Family Time

My second week in Auckland was all about family. I wasn't feeling too well on the Monday and Tueday I spent time sleeping and chilling with the people that I was staying with.

Wednesday was spent driving down to Taumaranui to drop Alice and her friends off at horse riding camp. Lorraine made me drive part of the way (I haven't driven in six years so it was an interesting experience). While at the camp I ran into my old youth pastor who I haven't seen in about 10 years - I don't know who was more shocked.

Thursday involved visiting my grandmother (who is 91). She struggles to remember people so I was very encouraged to see a hint of recognition in her eyes when she saw me. She didn't remember my name but nevertheless is was great to spend time with her. I went with my Aunty Elaine and spent a great afternoon with her. I had dinner that even with my Uncle Rowland and their children. It was a great time of catching up and was a nice relaxed evening. One of the aspects of being overseas that is the hardest to deal with is the lack of family contact. I feel that I have definitely made up for lost time during this trip.

Friday consisted of catching up with some dear friends Mike and Rebecca Walker and their family, Mike has been like a mentor to me and it was fantastic to catch up. In the evening I had a wonderful dinner (including pavlova) with my Aunty Eyvonne and Uncle Monty and cousin Emma. I had a thoroughly enjoyable time with them.

Well that's the end of family week. Tomorrow I will tell you about a wedding a two fun filled weeks in the South Island.

Greetings from Middle Earth

I have been having an amazing time in my homeland. I have forgotten how much it means to me and how relazed I feel when I am here.

My last few weeks have been fairly hectic (but absolutely amazing) which is why I have not been very good at keeping my blog uptodate.

In the time allowed on this internet site I will attempt to fill you in on some of the things that I have been doing.

My time here started off with a New Years party with about 25 of my friends who I have not seen in years. It was great. At 8am the next morning (after being away unitl 4am) Heather and I headed down to Rotorua where we did activities such as skyline and luge rides. The weather was overcast but I still managed to get a bit of colour. We also did the zorb ride which involves sitting in side a big plastic ball with water in it and being pushed down a 200m slope. It was awesome.

We then soaked for a while in the thermal pools before heading to Tauranga. While here wandered around the Mount and the beach. It was great. We then headed back up to Auckland.

We ventured into Auckland City on the Wednesday and wandered along Mission Bay and enjoyed some yummy fish n chips and L&P. I ran into an old school friend - I love small countries.
And then on the Friday Lorraine, Doug and I drove to Hamilton where we visited the factory shops (I'm well stocked now) and then went to visit some friends who unfortunately were not at home - oh well we still managed to have a look at their new house. On the way down we also munched on some yummy mussel fritters and I enjoyed the thickest of Kiwi thickshakes (my jaw is still recovering).

My original plan was to travel to Palmerston North on the Saturday and spend a week between there and Wellington. I soon discovered that I had way too much to do in Auckland so decided to do that part of the trip at the end. So on the Saturday Nathan (a friend from London) and I went to my favourite sports ground (Eden Park) to see NZ v Sri Lanka, let's just say it was a very short game.

On Sunday I spent the day with my little sister Nikki. We played mini golf (it turned out to be a hard fought out draw) and then travelled into Mission Bay where we sampled some Belgian beer before heading to the Sky City casino. Incidentally I won $12 on my first go - not bad really. We then met up with Alison and Leo (friends from South Africa) and Nathan and headed out for dinner at the Viaduct. It was great to see London friends in Auckland.

A world of contrasts

I have had the odd moments of culture shock while I've been away and one of these was on my arrival in Singapore. I landed at 4.30am on the 28th of December. The airport is immaculate (I'm sure you could have eaten off the floor). I was processed through immigation, didn't have to stand in line, then walked down the stairs to prepare to wait for my luggage. I arrived at the baggage carousel and there were my bags. I was shocked. Walking out of the airport I saw some advertising that I haven't seen in months - a McDonalds sign (there is only one in India and that is in Delhi). I have become used to noise, dirt and dust and strange and interesting smells, I found none of these in Singapore.

I arrived at Paul and Caillie's place (friends from London) at 6am and spent some time catching up with them. They then went to work and I crashed for a little while. I then endeavoured to get into the city to meet Caillie. Caillie had said that I was to meet her at a shopping mall on Orchard Road called Lucky Plaza. As soon as she had left the house the name of the mall escaped me. She had mentioned that I was to take bus 111. I was flicking through a tourist book and the first page that I came to said to get to Lucky Plaza take bus 111. I was very relieved.

We spent the morning looking through shops and drinking some wonderful fruit juices - I had a celery, cucumber and red apple drink, amazing! We met Paul for lunch and I was treated to a wonderful Singaporean dish - Mae Goreng. It was superb. Paul went back to work and Caillie and I headed to the shops and then to Raffles.

Then the rain came. Caillie and I ended up being absolutely drenched. We both had umbrellas but I was saturated up to my knees, down my back and down one side. Thankfully it was warm which made it a bit more bearable. It was rather uncomfortable walking round these really nice stores dripping water as we went - oh the joys of the monsoon.

We then headed to Raffles - the home of the famous Singapore Sling. This is a famous cocktail in Singapore, it's bright pink and reminded me lots of a Snakebite (if anyone is unsure of what this is go to any Walkabout and you'll soon discover it). It costs Singapore dollars $18 which is about 7 dollars more expensive than the other cocktails available - but as a tourist its just got to be done. It's not just the drink that is unique but also the surroundings that you are in while you drink it. You sit in the Long Bar (named because of the length of the bar) and upon sitting down are given a large dish of peanuts (still in their shells). When you are eating the peanuts you don't place the shells neatly on the table you throw them on to the grown. The entire floor of the place is covered in peanut shells - quite an experience. There are also birds flying around hoping to pick up the spoils.

I was feeling quite tired at this point and Caillie was suffering with a cold and so we decided to pamper ourselves by having a pedicure. I have very sensitive feet and just having spent 2 months in India my feet were in a shocking state. I was only going to have a manicure but they ladies said "you have to have a pedicure".

I survived the process - after treating Caillie to a display of me giggling and yelling as my feet were dealt to. I took a before and after photo and they looked like completely different feet. The ladies who worked in the salon were very proud of the change.

We spent the evening eating spring rolls and peanut satay. We stat in a really neat outdoor market. It was really pleasant and had a good vibe - even though it was still raining.

The next morning I ventured out on my own and headed to Sentosa Island. The journey started with a cable car ride from the mainland to the island. This enabled me to get some good views of Singapore. Upon arrival headed to the acquarium which had a section for for petting sting rays and sharks and a display of such huge crabs (I was thankful for the thick glass between us). I then headed to the beach and enjoyed some sunshine that I had been missing. Following this I took a chair lift down to the lower part of the island and wandered along to southern most point of South-East Asia. This is quite an interesting claim as it can only claim this because of some loose connections. The link from Singapore to the Sentosa and then a rope bridge that separates Sentosa to this little piece of land. Lunch was chicken and rice (a local favourite) accompaned by a banana dacquiri at a bar overlooking the water - tough life! Followed by a dolphin show and a return chairlift and cable car ride back to Singapore.

Caillie was still feeling under the weather so I met up with Paul for dinner. We ventured into Chinatown and had a drink at a really cute little rooftop bar. You can only have one drink there as the music is quite loud for some strange reason. We then walked across town to the Quay where we caught a river boat and saw the Singapore skyline from a different angle. It was then time for dinner. It was my decision where we ate and Paul was very patient with me as I took quite a bit of time trying to decide where to go. I finally decided on a place at the waters edge. The restaurant was great but unfortunately the dish that I ordered was not - Soft Shell Crabs. This dish would have to be the saltiest and greasiest dish that I have ever had, it was pretty much a pile of salty batter. I could feel my arteries hardening. After dinner we wandered around the streets and Paul was a brilliant guide pointing out various points of interest includin an ice bar. The final stop of the evening was at a micro brewery. I sampled the taster selection - I know I'm definitely a fan of white beer.

We headed back around midnight.

After a few short hours of sleep it was time to get up and head for the airport. I said goodbye to Paul and Caillie. Thanks for being such brilliant hosts and for making me very much at home and looked after - hopefully I will see you in NZ this weekend.

Singapore airport amazed me again when the checking in process and clearance of security took me approximately 30 minutes - most impressive. Then at 8.30 we took off - destination New Zealand....

It was a great flight and the time went quickly (helped by the fact that Lord of the Rings was showing - taking up 3 hours of the flight).

I arrived in NZ at 11pm and was welcomed home by the customs official who was quite amazed that I hadn't been back for so long. It was strange to hear so many New Zealand accents and it took me a while to stop turning around every time I heard a New Zealand accent (which I was used to doing in London in case I knew the person).

I was met by the Robinson family at the airport - thankfully we managed to meet each other as I had told them that I was arriving at 11.30 instead of 11:00 so they were walking into the airport as I was exiting the airport - at least no one had to wait :)

It was great to be back...

Christmas in Kolkata

has certainly been different but I have to say has been one of the most special that I have had in a long tim.e

On Christmas Eve morning we slept in and then had pancakes at about 11am. We then played a game of scrabble (I have become quite addicted to that game) and then prepared to go out for at late lunch. We headed out to a place called "The Bistro" which felt like it should have been in Europe somewhere instead of India. We were the only diners at the restaurant and were treated like royalty. When we placed our order we were given suggestions by the owner as to what we might like to try instead. Mum and I loved this aspect of it but I don't think that dad was quite so keen. We were waited on hand and foot during the meal and the food was delicious.

We then took an autorickshaw and did some grocery shopping and then headed to meet the girls for a Christmas Eve service at the local Bengali church. This was incredible. I've been to quite a few Christmas Eve services in my time but this one was the most unsual. We were presented with songs and dances and skits and a message - all given entirely in Bengali. Thankfully I was able to pick up most of what they were saying. The members of the congregation chatted the whole way through and there was lots of coming and going - but this is the Bengali way and it seemed to work - to say that it was a quiet service would be like saying that England is going to win the World Cup again next year...

We then walked home and had an evening of playing scrabble, drinking some nice wine that I had brought over from England (thankfully it made it here in one piece) and then watched Memoirs of a Geisha (a most amazing film and one I would highly recommend). We crashed about 1.30am after a really special day.

Christmas Day involved an early start. We were meeting about 15 expats from NZ for breakfast at a local hotel. They serve an incredible smorgasbord with western foods. We were there for three hours but it was well worth it. The three of us then walked around the shops, had some coffee and headed home for a nap.

Christmas Night was absolutely incredible and I don't think that I will ever have a repeat of it. The girls from the business wanted to give me a farewell party and so decided to have it on Christmas Day. The brought their Indian CDs and were all dressed up. They arrived and put the music on and made me dance - BY MYSELF. It was a very humbling experience - I didn't realise how difficult it was to dance to music when you had no idea what the words were. The girls then joined in and we danced for about two hours - I was exhausted by the end of the evening. I treated them to samosas and ice cream and I think a good time was had by all.

I'm really going to miss them.

I hope you all had a great Christmas with friends and family.

Yesterday Dad and I went took a trip into town and visited the Marble Palace. This is one of Kolkata's main landmarks. It's incredible, and part of it is still lived in. Contained within the palace is a painting by Ruebens, quite impressive. The grounds are vast and contain a bird sanctuary and a rockpool and bush walks - I had to keep reminding myself that I was in the middle of India.

We then ventured into the legal district. I visited the High Court and saw where the Notarys reside. They have little huts outside the court and they type on really old fashioned typewriters (a far cry from the modern computers) and some of them actually sleep in their offices. The legal documents are typed right outside the court room and are done at the time of the trial or session - I'm not sure I could handle that sort of pressure.

My time in India has come to an end and I fly to Singapore tonight. It's going to be tough saying goodbye, particularly to mum and dad but I've had an amazing time and will never forget it.

I will write more from New Zealand...

My office Christmas party this year

was vastly different from ones I have been to in the past. For one thing it was 26 degrees, it took place on a Saturday night and English was not the predominant language.

On Saturday last week we had the Christmas party for the business that mum and dad run. At about 5pm in the evening the 15 staff (and their children) arrived on our doorstep. They looked amazing dressed in the finest sarees and other traditional dress. I thought I had made a special effort when I wore a skirt but I felt majorly underdressed.
The evening started with gift giving. I was given a rather interesting doll. I'm still trying to figure out the best place for it.

During the evening we had games and singing and dancing. One particular game involved breaking into three groups and singing songs. The first group would sing and then the next group had to start their song with the last letter of the previous group's song. This went on for an hour (all in Bengali). Mum, Dad and I and another girl from NZ tried to think up some English songs but we were soon out of the game as we couldn't compete.

We also had a quiz relating to the Christmas story. It was neat to see the children and the parents getting involved together through acting, drawing and singing. The classic was when we asked them where Jesus was born. The most common response was Rome...

During the festivities we had a power cut which last for an hour. Sort of enabled us to have an impromptu carols by candlelight...

Once the lights had come on we moved on to dinner. The fare was not your typical mince pies, turkey, lamb or potatoes but included: vegetable manchurian, vegetable pakoras, chow mein and chilly chicken (with the emphasis on chilly).

So that was the office party. ..quite different to the five star hotel variety but a lot less messy....

A day in Kolkata

I thought I would take you through a day in the city of joy.

You wake up at 7:30am to the sound of people selling things from the street as they walk past the house. The milk boy rings the doorbell at 8.30am and the rubbish truck with its loud siren comes past at about 9am. This city is certainly not quiet.

Then say for instance you needed to pick up some buttons (that you have ordered) and some thread. You would have a quick sandwhich lunch and make your way into the village which is starting to shut down as it is the Bengali seista betwee 2pm and 5pm.

You go to the rickshaw stand and ask to be taken to the metro. The journey involves multiple judder bars, potholes and various other uneven surfaces. Over here might is right so more often than not the rickshaw will be squeezed out of the way by a taxi or another car.

10 minutes later you arrive at the metro. Hopefully your journey goes a lot more smoothly than the one I experienced today...

Dad and I arrived at the metro in good time, I got our tickets (using my very limited Bengali) and we then ran down the stairs as the train was approaching. I was feeling very confident and had just finished saying to myself that this was easy, when it all turned pear shaped.

Dad managed to get on to the train, unfortunately as I stepped on the doors closed. My arm got jammed in the door and as a result once opened again I took a step back to clear it. When the doors opened again dad went to jump off and managed to get his head stuck in the door (thankfully there was no damage done). The train then left, dad was on it, unfortunately I was still on the platform. I wasn't sure if dad was going to get off the train at the next stop and then come back to me. I waited for about 10 minutes and saw no sign of him. I then decided to get a train to the next stop in case dad was waiting for me there. He wasn't. I then went back to the original stop and also saw no sign of him. The other factor to all of this was that I held the tickets. After another 10 minutes I decided to go to the destination that we had been planning to go to all along. I arrived there 20 minutes later but couldn't see dad. It turns out that he was at the other end of the platform and was on the phone to mum asking her to go down to our metro station and see if I was there. Thankfully we saw each other in the distance so it was all fine. If I had been a few minutes later dad was going to get on the metro and go back to the original spot. It was an interesting journey.

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Upon leaving the metro your first stop is the dab man. Dabi s a drink that comes straight from the coconut before it becomes the white milk. You drink straight from the coconut. It is a really good drink for hydration and is packed with wonderful vitamins and minerals.

You then walk for about 15 minutes until you come to the corner of MG Road and Borro Bazzaar. At this point you jump on a bus (quite literally as the bus keeps moving as you get on). You then wait as the bus makes its way up the busiest road that I have ever seen. It's packed with shops, stalls, rickshaw pullers, people washing themselves, men carrying huge barrels etc on their heads. Upon arrival at the main market you jump of the moving bus (being careful to ensure that you do not get hit by a car that is overtaking the bus).

Upon arrival at the button place you count and check the quality and numbe of the buttons while people push and shove past you. The store is not large.

You leave this store and make your way to the thread seller. He takes your order and you wait for about 30 minutes while his man goes to the "go down" (a storage area down the road). You are usually offered a cup of cha to help with the wait. It's fascinating to watch the goings on of the market place as you sit there. It's definitely a man's domain and I saw very few women.
You then head to the little store that sells Limka (there are generally hundreds of them around). Limka is very similar to Lilt. You have to drink it there and then as you have to give the bottles back to the seller. I can now drink very quickly.




You then pick your way through people, dead rats, men carrying huge packages on their heads and also crazy bus drivers and rickshaws. You eventually makit back to the bus stop and head back to the metro. It is now probably approaching rush hour so you won't get a seat on the metro. More often than not your feet will be stood on and you will be shoved several times. You finally reach the rickshaw stand and are almost home. This has probably taken you three hours and you probably feel as though you have run several kilometres in a steam room.


Once you are off the rickshaw you order six singras (simosas) from the man who knows you really well as you are a regular there. You go to the greengrocers (see attached picture) and purchase the evening's vegetables and fruit.

As you are walking back to the house you are suddenly plunged into darkness. It's the standard night time load shedding. You stumble home and wait about 30 minutes for the power to come on, in the mean time being attacked by mosquitoes whose approach you can't see.

You have dinner, watch a DVD and play scrabble and then head for sleep. Usually about 1am you are awoken by a loud whistle andthe tapping of a stick. This is the neighbourhood guard who makes all of this noise for your protection.

So that's a typical day. Please remember that you will only get the true experience if you imagine constant horn blowing and yelling throughout...

In my next blog I will describe my office Christmas party for this year....

Humble dwellings

My stay in India has not been typical of a tourist. During my time I have been able to really get to know the locals and experience a bit of how they run their day-to-day lives. About 4 weeks ago I had lunch at the home of one of the girls who work with mum and dad. This was incredible. The home is the sie of an average western loung. The kitchen is outside and consists of a clay oven (pretty similar to a BBQ). On average about 12 people live in the house and the conditions are very cramped. It is common practice for the guest to sit on the main bed and eat the meal while the hosts talk to you. The host family does not eat with you but will eat once you have left. I will never complain if I have to stay in a house that has a small kitchen or living area.

On Thursday night we were invited out to have dinner in one of the slum houses beside the railway station. Our family are great friends with the head of the family. He is a driver for a local business man and so often will pick friends and family (including me) up from the airport for mum and dad. He is a lovely guy and his wife and little 1 year old are really lovely too. We were met at the start of the community and escorted down the little alleyways and were greeted by all the neighbours. Upon arrival at the house (a one bedroom place) we were made comfortable on the bed (all of the kitchen stuff is kept under the bed) and the food is prepared on the floor and on a small stove on a side counter. We were served chai (which I am becomming addicted to) and then the nicest thing I have ever tasted - Luchi.

Luchi s a torilla type food which is lightly fried in oil so that if forms into a balloon shaped pastry. It is heavenly. I think I ate about 7 of them (it would have been rude to turn them down). The luchis are served with a potato curry. We ate quite early but I was still full by the next morning.

The evening ended with another cup of chai. Unforgettable.

When I get back to London I am going to try and find out how to make them or find someone who knows how...

Well the Christmas party is on tonight so I'd better go and help prepare...