Jennifer's Blog

Boat Weekend and other trips with my nieces

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 14:55:00 +0000

Hi. We've been back in the US since our phased return in April/May 2012. I see that I haven't provided updates since January, and there's lots to catch you up on. But while this is on my mind....

Since the girls were little we've tried to spend one weekend each summer with Dad at his boat. Boat weekend 2012 just wrapped up, during which we had a long conversation trying to recall the chronology of past weekends. Which niece came, which friend did she bring, was it rainy, did we fish, was that the time we went to Tawas?

1998 is the first year with photo evidence that we took Lydia to the boat:

And in 1998 she brought Adam and they challenged each other to jump off the highest point of the boat into the water:

No photo evidence for a few years until 2004, Mystery Year. Apparently Dad caught a fish, and presumably I was with him to take the photo. But were any children with us?

2004 was a bonus year. In addition to boat weekend Dad and I also went to the Bahamas for a fishing trip:

2005: Lydia brought Sam and we spent the night in Tawas with attack ducks. I seem to recall grilled steaks on the deck.

2007, another mystery as to boat weekend. But I did find a back-to-school shopping photo:

And, for the record, 2007 was the year that Julia, Dad and I went to NYC and saw three shows, visited Coney Island, and ate at a street food fair in Chinatown:

And yes, Dad, it was October 2008 that you and I went back to NYC and saw the Rockettes:

2009 was a busy year and I really think Dad and I spent a rainy day driving around and going to Tawas. Any surprise I have no photos?

Our 2010 and 2011 break was due to my being out of the country. But we are back in 2012 with a bang, Julia, and a new boat buddy, Marge, who caught her first perch ever:

Beating the crap out of the laundry

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 04:49:00 +0000

The method for doing laundry here is a constant source of intrigue and amusement for me. Pretty much any time of day in our neighborhood you can hear one woman or another beating the crap out of her laundry. I sit in our guest room most afternoons and evenings (conducting meetings with folks in the US) and have a prime view of our neighbors' servants' living space. The baby hangs from a hammock made of the 6 yards of fabric of a sari hung over a tree branch and cries all the time. The dogs fight. The wife cooks and heats water over a wood fire. A toddler plays in the dirt and sleeps on the driveway that forms the border of their space. The mother-in-law seems to have baby duty. The husband works at the neighbors' house and then pokes around once in a while. It's an amazing story being played out in front of me every day.

You really have to see this to believe it. So I recorded these short videos from my 2nd floor window on zoom over the wall, and across the neighbors' driveway. Look for all the elements I named above, especially the baby hammock to the right in one of the shots.

A Welcome Lull

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:45:00 +0000

Today is a public holiday in India, so I am taking some time around the house to get caught up. It's overdue. After our holiday travels I spent the first few days of January in Chennai and then made a two week business trip to the US. I got a lot of good work done (meetings, of course) and also got to spend time with my family. Mom had a very big birthday this week so we had a little celebration while I was there. Of course, the big celebration comes in February when we meet her in Thailand. But I'll tell you about that afterwards.

Making travel plans for the next few months. Thailand in February, then probably Vietnam in April. I'm supposed go to go China and Manila the week after next for work but am still waiting for my tickets and Chinese visa, so we'll see if that comes through.

Need to go get a second set of additional pages added to my passport!

Christmas, 2011, in Hong Kong

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 11:04:00 +0000

We took the last two weeks of December off. The first week we tooled around Chennai; used the Lonely Planet guide and tried to explore places we hadn't been before. I went shopping with a friend - we were seeking treasures and souvenirs. Mr. R and I visited Pondicherry and Mamalapuram, two cites south of Chennai which we have visited many times but this time with the Lonely Planet as our guide to find new places to check out. I think I am done using the Lonely Planet books.

Off to Hong Kong for Christmas! We left late Friday night (all international flights from Chennai leave after midnight) and arrived Saturday morning, Christmas Eve. I expected Hong Kong to be a little gritty and to smell like I remember China smelling (not entirely pleasant). But it was just a great city. We marveled at how clean it is, how pedestrian-friendly with good signs in English to help you get around very easily. We bought passes that got us easily onto the subways, buses, trams and ferries- it was very simple to explore the city on our own. Plus most people spoke good English.

Mr R holding his Octopus pass for public transport. Easy!

We actually stayed in Kowloon, which is on the mainland facing Hong Kong island. Our hotel was right in a major shopping district and, it being Christmas Eve, the shops were closed to cars so people could flood the streets. It was exciting to be part of the crowd.

On Christmas Day we took the subway onto Hong Kong island. It's a city filled with skyscrapers all crowded between cliffs and the ocean. One section has escalators that get you from one street to the next as they climb the hills. We rode a double-decker tram to see more of the city once our feet got tired.

Monday we took a one hour ferry ride to Macau. Interesting. Both Hong Kong and Macau are part of China, but both had separate immigration processes and currency. Also, we had a 5 year old tour book for Macau which focused on the old Portuguese colonial neighborhoods (Portugal gave Macau back to China shortly after Britain gave Hong Kong back). But in the 5 years since that book was published Macau has been taken over by casinos and the focus now is on the very Vegas-like strip, complete with a Venetian and MGM casino. We checked out both aspects of the area and headed back to the ferry terminal.

When we left Hong Kong in the AM we had purchased our out-going ferry ticket and a voucher for a return ticket. So when we returned to the terminal that evening we expected to get a return ticket no problem. But, due to the holidays, all the ferries for that evening were sold out. We had a few moments wondering where we would spend the night and lamenting out pre-paid Hong Kong hotel (which was also where all our stuff was) before the clerk offered us first class ferry tickets without any sort of credit for the return vouchers we had already paid for. But we were glad not to have to look for a place to sleep that night and gladly paid the $50.

Tuesday was for more exploration of Hong Kong island. We took the 10-minute ferry ride across Victoria Harbor (pretty and fun) and then picked up the bus which climbed over the hills to the south side of Hong Kong.

We rode on the top of a double-decker bus and Mr. R reported, from his seat on the cliff side of the bus, that there were tiny guard rails that would not keep the bus from tumbling over the side. But we made it just fine.

Apparently the south side of the island is where the rich folk live in high-rise apartments perched on cliffs overlooking the ocean. But they kindly allowed us tourists in to poke around.

We had lunch at a beach-side cafe, sharing a table with a group presided over by a very friendly fellow.

Wednesday was our last day. We did some more exploration of Kowloon, got fantastic foot massages, and finished up our trip with drinks at the bar of the Ritz Carlton hotel, on the 118th floor with the other skyscrapers below us. When dusk fell that was our cue to pack up, get back to the hotel for our luggage, and a drive to the airport. Goodbye, Hong Kong!

Traveler's tip: When getting into immigration lines avoid the lines headed by female immigration officers. I think the power goes to their heads and they get very persnickety and are slow. Always get in the line of a male immigration officer. And look for the ones who smile- their lines tend to move fastest.

Nov and Early December, 2011 (Malaysia and Jaipur )

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 10:38:00 +0000

After returning from London in October I wrapped up my three year project (whew!) and had some vacation days to use up. Yes, I know you think I've been on vacation all year if my blog is to be believed. But our travels outside of Chennai have been weekenders so I had days to use.

So over Thanksgiving we took off two weeks and spent some time back in Malaysia. First to Kuala Lumpur and return to the Trader's Hotel for its incredible breakfast buffet, afternoon team and happy hour in the lounge, and incredible views of the Petronas Tower (until recently the tallest building in the world).

Then we were off to a resort on Tioman Island, off the eastern cost of Malaysia. The resort was small, just 14 private villas, and approachable only by water. So for a few days we looked at the ocean, chatted, read books, and slept on the beach, on our deck, and from pretty cabanas. There were two restaurants, snorkeling, and a spa. Plus, on lucky occasions, monkeys playing outside our villa. (The new question every time we check in to any hotel around the world is, "And do we need to worry about monkeys getting in to our room?") Very quiet and relaxing.

The view from our villa.

View of the resort from the restaurant at the end of a long dock.

Our villa is second from the right- perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean.

I am determined that we need to exploit our location and not sit around the house in Chennai (for example, spending my Saturdays organizing photos and blogging, oh, wait...). So shortly after our return from Malaysia we took a weekend and flew to Jaipur, India. I'll let Mr. R. tell you about this trip:

"We stayed at a pretty swanky place. It was a standalone suite complete with outdoor shower, tub and his/her massage tables. It was beautifully designed and decorated inside. I think it was the only place I've ever been at that I thought would be nice to have as a house. It is a spa and resort. The way they have it arranged is you can either get massages in the yard behind your suite or go to the spa. The spa is designed to accommodate one person or couple at a time. So if you book some services (and we did) you have the whole spa building to yourself.

Bedroom with gorgeous domed ceiling.


Sitting room with bay window.

The bathroom also had a domed ceiling. And a glass door from the shower let you into the garden and the outside shower.

Our private garden with shower, tub, and his-n-hers massage tables.

Drinking tea from a street vendor- yum!

The chef chased us down in our room each night to discuss our dinner menu. And when we set ourselves up on the lawn to watch the full lunar eclipse the owner wandered by and volunteered to have a bonfire brought to us, please wait just 15 minutes. Sure enough, a few minutes later two guys showed up with a glowing fire in a bucket on a tray. Thank goodness because it got cold there at night. The eclipse was wonderfully visible in the desert sky.

It was cold! I wore a scarf plus my hotel-supplied bathrobe to watch the eclipse.

We went shopping in town one day and bargained until we dropped. Our last day we had breakfast brought to our room and just spent the last few hours soaking up the luxury and peacefulness of the place. Overall, a very good trip.

My favorite photo from the roll was the Sikh bike shop guy with shiny bike wheels hanging outside his store."

Yet More Catching Up

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 07:28:00 +0000

With this post I hope to bring you from our July & August, 2011/Ms J visit to the present, Dec 2012.

When we left off I had flown to Michigan for a business trip and accompanied Ms J back from her stay with us in Chennai. That ended up being a very busy week of meetings for me, but we were able to celebrate Dad's 70th birthday at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club while I was there. It was so nice to see Dad's family and friends honoring his day and showing him all their love and respect.

After a whirlwind trip I returned to Chennai. August and September were big months at the end of a major, three-year project I had been working on so I was very busy at work. I spent two weeks in Chennai then was off to London for two weeks.

Soon after my return to Chennai our neighbors from South Lyon, J&J, visited us. J was presenting at a conference in Chennai- isn't that a weird coincidence? We were happy to see them and had a great time showing them Chennai. J went off on her own and explored Pondicherry (a town about 2 hours south of Chennai, by car). It was fun to listen to the tales of her adventure when she returned. Sadly, it looks like I took no photos. I need to check their site to see if I can get copies of photos they took.

A few days after their departure I was off for one more business trip to London. Three weeks this time. But Mr R joined me for the first week! Coming back to see him at the hotel after a day of meetings was a great way to add some joy to a business trip. He explored London on his won while I was at work, then we'd have dinner out each night. He stayed over a weekend so we took the train into Paris. It's just a 2 hour ride and quite comfortable. We only spent one night in Paris so we hit the highlights- Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the outside of the Louvre (we ran out of time!). But we found time for several coffees at street cafes and enjoyed watching Paris street life.

See the Eiffel Tower in the distance behind us?

Mr R returned to Chennai while I wrapped up the final two weeks of my business trip. On one of my remaining weekends I took the train to Newcastle to visit an American family who moved there recently from Chennai. It was great to see them and catch up. The family seems to be doing well and their kids are flourishing.

I returned to Chennai for the final days of my project in October. Whew!

More Catching Up

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 07:28:00 +0000

Actually, if I create a different post for all the stuff that's happened since my last serious bout of posting we will be here a long time. But I do need to tell you about Ms J's visit to India.
She flew over by herself in July and, apart from tooling around Chennai, we also went to Kerala. That is a state in south India which is famous for its greenery and backwaters which you can tour on a houseboat. Which we did. It was a great time. The houseboat is quite big with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. It had a large deck to spend the day on watching people live their lives on these quiet canals. We experienced a major rain storm that caused the crew to tie up and wait out. And all three of us slept well (enough) in our full bedrooms.We were served by a crew of 4 who managed the boat and kept us fed (really fed). It was quite lovely.

After our boat trip we spent a night at a heritage hotel- a former house which was converted into a small hotel.

We ventured into town to walk around and do some shopping. A highlight was a stop for South Indiam coffee (loaded with milk and sugar, yum!) at a restaurant which Lonely Planet deemed "clean". We wondered if they weren't trying to be ironic, or if they just missed the mess of electrical wires hanging from the wall.

We had a fantastic time hosting Ms J in Chennai. She bought some very Indian, silver ankle bracelets,

went to the gorge-fest Sunday brunch we are so fond of

and got upgraded to business class on both segments of her flights from Chennai to Detroit!

I flew with her- I had a business trip at that time. So it worked out really well. We had a great time keeping each other company on the flight plus the long layover in Frankfurt.

We agreed to spend a week together next summer (in South Lyon!) and intend to keep her to that pact!

Catching Up

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 07:06:00 +0000

My goodness! Has it really been since we visited Bangalore in June that I posted about our travels? I told you we were on our way to Bangkok but never gave you the update. It was great! We spent a few nights at this quiet little place in Ayythaya, where we had a private villa with a deck overlooking a quiet canal and exquisite Thai massages. We took a tuk tuk (3 wheel, open-air taxi) to dinner in a harrowing ride on a 4 lane road with buses and cars. At a local mall Mr R and Ronald McDonald said "sawadika" (hello) to us.

Then we headed into Bangkok where we spent a few nights at a Conrad hotel. Our room was great- 20th floor or so and the bathtub was placed in front of a huge window looking over the city. Plus it had what Mr R called the best-stocked mini-bar he's ever seen. Look at the large bottles of booze plus the condoms. :-)

Bangkok was great, although we did not see any of the famous monuments, temples, etc. We went to the weekend market in Bangkok which I was afraid would be a tourist ghetto but which was filled with stalls containing household good, clothes and gorgeous art which I would have stocked up on if it weren't for the prospect and cost of having things shipped. And, of course, we made liberal use of the hotel lounge. Here is the inevitable photo of me holding a glass of champagne.

Just a nice break from Chennai- some relaxation, some shopping, some luxury.

How Did I Get Here?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 10:17:00 +0000

Things I've said recently that were earnest at the time but, upon reflection, seem really ludicrous:

"What on earth did the pool guy do to the pool? That's it, time to fire him."
"Where do you suppose the maid put our new champagne glasses?"
"Our driver got in an accident? But we were supposed to go out for dinner tonight!"
"He can't go to a funeral! He has to get the generator working first."
"We are almost out of Chinese tea. When we go to Hong Kong let's buy some more."

Some days I sort of forget how weird a situation we are in now. And then some times we just get smacked in the face with it. And, by the way, as silly as these laments sound, when you are at the mercy of others (as we really are. Sincerely, without these people we could not function here) it matters.

Imagine being our maid, washing yet another new set of our drinking glasses (this time plastic champagne glasses so we can drink in the pool without worrying about broken glass, seriously). Her dishes and cooking pans sit on a shelf outside her house. What on earth could we possibly need with short glasses, tall glasses, and three (now four) sets of stemmed glasses (white wine, red wine, champagne, and now plastic champagne). Don't laugh- I'll bet you have multiple sets of glasses at your house, too!

And if you are familiar Mr. R's bowl fetish, you know how many bowls we have, too. What on earth does Lakshmi think as she washes and puts them away?

Did I already tell you about my enjoyment of the game I made up trying to figure out where Lakshmi will put new kitchen items? Do plastic champagne glasses go with the glass glasses, wine glasses, or in the secret cupboard of crappy plastic tumblers? (she chose the drinking glass shelf) Do the new tea cups and saucers go with the bugs and plates or with the tea pots? (she chose the mugs shelf) I like that she figured out my "filing" system pretty quickly, but am so embarrassed by amount of stuff we own.

But if I'm so ashamed, why do we keep buying new things?

Monsoon in Chennai

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 13:52:00 +0000

The word monsoon brings to mind, for me, life-threatening storms with torrential rain and winds. Turns out it's just an extended period of regular and, yes, heavy rains. But not so windy and definitely not life-threatening.

We are in the midst of monsoon and seeing lots of rain just about every day. We had an epic car journey yesterday when we got stuck for an hour approaching a flooded portion of road on the way to my office. By the time we got through the jam and the flooded area it was so late we just turned around and went back home. 2.25 hours totally wasted on the road. Except that we got some great photos!

The lesson we took away from this yesterday: when you are driving and the rain comes down so heavily that you can't see four cars ahead of you, there will be an impassable road ahead and you might as well turn back. When we moved here the other expats told us to get an SUV exactly for this reason. And we proved them right when Ramesh drove through the deepest lanes of the road to get around other cars.

Speaking of Ramesh, our driver was in a motorcycle accident yesterday and broke his arm. He spent the night in the hospital and was going to have surgery today to have the bone set. We went to the hospital (more of a clinic with rooms) to see him this morning. His whole family was there, including his very scared, young wife. With his arm in a cast we think he will not be able to drive his motorcycle to work.

The whole thing was weird. On the one hand, we feel bad that Ramesh was hurt and are concerned about his family. We have no idea what kind, if any, of health or short-term disability insurance he has. But on the other hand we do not want to get too involved in his business (we've heard horror stories from other expats) and now we have to deal with finding and training a substitute driver. It's a very weird position to be in and our reaction to it made us both uncomfortable.

Another weird thing today. A co-worker's (here in India) 3.5 year old son succumbed to cancer yesterday. I got an email this morning informing me of this and telling us the cremation was to be today, plus the co-worker's home address and phone number. Of course we have no idea what the etiquette is here, but I wanted to express my sympathy. So we set our substitute driver to find the address. This is no small task in India. The little streets are very numerous, pretty much impossible to find on maps, and house numbering makes absolutely no sense. By starting on the outskirts of the town and asking lots of people directions, somehow we found the right house. We knew we were near when we saw the flower petals along the street. (Here bodies are covered in flowers and taken down the street to the crematorium with people casting the flower petals on the street.) They had plastic chairs on the street outside their house, and the inside was full of people. The poor father was devastated and his young wife could barely sit up. He brought us coffee and spoke to us. But then I started to feel like he felt he had to stay and talk to us since I am a manager at the office. (There is this uncomfortable vibe most places because managers and foreign visitors are esteemed, so we get the impression that people feel they have to go out of their way for us.) So we left very shortly after we arrived. So we have no idea if we did the right thing or not, but at least we stopped in to let him know how sorry we were.

So two sad, life-event situations here in one day in which we had no idea how to behave. We decided that the basic rules apply everywhere: attend to people, visit them when they are in need, be kind. But the specifics are where you can really screw up, aren't they? Did we stay too long? Not enough? Were we supposed to bring something? Was there something we were supposed to say? We did the best we could and hope we are forgiven if we broke some rules.

Summer in Chennai

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 14:41:00 +0000

It's June and the worst of the summer heat is behind us, but it's still hot. But the pool is now cooler than the air so at least it's refreshing again. But we sat out a little too long yesterday and got more pink than we planned to. It's also mango season. It's funny to come from the US where a mango is mango to learn that there are so many varieties. I've made a few batches of mango freezer jam and will make some more as soon as a friend returns from the US with more Sure Jell for me.

We've had a good weekend in. Yesterday was lounge around the house day. Long breakfast with a pot of tea, some swimming, some TV, some reading. Today, due to lack of imagination, we went to Asiana (our usual workout and Sunday brunch joint) for massages and brunch. I got a Thai massage today, as opposed to the standard Swedish massage. The Thai massage was amazing! The little masseuse walked on my legs and back to loosen up my joints - doesn't sound pleasant but it was and it worked. So next time you come to Chennai I'll get you in and you will love it.

Last weekend we took the train to Banagalore. The Chennai train station was CRAZY with people milling about, sleeping n the ground inside and out waiting for trains, brushing their teeth at large communal sinks, and walking around all the stacks of boxes of goods being loaded on the trains. It left early in the morning and took around 5 hours.

Bangalore is due west of Chennai and the landscape reminds me of the American southwest. As we got out of the city it became more agricultural. At one stop Mr. R saw monkeys but I missed them.

Bangalore is popular with the expats because it has western restaurants such as Chili's and Hard Rock Cafe; it is a more progressive town in general. We went directly to our hotel, the Leela Palace, and pretty much burrowed in for the duration. It was gorgeous, with gardens, a small shopping arcade, several restaurants, and a nice pool area.

Per our new norm we stayed in a room which had privileges at a lounge which served snacks and cocktails at various times of the day.

After breakfast on the second day we wandered out to the pool. Apparently the lounge chairs have magnets because we sat down and didn't get up for three hours. The weather was cooler than Chennai- probably in the high 70's- so it felt refreshing. We walked out to a small grocery store to be jealous of the fact that they sell liquor, beer and wine there (only found at government shops in Chennai, with a small selection). But we quickly returned to the peace and quiet of our mini-resort. Oh, and Mr. R had his first auto rickshaw ride and survived to tell the tale.

The Chennai American school is out for the summer and the expats are starting to leave town. Some families are returning home, some moving on to new assignments, several are taking summer vacations. It's sad to see people going but nice to know we're extending our global network of friends. Plus some new families are joining us in Chennai and it's our turn to help them settle in, as so many people did for us almost one year ago.

A Sekar story for you. (Remember Sekar is the caretaker/gardener at our house.) He was off last week looking for a bride for his son Boobathy (pronounced Boobady, which totally cracks me up every time Mr. R says it). He came back and reported that the prospective bride had buck teeth and a ninth-grade education. So the search continues. Not sure why they want to marry Boobathy off, when the happy couple is destined to move in with Sekar and Lakshmi anyway.

Mr. R and Sekar have what we call a daily confab, the topics of which are usually our dinner conversation. Mr. R. puts on what he calls his "Sekar translator" to give me the story in words as Sekar conveyed it with body language and tone. The stories are always hysterical because I've seen Sekar and can believe that his waving of arms translates into the sarcasm and cursing with which Mr. R replays the stories. I really need to videotape one of their confabs for you.

Next weekend we are off for Bangkok. We will arrive early Thursday morning and take a car to Ayutthaya, to a hotel a friend recommended there. We will stay through the following morning then drive back to Bangkok for two nights. General plan is to do a little shopping, some sightseeing, hit a famous rooftop bar at night, and hang around the hotel.

And, yes, Mr. S, I do have a job but work stories would be sort of boring blog material, wouldn't they? :-)

Dad's Travel Journal

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 04:15:00 +0000

Here, in its entirety, is the journal Dad kept during our Dubai/Delhi/Chennai trip. I like comparing our notes; he wrote about the killer B.O. on the Kingfisher flight attendants which I had entirely forgotten about.

He has given me permission to post it. All statements and opinions are his. :-) My only edits were for formatting and to remove names of J and C.

J & Bob, Dubai & India, 2011

Today at Chennai, India, at 12 degrees N. latitude, 80 degrees E. longitude, I dipped my feet in the water of the Bay of Bengal, part of the Indian Ocean. I’m a long way from home at 43 N, 83 W, in Ortonville, Michigan.

This was day 6 of a 10-day vacation with granddaughter, J, to India, by way of Dubai, to visit daughter, Jennifer, and her husband, C, who live in Chennai. Jennifer works for Ford Motor Company, and she and C live in a big, gorgeous, cottage style house, two houses from the ocean. The beach is beautiful and sandy, but largely unusable because the local residents, having no indoor plumbing, go to the beach for their morning business, so it can be smelly, and dangerous walking. They just scoop a hole in the sand, and when they’re finished, use the ocean water to clean themselves. They subscribe to the wash option, of the wash vs. wipe debate. We were lucky this day because the beach was clean from the pounding surf.

J and I left home last Thursday, March 31^st. A limo picked us up at home and dropped us at the Detroit airport at 4:30, for a 7PM flight to Washington D.C, Dulles airport. It was obvious as soon as we hit the airport that J is a pretty savy traveler. Navigating the ticket counter, and security, and the gates were no problem for her at all. She already has trips to Paris, and to Mexico under her belt. At security, while she sailed right through, I had to surrender a can of aerosol hair spray, a new bottle of maple syrup for C, and worse of all, a nearly new bottle of my favorite after shaft lotion. $55, and it was going to be put in the trash. I nearly begged the security agent to use it himself, or give it to someone else, but No! regulations you know. Later while having a sandwich and drink, we struck up a conversation with a woman from Denver, who was going home after visiting her parents. Her father was dying of cancer, and had only a few days to live, and she was really down, while telling us stories of sailing with him on the great lakes in her childhood. She needed a hug, but neither of us gave it to her. Damn! I held her hand for a few moments, and tried to comfort her a little. I don’t know what J thought.

We caught our flight to Washington, and then at 10:20PM, our flight to Dubai. What a rotten flight it was. The seat rows were so close together I was miserable, miserable, miserable. I couldn’t sleep, and could hardly move my butt. We arrived in Dubai at 7:30PM on April 1^st, in the dark, 10 ½ hours ahead of Detroit time. The car that was supposed to be waiting for us wasn’t there, so we took a taxi to Traders Hotel, where Jennifer and C were waiting for us in the lobby. What a nice greeting that was.

I see Jennifer every 3 months because she has to come to Dearborn for business meetings, then to London on her way back to Chennai. We hadn’t seen C since June 2010. He’s thinner now, and has decided to be a full-fledged vegetarian. From then until the end of our trip, we were totally in their hands. I didn’t make a decision, look at a clock, call a cab, or look for a gate at an airport. It’s pretty apparent to me that the authority and responsibility has passed from us, to them. They’re young and in charge, and we’re old and dependent. It’s the first time with my children that I’ve been aware of the torch being passed. It doesn’t feel especially good, but it’s a thrill to see them so in charge and capable. It’s like looking in the mirror, and seeing myself when I was younger.

Traders Hotel was pretty darned nice, and J and I had a nice 4^th floor room with a city view. Jennifer and C had an executive level room, with access to the executive lounge, which they would have shared with us had we arrived earlier. She travels so much and accumulates points that entitle her to (everything). That everything spilled over to me J, so we were treated like junior executives.

Jennifer and C had arrived in Dubai a day before us, so already knew the lay of the land. After settling into our room, we all met at the bar for a nightcap, and to talk about how the trip was unfolding for each of us, and to hear from them what our Dubai itinerary was going to be. This was going to be an early to bed night, what with the time zone travel, and the miserable seating condition on our incoming flight.

In the morning, April 2^nd, while lying in bed in the darkness wide awake at 4:30, I called quietly over to J in her bed, asking if she was awake too. “Yup, I’m awake grandpa”, says she. We agreed to turn the light on and read awhile, but by 5:30 we decided to get up and shower, and hit the street. There was no coffee available in the lobby for us early risers, and the restaurant didn’t open until 7, so we walked across a busy three way intersection to a gas station hoping we’d find a U.S. kind of place, and our morning fix. For me that’s a coffee, and coke for her. Sorry Pal, no coffee here. We did find out that attendants pump gas for you and clean the car windows. I wonder if they still will in 20 or 30 years. It was a nice gas station with snacks available, but nothing for us. The price of gas, while sold by the liter, converted to about $250 per gallon. Also, they drive on the wrong side of the road, like the Brits. The landscape is sand, sand, everywhere. We idled away an hour waiting for J. and C. to come down for breakfast, then we all went into the breakfast buffet. This was the first of many vegetarian meals to be eaten on this trip, and it was tasty. Pita, dates, Japanese noodles, hummus, Arabian cheese, and good American coffee.

After breakfast we took to the elevated train for a ride to the Mall of the Emirates, to see the indoor ski slope. That thing is way huge, with a chair lift, and beginners and expert slopes, snow board hills, and sled hills for the tykes. Snow covered evergreen trees grow between the slopes, and anything else that would be on an alpine ski slope is there. Shops sell all the latest skiwear and skis, fireplaces are roaring, and hot chocolate and schnapps are in abundance. This can all be seen from big windows looking out from inside the mall where it’s nice and warm, and the place was swarming with people who may never have seen natural snow.

Not to be forgotten is that Dubai is a huge shopping mecca, from the traditional souk, to the most expensive shop with anything and everything anybody would want or need. All the malls, and airports, and subway stations have prayer rooms, and the skyline is dotted with minarets, as well as construction cranes. Is there a worldwide shortage of cranes? For the whole length we rode on the elevated train, looking out the windows on both sides, there was never a moment when no construction was going on, with reinforcement rod sticking up everywhere out of partially completed concrete buildings.

The next stop was the Dubai Mall, the biggest shopping mall in the world. The attractions here were a huge waterfall with sculptures of wing footed nymphs diving into the pool at the bottom, a computer controlled fountain like the one at Bellagio in Las Vegas, with a spray show put on periodically, and a great big aquarium, that puts the one at Cabellas to shame. What can’t be done with enough money? Oh, I almost forgot, shopping is available here too. Getting here we passed that famous main sail shaped building, the Burj Al Arab Hotel. We didn’t go in to look around because it cost too much. $60 gets you past the doorman if you’re a non-guest. While at the mall we used the world’s tallest building, Burj Dubai, as a background for a picture of all of us. Of course all the building decorations are (Arab, or arabesque?)

We finished our train ride back toward the creek, (Dubai City is divided by a creek running East/West, by a creek coming in from the Persian Gulf) and took in the old spice souk, and the gold souk. The gold is the real deal, with matching prices, so none of us bought any gold. I wanted some cardamom from the spice souk because it’s so expensive here at home. It’s much less expensive there, but I don’t need a gallon, so didn’t buy it. We just wandered for a while taking in the sights of the boats on the creek, and the docks, and the people and smells. Then we took a cab back to Traders for a short R&R.

Lunch had been in the crowded food court at Dubai Mall with Persian vegetables, and other vegetarian selections. No matter the ethnic type of food, the flat bread is always delicious. For dinner we walked up the street to a small grocery store and picked up a few things to eat back in our room.

More dates, oranges, banana, bread of course, cheese, C's favorite catsup Pringles, and a good mortadella for a little break from vegetarian for me, a little chocolate, and coffee. Everyone was tired, and C was to leave on a 1:00AM flight back to Chennai, so we called it a night after saying our goodbyes to him. J and I were asleep shortly after that, and with the help of a sleeping pill from J, I had the best sleep in 3 nights.

The flight to Delhi for Jennifer, J, and me, was the next morning too, at 10AM, April 3^rd, so we all had to get around early. In the morning, Jennifer checked us out of the hotel, and we caught a cab to the airport for the flight check in. She tried to get us to the airports plenty early because we weren’t sure of how much time we would need because we weren’t familiar with them.

Our 4-hour Emirates Airline flight to New Delhi turned out to be much better than the United flight to Dubai. It was absolutely luxurious in comparison, with more knee room, nicer attendants, and better food. The flight was full of course, as all flights seem to be anymore, but it was immensely better than United.

We arrived in Delhi at 3PM, and a driver was waiting to take us to a Hilton Hotel on the outskirts of town. What a ride it was. We were in a tiny little Tata car built in India that was just big enough for our luggage, and us, although we all were packing light. I swear, in the first couple of miles the driver turned 180 degrees at least 4 times. The road layout made no sense at all, but it must have made sense to someone. We rode for miles and miles past dirty, old looking, unpainted concrete. The traffic was controlled chaos, filled with rickshaws and scooters, blasting horns, buses, trucks, beggars, and oh yes, cows and goats too. The front of the Tata was so short it always looked like we would run into whatever was in front of us. The driver turned off the main road once, going underneath a concrete structure for an elevated train that hadn’t been put into service yet. We were on a narrow, dirty, dusty little street, like an expressway service drive, even more chaotic than the street we turned off from, with street vendors and little sidewalk food wagons, and trash, trash, trash. He apparently didn’t know exactly where the hotel was, so he turned around and got back on the (main) road, and after a few more miles, he turned off again, and passing back under the elevated train, turned into the hotel. The next scene happened time after time during our India time. We passed from the chaos and filth of India, to the regular, nice clean, ordered, world, of today. Just pass through the gate from one world to another world. There is nothing gradual about the change, but a jolt of sudden crossing from the one to the other.

Because of the hotel bombing in Mumbai from a couple of years ago, security is pretty tight, so the cab was inspected before we were allowed to enter the grounds, then we individually passed through security before being allowed into the hotel building.

I watched with J, as Jennifer received the executive treatment again at check in. Oh, hello Madam. May I please have your credit card Madam? Oh hello Ms. Jennifer, please let me take your bag, and come with me to the executive lounge. Please relax and we’ll bring you a drink and you can relax while we prepare your check in. Ha ha, we laughed at all this fawning, but it was fun. So we got in our room, which was nice, as we would expect. It had a glass wall from the room into the bathroom, with electric shades to go up and down, so the view was all the way through. Maybe it was the honeymoon suite! We lolled around a little, talking about the taxi ride and the sights, and just chilling a little. Later we reconnoitered around the hotel, and asked the concierge if walking around outside of the hotel compound was all right. She said it was, so just at dusk we cinched up our belts, our curiosity was fully piqued, and we took off to walk a few blocks to a local shopping mall. The was the crowded, dusty, dirty, smelly, narrow alley way that is underneath the elevated train, with all the food vendors using camping lanterns for light. We were gone for a couple of hours, and had a good time once we became a little accustomed to the surroundings. The people were friendly, with a few of them speaking English, just shopping, and enjoying a meal or their friends. The mall wasn’t like our malls, but was like the street outside, with old, and dirty, unpainted concrete. This is the color of New Delhi.

Back at the hotel we went to a Northern India restaurant, with seating on cushions on the floor, that J wanted to try. We staged a glass of beer in front of her for pictures, so her mom would have something so scream about later. The waiters were attentive and made sure we ate what they recommended. No rice? Oh yes, you must have rice! With Jennifer having lived 9 months in Chennai, she ordered the good vegetarian dinner, with an especially good rice and morel mushroom dish. Mmm. It was in a sealed crock and baked, and when the crock was opened at our table, the aroma was mouth watering. With the juices from the mushrooms and the Indian spices it was a bit of heaven, and toward the bottom where the juices were concentrated it was doubly good. Jennifer scraped the crusty part out of the crock to get at the last juicy morsels. There were big tables of Indian diners, and a three-piece band playing local music, so it turned out to be a fun and colorful dinner.

We had an early morning get up planned so we made it an early night.

On Monday, April 4^th, we were up early to catch a 6:15 train to Agra, to see the Taj Mahal. I was there to see it 50 years ago, and Jennifer was there a few months ago with a friend, so this was a trip for J, as a must see jewel of the world. Our driver showed up at 5:15, and with lunches in hand prepared by the hotel, we jumped in the car, and were off. It was still dark, but daylight came as we rode into Delhi, with all that dirty, gray, ancient looking concrete. The streets were clogged with the morning rush of rickshaws, bicycles, and animals, but we finally came to the most dismal, rotten, rundown looking train station imaginable. People milled all around in crowds inside and outside, wearing what seemed to be dirty looking rags, but what do I know about their workday dress? Little charcoal cooking fires were burning in the gutter and on the sidewalk, and it was all smoky, and filthy. With Jennifer leading the way we went looking for track 17, only to find there was no track 17. Crap,we were in the wrong station!. Delhi has four, and we were in the wrong one because our driver apparently didn’t read the address properly, and it was too late to catch him because he was already gone. With Jennifer at the ticket window trying to get things sorted out, J and I were just hanging, looking around being tourists seeing the sights, and stepping over people sleeping on the floor. People sleeping on a filthy, cold, marble floor, in a rundown, crowded, dilapidated train station. Amazing! As luck would have it, Jennifer came across a British guy, and his son, who were also going to Agra, and we caught hold of the them as our saviors. J. soon had tickets for us on the same train as the Brits, and after some comical scenes of us being shooed out of seats that didn’t belong to us, in a car with air conditioning, with the Indian passengers whose seats we had tried to commandeer shooing us to the back of the train, we settled in a filthy 3^rd class car, and there were the two Brits. This turned out to be a fun ride because they kept us going with stories of their travels in India. The Father loved it, and had apparently infused the son with the love too, so this was their vacation destination of choice. While we were traveling five star, they were traveling native, sleeping and eating on the streets. They said Delhi belly was just part of the experience for them!! A group of transvestites came through begging, and putting a curse on anyone who didn’t pony up a few Rupees. I thought they were hot, until J gave me a dose of reality. Ha haa.

When we arrived in Agra a driver was waiting, and we all loaded in the Tata for the ride to a hotel to meet our guide for the day. Driving through the streets of Agra it was easy to see why this is billed as the dirtiest city in all of India. It turned out to be a fine day, with the guided tour of the Taj, and time relaxing and having lunch in nice hotels, and running from the beggars. We lounged for a couple of hours in the afternoon at a hotel having drinks, where just before the call to prayer, a little show was performed outside near the pool. We stood on a balcony off the bar, and the show took place on the roof of a veranda across the gardens and pool. The setting was beautiful, with Indian music and a woman dancing in saris with a fire pot on her head. With the music and dance, and the Taj sticking up over the trees in the distance, it was beautiful, and most of the other bar patrons were outside on the balcony too. Just as the show was ending, the evening call to prayer could be heard starting. First one voice, then other voices from other minarets calling,

Allah is Great, Allah is Great, I bear witness that there is no divinity but Allah, I bear witness that Muhammad is Allah's Messenger, I bear witness that Muhammad is Allah's Messenger, Hasten to the prayer, Hasten to the prayer, Hasten to real success, Hasten to real success, Allah is Great, Allah is Great, There is no divinity but Allah.

All the voices mingling together in the call is one of my favorite times of the day in a Muslim country.

The drivers we had were all models of patience. I know that’s how they earn their living, but all day driving us somewhere, then waiting in the car to be called to drive again, than wait some more, with never any indication that they would rather be doing anything else.

We boarded our 8:30 train back to Delhi, and had a nice ride in a 1^st class, air conditioned car, where were served dinner and drinks, and napped a little, and arriving back in Delhi, were met by the very apologetic driver. A long tiring day, but very good. I’m glad J has seen the Taj Mahal.

We were up early again in the morning, Tuesday, April 5^th, for an 8:50 flight back to Chennai. All these early morning departures kept us from enjoying a leisurely breakfast, and this was the same. Grab a quick coffee, and run for the car.

Delhi has a beautiful, shiny new airport that’s all modern and clean and well kept, that again gives that time warp impression. Outside is the filthy dilapidated world of India with cows, and goats and trash, and inside is the complete opposite. There is no gradually going from one world to the other, but a hit in the face going in the door with one foot in the world of Delhi, and the other in the airport.

The flight on Kingfisher Airlines was uneventful, but with one interesting note. Kingfisher offers decent seating in economy class, good food, drinks, and cabin service from several young gorgeous attendants, dressed in crisp white blouses and bright red skirts and heels. The most gorgeous also had a terrific case of B O, which caused me to stop breathing while she was near. I switched from my aisle seat during a bathroom break for J, and Jennifer ended up on the aisle, and it was hilarious when she had her first B O exposure, and couldn’t breathe for a couple minutes. It was funny!

C and their driver, Ramesh, met us at the airport in Chennai, with fresh flower lei’s for us three, and hugs and greetings all around. It was such a nice welcome for us, and a welcome home for Jennifer. It’s a 45-minute ride south to their house, and it was good to get there; a place where we would stay for a few days. We spent the rest of the day getting acquainted around the house and pool, with drinks and snacks on the balcony, and just relaxing. The caretaker, Sakar, came at 6:30 to turn on the outside lights, and C introduced us to him. His wife, Lakshmi, is the housekeeper, and they live in a small caretakers hut on the other side of the cement wall that surrounds the main house. Sakar comes every morning to turn the lights off. The driver comes on his little motorcycle everyday as needed to drive, and leaves the car every night, and rides off on the moto. He keeps the car, a Ford Endearvour (Explorer) clean, and gassed, and helps with errands. Sakar and Ramesh both give J. and C. advise on living in India, and help with finding workmen, and things needed to keep the house working.

We spent the next enjoyable days before coming home, in shopping, sightseeing, eating good vegetarian meals, being treated like royals by all the servants, and swimming and lying by the pool. We went to another 5 star hotel where they are regulars, where we had a breakfast of idly, sambar, rice noodles, coriander curry, a lentil doughnut, and good coffee. Then a foot massage, that began with dressing in robes for a ceremonial tea, and finished with a bite of fruit and more tea, with soft Indian instrumental music playing the whole time to create the proper restful atmosphere. Another day J had her hands done with mehindi (the tattoos you see on Indian women), and I had a haircut with head massage.

The streets and sights of Chennai are incredible, with slums and poverty, and trash and garbage, and beggars, and rickshaws and on, and on, and on. Little thatched huts are right next to new high rise buildings, and people are coming and going, and seemingly complacent, and with some level of contentment. That’s just how they live. The time I spent in India in the 60s (I was there in 1962 when President Kennedy was killed)was considerable, and although there are lots of new high rise buildings, the general living conditions don’t seem to have improved much. We visited a tourist village a few miles south where the driver paid a $3 fee just to enter the village. On the way we passed through a checkpoint where we were checked to see if we were carrying money to pass out to the villagers to buy votes. An election was coming in a few days and apparently votes buying is a big deal there. All in all, it was a nice few days to finish our vacation, but the time finally came for us to home home.

There is only one flight from Chennai to come home on. It leaves at 1: 30 AM, so at 11PM, on April 8^th, we began our journey home. From their house to our house took about 30, sore butt, hours, with 25 hours from airport to airport. We were glad to see our limo driver waiting for us after we came through immigration at the Detroit airport. J was asleep before we pulled in our driveway.

Our travels end in Chennai

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 05:00:00 +0000

Dad, J and I arrived in Chennai from Delhi in the late morning. We were greeted like VIP's with flower necklaces by Mr. R, and whisked off to our house. After dropping their bags and getting the tour of the house we settled in for drinks and snacks on the outdoor balcony overlooking our yard. At 4:00 PM we walked out to the beach and were pleased to find it clean and quiet. None of the evidence of locals' morning rituals to be seen. I guess the trick is to come out in the late afternoon after the tide has swept everything away. Dad, J and I walked in to the water to get our feet wet. But the waves, as always, were crashing in to remind us that this is not a beach for swimming.

So we went back to the house and lounged at the pool for the rest of the afternoon. Of course, our ritual is to drink champagne at the pool on visitors' first day in town, and this day was no exception. The cork flew beyond the far side of the pool into the yard. We haven't gotten one over the yard wall yet- but I'm sure that's coming. After all our running around and travel it was nice to spend the afternoon relaxing. In fact, J was asleep before 8:00 PM!

Day two in Chennai is for shopping. Mr R was feeling ill (too much sun the prior day?) so the three of us were off with Ramesh. First stop was Hot Chips, my favorite local restaurant, for South Indian breakfast of idly and dosa plus the yummy filter coffee (mostly milk and sugar!).

We ventured back in to the 7 story department store from our early days in Chennai. The first time Mr R and I went with visitors it was so crowded we literally could not get out of the stairwell into the aisles. This time was much better and we looked at saris, blouses and shirts. Dad and J had their first taste of the Indian "personal shopper"- a young sales clerk followed/lead us around the store and helped us choose items. She tried to stay in the fitting room with J, who would have none of that.

Then off to a more sedate sari shop that also has a nice room of small gift items and some pretty women's blouses. And Fab India, which specializes in cotton clothing and home items. Dad and J purchased something at every stop. So we worked up an appetite for lunch at our requisite spot for visitors, Saravana Bavan. At one branch in town their basement level specializes in North Indian meals; Dad and J enjoyed the meal of several assorted dishes as much as I did.

One more stop at one of my favorite stores for clothes, home linens, and gifts, then off towards home. We stopped at the produce market which we shop at to show Dad and J the different varieties of fruits and vegetables to be had here. Plus they got their first sight of cockroaches flitting about the produce (yum!). I tried to get them to drink coconut water fresh out of the coconut and was surprised that neither of them liked it.

So back home to check in on Mr R, who was feeling better, a quick drink, dip in the pool, light snacks and another early bedtime.

Day three in Chennai was for sights near the sea. First breakfast and a foot massage at "our" hotel. What better way to start the day? Then we visited Mamalapuram, a town on the sea which has old rock carvings and temples. Mr R and I were impressed with the carving which included a cat standing in a yoga pose with mouse before him.

After that we visited a museum which contains old houses of South Indian styles, plus some displays such as looms and handicrafts. Dad was delighted to find an autorickshaw in a quiet corner which he could pose in. The museum makes for a nice few hours and gives you a taste olf South India's past. We stopped at a hotel which is situated on the sea and poked around a bit. Then back to the house for our regular quiet end to the day.

On the final day of our visit Dad got a haircut and extended head massage, as he had heard that is a standard offering with the cut. Then J got a mehindi- pretty designs done in henna on the palms of her hands. We were going to take an autorickshaw ride but the henna on J's hands had to dry and she would have had to hang on in the autorickshaw.

But we were hungry so we went back to Hot Chips for lunch. J charmed a table of ladies there who were admiring her mehindi. They asked how she was going to eat and we told them we would have to feed her. Which we did, much to their amusement. Again, Dad and J loved the local food.

And with that our visit was nearly complete. After packing and a nap, we were off at 11PM to drop them at the airport for their 1:45AM flight back to Detroit. We were sad to see them go, and concerned about their comfort for their 24+ hour journey home. But we had so much fun with them and were very happy to have shown them a slice of our life here in India.

Dubai and other travels

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 07:40:00 +0000

It's been a while since I blogged about our life in India. We have a routine down and things aren't so surprising to us anymore. We've been very busy with travel and visitors- we have visited the Chennai airport way too many times. January was our calm before the storm, although we did have some visitors. My cousin made a business trip to Chennai so we saw him for breakfast one day. Plus one of the women from my team at work was here.

I visited the US in February and the UK in March for work. Also in March we spent a weekend in Mysore visiting my aunt who was working there for a month. It was fun to see her here and nice for Mr. R to see an Indian city other than Chennai.

At the end of March Mr. R and I went to Dubai to do our "get out of Chennai and shop" routine. Which consisted mostly of window shopping in malls, enjoying the order of the streets, and stocking up on a few groceries. Then Dad and J joined us and we did a little more shopping! It was cool to be there with Dad. When he and I were in Morocco in 2009 we had set Dubai as our next destination. It's always good to carry through on those wish-listy plans.

Dubai is crazy with skyscrapers, ultra-luxurious hotels, and malls containing every designer store you can name plus sights such as an indoor ski hill (seriously!), aquarium, huge Vegas-style fountains (this is a desert, isn't it?), and indoor skating rinks. And the food! We must have eaten 2 quarts of hummus.

With that Mr. R was off to Chennai to hold down the fort while Dad, J and I ventured on to Delhi. Yes, Delhi. Apparently only Americans refer to it as New Delhi (which I think is just a section of Delhi which was built by the Brits).We arrived in the evening, were met at the airport by a car and driver I had pre-booked, and taken to the Hilton hotel. We settled in and Dad wanted to go exploring. It was after dark and we had to get up early the next morning so we set off on foot to a "mall" next door. It was really sort of an outdoor mall set around a courtyard with food and small crafts stalls. But it gave Dad and J a taste of India.

Next morning we were up early for a 6:15 AM train to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. Our driver had some confusion about which train station he was supposed to take us to and, sure enough, we discovered too late that we were at the wrong station. It was crazy at the station and none of the people behind the counter could help me. But we saw two Brits who looked like they knew what they were doing and glommed on to them. It was a father and son who do a lot of travel in India and they graciously helped us buy tickets on the train to Agra that left from that station. I was really nervous as I had purchased tickets of the 1st class air conditioned car and we were only able to get 3rd class, non-air-conditioned, non-reserved seats. But we ended up being just fine and had a pleasant 3 hour ride to Agra. The hotel had sent us with bags of food for breakfast so we ate and chatted with the Brits.

At the Agra station we were met by another driver, and then connected with a tour guide who had been referred to me by a co-worker. I won't bore you with the details of the Taj Mahal- that's what Google is for. But I will tell you we spent about two hours there and got some really good insights and a bit of Indian history from our guide. After our tour we headed to a nice hotel for lunch. We had some hours to kill before our train back to Delhi so we sat in the sun and read and Dad napped in the lobby for a bit. Then we headed off for drinks to a very luxurious hotel that has gorgeous views of the Taj Mahal. We sat in the very posh bar and had snacks and drinks while we watched the setting sun shine on the monument. Then we were off to the station. This time we got the right train and sat in a/c comfort and were served dinner. J and Dad napped undisturbed in the quiet car.

Next morning we were off for an early flight to Chennai. More on that later.

Tropical Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 06:14:00 +0000

Happy New Year! Mr R and I celebrated Christmas and the new year in Chennai, with a trip to Singapore tucked in between. We put up a Christmas tree flag, and the caretaker moved a shrub to our door and decorated it for us. We had some small gifts- it's hard to shop here and we don't need to fill this house up with stuff anyway. We called home and spoke to our families in our morning and in their morning. We spent some time in the pool but, honestly, it was a bit too chilly so we really only stayed in long enough to take photographic evidence.

Our Christmas feast was all-American vegetarian coney dogs and chili cheese fries. (Opening our American canned food is a splurge and something we do on special occasions)

On 26 December we flew out to Singapore. What a wonderful city! Very clean, nice landscaping everywhere, nice streets for walking and window shopping, malls connected to malls, clean subway stations connected to the malls by malls. Food courts in every mall serving every kind of Asian food plus good Western selections. We just walked and gawked for hours, with frequent stops for food and coffee. For all the shopping we didn't really buy anything, but that was not the point. It was just nice to be in the modern environment.

There was a big IT mall- 4 or 5 floors of shops selling all kinds of electronic equipment from PC's to cell phones, cameras, etc. It was so much fun looking that, again, we didn't buy anything. But Mr R is plotting a return trip with only our credit card for company. Hmm.

We got a nice hotel with lounge privileges again. Nothing like thrice-daily drinks in the exec lounge on a high floor overlooking the city.

The city celebrated Christmas (unlike Chennai) so there were nice decorations, carols, and themed Christmas trees on the streets and stores. One of my favorites was a tree of Cup O Noodles containers. We wandered across a Persian restaurant and stopped for Ghormeh Sabzi, which Ms S recommends you always eat at a restaurant (actually, this is our private joke. She says you cannot eat it in restaurants, so whenever we see it we tease her about it).

Photos.

So we spent two days plus our final morning luxuriating in Singapore, then returned to Chennai. We ran into the M family as we were out shopping one day (nothing like being on a different continent, in a city of over 4 million, and running in to someone you know) and they invited us over for New Year's Eve. It was nice to spend the evening with friends after all our recent solitude. Plus we met a nice family from Caterpillar/Illinois- more people to compare Chennai notes with.

There were some places advertising New Year's Eve events in town, plus people shot of firecrackers and fireworks. So I would call it not unlike the way we celebrate in the US.

Tour of India, Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 05:46:00 +0000

We arrived at the Udaipur airport in the evening and were picked up by the hotel's driver. Note: when traveling in India always pre-arrange someone to pick you up wherever you arrive. You do not want to deal with taxi drivers on the street.

We drove into an old town with narrow streets and bridges that looked very tourist-friendly. Our hotel was small inn with a comfortable bed but a bathroom with a shower that had no separate stall. But we got a good price for it. We had a small snack at the rooftop restaurant and the breeze was a little chilly.

Friday morning we walked in to the main tourist area, checking out hotels along the way. There is a city palace museum and long streets of bazaars with stalls selling clothes, fabric, fruits, spices, jewelry, you name it. We spent a good portion of the day sitting in cafes: lunch, afternoon tea watching the sun set over the lake, and dinner on the edge of the lake viewing the lights of island hotels.

Click for photos from Udaipur.

Saturday we were up early for a flight to Cochin via Mumbai. We scheduled a long layover in Mumbai so that we could drive in to town. Ms S was very excited to visit Mumbai. It had a very big-city feel about it, especially in the area we visited. We walked past a university, museums, some big parks where people were playing cricket. Of course there were many restaurants and shops. We walked to the Taj hotel. This is the hotel which was famously bombed in 2008. The hotel was luxurious and beautiful. We had lunch in a restaurant overlooking the sea.

Photos from Mumbai.

After a few hours exploring Mubai we were back to the airport to fly to Cochin. This is in the south west of India, on the sea and surrounded by backwaters. The airport is about two hours from Fort Cochin where we stayed. Again we stayed at a lovely local inn with very personal attention from the staff. They arranged for us to be picked up Sunday morning, driven about 2 hours south of town, and taken out on a houseboat to tour the backwaters for the afternoon. The boat was a real houseboat with sitting and dining area on the covered deck, plus two bedrooms/two bathrooms and a kitchen. We sat on the deck and just looked at the lush greenery and people living their lives along the shores of the river. The boat docked when we were served a good Indian meal for lunch. Towards the end of our trip it rained a nice steady rain. After our drive back to the hotel we were hustled off to a small local museum which hosted a show of traditional Kerala dance.

Monday was a day for strolling and shopping in antique shops in Cochin. We had traditional Indian massages and walked out all oiled up to find a cafe for lunch. Fort Cochin was a pleasant, small, walkable area that made a nice visit.

Photos from Cochin, including our amazing day on the backwaters.

After our day in Cochin we were off to Chennai. Mr R and our driver picked us up; it was nice to see their friendly faces waiting for us at the airport. We spent a few days showing Ms S our favorite shopping and dining spots in Chennai. Of course we had the daily stop for filter coffee, a South Indian specialty made with very strong coffee, warm frothy milk and lots of sugar. We spent Thanksgiving Day in the pool and had dinner at "our" hotel. It was good, but the pumpkin was cheesecake not pie.

We were sorry to send Ms S back to the US but had a good time and hope to vacation with her next year.

Tour of India, part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 08:10:00 +0000

Sorry for the interruption. I spent a week in the US on business (plus, of course, visiting family) and have since been dealing with a cold and jet lag.

After we left the hotel in Agra we got back in the car for a road trip to Jaipur. Getting out of Jaipur was crazy; the driver had to take the car down streets with only slightly more clearance for his mirrors. But once we got on the road it was a nice trip. The road was wide and clear and ran through open country. Ms S and I sat in the back seat and chatted, snacked on peanuts and fruit we bought on the road side, and watched the countryside as the sun set.

Once we got to Jaipur we gave the driver directions to our hotel. At each turn he'd stop and ask someone for directions to the next turn. Somehow we drove out of town and back into open space. He called the hotel and was told to meet the hotel's driver along this road. It was dark and we were a bit suspicious. When the hotel's driver came we followed in our car and rove down smaller and smaller, more bumpy roads into open land. We were laughing at how desolate it was getting and the driver was asking how we'd found this place. But then we drove upon this beautiful building and were greeted by the friendly hosts of Savista Retreat. We had a good night's sleep in a comfortable room.

Next day we had breakfast alone on the hotel's patio, then went into town to explore and shop. It is a pretty town with lots of nice, small shops. It was raining cats and dogs but at least it was warm. The hotel's driver took us back to the hotel (about 30 minutes from the town) where we had a lovely dinner, again with the restaurant to ourselves.

On Thursday we went for a ride in the fields near the hotel in a cart pulled by a camel. This was amazing. We enjoyed being pulled by camel and the view of fields and waves from people working in them. But then we were taken to a collection of houses and barns where a few families live. We were met by lots of children who wanted their pictures taken, plus those of their baby goats, puppies, parents, grandparents. A few of the children knew a little English but it was mostly just a lot of giggling and picture taking.

Photos from our time in Jaipur.

After our amazing visit and ride we went back to the hotel to pack and be driven to the airport to fly to our next destination, Udaipur.

Tour of India, part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 13:03:00 +0000

Ms S was here for almost two weeks, and just left for home two days ago. I met her in New Delhi and we traveled through Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur, Mumbai, and Cochin before settling in Chennai. for a few days. I'll try to give you a decent summary without too much boring detail. Including links to photo albums by city, which may be boring.

We met in Delhi the Saturday evening, 13 Nov. She arrived first, met the driver from our hotel, and waited until I arrived. It was a late arrival so we had some tea and caught up, then called it a day. We got up on Sunday, had breakfast at the hotel, and were off to visit sights: Qutb Minar, Lotus Temple, lunch at a nice garden restaurant, Humayun's Tomb, and a drive around the buildings of the capitol. We made a stop at the India Gate, which had a busy park surrounding it. This was when we set a trend of being stopped by children who wanted us to take their photos and to practice their English on us. It was very sweet and came to be a daily occurrence for us on this trip.

Our hotel in Delhi was Shanti Home, a boutique hotel with nice Indian decor. We found this, and all our hotels, on tripadvisor.com and were not disappointed. Each was small, with very personal attention and good, local food.

Photos from Delhi: http://picasaweb.google.com/jennifer.raybourn/1DelhiShantiHome#

We woke up the next day fully intending to visit the Taj Mahal. We had hired a driver with a company I am familiar with to take us there and then on to Jaipur. After two hours in the car, stuck in traffic jams, creeping down really rough roads, Ms S succumbed. After pulling off the road a few times we realized we had to stop for the day. Luckily, there was a familiar hotel just down the road which we checked in to. It is a nice business hotel and had a pretty room. So while Ms S slept off her misery I watched TV and read. By dinner time she was feeling better so we made plans to continue our trip the next day,

Tuesday morning we were up and out by 6:30 AM. This was the right time to beat traffic, which soon gave way to a fairly desolate 2-4 lane road. We ended up in Agra about 4 hours later and headed straight to the Taj Mahal. We were surprised by the grittiness of Agra, the heart of the India tourism trade. Then we had to fight off touts and "guides" in the parking lot. But once we entered the gates the beauty of the Taj Mahal left it all behind.

Our visit lasted perhaps 2 hours. We wanted a little lunch before we got back on the road to Jaipur, so I asked the driver to take us to the Oberoi hotel, whose signs I had seen on the road. Wow. The hotel is gorgeous and has an awesome view of the Taj Mahal. We joked that we could have just gone straight to the hotel and skipped the rest.

Photos from Ms S's sick day and Agra: http://picasaweb.google.com/jennifer.raybourn/2Agra#

After that we were off to Jaipur. To be continued.

Weekends in Chennai

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 05:46:00 +0000

Last weekend was a three day weekend for us, as Diwali was on Friday and a holiday at work. While the locals enjoyed their firecrackers and meals with family, Mr R and I spent a quiet day at home reading, cooking, and sleeping. We are learning to cook with dried, rather than canned, beans and have decided it’s time to make our own salsa. Spaghetti sauce is next. Then I’m thinking about making baked beans (remember, no meaningful or affordable source of canned/packaged foods here) but have no idea what the ingredients will be and if I can find them. I think I can get molasses reasonably.

Saturday our driver took us to a bird sanctuary about an hour southwest of our house. It was a big wetland brimming with pelicans, egrets, cormorants, and other big water birds. We discovered we are better at admiring them than identifying them. We had the book but I got a headache trying to peer through the binoculars to see marks to help me identify them in our bird book.

There was also a family of monkeys there, including a sweet little guy and his mom. I got close enough for photos but then scooted away in case they got mean. The big guy was probably 10-13 pounds. Oh, and we saw a gargantuan millipede.

But the oddest part of our visit was the reaction people had to us. There was the usual staring (have I mentioned that before? It was freaky at first, and it still pissed me off sometimes, but we’re sort of used to it by now), but we had many people grinning and trying out their English on us. “I am pleased to meet you.” One man ran after Mr R, “Boss, boss, my daughter wants to talk to you.” It was funny, because her parent’s English was great but maybe she doesn’t see Westerners often herself. We had our photos taken with a few groups, and one family was thrilled to use our binoculars (the only pair we saw in use there).

So after our brief bit of fame we were off. It was before noon, so we went to Pondicherry. This is a town on the Bay of Bengal south of Chennai. It is famous around here for being a French territory. And even more famous among the expats for having more than one brand of beer in the shops and no liquor taxes. We had lunch, stopped at a hotel and had a drink (not cheap), and called it a day.

Sunday has become our “workout and brunch” day at the Asiana hotel. Today we added in massages, had the place to ourselves due to the cyclone (really, it wouldn’t even warrant a storm warning in Michigan), then headed to our dark house.

Some small notes:

Pool is out of commission. There was a leak in the works so they dug up the patio to fix the leak, drained the pool, cleaned it, refilled it, and realized the leak is still there. Not sure what’s next but it turns out I miss it.

When they sew clothes they call it “stitch”, as in “I sent my clothes to be stitched”.

There are big sections of pipe along the side of the road that leads to our street (in prep for what looks like a major project). The goats take shelter in them and climb on them.

The temp dropped into the low 70’s (I’m guessing) the other morning. It was lovely.

Sad news: the big gecko who lived in the light fixture over our door was eaten by a large bird of prey. This happened just a few days after the caretaker told me he’s lived there for 6 years. Mom, Mr R and I were in the pool and they saw the bird swoop in from across our yard, grab the gecko off the wall, and swoop away. We had some hope when our caretaker checked and said he was still in the light fixture. But his telltale poop has not shown up on our doorstop so I’m sure he was the one taken.

Ms S is due here in two days. We are going to visit the north of India so I should have good stories and photos to share with you in a few weeks.

Power and Mom's Visit

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 06:32:00 +0000

It’s been some weeks since I posted to this blog. I think that indicates that life is settling in to a new normal and I feel like I have fewer new crazy things to tell you about.

Right now I am typing on my laptop in the dark. The power is out but we’re delaying turning the generator on. A cyclone is sweeping in from the ocean north of here and it brought some rain to Chennai. When it rains there is a good chance the power will go out. Likewise when it’s windy, or there is a strike, or it’s sunny, or cloudy.. you get the picture. Really, though, chances are good when it rains that we’re dark.
It’s funny. We went to “our hotel” today for brunch and met two other families. The conversation did not miss even ½ beat as the lights went out for 3 minutes or so, then came back (likely the generator clicking over). It reminds me of when we lived in Los Angeles and the locals would talk right through an earthquake like nothing was happening. After so many you just know how it goes.

But, wait, didn’t I just gloss over being in a cyclone? Yes, because apparently a cyclone does not mean what I thought it meant. Apparently it means rain on and off for a day, with maybe the breeze turning in to wind for a few minutes at a time. But the good news is that it keeps people off the streets and the roads were ours today.

Mom was here for two weeks and can testify to the sad state of power availability at our house. By day 10 I think she said, “I can see where this would get old fast”, or something along those lines. In any given day the power can go down and up many times. That is why, between the power lines and our TV and computers, we have a whole-house generator, whole-house power stabilizer, UPS with battery backup, and 220 to 110 step-down transformer.

We had a great time while Mom was here. We had developed a list of sites to visit in Chennai so we kept busy. We went out to eat pretty much every day, from five-star hotels to local Indian chains where you close your eyes if you have to use the bathroom (but the food is worth it). We got her hooked on South Indian coffee, which is very strong and mixed with boiling milk, best with sugar stirred in. We also went shopping, got a few massages, and drank champagne in our pool.

Luckily, we had a few brushes with local custom during her visit. There was a puja holiday where people pay respect to the machines they work with. One day our caretaker and maid came over and placed fruit, flowers and oils in front of our generator room. They did a little ritual where they broke a coconut on the ground, bent down and placed their faces in the coconut juice, then placed a candle in a pumpkin (which seems to be the generic term for all hard squashes here) and walked around the house three times with it. They took the pumpkin and a coconut and smashed them in the street in front of the house. They used red and white powder to put dots on our foreheads, and we saw that they had placed similar dots on the gate, generator, and pool pump along with flowers and leaves.

Apparently this is about appreciating the things we use in our daily lives, pushing out bad spirits, and welcoming in good spirits. But we didn’t have a narrator so can only piece together what we’ve heard, what they told us, and some Wikipedia references.

The next day our truck got a similar treatment with our driver and the caretaker. It was all quite charming and we were glad to have Mom here to share it with.

The next local encounter came courtesy of a local man from work. He invited us to go sari shopping with him. The sari is the long (6 or 9 meters) piece of cloth that traditional women wear by wrapping it (rather intricately) around themselves. People give saris as gifts at Diwali, the festival of lights, which is like their Thanksgiving and Christmas wrapped up in one. He was buying saris for his mom. His friend met us at this beautiful store which had a huge selection of saris, other clothes for women, men and children, plus some house linens and small gifts. Mr R tried on a cloth men wear wrapped around their waists which would I would describe as a sarong. I bought a beautiful salwar suit, which is a long shirt, puffy pants, and a long scarf that most of the women at my office (myself included) wear.

We visited one more women’s clothes store (gorgeous fabrics) then Mom and I were invited to my co-worker’s friend’s grandmother’s house to try on saris. This is how nice people are here. This young woman never met us before but took us home with her. Her grandparents and mother were there and were just as gracious as could be. The grandmother had a gorgeous collection of saris that she showed us. We selected two, then the young woman wrapped us up in them. It was so much fun, like we were her Barbie dolls. The funny thing is that she was trying to prove to us that wearing a sari is easy. After the tucking, gathering, wrapping and pinning neither of us was convinced! But, boy, did we feel fancy! The family was brought back in to the room to inspect us, then they handed us their jewelry to put on so we could be photographed. After we changed back they showed us their very nice apartment and chatted with us a few more minutes.

But we were off to lunch, where Mr R and my co-worker were waiting for us. We had a great meal courtesy of our new friends, and really enjoyed our time with them.

It was after Mom left that the story ends. We had taken my suit out to be tailored (which is the norm here, they sell some suits cut out but not sewn) that day. A week or so later my co-worker picked it up and brought it to me at work. But he also brought me Diwali gifts! When we were out he had purchased a suit for me (lovely- cream and peach), plus his friend sent me a flourless chocolate torte (to die for!! I had to put some in the freezer or I would have eaten the whole thing without stopping), and his mom sent a bunch of really good chocolate candies plus some sweet snacks. I am still reeling from the generosity of this young couple and their families.

Not every day was so exciting during Mom’s visit. We spent a few days just hanging around the yard, reading, swimming, napping, and just chilling our heels. It was fun to have her and hard to see her go. But she will be back soon enough, so we need to do some more exploring so we have new places for her (and you!) to visit.

Busy Weekends of Leisure

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 11:22:00 +0000

We've had two weekends in Chennai since our weekend in KL. We try to pick one day per weekend to stay at home and give our driver the day off. The interesting thing for us is that a day at home used to mean household chores and yard work. No more! We eat a long breakfast and chat, surf the web, clean our closets, sit by the pool, read, watch TV, go for a walk, swim. Some times we'd like ot pop out for a cup of coffee but it just doesn't seem worth having the driver come in an hour from his house to drive us for 20 minutes.
Then one day turns in to shopping and lunch out. Most of the good shopping is "in town" which is about an hour driver for us, usually in crazy traffic. We've been hitting clothing stores, handicraft shops, malls. I have a restaurant guide which I've been picking from so we can try new places. We have varied luck with that. Some of the places that sound good have closed, we've walked in to a few to turn around and walk out. But we've also found some good food.

It's funny how some places are just overwhelming. Some stores just have shelves of goods that you have to ask a clerk for, rather than being able to look at everything and pick out what you want. And some restaurants are like a puzzle as to what and/or how you are supposed to order. But we don't want to limit ourselves to only Western shops and restaurants because we don't want to miss the local experience. So we are walking a fine line trying to get the best of both worlds.

Two weekends ago we were in a shop and met a really nice Dutch couple who we recognized from our local grocery store. They have been here for 4 years but have to leave because their visas ran out. It's too bad because they seemed really nice and full of info about what to do here.

Mr R wanted to get a health club membership so we can have a safe place to exercise (safe being no dogs chasing us or fighting over shoulder space with cars, plus not being so hot you give us and go back home). So we spent some time checking out two very nice hotels near our home. We chose the one that had better gym equipment plus a personal trainer and a very nice spa and restaurants with member discounts. We met a few other families there for brunch last Sunday and had a great time.

We also explored a new mall in town. Very nice, large and clean, a mix of international and Indian stores, but when we went there it was quite full and noisy. It had a nice theater and we saw a movie.

Last weekend we tried to visit some old temples in a town about 45 minutes south of our house. But it was an Indian holiday, crowded, and hot. so we got back in our car, drove to the Radisson resort there, and explored it instead. I know, wimpy. But you'd have to experience it to understand why we chose the right activity,

So my verdict on replacing household chores with spending time with new friends, lolling around the pool, shopping, and lunching out? A weird adjustment for a couple who, it turns out, are goal-oriented. But not too shabby!

Living with a staff

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 15:04:00 +0000

It's taken some learning and adjustment to having a personal staff. First, what do you call them? Some people refer to their staff as "servants" but that just feels wrong.

We have a driver, Ramesh,

plus a couple who lives next door and takes care of our house: Lakshmi cleans

and Sekar does yard work and maintains the house.

We are still getting used to asking them to do stuff for us. It's straightforward enough to tell the caretaker we have a leaky faucet. It's sort of like talking to a landlord. But it feels weird to tell the maid, "Please scrub the baseboards" or to leave the driver waiting outside in the hot sun while we have drinks in a cool restaurant.

But it is really hard to do business here and they know how to get things done. We struggled at first trying to do things ourselves. But we were advised to let our driver take care of matters. We've had him drop off and pick up our laundry, and he bought curtain rods for me last week. But I haven't gotten to asking him to buy our groceries yet, as many people do here.

There is always something broken in the house for the caretaker to manage: leaky faucets, the doorbell caught fire day one, a light fell off the wall spontaneously. How would we know who to call to get these things fixed? Plus he has warned us to never leave any works unattended in our house so it helps to have him here to watch them.

We don't go nuts with the maid- she works 4 hours each week day. She washes the dishes so that makes up for not having a dishwasher. But it does not suck to have the bed made and the floors cleaned every week day.

When we returned from Kuala Lumpur and arrived at the crazy-busy airport it was great to see our driver smiling and waiting for us. He brought the car around so we didn't have to trudge through the parking lot. When we got home the caretaker was at our house. While we were gone he had slept on the floor in front of our door to keep an eye on the house, and he and his wife had taken care of the cats when we were gone. Then yesterday morning they brought over some food they'd made and it was great.

We fell in to this situation pretty easily. Our driver was suggested by another employee who went back to the US right after I arrived. And the caretaker and his wife live next door and are employees of the man who owns our house. So we don't have to do any hiring or firing, which seems to be common among the other expats here.

All in all, while it's a necessity to have this help, it's also pretty darned nice!

More Kuala Lumpur Tidbits

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 14:13:00 +0000

Just a little more about our KL experience:

We enjoyed watching our fellow guests at the tea times and happy hours in the hotel lounge. At tea time there were small sandwiches, fruit, and little pastries. Happy hour got more elaborate with sushi and some hot dishes. And, of course, the happy hour crowd got happier and louder the longer they were there.

I was really happy to see that not all the overweight and poorly-dressed guests (really, isn't the bra strap sticking out of the halter top so 90's and never suitable for a 50-something woman?) were Americans. Many of them were Australian and British. Whew, sigh of relief that we aren't the only ones.

My favorite was the man who came in with a shopping bag. He sat down with a plate that was overflowing with food and pulled out a book. I thought we was settling in to read. But from under the book he pulled out four plastic food containers. He emptied his plate into these containers and then made two more repeat trips to the buffet. We were trying to guess whether he just wanted to enjoy his happy hour alone in his room, was setting supplies aside for dinner, or was homeless and had just wandered in from the street. Once he had his containers filled he skeddadled out of there.

Then we were at breakfast at the hotel and met an American couple from Texas. The man was working there for Exxon; his wife and daughter had recently joined him. We asked if he was enjoying himself there (who wouldn't?!?!) and he said, "Well, it can be hard. The traffic is crazy and the pollution can be bad."

That's it. Mr. R and I both had to hold ourselves back:

"Are you kidding? Traffic? Do you have 5 lanes' worth of traffic jammed in to two lanes? Do you share your lane with three-wheeled auto rickshaws, bicycles, motorcycles, and ox carts? Do you have to look out for cars driving the wrong way in your lane and people darting in to traffic without ensuring you can stop before you hit them?"

and

"What's the matter? Is it too hard to shop at your huge supermarkets with everything you could want to buy except maybe Coke Zero? Too many choices for clothes, furniture, knickknacks, every global cuisine, booze, and groceries? Yeah, that must be a hardship."

But we just smiled and said, "Yes, that must be difficult for you." :-)

Too Close for Comfort

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Just saw this headline about snakes in the Kuala Lumpur airport this week. That is WAYYYY to close for comfort.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/travelgetaways/24865241/detail.html

Our Weekend in Kuala Lumpur

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 05:57:00 +0000

We are just home from a weekend in Kuala Lumpur.

Ford encourages us to leave the country four times per year: two weekends and two week trips. We wanted to make our first trip an easy one and we wanted to shop. KL fit the bill: a non-stop, 3.5 hour flight and plenty of shopping.

We arrived in the morning and were picked up at the airport by a Mercedes sent by our hotel. We marveled at the quiet roads in which cars drove in single file in their own lanes, the roadside was clean and landscaped, and the buildings were modern and clean.

We were driven in style to our hotel, the Traders Hotel, and met at the curb and greeted by name. Our room wasn't quite ready so they sent us to the lounge to have breakfast and coffee. We had upgraded to a Traders Club room which included a huge buffet breakfast (one of my litmus tests for a good hotel), tea and snacks in the afternoon, and happy hour with more snacks, beer and wine in the early evening.

After our breakfast we walked to a street of malls. The first one we walked into was just gorgeous. It had several departments stores, a large grocery store, and a huge food court with really nice looking food stalls serving all things Asian and Western. We just walked around and, honestly, felt like prisoners who had been released and were stunned to see a world that was clean, orderly, and full of stuff.

After visiting several such malls we stopped at a shop for a fish pedicure then a foot massage. And Mr. R joined me, can you believe it?!?

By this time it was 3 or so. We went back to the hotel for tea, took a quick nap (we had only grabbed 2 hours of sleep on the flight the night before), then went back down to the lounge for happy hour. And this was not a nice polite glass of wine sipped over 2 hours. We gorged ourselves!

The hotel is across a beautiful park from the Petronas Towers, the world's tallest buildings until 2004. The lounge had a great view of the towers.

After happy hour we wandered around the hotel looking for a dinner spot but found all the restaurants and bars were smoky, so we called it an early night.

Saturday it was up for breakfast and more shopping. We took a cab to a huge mall that was like Twelve Oaks but much nicer and larger. We spent hours there. At one point we were in a department store like Sears or Penney's, looking at TV's, appliances, home goods, office supplies, etc, all from one spot and I had to cry a little bit. It was so overwhelming and it really hit me in the face how different our world is in India. Where it's a struggle to find things at little stores that sell only one type of good and the selection is so small. And you know I don't really like to shop, so it means something when I can spend hours at a mall.

Anyway, our feet were sore and we had a lounge to visit. After some small sandwiches and water we went to the hotel spa and got pedicures. Yes, Mr. R joined me again! The environment there was so pleasant and soothing. So, with clean toes and smoothed calluses we went back to happy hour. Pumped up with wine and sushi we took a walk in the park to the Petronas Towers and watched the fountains in the park. Back to the hotel for their international buffet dinner and a bottle of champagne. Yum!!!

Sunday morning found us a bit tired. We walked to the towers and poked around there, took the city train to a touristy little city market, then decided to go back to our mall (we hadn't even visited the mall across the street on Saturday). We found a bar which had a big beer selection so stopped there for a few minutes. After a little more shopping we admitted we were tired and headed back to the hotel for a shower and one last happy hour, then back to the airport. The airport there is really nice so we did some duty free shopping (see the trend here?) then scooted to our gate.

It was so weird to get to Chennai and say "Welcome home" to each other. I'm just going to admit that we did not say it with pleasure. The airport is old and dirty, it was crowded with people who do not form lines nor respect personal space, we had to give meaningless forms to people who didn't care about them but wouldn't let us pass until they had received them, and the streets are not pleasant. But we are back in our house with our washer/dryer, our good food (we left with two empty suitcases and returned with each of them half full), the cats were happy to see us, and our bed welcomed us back with open arms.

P.S. If you are ever in Malaysia stay at the Traders Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. It was fantastic!!!!! Four thumbs up.