We've moved house!

More boxes to unpack! 

Whenever we  have decided to move house it has always been quick and with little time for preparation. This time it was no different.

We actually didn't intend on moving. It all started when we went to a friend's house for a party. They had had to move because their landlord was moving back to Bangalore. They had a beautiful house but the new one was even better. Our contract was coming up for renewal but there was something similar in the back of our minds that niggled. We liked living in the house, it's quiet and in a good position but we kept returning to the fact that we didn't have a covered terrace that was in the shade. As the sun moved round then so did we as we would have to shade hop.   

So in mid September as I was setting off for the shops, I happen to say to Arjun about a covered terrace and how nice it would be. He said that his friend knew of a lot of empty houses in Palm Meadows and that we could go and look. In a matter of minutes, after saying this, we were in an empty house looking around. Down one street alone there were 4 empty houses.

 I was quite impressed and rang Andrew and the boys who were at home doing various things. Andrew was not interested in moving house as he is really busy and was reluctant to look, but when he did see the options he changed his mind. Milo went into excitement overload and had chosen a bedroom each time we looked at a different house, he is always up for anything new. Max was cool and determined to be closer to the club house.
Within a week we had found a house, negotiated, had a contract drawn up, a deposit put down and the removal people in to set a date. The house is closer to the club house, bus stop and with terraces that are covered and with fans and fully provisioned with mosquito nets (an essential around here!). It has a proper kitchen with a proper oven. ( the old house was a bit like living in student digs)  It's further from the shop but this means it's more difficult for Milo to sneak in and buy sweets as he doesn't walk past it any more.

We had a moving day for November 1st. We actually moved in on October 10th ! 

It was mad . The new landlord was happy for us to move in early and this meant that we could tidy up the other house without rushing. 

But, and there's always a but with the Coles, Andrew was super tied up with a colleague from the UK
 and so couldn't help at all. So it was Arjun, Mala and I ...

The removals here are very very fast . There must have been at least 15 men who turned up and all set about swiftly wrapping and packing and loading  boxes onto the van.

Meanwhile, at the new house, there were 'professional ' cleaners who reckoned it would take 7 hours to clean the house. The removal men laughed, 2 hours they claimed and the rest of the time the cleaners would sit outside and watch their phones. 

Which is exactly what they did. I cycled round to check on the progress to find 5 men sat outside and, obviously, the new boy inside cleaning. Cleaning would be a rather loose term . He had one dingy cloth that he cleaned everything with. And I mean everything. The toilets, sinks and light switches . The water was mud coloured and absolutely disgusting.

Note that this is not the actual moving day as Andrew, Milo and Max had abandoned me at that point!

I decided on not saying anything as that would mean he would rinse his one cloth and try again to please me. I said thank you very much, and shoved him out the door. 

I cycled back to the other house only to pass the van on its way. I grabbed some cleaning things and dashed back. Now, at this point, Mala is mortified that I was actually going to do some cleaning as that is her job  and tried to take the cleaning things back off me but I needed her to stop at the old house to watch the spare men who didn't speak English while Arjun came with me to watch the others at the new house. I managed to break free  So I re-cleaned all the bathrooms and switches until I was quite happy.

The men rotation went on all day until several rooms were done but the beds remained in the old house so we slept there for a further night..

The next day the same thing happened but we had a major crisis. Andrew needed Arjun (very inconsiderate) and Mala's brother had told her she couldn't work that day as she needed to go to the temple to meet a boy for a potential marriage match. She turned up in defiance but Mala was creating more chaos yelling down the phone than all the men charging around packing. She was pacing up and down, waving her arms and speaking in a very rapid high pitch shrill.

She definitely wasn't happy. She demanded that I speak to her brother ( he doesn't speak English) to tell him that she doesn't want to get married and that she had to work. He told her that she had to go to the temple. So what with the men asking which things needed to go in what box and which room and her yelling down the phone , chaos was tame word.

Then Mala's sister turned up to escort her to the temple. I decided to cut my losses and send her off as the yelling and negotiating with her brother was all too much. 

So two houses to watch and 15 men to tell where to put things in two houses.  Then to add to everything, the flipping aircon man turned up to service the AC in the new house. The neighbours were away (how inconsiderate!) but by chance a friend sent a message saying what was I up to?
 She was dispatched immediately to monitor the AC guys. Then the plumber turned up .... Luckily Joeline is very good at sorting men out and is very persuasive so she dealt with the new house.
Back at the old house the gardener turned up and added to the confusion. I set him potting up plants and picking the beans that had grown. The speed he works at meant he was gone for a while and was one less man to deal with.
But, by the end of the day, all the furniture was in place and we were in. Andrew and the boys casually strolled in and were pleased completely unaware of the chaos that had reigned. I demanded wine and pizza as I wasn't cooking and basically stared into space.

It was so exciting as we sat on the upstairs terrace surrounded by beautiful trees and a lovely view.

August - September update

We've all been busy in August:

Carla

The school I volunteer in, is going from strength to strength and we only opened as a school in August. We went to a show for schools last weekend where lots of schools had stalls. (although most people have chosen their schools so the fair needs to be in the Spring!)

In the photo above are some of the children who are in the year 1 class. They were in the community where the fair was held and they came with their parents. We had taken samples of work activities with us and they all stood doing the work without being asked. 

Sindhu and Satish are the owners and one of the teacher's, Riya, are also in the photo.

We got to the venue at 9 and left about 7 at night. The only problem was that the power kept going off, the fans stopped and it got so hot. At least it was cloudy and cool outside. (27oC)

 It was very interesting to see how schools promoted their school. Some had pictures of children, looking very serious, with the words - We are the Best- and that was it.... 

We had pencils to give away, book marks we had made, photos of the children working, samples of work, the whole curriculum. Our stall was very colourful and bright.

The fair was for two days and at the end of the first day we decided that we needed to take everything with us and then set everything up again the next day, as we didn't want anyone to pinch our resources.

Upasana and Yamani are in this photo too

By the gate before we set off (Mahesh , Riya, Sindhu, Me and Satish)

Pencils with the school logo on

Bright things to wrap around the pencils 

Book marks

Here are the ladies making the items in school. The other teacher, Kritikha, is in the photo too.

This was because other teachers/schools started to come to look at the curriculum and worksheets, some asked if they could buy them as they had never seen them before and wanted to know how to deliver the curriculum.

 Some schools just have a general statement like we will teach your children to read but not how they will do it or any way of teaching a progression or having a word list etc. 

 So teachers here have to do everything themselves. (For the teachers reading this, teachers have a tough time and they don't know about all the schemes and teachers' aids online.)

Then added to this, I was asked if I would like to join the parent's committee at Max and Milo's school. This means trying to send messages via WhatsApp / internet to get school correspondence out, liaising with parents and the school. This is easier said than done because all the children go on buses so you don't get to meet other parents. Bangalore is an enormous city (12.5M) and the children come from all over the place. There are lots of boarders too.

So I went to find out last week at the school what was required. The first thing was eating the school dinners to decide if the quality was good enough as there had been complaints from the children.

Now, I am not good with spicy food and rely on my personal food taster ( Andrew) to tell me if I can attempt the food. Max was in the food hall when I was there, but I was under strict instructions (from Max) not to speak to him, smile at him or do anything to suggest that I was his mother. (Remember Kevin the teenager?) although he did come over when I was stood behind a pillar and asked for money for the tuck shop.

So I carefully chose food that I thought might not be spicy and got my bottle of water ready. By the way, the food looked lovely and there was lots to choose from but all of it was Indian (but it is an Indian 'international' school..) I think the children are trying to get pizza and chips imposed..

I was so surprised, everything was very tasty and only mildly spicy. One of the other mums there though, said that it was nice but very bland.

In Bangalore, the food is so spicy that if I go to a restaurant I can't get past a few mouthfuls before my eyes are streaming. When I say no spice to waiters/ chefs they think it's bad if the food is bland and so always put in too much. For this reason I have given up eating Indian food in restaurants as it causes so much fuss if you say no spice .

So now, as the food is so good at the school, I can go there and pay about £2.50 and get an Indian meal that I can eat. Max disagrees though!

I've also been to meet with some other parents form Milo's year group and that was fun too.

It's also the first time that I've been the same                                                                        height or taller than other people!

Andrew

Andrew has been super busy with his job and he went on a business trip to Goa. We could have gone with him but it's still quite rainy and it's hard work being in a hotel room in the rain with the boys whereas we could be in Palm Meadows with all of the boys' friends, have Arjun and the car etc.

Andrew gave a talk on Micronclean and what they do which apparently went down very well. 

He then was invited to go to a university/college nearby as honorary guest to talk to MBA students about running a business, working in the 'real world' outside of their education with the expectations and demands of an international business environment and what skills they need to develop. 

He also went down to the beach early one morning but it was so windy, we couldn't hear what he said when he face-timed us. Soon after the heavens opened too so he was lucky that he borrowed a hotel umbrella! So we were pleased we had stayed at home.

The factory is coming on at a fast pace and there have not been too many problems.

 

Max and Milo 

Both boys have settled well back into school, although Milo is not happy that the work has got harder and he can't mess about any more! He's in his final primary year.

With their friends Tomek and Maja waiting for the bus.

We are eagerly watching the news today as Max was interviewed by the Zee News station about the new robots that have been installed in school. He claims he spoke clearly and intelligently. (That would make a change because most of the time I don't understand one word he grunts at me. Although with other people he turns on the charm and speaks like an angel.)

Milo has had lots of playdates and his weekends are packed with meeting his friends. Max goes on his own to the mall down the road or to his friends' houses.

This is Milo's friend Minyuk.

August update

July - We had guests

Max and Milo enjoyed their summer holiday and it was mainly spent playing with their friends who had stayed here in Bangalore. In mid July, their cousins came.( Freddie, 6, Amy, 9, their mum Claire, and her mum, Diane (Granny)

After a few days of recovering from the jet lag, as they went a night without sleep, we spent time by the pool and exploring the local area. 

We went on a tuk tuk tour around the city centre. 

We had to be in the city centre for 8am which meant leaving the house at 7am. There were 5 very smart tuk tuks waiting for us at a rendezvous.

The first stop was the Tipu Sultan's Palace. Guru, our guide, was a knowledgeable young man and he gave us a quick lesson in India history and how the palace came to be built .

Then we went to the temple next door. On the way in, the ladies got a small basket that contained a coconut, bananas, flowers, sweet basil and incense. You also have to remove your shoes and walk barefoot. At this point you mustn't sniff the flowers or basil because they will lose their power!

Inside the temple there were lots of gods and goddesses all over the place and the children were sent off on a mission to count them all.

Meanwhile, Guru explained as simply as he could how and why Hindus worship so many different deities. The children returned with different totals which was quite amusing. 

We then moved inside the temple to join in with a blessing. We gave our baskets to the priest who gave the coconut and bananas to the statue of the God ( I can't remember which one it was). He cracked the coconut open and poured the milk as an offering. We stood in two lines, girls on one side and boys on the other facing each other, each line behind a string line. The priest can then move freely up and down. 

The priest then started chanting and moved along the line of people (about 15 of us at that point) and asked each person their name. He chanted a "song" including the name given. Then he moved to the next person and repeated the chant but with their name. We were all proud of Amy, who is painfully shy, because she volunteered her name by herself. It was quite unnerving in this temple because it was very ornate with silver cladding and idols and with a strong of incense.

The priest then got a silver plate that has a small lit diva candle on it. As it comes to you, you waft the flame towards you and cover your face with a sweeping motion. you then put money on the plate and then you leave. 

As all this is going other people join in or leave. It seems very chaotic but at the same time ordered because this is how Hindus pray. They don't spend a long time in services. We then got the basket back with blessed bananas and opened coconut, which is put in a bag to take home.

Outside the Tipu Sultan's Palace.

Our next stop was the market. Oh my goodness me! We knew it was going to be challenging when Guru said, "whatever you do, don't let go of the children!"

We had one child each and walked into the fruit and vegetable market. There were lots and lots of vegetables and fruit in measured portions laid out in bowls on the floor.  There are no stalls as such, just the floor and the vendors sit crossed legged. It was rather smelly, busy and loud and the dead rat in the middle of one of the alleyways was rather off-putting, to say the least. But the market was colourful and interesting to see.

The fruit market leads inside to the flower market. Claire is a florist in the UK and so she was fascinated and so were we all. The smell was wonderful. There was a central area with sacks and sacks of flower heads that are sold by weight. 

Here, women sit weaving flowers into hair clips (that can be seen being worn by Indian women in their pony tails). All the ladies had flowers put into our hair and the jasmine was very strong and sweet.

Off the central area are lots of small corridors and down each corridor are booths with benches in. The sacks of flowers are taken to the booths and there are men ( no women ) weaving flowers for weddings and temple displays. The men sit crossed legged on the benches and so they are at eye level as you walk along. Luckily, it was not too hot ( 29) but in the height of summer, I dread to think what it is like with no air circulation and only standing fans. Claire was fascinated about how they managed to keep the flowers looking so fresh in the heat. 

Above the flower market, there were other levels where pots, pans, candles, coloured powder, and all kinds of spices can be bought. We decided that holding on to the children was becoming too much for them and so skipped this bit of the market. Our friend Joeline and her sister in law had come with us too and she often goes to this market as everything is such good value. So, we need to return....

We jumped back into the tuk tuks and sped off again. This time we were dropped off in a busy street to go and see how silk is produced for sarees. We walked in single file and it was a real road awareness test because the road was narrow and there are no traffic rules. There motorbikes, tuk tuks and cars all trying to go up and down the one way!

Unfortunately the silk dying rooms were not working. They use wood fired huge "cooking pots" to put the silk into. We looked inside and stared at all the silks that had been already dyed in their bright vivd colours. The sarees production looms were closed too and so we will need to go again to see this. After this, we followed Guru down a tiny side street where traffic couldn't go and hidden behind some very tiny houses was a dosa restaurant. Dosa is like a pancake but made from rice flour. Properly made they are very moorish. This little dosa place was amazing and the dosas were excellent. 

The  busy street. You can see Claire and Amy with the flowers in their hair.

All of us waiting for our dosas. You sit on the benches not at tables.

After our snacks, we set off walking again to find the tuk tuks. 

The next stop was St. Andrew's Kirk ( it was a church of Scotland church until 1959) The organist and a violinist were still there and played their instruments for us. 

We then went to a cemetery for another blessing. Usually Hindus are cremated but there is a section of society that are discriminated against because of the caste system. These people, known as Dalits, or untouchables have to buried and not cremated ( I hope I"m getting this information correct it was told to us quite quickly ....)

Amongst the graves is a temple and (I think..) the Dalits are only allowed to be associated with one goddess. We went into the temple and walked around the Goddess whose statue was in a lying position. There were lots of locks that had been locked onto a frame and the keys taken. People lock their fears or curses (?) into the locks and take the key so it can't be unlocked. 

We then went outside to be blessed. This involved a lady with very long unwashed and uncombed hair waving a courgette/ cucumber over our heads. She then passed an egg over our bodies and then broke the egg on a spike. The smell in this area was awful ..... there were some goats and chickens at the side ready for sacrifice too... but we went before we could see any of this.

While we there lots of the local people came to shake our hands.

This was nearly the end of the tour and it was now 2 o'clock! We were truly puffed out. We went back to where the cars were which were parked next to the Hard rock Cafe. Chips, burgers and ice cold drinks all round...

We finally got home at 6 after our meal and the traffic filled journey home. 

Mysore

Kevin the teenager (Max) was not happy the next morning when we all had to get up at 5 to set off for Mysore. The problem with Bangalore is that it is so big (12.5 million)  and to get across the city it can take at least 2 hours. Then you have to start the next part of the journey.

We had two cars and another driver, Arjun's friend, Dayalan, because there were 8 of us and the car can accommodate 8 (but including the driver). This meant we had a quiet car and a noisy one. Poor Arjun was allocated the noisy one. Milo insisted on singing nearly all the way. He made up songs with Amy and Freddie about mosquitoes and played music. Although Arjun said the songs did keep him entertained. ( but for 4 hours though?! )

A temple we visited near Mysore to break the journey and let Arjun have some peace and quiet.

We stopped at the Radisson Blu in Mysore. After checking in our rooms at about 11.30, we had a family picnic in one of the rooms ( laughing cow sandwiches, wraps and crisps. Yum!) 

Then we were off to see Mysore Palace. It is a very ornate and fancy palace.

The Maharajah, who still lives in the palace, keeps elephants that are used for a procession every year in October. They also work in the forest. They were loosely chained. This was a bit concerning but the mahout said that the elephants are on display for a short time and were just about to go for their bath and to be set free to roam and the chains mean they don't wander off into public places. He said would we like to get on an elephant ? Claire said she would. I'm so pleased she had trousers on! The elephant puts its leg out so that the person climbing can start to climb up but these elephants are very big and very powerful because of the weight they have to carry for the procession. Claire was struggling to climb up so the mahout quickly shoved her unceremoniously up by her bottom so she could get on. The mahout then grabbed Freddie and kind of threw him up on the elephant. After a few photos it was time to come down. It was easy for Freddie but not for Claire. Another touchy, feely session and she was down!

While we were at the palace, several people stopped us to ask us where we were from. I think we were the only people there from outside India. This meant we had lots of photos taken and you can see in the above photo some ladies showering Freddie and Milo with kisses. They were with their family from Delhi and Milo and Freddie got to meet them all. It really is strange all the photo taking that goes on when they seem "white" people. 

Kabini

We stopped in the same hotel as we did last year and it is right next to the river. After a 2 hour journey from Mysore we checked in and went swimming. We decide that would go on the boat safari in the afternoon at 3:30pm.  The boat trip is tranquil and calm. We saw lots of birds, 3 enormous crocodiles ( we got really close) and some wild elephants. One tusker (boy) was washing his food in the river at the water's edge .

After 3 hours we came back and had a welcome cup of coffee and a biscuit before we changed for our evening meal .

We were up early again the next day ( at 5) to get the jeep and then the open sided bus to go on the jungle safari. This is the safari that's a bit like wacky races. The drivers drive like maniacs and there are no seat belts. Also the seats are made from a slippery fake leather so with each fast corner you slide around. The only way to keep in your seat is to try and grip the back of the seat in front. The other downside is that are no toilets and its bumpy and 3 hours long!

Once in the tiger reserve, the drivers like to bump everyone down the uneven tracks, their only aim in life is finding a tiger.

We also went on another safari in the afternoon so I'll just combine what we saw. We came across a mother and a young baby and another female elephant. The mother was not pleased to see us and raised her trunk, stamped her feet and made an incredibly loud noise to warn us off. At this point, Milo started crying. We were about 20 feet away in an open sided bus. We had to just tell Milo to cry quietly. 

Coincidently, a few days after we got back, there was a video clip of the tiger reserve across the river where an elephant charged one of the buses and smashed the windscreen as it charged so I think we were rather naive as we were watching thinking nothing could go wrong. 

Luckily, it didn't and it was magical watching the baby suckle milk from its mother . After this encounter, we set off searching for tigers when we came across a wild sloth bear. The guides were so excited as these are very difficult to see. The bear was quite startled by us and ran back into the forest.

We had stopped to look for the bear when the driver got a message on his walkie talkie that 4 tigers had been spotted round the corner from us. He quickly put the bus in reverse, the guide yelled for everyone to hold on, and we drove backwards down the road. ( we back on the reserve main road) Then, still in reverse, we went over a huge speed bump. Freddie went up into the air and fell on the floor. I managed to pull him back on his seat and held on to him while the driver spun the bus so that we could go forwards. 

Meanwhile, Milo had stopped crying and was now laughing at the excitement of the journey.

Unfortunately, we just missed the tigers as they had disappeared back into the jungle. By now it was raining and as there are no windows we were getting soaking wet as the rain rolled off the roof and in.

By the time we returned we were really tired but elated at seeing the animals.

Dubare Elephant camp

The next day, we  travelled to the next place where the elephant camp is based.

It is the monsoon season and it decided to rain but not too heavily. We crossed the river in a small boat and we were greeted by our guide . The elephants had been in the forest and because it was raining they were very muddy. The guide couldn't wait for us to get in to the water to wash the elephants. 

Th elephants are amazingly gentle considering some of them have previously killed people. They were wild elephants that had gone "rogue". They are captured and brought to the elephant camp to be trained. If there was no camp the elephants would be destroyed. A few days go, a wild elephant had killed a forest worker fairly close by and other forest rangers took some of the elephants from the camp to capture the killer elephant and he was taken to the camp to be trained.

At one point there were 11 elephants being washed or waiting to be washed . We were surrounded by them. 

It really is a wonderful experience to do this and what is more wonderful is the fact that the elephant's come first. If they want to go they can. While we were waiting in the river for them, the first two had decided to stop for some food, no one rushed them - we had to wait for them. They really are respected animals at the camp.

After 2 hours, the elephants go back into the forest to forage on their own and to be free so we went to get changed ( we were covered in elephant water and pooh!)

We had some lunch ( very nice chips and mild Indian food) and then we faced the 6 hour journey home. Fine for the quiet car - poor Arjun again....

After all our travelling, our guests decided that stopping by the pool in Palm Meadows was the best way forward. 

Their two week stay was over too quickly and we said we'd see them soon ..... We had a wonderful time together .