So the ladies are back in the UK (well I sincerely hope they are!) and I am currently in Mumbai, where I am sweltering, if I thought Bangalore was hot I was in for a surprise in Mumbai.
But that's getting ahead of myself somewhat...
On Saturday I left Bangalore, after a gorgeous lunch with Jacqui. However as I took my somewhat obese suitcase down to the car the sky overhead turned black. I bade an almost tearful farewell to half the staff and Jacqs before climbing into my red cab for the last time. Almost immediately after pulling out of the hotel the very grey clouds emptied their tears over Bangalore. This deluge seriously hampered our attempts to get to the airport. The driver, Manju, was seriously concerned about whether we would make it time. Thankfully he'd arrived early and given us plenty of time. The problem with rain in Bangalore is twofold; one it hammers down and two it floods everything (some problem with sewers and roads and stuff!).
Nearly two hours later; with lots of detours, some incredibly small "roads", lots of rain and stuff we made it to the airport where I said goodbye to Manju. Check in was smooth and I found myself in the first class lounge having a cup of tea and watching the start of the 3rd place play off for the IPL. Good beginning, Bangalore took 2 early wickets (they went on to win while I was in the air!). When I boarded the plane I was the only person in the first class area, which meant I got a fair bit of attention. I then had a coach all to myself to take me to the airport from the plane. The joys of first class never cease to amaze me, it's a different world.
Once all the usual airport faff was done I booked an AC cab to take me to my friend's house. Mumbai is in many ways so very different to Bangalore. Where Bangalore appears to really stop after 11.30pm, Mumbai is still a hive of activity late into the night. And where we saw a few people sleeping rough on the streets in Mumbai there are thousands of people... The rickity cab, the crazy driving of Mumbai cab drivers, the strange mix of rich and poor side by side, the rich smells and the ridiculous heat. I felt a million miles away from home and yet felt at home all at the same time.
Charni Road has changed a bit since I was here 3 years ago and thus I got a bit lost. Praise the Lord for mobile phones, my friend's managed to direct the taxi driver to the right part of the road! The last 3 days here have been wonderful, so very very relaxed and laid back. Full of shopping, silliness, ridiculous heat (I know I am labouring this point but seriously it's way too hot!), lime soda, pepsi, chinese food, pasta, daal and rice, chocolate, shopping, a bit more shopping, silliness, scrabble, CSI, cinema (they play the national anthem and every stands for it before the showing!), rickity taxis, insanely crammed buses, more pepsi, more heat. Even with the fans constantly on it's still hot!
And now I am about to go and shop one last time before having one last meal before having one last sleep before I return home. I can't wait and yet I know I will miss the country, I love it so. This is Mumbai calling saying I'll be home soon (and back in the office next Tuesday!)
And here I am just Thomas or DT or Daaaaaaaavid, no longer Mr Thomas (until I board my final flight in the morning that is!), good night and God bless.
Tuesday 27 April 2010
Friday 23 April 2010
Goodbye Genpact
Earlier this evening we said goodbye... I can't actually believe how quickly these 3 weeks have flown by... So many memories, so many wonderful people, so much hard work ...
Will hopefully get a chance to write about it properly at some point soon, in the meantime enjoy a photo (or two)
Will hopefully get a chance to write about it properly at some point soon, in the meantime enjoy a photo (or two)
Travelling Around Bangalore
The view from the top of the office - the road we travelled on every day to work...
On the above road making our way to work...
The metro being built, and bikes and rikshaws, they were everywhere...
On the above road making our way to work...
The metro being built, and bikes and rikshaws, they were everywhere...
Doesn't look any different to the UK does it?...
Our beautiful ride...
Our beautiful ride...
Cuisine
Some traditional Indian cuisine!
Ok so this is more like traditional Indian cuisine (thanks to Keshav for sharing this one with me!) and yes that is effectively donuts in syrup and icecream!
Spaghetti, chicken, twas absolutely gorgeous in a lovely Italian Restaurant.
Butter naan, chicken curry, aloo gobi and some sort rice - gorgeous.
Room service - club sandwich.
Ok so this is more like traditional Indian cuisine (thanks to Keshav for sharing this one with me!) and yes that is effectively donuts in syrup and icecream!
Spaghetti, chicken, twas absolutely gorgeous in a lovely Italian Restaurant.
Butter naan, chicken curry, aloo gobi and some sort rice - gorgeous.
Room service - club sandwich.
Thursday 22 April 2010
Manbags, Sunglasses and Pamperings
I finally have a manbag, yay, courtesy of the friendly people in Puma.
Jacqui tried on a new world record of 15 pairs of glasses in under a minute.
Jay had a pampering session and is silky smooth and stuff.
All this before hitting the office where we're now working madly like mad working people!
Jacqui tried on a new world record of 15 pairs of glasses in under a minute.
Jay had a pampering session and is silky smooth and stuff.
All this before hitting the office where we're now working madly like mad working people!
Wednesday 21 April 2010
An Emotional Rollercoaster (That's Not Finished Yet)
The last week has been an up and down affair to say the least...
Last Friday night seems an eternity ago, but it feels only right to begin there. Achutha took us to a bar called H20, which was pretty flash. White lights, glass tables, white leather seats, no imported wine though. They also had a pool table and a wii! Oh and big TVs with the cricket on. While the girls knocked back a couple of muched needed drinks I knocked off Achutha at pool. I beat him 2 games to 1, testing long black, beautifully cut in to seal it (no sniggering Mike it did happen!).
We had a fabby time, chatting, a few drinks, some strange vegetarian food, a really lovely end to the working week. And like all these places it wasn't on the ground floor, this time we were on the 3rd floor! Getting a lift to a "pub" seems very strange to me. We were the last people out, we literally were holding the cleaners up!
Saturday was an "early" start (10ish!) as we went off to MG Road to do some shopping while out wonderful cab driver went in search of IPL tickets for the crunch match between Mumbai and Bangalore. We wandered round some amusing shops. Jay bought a couple of spinning tops for her lil ones; this is important because 4 different people were involved in the transaction of the purchase. The man who "sold" the goods. The man who wrote the receipt. The man who took the cash. The man who handed over the goods. Amazing. They know how to create jobs! I ended up with a Maccy Ds for breakfast, 121 rupees (about £1.80). The ladies found "Boots", we found a small clothes boutique where we purchased a couple of shirts to say thank you to our driver. Jacqui bought some more books from Crossworld.
We then had lunch at the 13th Floor restaurant (thanks Vishal for the heads up on this one!). And it was thirteen floors up, we ate inside because I don't particularly like heights. I hear the view was spectacular but I cannot really confirm this, sorry. The ladies partook of the buffet which was by all accounts gorgeous, apart from the black salt and ginger drink served (minging!). I had beer and naan bread on account of Maccy Ds still resting in my satisfied belly. Sadly as all meal times go it had to end and we ran across a very very busy road to meet our driver. Ok we took the lift down the 13 floors first if you want to be pedantic but anyways. At this point the driver informed us he was unable to get tickets (they'd actually be sold out for about 2 weeks), we were gutted but understanding.
Back at the hotel we saw lots of people milling around, upon investigation we found something going on. There was a small stall selling hand made crafts, we purchased, all in aid of educating poor people. The next stall was actually a drinks stall, so we partook of free alcoholic beverages. We then discovered the big hall which had lots of smartly dressed people, loud music and dancing. At this point we deduced we'd stumbled into someones birthday party! Oops! We even got a free goody bag with biscuits and a cd and stuff in it!
Sometime later we discovered the IPL game had been delayed. A little bit later still after Bangalore's batting line up had collapsed we all met up for dinner, Jay had found out that the delay was due to a bomb blast. At this point we were rather relieved to have not made it to the game. During dinner the heavens opened up, meaning insane amounts of traffic. It would have been a nightmare to get home from the match. We did smile though, in the UK a bomb scare would have led to match abandoned, here it's delayed by an hour. Mumbai won. They now face Bangalore again this evening (Weds) in the semi finals. A bomb blast also happened at MG Road about half hour after we left. After a lowkey meal we went our separate ways to sleep.
Sunday, our day of rest involved the three Ss - sun, swimming and sunburn! And a rather amusing, extremely delicious and minorly embarrassing evening meal. It would appear that one of the restaurant managers kinda likes me. Jac's gaydar had been going off for a while. When he started complimenting me on my attire, then giving me his card and asking me to email him it pretty much confirmed it. Oh dear! The cuisine though was amazing; rice and daals and curries and vegetables, so beautifully prepared, succulent, enticing, tender, so very tasty. We retired to our beds in a rather high spirits after the wonderful food and randomness of it all.
Monday morning sobered us up, then soured us off and generally left this week feeling disappointing. The volcanic ash has meant that Jason is unable to make it out of the UK to Bangalore, thus Jacqui and Jason can't travel to Goa for a beautiful get away. What has made it harder has been the fact that the last three days has been no hope, tiny slender piece of hope, no hope, tiny piece followed by none at all. As I type the planes are once more in the skies and the peace and quiet is gone. But the vast backlog leaves us wondering and hoping. Jay is supposed to fly home on Saturday, while it looks like Jacqui will be catching the same flight home as me next Wednesday.
A strange ole week, up and down emotionally, and this rollercoaster ride isn't over yet...
And to everyone who has sought to encourage, help in whatever way they can or say a prayer or two, you have our thanks.
Last Friday night seems an eternity ago, but it feels only right to begin there. Achutha took us to a bar called H20, which was pretty flash. White lights, glass tables, white leather seats, no imported wine though. They also had a pool table and a wii! Oh and big TVs with the cricket on. While the girls knocked back a couple of muched needed drinks I knocked off Achutha at pool. I beat him 2 games to 1, testing long black, beautifully cut in to seal it (no sniggering Mike it did happen!).
We had a fabby time, chatting, a few drinks, some strange vegetarian food, a really lovely end to the working week. And like all these places it wasn't on the ground floor, this time we were on the 3rd floor! Getting a lift to a "pub" seems very strange to me. We were the last people out, we literally were holding the cleaners up!
Saturday was an "early" start (10ish!) as we went off to MG Road to do some shopping while out wonderful cab driver went in search of IPL tickets for the crunch match between Mumbai and Bangalore. We wandered round some amusing shops. Jay bought a couple of spinning tops for her lil ones; this is important because 4 different people were involved in the transaction of the purchase. The man who "sold" the goods. The man who wrote the receipt. The man who took the cash. The man who handed over the goods. Amazing. They know how to create jobs! I ended up with a Maccy Ds for breakfast, 121 rupees (about £1.80). The ladies found "Boots", we found a small clothes boutique where we purchased a couple of shirts to say thank you to our driver. Jacqui bought some more books from Crossworld.
We then had lunch at the 13th Floor restaurant (thanks Vishal for the heads up on this one!). And it was thirteen floors up, we ate inside because I don't particularly like heights. I hear the view was spectacular but I cannot really confirm this, sorry. The ladies partook of the buffet which was by all accounts gorgeous, apart from the black salt and ginger drink served (minging!). I had beer and naan bread on account of Maccy Ds still resting in my satisfied belly. Sadly as all meal times go it had to end and we ran across a very very busy road to meet our driver. Ok we took the lift down the 13 floors first if you want to be pedantic but anyways. At this point the driver informed us he was unable to get tickets (they'd actually be sold out for about 2 weeks), we were gutted but understanding.
Back at the hotel we saw lots of people milling around, upon investigation we found something going on. There was a small stall selling hand made crafts, we purchased, all in aid of educating poor people. The next stall was actually a drinks stall, so we partook of free alcoholic beverages. We then discovered the big hall which had lots of smartly dressed people, loud music and dancing. At this point we deduced we'd stumbled into someones birthday party! Oops! We even got a free goody bag with biscuits and a cd and stuff in it!
Sometime later we discovered the IPL game had been delayed. A little bit later still after Bangalore's batting line up had collapsed we all met up for dinner, Jay had found out that the delay was due to a bomb blast. At this point we were rather relieved to have not made it to the game. During dinner the heavens opened up, meaning insane amounts of traffic. It would have been a nightmare to get home from the match. We did smile though, in the UK a bomb scare would have led to match abandoned, here it's delayed by an hour. Mumbai won. They now face Bangalore again this evening (Weds) in the semi finals. A bomb blast also happened at MG Road about half hour after we left. After a lowkey meal we went our separate ways to sleep.
Sunday, our day of rest involved the three Ss - sun, swimming and sunburn! And a rather amusing, extremely delicious and minorly embarrassing evening meal. It would appear that one of the restaurant managers kinda likes me. Jac's gaydar had been going off for a while. When he started complimenting me on my attire, then giving me his card and asking me to email him it pretty much confirmed it. Oh dear! The cuisine though was amazing; rice and daals and curries and vegetables, so beautifully prepared, succulent, enticing, tender, so very tasty. We retired to our beds in a rather high spirits after the wonderful food and randomness of it all.
Monday morning sobered us up, then soured us off and generally left this week feeling disappointing. The volcanic ash has meant that Jason is unable to make it out of the UK to Bangalore, thus Jacqui and Jason can't travel to Goa for a beautiful get away. What has made it harder has been the fact that the last three days has been no hope, tiny slender piece of hope, no hope, tiny piece followed by none at all. As I type the planes are once more in the skies and the peace and quiet is gone. But the vast backlog leaves us wondering and hoping. Jay is supposed to fly home on Saturday, while it looks like Jacqui will be catching the same flight home as me next Wednesday.
A strange ole week, up and down emotionally, and this rollercoaster ride isn't over yet...
And to everyone who has sought to encourage, help in whatever way they can or say a prayer or two, you have our thanks.
Monday 19 April 2010
We May Still Be Alive But We Are Also A Tad Frustrated By Volcanic Ash
Ok tad frustrated is an understatement, it's more like "finely pulverized lava thrown out by a volcano in eruption causing a voluminous cloud of grey dust particles" levels of frustration...
We Are Still Alive
Dear All,
In case any of you are concerned, worried, anxious or having a passing curiousity; we are still alive. We were unable to get tickets to the IPL therefore were not there when the bomb blasts happened.
Love to all
DT/Jay/Jac
In case any of you are concerned, worried, anxious or having a passing curiousity; we are still alive. We were unable to get tickets to the IPL therefore were not there when the bomb blasts happened.
Love to all
DT/Jay/Jac
Sunday 18 April 2010
The Hotel Part The Second
Length 43 of 60 of Jacqui's daily exercise regime
1 glass of wine per day to help with the um stress of 60 lengths?!
1 sugary treat per day for DT
Jay also eating a sugary treat and cheese cake
Ok maybe not 1 for DT, his assorted deserts from Brunch!
1 glass of wine per day to help with the um stress of 60 lengths?!
1 sugary treat per day for DT
Jay also eating a sugary treat and cheese cake
Ok maybe not 1 for DT, his assorted deserts from Brunch!
The Hotel Part The First
The Front Of The Hotel
The Swimming Pool
The View From Breakfast
The Slightly Upward View From Breakfast
Breakfast
The Swimming Pool
The View From Breakfast
The Slightly Upward View From Breakfast
Breakfast
Friday 16 April 2010
TGIF
Hey Guys
Costello here again. Its been a funny few days. I know there has been talk around the office regarding our toilet issues - well let me tell you- all is on the mend. I have some funny stories to tell involving a 4 foot doctor, cricket balls and nursing homes but I really don't think its something I can put on a blog. Every member of staff in the Taj know all about us and talk to us opening at breakfast about such things which there really is no need for - I blame Kerai for that one - she would talk the hind legs of a deaf donkey if she had her way!
Currently Jay is now 3 stone after recent events and I am approx 50 stone. Where is my deli belly!! Was banking on that to be skinny for Goa as you all know but no, it isn't to be.
Work is still manic and our new Team ALD are so cute - we call them Batman and Robin and Jay is of course Jokes man !
They are learning fast and pointing out all the ways we can be doing things better!! Don't get me started on that one!! Nah only joking they are great.
We are all a bit excitied about Friday night and if Achutha takes us to another "rockin" bar for the 30minutes we have before everything closes - I will let you know tomorrow. Clubbing we aint!! It’s a DRY club scene in Bangalore but that’s probabaly a good thing knowing me!!
Thursday has been a dark day for Kerai and DT. Arsenal lost last night and Jays cousin couldn't get them tickets to the cricket on Sat so not the best day but still they are keeping their spirts up by taking the mick out of me and my "issues" .
On that note - the toilets are bizarre here - anytime you go in there , there are about 7 women in there, the other day one had a face pack on !! In the middle of the day- what is that about ? Also there is a tiny cleaning lady ( a lot of people are really small here - I am a giant in India by all accounts) who accosts me every time I enter - I haven't got a clue what shes saying but she is really cute and about 10 I think! Strange!
Anyway on that note - Batman and Robin are back for more training so must dash.
Still loving it here and Jay and DT have been a real tonic so making it easier being away from you guys.
Still missing my Tea and what ifs and hoping your all well!
Take care - loads of love J xxx
Costello here again. Its been a funny few days. I know there has been talk around the office regarding our toilet issues - well let me tell you- all is on the mend. I have some funny stories to tell involving a 4 foot doctor, cricket balls and nursing homes but I really don't think its something I can put on a blog. Every member of staff in the Taj know all about us and talk to us opening at breakfast about such things which there really is no need for - I blame Kerai for that one - she would talk the hind legs of a deaf donkey if she had her way!
Currently Jay is now 3 stone after recent events and I am approx 50 stone. Where is my deli belly!! Was banking on that to be skinny for Goa as you all know but no, it isn't to be.
Work is still manic and our new Team ALD are so cute - we call them Batman and Robin and Jay is of course Jokes man !
They are learning fast and pointing out all the ways we can be doing things better!! Don't get me started on that one!! Nah only joking they are great.
We are all a bit excitied about Friday night and if Achutha takes us to another "rockin" bar for the 30minutes we have before everything closes - I will let you know tomorrow. Clubbing we aint!! It’s a DRY club scene in Bangalore but that’s probabaly a good thing knowing me!!
Thursday has been a dark day for Kerai and DT. Arsenal lost last night and Jays cousin couldn't get them tickets to the cricket on Sat so not the best day but still they are keeping their spirts up by taking the mick out of me and my "issues" .
On that note - the toilets are bizarre here - anytime you go in there , there are about 7 women in there, the other day one had a face pack on !! In the middle of the day- what is that about ? Also there is a tiny cleaning lady ( a lot of people are really small here - I am a giant in India by all accounts) who accosts me every time I enter - I haven't got a clue what shes saying but she is really cute and about 10 I think! Strange!
Anyway on that note - Batman and Robin are back for more training so must dash.
Still loving it here and Jay and DT have been a real tonic so making it easier being away from you guys.
Still missing my Tea and what ifs and hoping your all well!
Take care - loads of love J xxx
Thursday 15 April 2010
And Now For Something Completely Different
So I didn't sleep well last night, neither did Jacqui, Jay faired marginally better but not much. I feel rough, Jay's been ill as has Jacqui. Yesterday it rained for 3 hours. Then Arsenal contrived to lose. The drivers on the road this morning were slightly crazier than normal and hooted their horns even more. Then the Coffee Day Lady forgot to make the lattes AND to top it off didn't put milk in my tea. Oh and let's not even get started on the VDIs. Word of the day is therefore VEXED!
Jacqui and Jay have been working like troopers, I must confess their professionalism in the face of testing circumstances has been admirable and a challenge to myself to aim higher. Ladies I salute you.
At least Royal Challengers Bangalore won last night.
Jacqui and Jay have been working like troopers, I must confess their professionalism in the face of testing circumstances has been admirable and a challenge to myself to aim higher. Ladies I salute you.
At least Royal Challengers Bangalore won last night.
Wednesday 14 April 2010
Lunch time Weather Report
It is absolutely bucketing down with rain. Massive claps of thunder every couple of minutes and the very very dark sky is being lit up with lightening (it's 4.41pm local time).
Tuesday 13 April 2010
What Would You Like To Know?
It occured to me(as these things sometimes do) that we've been writing so far about the things that seem relevant or interesting etc to us.
These may or may not be of that much interest to you our dear readers. Therefore if there is anything you'd like to know then please ask away and we will endeavour to answer it. Assuming that it's "clean"/appropriate!
Thanks
DT
These may or may not be of that much interest to you our dear readers. Therefore if there is anything you'd like to know then please ask away and we will endeavour to answer it. Assuming that it's "clean"/appropriate!
Thanks
DT
Monday 12 April 2010
Brunch
Now you may well be wondering at this point why on earth "brunch" gets it's own blog entry. There is one very simple answer for this - brunch at the Taj Vivanta is the single greatest meal ever.
And no I am not exaggerating.
No, I am definitely sure I am still not exaggerating. If you don't believe you can ask Vishal who said the brunch at the Vivanta is known as the best in Bangalore. If you don't believe Vishal you can ask Tom who is the head of IMS EMEA operations in SMS/Genpact. Seeing as you are unlikely to be able to get hold of him just take my word for it. Either that or ask the ladies.
Rewinding for a moment. It was a Thursday evening in Bangalore, the evening was drawing to a close when the waiter suggested that we should consider booking a table for Sunday brunch because "it gets quite busy", so we thought "why not?" and did. On Friday when Achutha and Tom and various other people found out our plans for the weekend (Saturday = shopping and Sunday = brunch) they got very excited. This excitement was infectious but also led to a mild concern on my part that perhaps we would then be disappointed.
What transpired on Sunday was 3 hours of food and drink that whet the appetite, tantilised the taste buds, titilated one's senses and then for good measure offered that little bit more.
We arrived at midday, escourted to our seats, the ladies proceeded to start with some breads and dips. A few appertisers. I waited, let my body rise to the challenge of the aroma that wafted seductively across the room, basking in it's glorious scent I patiently proceeded to walk around the various food areas to see what was on offer.
I plumped for beef wellington and roast potatoes and gravy. Oh my goodness! I can't actually describe how good it was. It was just that good.
There was breads, there was pastas, there was curries and salads, meats and oysters, kebabs, stir fries, wraps and all of it you could ask the chefs to prepare for you how you desire. And then there was about 2o different deserts plus wine, beer, spirits and chilled mineral water.
The kebabs, oh my gosh the kebabs, I had 2 lamb kebabs, 2 chicken kebabs and 4 vegetable kebabs. This tells you something about how good the veggie kebab was. I am not known for my vegetable eating ways but this was something else. Something heavenly. I think when all of this is wrapped up down here on earth, the chefs in the next life will be serving vegetable kebabs like those in Taj Vivanta!
For desert I had a chocolate cheesecake, a strawberry cheesecake and a chocolate mousse that was just lovely. Not to mention the chocolate martini, carlsberg, whiskey and coke and mineral water. All lovingly consumed over 3 extraordinary hours on Sunday afternoon. And the price for all this goodness? 1200 rupees, which is about 20 quid.
The ladies probably won't wax quite as lyrical as I, but then again I am somewhat flowery in my verbal disposition. Needless to say afterwards we all needed a lie down. Jay fell asleep on the grass. Jacqui fell asleep on a sun lounger while reading. I manfully stayed awake while listening to some good music (album called Mercury by Long-view) by the pool.
And there endeth today's talk on brunch.
DT
And no I am not exaggerating.
No, I am definitely sure I am still not exaggerating. If you don't believe you can ask Vishal who said the brunch at the Vivanta is known as the best in Bangalore. If you don't believe Vishal you can ask Tom who is the head of IMS EMEA operations in SMS/Genpact. Seeing as you are unlikely to be able to get hold of him just take my word for it. Either that or ask the ladies.
Rewinding for a moment. It was a Thursday evening in Bangalore, the evening was drawing to a close when the waiter suggested that we should consider booking a table for Sunday brunch because "it gets quite busy", so we thought "why not?" and did. On Friday when Achutha and Tom and various other people found out our plans for the weekend (Saturday = shopping and Sunday = brunch) they got very excited. This excitement was infectious but also led to a mild concern on my part that perhaps we would then be disappointed.
What transpired on Sunday was 3 hours of food and drink that whet the appetite, tantilised the taste buds, titilated one's senses and then for good measure offered that little bit more.
We arrived at midday, escourted to our seats, the ladies proceeded to start with some breads and dips. A few appertisers. I waited, let my body rise to the challenge of the aroma that wafted seductively across the room, basking in it's glorious scent I patiently proceeded to walk around the various food areas to see what was on offer.
I plumped for beef wellington and roast potatoes and gravy. Oh my goodness! I can't actually describe how good it was. It was just that good.
There was breads, there was pastas, there was curries and salads, meats and oysters, kebabs, stir fries, wraps and all of it you could ask the chefs to prepare for you how you desire. And then there was about 2o different deserts plus wine, beer, spirits and chilled mineral water.
The kebabs, oh my gosh the kebabs, I had 2 lamb kebabs, 2 chicken kebabs and 4 vegetable kebabs. This tells you something about how good the veggie kebab was. I am not known for my vegetable eating ways but this was something else. Something heavenly. I think when all of this is wrapped up down here on earth, the chefs in the next life will be serving vegetable kebabs like those in Taj Vivanta!
For desert I had a chocolate cheesecake, a strawberry cheesecake and a chocolate mousse that was just lovely. Not to mention the chocolate martini, carlsberg, whiskey and coke and mineral water. All lovingly consumed over 3 extraordinary hours on Sunday afternoon. And the price for all this goodness? 1200 rupees, which is about 20 quid.
The ladies probably won't wax quite as lyrical as I, but then again I am somewhat flowery in my verbal disposition. Needless to say afterwards we all needed a lie down. Jay fell asleep on the grass. Jacqui fell asleep on a sun lounger while reading. I manfully stayed awake while listening to some good music (album called Mercury by Long-view) by the pool.
And there endeth today's talk on brunch.
DT
Jay's Weekend Mash Up (or what we got up to over the weekend)
Greetings UK!!!
ALLLLLLLLLLWWWWWWWWWWWIGHT ALL!!!!
Day 20 in India and it’s so nice to come to a cooler temperature. I spent 10 days with my mum where it was 45 degrees so coming to Bangalore (35 -38) is certainly more pleasant.
Routine is still the same here:
DT - Lies in till noon and gets ready for work.
JC - Still competing to be as brown as me!!
JK - Deli belly day 5 -- ha ha the Indian is the only one suffering from serious number 2 issues. Missing kids, not to sure about hubby, but strangely really missing doing the house work!! I'm so itching to clean or tidy up. I had to ask the chef if I could wash up …he looked at me as if I had 4 heads!!!!
After a hard week at the office, Achuta invites us out Friday night for a Jam!!! Not too sure what he means by jam, but he tells as it's a pub/club. I'm hoping it’s a club where I can show off my bollywood moves!!! Nothing of the sort, let me tell you no Alsop or Sports bar atmosphere in here…… we enter the joint to some hard core loud music with SERIOUS bass, I can't work out whether I'm in an ACDC concert or in a cricket stadium!! One half of the room are rocking, clapping, head banging, whist the other half are cheering to the IPL cricket. We settle with a few drinks and minutes later we are all grooving to the music. Just on the second pint and its last orders, every thing closes at 11.00, DRY MAN…No bollywood dancing here then!!!
Saturday we go off to the local Mall, so excited as we see the McDonald sign, as we get closer it says opening soon…...RUBBISH MAN. We shopped till we dropped!! Respect to DT, spending 4 hours with 2 girls…. he is so cool & such a gentleman, he carries all our bags, holds our handbags while we nip to the loo and we ask his opinion on everything we buy…..which lipstick shade DT, which sari colour best suits me, earrings, shoes etc…..
Sunday chill out day!
Deli belly has started to ease off! After spending 7 days with DT & JC we have grown even closer and can’t live without each others company for long. We all have picked up each others lingo and synchronize sentences in the same way. We comment on everything and everyone, lunch, music, people….yeah like where the worlds best cooks, singers, models!!!!
Another stressful afternoon Liverpool draws against Fulham!!! No Champo League for as next session, I’ll be lucky if we finish 6th.
Missing you all loads together with Sky Sports, Holby City, Salt & Vinegar Crisp & Galaxy chocolate!!!!!!!
Bye from Bangalore!
ALLLLLLLLLLWWWWWWWWWWWIGHT ALL!!!!
Day 20 in India and it’s so nice to come to a cooler temperature. I spent 10 days with my mum where it was 45 degrees so coming to Bangalore (35 -38) is certainly more pleasant.
Routine is still the same here:
DT - Lies in till noon and gets ready for work.
JC - Still competing to be as brown as me!!
JK - Deli belly day 5 -- ha ha the Indian is the only one suffering from serious number 2 issues. Missing kids, not to sure about hubby, but strangely really missing doing the house work!! I'm so itching to clean or tidy up. I had to ask the chef if I could wash up …he looked at me as if I had 4 heads!!!!
After a hard week at the office, Achuta invites us out Friday night for a Jam!!! Not too sure what he means by jam, but he tells as it's a pub/club. I'm hoping it’s a club where I can show off my bollywood moves!!! Nothing of the sort, let me tell you no Alsop or Sports bar atmosphere in here…… we enter the joint to some hard core loud music with SERIOUS bass, I can't work out whether I'm in an ACDC concert or in a cricket stadium!! One half of the room are rocking, clapping, head banging, whist the other half are cheering to the IPL cricket. We settle with a few drinks and minutes later we are all grooving to the music. Just on the second pint and its last orders, every thing closes at 11.00, DRY MAN…No bollywood dancing here then!!!
Saturday we go off to the local Mall, so excited as we see the McDonald sign, as we get closer it says opening soon…...RUBBISH MAN. We shopped till we dropped!! Respect to DT, spending 4 hours with 2 girls…. he is so cool & such a gentleman, he carries all our bags, holds our handbags while we nip to the loo and we ask his opinion on everything we buy…..which lipstick shade DT, which sari colour best suits me, earrings, shoes etc…..
Sunday chill out day!
Deli belly has started to ease off! After spending 7 days with DT & JC we have grown even closer and can’t live without each others company for long. We all have picked up each others lingo and synchronize sentences in the same way. We comment on everything and everyone, lunch, music, people….yeah like where the worlds best cooks, singers, models!!!!
Another stressful afternoon Liverpool draws against Fulham!!! No Champo League for as next session, I’ll be lucky if we finish 6th.
Missing you all loads together with Sky Sports, Holby City, Salt & Vinegar Crisp & Galaxy chocolate!!!!!!!
Bye from Bangalore!
Thursday 8 April 2010
A Day In The Life Of DT
11.30am alarm, get up.
1.35am shower, wake up.
11.45am clean teeth, wide awake.
11.50am get dressed. Thursday was the blue pinstriped shirt, blue tie, grey trousers, blue socks and glasses.
12pm grab laptop bag and stuff and make oh so merry way to Latitude Restaurant for breakfast.
12.05pm waiter takes order and serves chilled water.
12.10pm fresh orange juice and a selection of breads are presented to Mr Thomas.
12.14pm watch BBC world and see things like Manchester United get knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich, shame, or Liverpool progressing in Europa League (means Mrs Kerai will be happy!)
1225pm breakfast is finished and Mr Thomas makes his way to reception to wait for the ladies and the cab.
12.27pm cab arrives, doors opened, bags loaded.
13.00pm arrive office.
13.15pm first bottle of water consumed.
13.20pm laptop up and running. Discover something's gone wrong such as files not loaded properly into FFI therefore no coding available and yesterday's plan for today has to be changed. 13.30pm morning coffee.
13.40pm continue coding training with Shilpa.
14.01pm Sanjay safely arrives in the office after a cab crash.
14.22pm power unit starts fizzing, kicking seems to fix it.
15.15pm phonecall to team in local office.
15.27pm second bottle of water consumed.
15.48pm checking out VDI issues on Sanjay's machine.
16.30pm phonecall from local office regarding Consultant query.
16.40pm lunch time (sandwich curtesy of Mrs Kerai).
17.15pm check Shilpa's coding work.
17.32pm discuss learnings from coding work.
17.58pm power cut.
17.59pm power back on (thank goodness for batteries!).
18.02pm discussion with Achutha regarding VDIs.
18.30pm dark outside.
18.45pm discuss presentation for Genpact IMS EMEA with head of EMEA operation in Bangalore.
19.48pm "tea" run for the ladies (Jac - cappochino, Jay - hot chocolate).
20.09pm discussion with Shilpa and Sanjay on work flow process.
20.29pm Sanjay's VDI freezes and stops working entirely.
20.45pm discusssion with other members of SMS Team about VDI issues.
21.19pm Sanjay's VDI working again.
21.25pm checking Sanjay's coding work.
21.38pm third bottle of water consumed.
21.42pm plan tomorrow's work load and strategy.
22.o6pm collect Ms Costello and Mrs Kerai and meet cab man.
22.35pm arrive hotel.
22.42pm sit down in Latitude restaurant.
22.49pm order Nepalese Momos and a Heinekan.
22.55pm beer arrives.
23.10pm momos arrive (infact they're chicken dumplings!)
23.29pm bid the ladies good night and head to hotel room.
23.32pm tv on, laptop on, blogging away...
00.27am blog finished.
00.46am lights out...
1.35am shower, wake up.
11.45am clean teeth, wide awake.
11.50am get dressed. Thursday was the blue pinstriped shirt, blue tie, grey trousers, blue socks and glasses.
12pm grab laptop bag and stuff and make oh so merry way to Latitude Restaurant for breakfast.
12.05pm waiter takes order and serves chilled water.
12.10pm fresh orange juice and a selection of breads are presented to Mr Thomas.
12.14pm watch BBC world and see things like Manchester United get knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich, shame, or Liverpool progressing in Europa League (means Mrs Kerai will be happy!)
1225pm breakfast is finished and Mr Thomas makes his way to reception to wait for the ladies and the cab.
12.27pm cab arrives, doors opened, bags loaded.
13.00pm arrive office.
13.15pm first bottle of water consumed.
13.20pm laptop up and running. Discover something's gone wrong such as files not loaded properly into FFI therefore no coding available and yesterday's plan for today has to be changed. 13.30pm morning coffee.
13.40pm continue coding training with Shilpa.
14.01pm Sanjay safely arrives in the office after a cab crash.
14.22pm power unit starts fizzing, kicking seems to fix it.
15.15pm phonecall to team in local office.
15.27pm second bottle of water consumed.
15.48pm checking out VDI issues on Sanjay's machine.
16.30pm phonecall from local office regarding Consultant query.
16.40pm lunch time (sandwich curtesy of Mrs Kerai).
17.15pm check Shilpa's coding work.
17.32pm discuss learnings from coding work.
17.58pm power cut.
17.59pm power back on (thank goodness for batteries!).
18.02pm discussion with Achutha regarding VDIs.
18.30pm dark outside.
18.45pm discuss presentation for Genpact IMS EMEA with head of EMEA operation in Bangalore.
19.48pm "tea" run for the ladies (Jac - cappochino, Jay - hot chocolate).
20.09pm discussion with Shilpa and Sanjay on work flow process.
20.29pm Sanjay's VDI freezes and stops working entirely.
20.45pm discusssion with other members of SMS Team about VDI issues.
21.19pm Sanjay's VDI working again.
21.25pm checking Sanjay's coding work.
21.38pm third bottle of water consumed.
21.42pm plan tomorrow's work load and strategy.
22.o6pm collect Ms Costello and Mrs Kerai and meet cab man.
22.35pm arrive hotel.
22.42pm sit down in Latitude restaurant.
22.49pm order Nepalese Momos and a Heinekan.
22.55pm beer arrives.
23.10pm momos arrive (infact they're chicken dumplings!)
23.29pm bid the ladies good night and head to hotel room.
23.32pm tv on, laptop on, blogging away...
00.27am blog finished.
00.46am lights out...
A Word From Maam Costello
Hey all,
Sorry it has taken a few days to blog but already we are crazy busy and in full blown training mode. I will try and sum up the last few days as briefly as I can and try to capture the many experiences I have already experienced .
Travel
OMG!! First Class is the only way to fly! I felt like Kylie and kept looking around to see who they were talking too. They treated us like popstars - "Can I dress your table Maam", "Care for more Champagne?" "What time shall I serve you Maam" - I could go on.
Hotel
The hotel is a georgous buisness hotel and our rooms are fantastic. I have made mine just like home already - got my candles, my incense sticks going and my jo malone ( that ones for you Laryea !).
I have the pool to myself every morning while Jay is pumping her stuff in the gym. David wakes at noon.
First Day
Traffic!!! What can I say, I have never seen so many people, cars and beepiing and the driving would make a grown man cry!
I have now trained myself to look only at the headrest to and from work.
Anyway I digress, Jay decides to take me to the supermarket. Its 1K away so obviousely too far to walk so she makes me get a rickshaw.
The rickshaw is about 10cm big and so is our driver! I get out of the rickshaw visibley shaking shouting "never again if I have to walk 20 miles Kerai!"
We stopped at the supermarket and then decided to pop to the next door "shop" to buy some wine and kingfisher beer as the hotel prices are designed for actual popstars!
Anyway I find myself in a shack filled with men that look like they may have been there a while ( maybe 3 weeks) ! There are flys everywhere and as soon as we walk in, everyone turns and stares! I felt like I was in some kind of western and Clint Eastwood could show at any minute.
The "shop" turns out to be a local MENS drinking joint and the serving area has bars from top to bottom now making it look like a prison shack - its getting better by the minute.
Anyway undettered Jay chats happily to the man behind the prison asking for his number and what not ( the girl has no shame - she even got the 10cm Rickshaw mans number I may add!!), while I hot foot it back to tiny mans cab.
That was enough for one day I can tell you so we spend the rest of the day chilling and eating and deciding who was having an affair with who around the poolside ( apparently this is very common in Bangalore!).
Monday
First day at work and our driver - YES you got it our very own driver turns up 2 hours early and no one tells us. The poor man is sitting out in the 40 degree heat waiting 2 hours for us to arrive! Eventually we arrive at SMS to be again be greeted like popstars ( beginning to really like this trip!) and meet the team. They all look so happy and chilled , totally different to the stressed pinched look they seemed to aquire after a few days in the UK.
Anyway 10 minutes in and Team ALD is up and running and we haven't stopped!!
Having an amazing time, loving every second and had a really good thought - Me and Jay will stay in India and IMS can off-shore to us - worth a thought I think Carolyn ;-)
Anyway chaps, missing you all ( expecially the tea rounds and what ifs) and hope your all doing ok. Will update again soon.
Take care J
Sorry it has taken a few days to blog but already we are crazy busy and in full blown training mode. I will try and sum up the last few days as briefly as I can and try to capture the many experiences I have already experienced .
Travel
OMG!! First Class is the only way to fly! I felt like Kylie and kept looking around to see who they were talking too. They treated us like popstars - "Can I dress your table Maam", "Care for more Champagne?" "What time shall I serve you Maam" - I could go on.
Hotel
The hotel is a georgous buisness hotel and our rooms are fantastic. I have made mine just like home already - got my candles, my incense sticks going and my jo malone ( that ones for you Laryea !).
I have the pool to myself every morning while Jay is pumping her stuff in the gym. David wakes at noon.
First Day
Traffic!!! What can I say, I have never seen so many people, cars and beepiing and the driving would make a grown man cry!
I have now trained myself to look only at the headrest to and from work.
Anyway I digress, Jay decides to take me to the supermarket. Its 1K away so obviousely too far to walk so she makes me get a rickshaw.
The rickshaw is about 10cm big and so is our driver! I get out of the rickshaw visibley shaking shouting "never again if I have to walk 20 miles Kerai!"
We stopped at the supermarket and then decided to pop to the next door "shop" to buy some wine and kingfisher beer as the hotel prices are designed for actual popstars!
Anyway I find myself in a shack filled with men that look like they may have been there a while ( maybe 3 weeks) ! There are flys everywhere and as soon as we walk in, everyone turns and stares! I felt like I was in some kind of western and Clint Eastwood could show at any minute.
The "shop" turns out to be a local MENS drinking joint and the serving area has bars from top to bottom now making it look like a prison shack - its getting better by the minute.
Anyway undettered Jay chats happily to the man behind the prison asking for his number and what not ( the girl has no shame - she even got the 10cm Rickshaw mans number I may add!!), while I hot foot it back to tiny mans cab.
That was enough for one day I can tell you so we spend the rest of the day chilling and eating and deciding who was having an affair with who around the poolside ( apparently this is very common in Bangalore!).
Monday
First day at work and our driver - YES you got it our very own driver turns up 2 hours early and no one tells us. The poor man is sitting out in the 40 degree heat waiting 2 hours for us to arrive! Eventually we arrive at SMS to be again be greeted like popstars ( beginning to really like this trip!) and meet the team. They all look so happy and chilled , totally different to the stressed pinched look they seemed to aquire after a few days in the UK.
Anyway 10 minutes in and Team ALD is up and running and we haven't stopped!!
Having an amazing time, loving every second and had a really good thought - Me and Jay will stay in India and IMS can off-shore to us - worth a thought I think Carolyn ;-)
Anyway chaps, missing you all ( expecially the tea rounds and what ifs) and hope your all doing ok. Will update again soon.
Take care J
Wednesday 7 April 2010
A Few Pictures
The Silly Hat!
Jay cooking her salad (plus entourage and silly hat!)
My hotel room (note the laptop bag on the bed - working late into the night!)
Jay cooking her salad (plus entourage and silly hat!)
My hotel room (note the laptop bag on the bed - working late into the night!)
The taxi driver's sign when we arrived at the airport!
The First Days Of Work
Nervous - yes.
Laptop - yes.
Overdressed - yes.
Let's begin! We're now on our third day in the office and we are getting into the flow of things. It's slowly falling into place. We have our desks, we have little yellow wires which connect us to the internet to connect via the VPN to connect to IMS to log into our systems. It's painfully slow but I think we're managing so far.
The SMS Team are wonderful, they have been so helpful, welcoming, kind and good humoured. I do not have enough superlatives to do them justice. Sanjay even bought me a donut yesterday!
Some observations/anecdotes:
1) Within 10 minutes of being in the building Jacqui was up and running and firing off emails and getting about her BAU! Jay and I had slightly more difficult time getting access to the network and power supplies and stuff.
2) My office is freezing, even though I have the air con on the lowest setting.
3) Working 1pm til 10pm really really throws you. My body doesn't know when it's supposed to be eating lunch, dinner, when is my morning coffee (it's Weds and I still haven't had it!).
4) Tea here isn't quite like tea in the UK, no matter how hard they try!
5) Leaving the office at 10pm (ok it was 9pm yesterday) is tough.
6) The SMS Team seem a lot more confident here and we continue to be impressed by the calibre of them all.
Ok better wrap this up and get on with some Coding training.
Mr T
Laptop - yes.
Overdressed - yes.
Let's begin! We're now on our third day in the office and we are getting into the flow of things. It's slowly falling into place. We have our desks, we have little yellow wires which connect us to the internet to connect via the VPN to connect to IMS to log into our systems. It's painfully slow but I think we're managing so far.
The SMS Team are wonderful, they have been so helpful, welcoming, kind and good humoured. I do not have enough superlatives to do them justice. Sanjay even bought me a donut yesterday!
Some observations/anecdotes:
1) Within 10 minutes of being in the building Jacqui was up and running and firing off emails and getting about her BAU! Jay and I had slightly more difficult time getting access to the network and power supplies and stuff.
2) My office is freezing, even though I have the air con on the lowest setting.
3) Working 1pm til 10pm really really throws you. My body doesn't know when it's supposed to be eating lunch, dinner, when is my morning coffee (it's Weds and I still haven't had it!).
4) Tea here isn't quite like tea in the UK, no matter how hard they try!
5) Leaving the office at 10pm (ok it was 9pm yesterday) is tough.
6) The SMS Team seem a lot more confident here and we continue to be impressed by the calibre of them all.
Ok better wrap this up and get on with some Coding training.
Mr T
Monday 5 April 2010
The First Day
This will be reflections of our first day in India, hopefully the ladies will share some of their thoughts, the reason for this hope is that my day wasn't quite as interesting as theres. To explain...
Sunday - morning, slept.
Sunday - afternoon, lunch.
Sunday - early evening, blog/tv.
Sunday - evening, bar followed by KFC.
Maybe I should expand or expound or extrapolate or at least explain in a bit more depth.
So the sleeping was good, the bed is gorgeously comfy and big, and big with beds is good. Lunch was also good, simple, long, tasty and satisifying. There were some beautiful moments that if I don't get written down I fear I'll forget by the end of the three weeks in Bangalore. For starters they invited us to go on a tour of the kitchen, I wore a silly hat so my hair (?!) didn't go everywhere (there's a photo somewhere!). They showed us how they cook the naan bread in a special oven that gets so hot it's well stupidly hot. It takes 10 secs for the dough to cook! I got to "cook" it, or rather attempt to remove it before it got seriously singed. Tasted good. While this was going on Jay was meeting an old family friend who she hadn't seen since he was a small kid, he's now at uni. Family eh, can't beat them and you can't ever escape them, but it's all good.
While Jacqui and I decided we wanted the "Lunch in a Jiffy" Jay decided she wanted salad, so the chef said well if you want salad we can get you the ingrediants and make your own! Brilliant! So there's Jay, silly hat thing trying to explode off her head in the kitchen chopping the cucumbers and tomatoes (pictures also to follow I hope!).
So the sleeping was good, the bed is gorgeously comfy and big, and big with beds is good. Lunch was also good, simple, long, tasty and satisifying. There were some beautiful moments that if I don't get written down I fear I'll forget by the end of the three weeks in Bangalore. For starters they invited us to go on a tour of the kitchen, I wore a silly hat so my hair (?!) didn't go everywhere (there's a photo somewhere!). They showed us how they cook the naan bread in a special oven that gets so hot it's well stupidly hot. It takes 10 secs for the dough to cook! I got to "cook" it, or rather attempt to remove it before it got seriously singed. Tasted good. While this was going on Jay was meeting an old family friend who she hadn't seen since he was a small kid, he's now at uni. Family eh, can't beat them and you can't ever escape them, but it's all good.
While Jacqui and I decided we wanted the "Lunch in a Jiffy" Jay decided she wanted salad, so the chef said well if you want salad we can get you the ingrediants and make your own! Brilliant! So there's Jay, silly hat thing trying to explode off her head in the kitchen chopping the cucumbers and tomatoes (pictures also to follow I hope!).
I had an absolutely gorgeous chicken skewer, some kebab and a daal which was so tasty. The restaurant manager told us with great pride that the chef was the best daal cook in Bangalore, whether this is actually true or not I have no idea BUT it sure did taste good!
I then chilled in the afternoon before hitting the pub with the ladies. Had a couple of pints of fosters, Jay was happy as we got the tv switched over to ESPN to watch the Liverpool Birmingham game. He happiness kinda dried up as birmingham equalised and held out for a draw. Oops. Jacqui headed off to bed while Jay and I felt a tad peckish so went in search of fast food. KFC, let it never be said I don't know how to show someone a good time! Ok maybe not, but anyway, a zinger burger, 2 bits of chicken and a chocolate cupcake later and the hunger pangs were well and truely dealt with.
Got back to the hotel to chill for a bit before sleep. This is where things went slightly south in my story (Jay and Jacqui seemed to sleep quite well), I on the other hand did not, I last checked the clock at 4.30am. Needless to say I did not make it up in time for breakfast. So it goes eh. Thank the good Lord I managed to make it through Day 2 or is it Day 3, well whatever I managed to get through Monday, but that story is for another time (hopefully Monday's story will be told in the not too distant future!).
Laters, Mr Thomas
Sunday 4 April 2010
The Journey
There are two versions of this story; the short one and the slightly longer one:
The short version goes thus; arrived Heathrow 6.30pm Friday 2nd April, arrived Taj Vivanta Bangalore 8pm Saturday 3rd April. Success!
The slightly longer version goes thus; arrived Heathrow 6.30pm Friday 2nd April. Flying First Class was a completely new experience and a thoroughly rewarding one. To start with there was no queue for check in, how cool is that?! Then the we were fast tracked through all the other guff til we eventually arrived in the First Class lounge. A tranquil place amongst the usual insanity of Heathrow. Free food and free bar.
The flight was delayed so we did not end up boarding til close to 10pm. The first thing that struck me was how good it felt to turn left instead of right! The First Class area aboard the plane was so much fun. The air stewardesses were so polite and friendly that it almost…
*apologies for the interruption house keeping just came to “refreshen” my room!*
…got annoying. Orange juice, then a hot towel, then a lime juice, then Bose head phones, then a discussion on our choices for our evening meal. Then the alcoholic drinks began (which they kept refreshing whenever the glass went dry). Then it was a bowl of nuts. Pillows. Night wear. It just didn’t stop! In the end I decided to watch 500 Days Of Summer while Jacqui watched a rom com with Leonardo DiCaprio. Ok perhaps it wasn’t cos there were tons of explosions and guns and stuff!
About an hour into the flight our dinner was served. I had a prawn and crab starter followed by lamb. It was absolutely delicious. Jacqui fell asleep at some point, when my movie was finished one of the air stewardesses asked if I’d like my bed made up. So good. Decided this was a good time to then lie down, grab a few hours kip before breakfast. Cornflakes. Which seemed rather more amusing when asked “Would you like hot or cold milk Mr Thomas?”.
After some brekkie and a cuppa tea, a freshen up and the plane landed. I’ve been to India three times, but I am always caught out by the smell and the humidity that hit you as soon as you exit the airplane. Mumbai airport is unlike anywhere else I’ve ever seen. It’s massive, outside it’s dusty, there are thousands of people everywhere, it’s in a permanent state of extensions being built, which give the impression of a building site. Inside we were ushered through to pick up our bags and go through all the malarkey of immigration etc. Half hour later we were in another holding area waiting for us and our bags to board a coach to travel to the other airport for the internal flight to Mumbai. Still ridiculously hot. Still loads of people everywhere. Can only be described as controlled chaos.
Half hour later and we’re in the Kingfisher Lounge in the other Mumbai airport. At this point everything slowed down and got a tad frustrating. Our flight was delayed by over an hour. We were stuck in a lounge with weird food – green salad sandwiches on bread that was rock hard and looked very weird. No natural light, more air con. Suddenly the lack of sleep caught up with us as time slowly dragged by. Four hours and and two aborted attempts later we escaped to the departures lounge for a much needed change in scenery and a surprise.
In the departures lounge a familiar face. Jay! Yay! There was a lil run, a few screams, some hugs and then LOTS of talking! Jay had plane cancellations and delays and all sorts of nonsense BUT had managed to get transferred to our plane and surprised us in Mumbai. We boarded our plane. Two hours later we’re in Bangalore. Bags collected, exit the building and there was Achutha to meet us. Another familiar face to make it that little bit better. Bangalore Airport is so different to Mumbai Airport. It could be anywhere in Europe, it looks and is so westernised. Outside it was 7pm and the sun had already set. Our 4x4 picked us up and joined the battle that is the roads of Bangalore. It’s insane. For the uninitiated (such as Jacqui) it’s an insane experience where people appear to care very little about personal safety. Bikes, ricshaws (sic?), vans, scooters, vans, lorries weave left and right, in and out, up and down, crazy, horns buzzing, lights flashing, people walking in and out of the road. Things whizzing by, brake lights everywhere. Massive advertising hoardings. Buses packed to the roof. Dusty roads. Chaos.
One hour later we arrived Taj Vivanta Bangalore 8pm Saturday 3rd April. Success!
The short version goes thus; arrived Heathrow 6.30pm Friday 2nd April, arrived Taj Vivanta Bangalore 8pm Saturday 3rd April. Success!
The slightly longer version goes thus; arrived Heathrow 6.30pm Friday 2nd April. Flying First Class was a completely new experience and a thoroughly rewarding one. To start with there was no queue for check in, how cool is that?! Then the we were fast tracked through all the other guff til we eventually arrived in the First Class lounge. A tranquil place amongst the usual insanity of Heathrow. Free food and free bar.
The flight was delayed so we did not end up boarding til close to 10pm. The first thing that struck me was how good it felt to turn left instead of right! The First Class area aboard the plane was so much fun. The air stewardesses were so polite and friendly that it almost…
*apologies for the interruption house keeping just came to “refreshen” my room!*
…got annoying. Orange juice, then a hot towel, then a lime juice, then Bose head phones, then a discussion on our choices for our evening meal. Then the alcoholic drinks began (which they kept refreshing whenever the glass went dry). Then it was a bowl of nuts. Pillows. Night wear. It just didn’t stop! In the end I decided to watch 500 Days Of Summer while Jacqui watched a rom com with Leonardo DiCaprio. Ok perhaps it wasn’t cos there were tons of explosions and guns and stuff!
About an hour into the flight our dinner was served. I had a prawn and crab starter followed by lamb. It was absolutely delicious. Jacqui fell asleep at some point, when my movie was finished one of the air stewardesses asked if I’d like my bed made up. So good. Decided this was a good time to then lie down, grab a few hours kip before breakfast. Cornflakes. Which seemed rather more amusing when asked “Would you like hot or cold milk Mr Thomas?”.
After some brekkie and a cuppa tea, a freshen up and the plane landed. I’ve been to India three times, but I am always caught out by the smell and the humidity that hit you as soon as you exit the airplane. Mumbai airport is unlike anywhere else I’ve ever seen. It’s massive, outside it’s dusty, there are thousands of people everywhere, it’s in a permanent state of extensions being built, which give the impression of a building site. Inside we were ushered through to pick up our bags and go through all the malarkey of immigration etc. Half hour later we were in another holding area waiting for us and our bags to board a coach to travel to the other airport for the internal flight to Mumbai. Still ridiculously hot. Still loads of people everywhere. Can only be described as controlled chaos.
Half hour later and we’re in the Kingfisher Lounge in the other Mumbai airport. At this point everything slowed down and got a tad frustrating. Our flight was delayed by over an hour. We were stuck in a lounge with weird food – green salad sandwiches on bread that was rock hard and looked very weird. No natural light, more air con. Suddenly the lack of sleep caught up with us as time slowly dragged by. Four hours and and two aborted attempts later we escaped to the departures lounge for a much needed change in scenery and a surprise.
In the departures lounge a familiar face. Jay! Yay! There was a lil run, a few screams, some hugs and then LOTS of talking! Jay had plane cancellations and delays and all sorts of nonsense BUT had managed to get transferred to our plane and surprised us in Mumbai. We boarded our plane. Two hours later we’re in Bangalore. Bags collected, exit the building and there was Achutha to meet us. Another familiar face to make it that little bit better. Bangalore Airport is so different to Mumbai Airport. It could be anywhere in Europe, it looks and is so westernised. Outside it was 7pm and the sun had already set. Our 4x4 picked us up and joined the battle that is the roads of Bangalore. It’s insane. For the uninitiated (such as Jacqui) it’s an insane experience where people appear to care very little about personal safety. Bikes, ricshaws (sic?), vans, scooters, vans, lorries weave left and right, in and out, up and down, crazy, horns buzzing, lights flashing, people walking in and out of the road. Things whizzing by, brake lights everywhere. Massive advertising hoardings. Buses packed to the roof. Dusty roads. Chaos.
One hour later we arrived Taj Vivanta Bangalore 8pm Saturday 3rd April. Success!
DT or Mr Thomas as everyone is calling me here
Thursday 1 April 2010
Introductions
Tomorrow, Good Friday; myself and Jacqui grab our laptops (and hopefully a bag or two of clothes) and fly off to Bangalore, India where we will meet Jay and the three of us will begin a three week adventure!
This "blog" will hopefully be somewhere we can record some or all of this and share the experience with you all. Good, bad and probably slightly ugly when we get back to the hotel at 11pm every day.
Enjoy
DT
This "blog" will hopefully be somewhere we can record some or all of this and share the experience with you all. Good, bad and probably slightly ugly when we get back to the hotel at 11pm every day.
Enjoy
DT
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