had since we got here!

The Choice - toilet paper or power wash?

It will surprise none of you to know that Gareth found himself in a shopping mall toilet in the predicament of having no toilet paper option...the seat of his trousers is still drying out.

The Lounge

Where we catch up on all the Bollywood gossip.

The Kitchen

Our Street

Also in the picture is one of the infamous auto-rickshaws.

The View From Outside

Our apartment is the balcony to the left of the "A".

We hope you enjoyed our guided tour, please stop by if you happen to be passing through Jeedimetla Village.

On a different note, we have found Tetley tea bags in the supermarket - there's no stopping us now.

What Are We Doing??

2006-07-29T11:16:00.000+05:30

Many of you have asked us what it is we are actually doing out here for two years, so we thought it might be helpful to give you a summary…

Gareth – Commercial Director, STL OM Books

In Milton Keynes, I worked for Authentic Media, part of the STL Group. STL in the UK consists of Authentic (product creation/marketing), STL Distribution (wholesale/contract distribution), and Wesley Owen (retail). In India they have a similar set-up and I will work in all three areas – product creation, distribution, and retail. The purpose of the role is to develop the key relationships with publishers and music labels in the West, help to expand the sales channels through which our products are sold, and work on the marketing of these products both to the trade and the consumer. As of April 2006, STL have entered into a partnership with OM Books India. OM Books have been around for 12 years, so I am definitely not going in to teach them how to operate, but rather to use my experience in helping take them forward. (apologies if that was wordy or boring). www.stl.org

Andi – Regional Relief and Crisis Communications Manager, World Vision Asia Pacific. (TBC)

The final details of this role are still being confirmed so without saying too much, this will be a newly created position by the Asia Pacific Regional Office and for the UK office to support, which will be both exciting and challenging! If all is completed Andi will update you on what the job entails and what this will mean for her during the time in India, in the next month or so. www.wvasiapacific.org

Over the next month or so Andi's role will also consist of finding a house, ironing Gareth's shirts, preparing dinner for him every night, while spending a lot of time picking out the latest in designer sari wear. She will also be learning Hindi and how to make a chapati...so she will not be stuck for things to do.

Wet Wet Wet

2006-07-27T18:15:00.000+05:30

Well, we are about four days in and most have been relaxed, just working out the practicalities of organising a life in India. Tonight we decided to treat ourselves by having a meal at the Kakatya Sheraton hotel in the centre of Hyderabad. The journey from Logos Bhaven to the centre is around 15 km and usually takes about 30-45 minutes – tonight was different…

Before leaving the apartment, we decided that we would go down to the main road and hail an auto-rickshaw – however, as we began walking from the flat, the rain began to fall. We asked one of the staff on campus if it would be better to get a regular taxi, but after a few phone calls he suggested we share his rickshaw. We agreed.

When the rickshaw arrived he said that we could take this one and he would get another – very selfless. The rain by this point had begun to fall harder. The rickshaw took us about a mile down the road and then pulled into the side of the road. He shouted something in Taligu to another rickshaw driver and they then had a prolonged conversation, which seemed to be discussing whether or not we would swap rickshaws. Ten minutes later we were in the other rickshaw (which had no flaps to cover us from the rain, which our original had offered) and were heading down a very wet road. The rain was absolutely lashing down by now and we were both getting pretty wet, although as Gareth was on the roadside he was getting the splash back from other vehicles. It began to get a little ridiculous and by the time the rickshaw had forced its way through numerous floodings and driven the 15 km to the Sheraton, both of us were absolutely soaking.

Walking through the lobby of the Sheraton like two drowned rats who had wet themselves was highly amusing, However the idea to dry off using the hand dryers in the bathrooms proved unsuccessful, as did the “sit in the bar and have a drink while it dries” option. We were left with no other alternative…we had to ask the reception for a hair dryer. Although our request for a hairdryer was refused, a far better option was offered to us – we were taken to the hotels’ health club where we both gave our clothes to the attendant who took them to the laundry to be washed and ironed!! For Free!! Sitting in our bathrobes in the health club we sat and read the papers and enjoyed the unscheduled break in the evenings proceedings. After 15 or 20 minutes, we had our clothes back and they were in great condition – so we headed off to dinner.

Dinner was a relatively dull affair in comparison to the evenings other events, but was very nice indeed.

After dinner, we called for a taxi (regular) to take us home – they quoted us an hour waiting time as the rain had continued through the night and the roads were proving pretty hazardous. We said we’d wait. However, after 10 minutes we noticed a taxi sitting outside and we asked if it was available. To our delight he was, so we both hopped in and started our journey home. It wasn’t long before we realised this wasn’t going to be an easy journey – some of the worst flooding we had seen in part because of no drainage for the water to level out presented us with some interesting driving techniques in a taxi that had seen better days. We almost crashed 3 or 4 times into other vehicles, but our driver seemed undeterred. Flood after flood, we crunched into 1st gear and flew at the watery obstacles – and it looked like we might just make it, until…we hit the big one…and the engine purred its last. We were stuck right in the middle of a 3 foot deep “lake” in the road and every time a bus or lorry drove past we literally swayed like a rowing boat. The determined and still smiling driver got out and began to push. He did well for the most part, but as the road began to incline he could not do it alone anymore. It was at this point Andi suggested Gareth might help… So in his best shoes and new trousers, Gareth gets out the taxi and into the water (brown) and begins to push. 5 minutes, a few close scrapes with passing buses/lorries, and a pair of very wet socks later, we hit dry land and despite many attempts to restart the engine, we all knew in our heart of hearts that this taxi was not going anywhere tonight.

After making sure the taxi driver was well paid (for determination, if nothing else) and that he had a ride home, we took the only available option left…we began to walk. Gareth drenched from the knee down, and Andi in open toed sandals and jeans rolled up, we couldn’t help but laugh at the madness of this evening. We are still about 2 miles from our destination, but we are pretty hardy people and determined to get home! The rain continues lashing down. We ask a nearby motorist if he could give us a lift, but he refuses. Nice. So we carry on walking. As another vehicle goes to pass us, Andi sticks her hand out and he pulls over. Much to our surprise it is the same driver who shook his head only seconds earlier – this time he is in a more charitable mood and we are also sharing the car with another helpless journeyman who has been left stranded by his rickshaw. According to our new travel buddy these rains were not expected by anyone – no kidding!

Needless to say, we managed to get home and although we were both soaked through to our skin, we saw tonight as our first truly Indian experience. There were many others out there who were not as blessed as us to get home that night or have comfortable and dry beds to climb into. Thanking God for a safe return home and praying for those who are still struggling back, we also recognised we had experienced some of the generosity, tenacity and humour of Hyderabadis.

It also puts into perspective just how important those brown leather shoes really are.

Welcome! Namaste!

2006-07-27T17:44:00.000+05:30

Hi everyone. Welcome to our blog page.

We will try to update this as often as possible and not bore you with any unnecessary detail. We will also post some pictures up so you get an idea of what our life is like over here.

We probably won't send around any circulars by email, but will communicate with this site. We also have a few skype names if you want to communicate via that medium. Also our email addresses are andirussell01@aol.com and garethrussell@aol.com.

Welcome to the wonderful world of The Russells In India!