Transportation

The main feature of the last two days has been the different modes of transport that are available in this vibrant city.

I love rickshaws and they love speed bumps (judder bars), rough surfaces and craters in the road!! The auto rickshaws are particularly fun, its like being on a permanent dodgem/rollercoaster ride.

I now also have a greater appreciation for the London underground although they could learn a few things from the Indian system. For starters on the metro here you have a section where only girls are allowed, there is a guys section too but girls can go there - exactly how it should be!! Secondly they also have tvs on the platform showing world news and sport, I was able to follow some of the cricket and also some of the English football. No rugby showing at this stage but a little birdie did tell me that a certain nation from the south managed to embarrass the World Champions!!!

The pace of life here is vastly different to London life. Things take double the time to get done and no one seems to stress out the same. The business that mum and dad are doing involves ordering a lot of fabric, beads and other material. The negotiations that take place are a delight to watch. No one wants to lose face. You will also often have 5 or 6 people helping you to purchase 5 metres of fabric. It's all about customer service.

The girls that mum and dad work with are really lovely. There are 11 of them and I am trying my best to learn all of their names. They have it easy as they call me sister - much easier to remember. Mum and and Dad are called Uncle and Aunty.

I was not born with a crafty bone in my body (and I'm referring to the material sense and not the other sense). Mum and Dad run a business that exports hand crafts and bags to NZ, the US and other parts of the world. I've been (trying to) helping them with an order that has to go out on Friday. My tasks have involved checking bags, folding them and wrapping them in plastic. It's quite different using my hands instead of my brain (although some would question whether I really use that in my job!!)

My stomach has good days and bad days re. the food. Thankfully dad makes porridge in the morning so I do feel like I still have part of my London routine. Mum also does a lot of western cooking so I'm not subjected to weird and wonderful dishes every day.

I ventured out with another girl who is visiting from NZ the other day. It was the first time that I had gone anywhere without mum and dad. We headed to the train station for a trip we're taking to Darjeeling next week. We stood in a queue for an hour and barely moved. They have interval breaks. They start work at 8am, two windows have a break for half an hour from 12.00-12.30 and the other two windows have a break from 12.30-1.00. They finish at 2pm!!!
The system of queuing here is incredible - there isn't one. I'm sure that at least 5 people pushed in front of me, but all you can do is just smile and "chill".

Dad took me into the centre of the city today which was quite overwhelming on my senses. I can't even begin to describe the sites and the sounds. There is stuff happening everywhere and never a dull moment. NZ is going to seem very quiet.

Well time is ticking on and I'd better head home and get back to the bag checking. We are having broadband installed at home this week so when that happens I will be able to download some of my pictures on to the site.

Till next time....