I just sat down to right this blog and at the same moment the power went out for the second time today. Now I have just noticed that the ceiling fans are not slowing; I assume this means we have blown a fuse and I need an electrician. I have been trying (not very hard) to get an electrician to come to our home for about three months now. I guess now I will have to try a little harder otherwise everything in the fridge will go off. Actually, it seems our fridge is not coping too well with the heat. I went to get the milk out this morning and found it had turned into yogurt… not smelly sour milk, but yogurt. I think it must be about 20 odd degrees in the fridge and about 40 in the kitchen itself. Anything I really need to keep cold goes in the freezer.
Sometimes I feel like I am forever chasing my tail… there is always something that needs to be done or needing repair. Just when I feel like things are in a semblance of normal something will pop up.
April
Wow it went fast. Ray's parents were here for the best part of it and I think overall they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Lola had a few ups and downs as she came to terms with the way things work (or don't work) here.
I organised for Sam to take them on a day trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal; personally I could not face it again. So I briefed Sam with all the knowledge I had gleaned over four visits, including the history as well as the dos and dont's of Agra and I think he did a fine job as acting tour guide.
The only other trip we went on while the relo's were here was the annual expat whitewater rafting weekend in Rishikesh. About 90, mostly foreigners, who know of this trip through an assortment of networks, book out the Silver Sands camp on the banks of the Ganga for a weekend of hanging out and whitewater rafting. It was so great to have some family with us to share the experience with.
The Friday morning of the first day we all met at New Delhi station and caught the train 4-5 hours northish to Haridwar. From there we hoped on a bus which takes us to our camp. It seems that this year we had a bus driver with a death-wish. Most of the road to the camp is steep and winding and our bus driver was insane. He was overtaking on bends and giving us a close look at the precipice leading to the river below. It really was a bit much so Ray went and told the driver to take it easy. He was fine after that.
The camp was as good as last year; great tents, comfy beds, amazing food and a couple of days of rafting the river. Where in Australia can you get all that for $100? The river was just as cold as I remembered it to be and I was not impressed when I was dragged out of my raft into the icy water. I think the river was a little tamer than last year which is just how I like it. I definitely enjoyed the trip more than last year. I think I was more relaxed. Last year the rafting weekend was just a couple of days before I was due to fly to Australia and I think that was all I was looking forward to.
The rest of April was fun. Just hanging out with the family enjoying good food either out and about or cooked for us by Hans at home. Hans put our dish-washing lady out of a job for the month; she was so worried she had been replaced.
I should mention we have discovered what I think is the best value five star breakfast buffet in Delhi…. The Oberoi. Rs550 ($12) including taxes.
So now we are on our own again and I am back to eating just to keep hunger at bay. I have totally lost the joy of eating. In fact the other night before bed I was hungry so I thought I would have a quick milo milkshake before bed. I smelt the milk as I got it out of the fridge to make sure it was ok, then mixed in the milo and drank. As soon as I got the first taste of the milk I realised it was sour. Rather than tip it down the sink I held my breath and drank it anyway. I just could not be bothered thinking any further about food and I did not want to go to bed hungry.
I am going to keep this blog relatively short as I have another one about ready to publish and I don't want to lose peoples attention with boring longwinded lists of events. My next blog will be about Indian culture and why I am now specifically taking the time to learn more about it. It has been a real eyeopener.
Until then
Namaste
No comments:
Post a Comment