June update

Transport options

As my ambition to ride a Vespa is on hold - I think I'm still rather too wobbly to venture out into the traffic, I have decided that a tuk tuk or a small car would be a good idea. Milo went to the dentist the other day and, because Arjun was with Andrew, I was about to call an Uber for the journey back (we had gone to the dentist in one) when the dentist asked if we needed a lift as she was going past where we lived. That was so very kind. During the journey she convinced me that I needed a car to zip around in. Now, Milo loves this dentist, as she lets him watch a movie when treating him and she's very smiley ( beautiful teeth) and she even let him operate the X-ray button the other day when I needed an X-ray. To his mind, as she is so clever and always right, and because she has suggested it then he's on a mission to find me a tuk tuk.

Some people do have them here to pop to the shops and it means it's easier to carry the shopping and a child or two. When the factory is built, Andrew will be further away and I won't have Arjun so I definitely need a plan B!

Hospital and Snake number 2

Yesterday was hectic, Andrew often asks me what I do all day, and yesterday was good example of the chaos then ensues every shopping trip or event.
 I went to the shop in the Marriott hotel where we get our meat just after dropping off the boys at the summer camp and Andrew at the office.
 All I wanted was 8 pieces of chicken, that's all, not too difficult. It took 50 minutes! The lady on the till has to ring the chef who then gets someone else to pack the chicken to give it to someone else to bring, who then gives it to someone else to put in a bag, who then gives it to the girl on the till ...... the process is long winded and confusing, sometimes a person in the chain gets distracted ....
 I then set off back towards the shopping centre to go to the supermarket ( I should say we, as Arjun was with me). Max and Milo had gone to the summer camp but as we were driving nearby, Max called saying he had hurt his foot and could he go to the hospital?

So we went in to get him. The previous Friday he had dropped the base of the swing ball on his foot and his foot had swollen up but he managed to walk. Now, a five year old had trodden on him and his foot was swollen again and very painful.

We got to the hospital at 10:30am. We have been to the hospital several times but usually go as early as we can because it gets so busy and, again, everything is so chaotic! I checked in at two different desks before we sat and waited. Watching the other people, we noticed that if one person is ill then there are at least 4 people for support, making a total of 5. These people then split up and each directly approach a different member of staff to find out how long they have to wait etc. There was only me to pursue the nurses.

 On the desk, there will be one person operating the computer and then 4 nurses watching the operator so the queues get quite long. In some departments there are electronic numbers so you know when to go in to see the doctor but in the bone department, oh no, you have to telepathically communicate through a closed door with the doctor and play a guessing game as to where you are in the queue.

After half an hour, I went back to the desk and hovered near the nurses who looked at me sympathetically. Two more people then it's Max's turn, apparently.

Two more people went in, then we got up to go in. But someone else (with their entourage in tow) barged through so I went back to the desk. Yes, she reassured me, Max was next but those people are getting their x-ray results so they are not counted as being in the queue. (so we were number 4 not number 3?) I pointed out that it wasn't really that clear that this was the system. Anyway, we were next, she made a point of loudly telling us and the rest of the queue were very supportive in waving us through too.


Max needed an X-ray so now we had to register at another desk (again with spare nurses and people and just one person operating the computer, taking the money etc.) and wait for an x-ray.
Another hour ... then we went back to the original department. Now it was our turn to barge in the door when the nurse waved her hand at us upsetting the queue.
No broken bones but Max had sprained his ankle, we were given instructions and off we went ... it's 1:00pm now so its not been too long, just chaotic!

So, now I've still got the shopping to do.

Arjun drops me off at the supermarket and then takes Max home, Milo has gone home with some friends so I can get the shopping done. Arjun comes back and helps me with the shopping. The usual chaos of weighing fruits and vegetables etc but we get it done.

I'm back at the house by 3:00 pm. Mala, lovely lady, has made lunch without being asked so I get a bowl of biryani and go and sit outside only to notice a huge snake poking its head out from behind a flower pot, a few feet away from me.

In my panic, I forgot how to ring for help on the emergency app! So I ran inside( after closing the doors behind me) and yelled there was a snake.

Mala hid in the bathroom but Arjun came outside with me and he had a look. Meanwhile, I managed to activate the emergency call to the guards who came quickly with their snake catching gear. Mala came out of the bathroom but stood behind the closed doors.

The guards and Arjun found the snake hidden behind some bricks. As they set up their catching equipment, the snake darted out and they all ran back as the snake was huge! It quickly escaped under the fence behind and went into the neighbours garden. Apparently, they think it was a rat snake. After searching for quite some time and Arjun climbing and walking along the high wall, the snake had obviously disappeared.

It is still at large and the boys are banned from playing in the garden!

This took us until 4:30 - 5:00pm .... I managed to finish my cold lunch then I took Milo swimming as he was meeting his friends.

At 6:00pm we came back and I got the dinner ready because I had forgotten to ask Mala to do anything in all the kerfuffle of the day.

So when Andrew asks me what I do all day .......

Max and Milo

The boys are now on holiday for 2 months and are having a great time. Milo has been going to the school where I help out as there is a summer camp there. His friends go too and Milo has been very busy dancing, playing football and generally just hanging out.  In the afternoons there's more playing with friends at someone's house or at the swimming pool.
Max has been a few times to help out with the younger children but then after he dropped the weight on his foot, he's been at home or with his friends. Unfortunately, they've been leaving one by one to go back to their countries to live or to go on holiday. Max spends a lot of time on FaceTime to his friends who live in Bangalore ( but too far to pop to .... to get across Bangalore it can take over two hours) or he is on FaceTime to Seattle, or Gujarat, or wherever.

Mangoes

We are surrounded by mangoes wherever we go and the smell is wonderful. However, the maids and drivers and gardeners all get very possessive about the mangoes growing on the trees. The other day our neighbour's driver gave some mangoes to the gardener team. These are the gardeners who have to cut the grass with shears and pluck the weeds by hand so their level of earnings and standard of living is quite shocking. So we have no problem with them having anything that is going spare. But the maids down our road were most put out that the mangoes hadn't been shared out fairly.

So Mala was on the garage roof and up the tree collecting the rest of the mangoes with our personal gardener who has invented a mango picker - a carrier bag on a long pole.
These mangoes have been shared fairly between all the maids and drivers and, whoever was on the list, down our road.
Harmony has been restored and we have avoided a mango crisis!

Part of the Mango season is the onset of the 'Mango Rains' and to watch these storms can be spectacular as seen in this photo taken out of the window:

 

Baked Beans

But we do have a baked beans crisis. Milo had agreed to come to India only if he could eat Heinz baked beans. Finding that brand was doable but involved a lot of searching. In the supermarket the set of four had obviously been split and sold at extortionate prices individually but needs must. I could find two or three places with the Heinz variety but there's none to be found at the moment. My stockpiles have dwindled and we've had to buy some different brands. Andrew and Milo are horrified.

Andrew and I were invited to the Queen's birthday bash at the deputy high commissioner again and we were talking to the Deputy Head of Mission there. His family is down to 5 tins and they are being rationed until the shops rekindle their supplies. His wife is on the look out and so am I. She had searched and searched but to no avail. Andrew has since been in email contact  with him to see if their supermarkets have supplies( he lives in the centre of Bangalore and we are on the outskirts) and no beans have been found...
As soon as the beans appear on the shelves again there will be no mercy..... I'm going to buy as many as I can to avoid this happening again!

 

Face pack

I was sitting outside studying my Hindi the other day, when Mala appeared with a piece of snapped aloe leaf and some turmeric in a small bowl and half a tomato. Without much warning about what she was about to do, she lifted my hair back and smothered my face in the concoction. She then waltzed off with the departing words of 10 minutes.
 It actually felt quite nice and I'm sure I could feel my wrinkles disappearing... I washed it off after the said time and carried on working. Mala appeared a second time, this time with milk and a flour product called besan. She smeared it on my face and departed, indicating 10 minutes again. This time I looked like I had an orange face with lumps on it. The mask was even tighter. It took ages to wash off but my skin did feel quite smooth at the end. Apparently Indian ladies do this quite frequently, I just need more warning ...

The new Factory

There is lots going on at the new factory construction site and as part of the marketing of the company, Andrew and others from the UK and Indian teams, carried out some publicity at a trade exhibition in Mumbai. Here you can see them in action.

 

Update from Mar - May19

Max and Milo

We are so proud of our boys. After all the changes they had and how nervous they were in the beginning when we arrived, the transformation in their confidence is amazing.
Max is now going out to his friends' houses for parties or the cinema in different parts of the city or to the shopping malls for pizza (Arjun takes him so that makes it much easier ) and Milo danced a solo dance in front of the whole school accompanied by a young man playing the piano.

Both of them love their school and have a set of friends that are kind and considerate.

One of Milo's best friends and his family left recently and it was so sad. We were all good friends with the whole family and we have been away with them too. We virtually had to prise the boys apart as they left for the airport. (that is the downside of the expat life as people come and go as they move on) Milo found it hard going to school, looking his friend's empty seat but he's recovered and has spoken to his pal and his brother on the internet so all is not doom and gloom. It just means that we are increasing the places that we can go for holidays that we wouldn't have considered before to keep in contact.

Max has his exams next week and face times his friends in the evenings so they can "study" together even though they have been at school all day. He's decided that he likes chemistry best and has studied hard in that subject. He was rather put out when I explained that you can't go to university with just one subject and that he needs to study hard in them all! The curriculum both the boys  follow is the IB curriculum and it involves in depth investigation on many different subjects. Its quite tough on homework levels and constant assessments but it seems just as good as the British system.

Mala and Arjun

Mala was very giddy yesterday. Usually she has a set routine for cleaning and ironing etc and nothing stops her. But yesterday she kept getting phone calls and she had various projects started all over the house that were haphazard, mats up , dishwasher half emptied, beds half made, cleaning cloths abandoned everywhere. It was very strange.

 I even found myself having to get the dinner ready as she sat outside on the patio chatting on the phone! This was strange too as she NEVER sits on a proper chair preferring a small stool in the kitchen or even the floor.

Arjun came to have his dinner and he was excited too.

The reason ?

 The election results were out. The BJP had won and they were both so happy.


Andrew and I have tried to watch the election on the local TV ( we have numerous channels in English but the news is hard to follow because they have a picture of one topic that they're reporting on, newsflash titles going across the bottom, then other headlines at the side and a different video sequence on the other side of the screen. The reporters also shout the news in an excitable manner.  So watching the news leaves you feeling quite worn out and anxious.) We do have BBC World news and watch that too ( it leaves us feeling much calmer ).

The election seemed very confusing and hard to follow but Mala and Arjun are happy with the results.
Mala was back to normal the next day...if you watch the Durrells on ITV, just think about their helper Lugretzia ... they're very similar in temperament!

 Nursery school

  Since April, I have been helping to set up a nursery-preschool, as a volunteer. I had no intention of "working" but I am really enjoying it. I go for two days a week.

The school is a brand new set up run by a lovely Indian couple, Sindhu and Satish, who have lived in the United States for 15 years. They decided to come back to Bangalore and to set up a school run along the British play based curriculum. At one of my morning clubs (zentangle - Japanese drawing) I was saying about my teaching experience. Then I got a call from Sindhu asking if I could meet her to help and guide her in how to go about putting a curriculum in place, train the teachers etc.

To cut a long story short, I loved their ideas, loved the building and what they were trying to do and decided I would help them. We have quite a few on the intake roll so its very exciting and the official school starts in August.

At the moment the school is being used a summer camp for children on their school holidays. Milo has been with me when he was mildly unwell one day and he loves it, he also gets on well with Sindhu and Satish's children, their son is the same age. He will be going in June to join in with all the fun. Max is going to help the younger ones. There's pottery, lego, hip hop dancing and lots of things to do.

All the staff are kind and friendly and so the atmosphere is so relaxed and happy. They speak English and Hindi. The children are very amused when I practise my simple sentences on them. The staff are good at correcting me. ( I am determined to speak Hindi fluently and it's still slow going but I can hear and speak more. I can also read the script now)

Mosquitoes

We each have an electric bat, and have several of them positioned carefully around the house for quick access. We seem to spend a lot of time fighting off the mosquitoes inside and out. We think that we would be better if we could have a harness, like you see on the television ,where there is sword that you carry on your back and then you quickly pull out your weapon and attack.

We have given up going outside after 7pm at the moment as it so bad. At about 6:30 pm the noise from the mosquitoes is so loud that it's like a high pitched humming, buzzing and can be heard from inside the house.

The mosquitoes buzz around your head, feet, legs and arms and it's difficult to sweep them all away in one go.

It's a real shame as its so warm outside but it's just not a wise decision to sit outside.
The monsoon is on its way so hopefully that will reduce the amount of the pesky things.

Luckily the bats have spotlights on them which helps when we have the power cuts as the thunderstorms roll in the evenings ( mango rains)
The rains helps to cool things down and is quite a relief from the high temperatures of the Indian 'Summer' period.

MMG - Milo's Maldives Blog

MMB 

         Milo’s Maldive Blog

TWO WEEKS AGO I WENT TO BANDOS ISLAND IN THE MALDIVES. I LOVED IT     

 I WAS MOSTLY AT KIDS CLUB THE SEA WAS LIGHT BLUE AND ME AND MY DAD WENT SNORKLING TO THE REEF AND TO THE ‘DROP OFF’ WHERE IT WENT REALLY DEEP - LIKE ON THE ‘FINDING NEMO’ MOVIE.

WE SAW LOTS OF FISH AND SHARKS

THEY HAD RED, YELLOW AND BLUE FISH PLUS LOTS OF SILVER FISH. 

UNFORTUNATELY MY DAD COULD NOT GO DIVING BECAUSE OF THE WATER PRESSURE ON HIS EAR BUT HE DID LOTS OF SNORKLING INSTEAD. 

AND THAT IS MY BLOG 😎

The Maldives

Holiday time

It's been on our bucket list for years and when we knew that the flights were only an hour and a half from Bangalore then we had to do it. Carla did lots of research looking at all of the potential islands and found one that seemed to fit all of the requirements of a family orientated destination (yes some are honeymoon islands only so don't welcome noisy boys!) The island of Bandos was one of the closer islands to Male where the capital and airport are located. The location meant that there were no sea plane journeys (although they do look very exciting!) and no long speed boat transfers in case of rough seas (not Carla's idea of a relaxing journey).

Our flight as mentioned was a fairly brief one with just about enough time to eat our spicy Air India offerings (mmmm!) before we were above the sparkling blue waters surrounding the islands.

How were we going to survive in these awful looking conditions ;-)

The airport in Male is very well organised and allows the big planes to land on the tarmac whilst the slightly 'wetter' landing strip, for the many sea planes is just on the other side of the airport. Once through the arrivals immigration process we were then able to collect bags and find a taxi for our first night on Hulhumale before our transfer to Bandos the next morning. Ten minutes with all four of us plus driver and about six bags squished into a Nissan Micra type taxi was all part of the 'fun'.

Our hotel was situated on the sea front and gave our first chance to dip our toes in clear warm waters. After watching the sun set whilst sat on the beach we then decided to dine locally at the hotel restaurant to keep the boys up to some kind of a nutritional level.  Max and AC took a short walk around the relatively new neighbourhood which was also home to many of the local islanders. Once we had explored on the walk it was time to retire for the night ready for an early start.

Our short trip back to the airport was in their fun bus so we had a tad more room to enjoy and decent air-conditioning too. Ten minutes later we were at the jetty ready to take our ferry transfer. We weren't sure what to expect but then saw the array of island's boats all waiting at the jetties. For those that are travelling for the first time like we were, it is a very well designed process and whether transferring by ferry or sea plane its quite a clear route and not too intimidating.

The speedboat transfer was good fun. A tranquil start as we departed the jetty was soon interrupted by a full bore opening up of both outboards as the boat speeded across the water. Slightly disconcerted Carla and Milo then realised that were probably not going to capsize and die so they relaxed a little for the next nine minutes! The harbour at Bandos was again the beautiful blue sea with lots of fish swimming around.

This was not too shabby we thought...

Being a little too early for our room we were able to change into our swimming things in a communal changing area and soon set foot towards the beach. Oh my gosh we thought as we looked from the decking over into the clear waters - what are those large black shadows moving? - AAAHHH... sharks! 

Quick get in the water to snorkel with them assuming that they are not man eating great whites! Max and AC got quite close and took a few underwater photos whilst breathing quite heavily through excitement and adrenalin... our first shark encounter bagged (black tipped reef sharks - quite harmless and so graceful)

Our 'Jacuzzi Cottage' was a lovely thatched bungalow and had plenty of space for us with the additional beds sorted for the boys. An 'open roofed' style private shower and bathroom took a bit of getting used to but soon the norm. It took about ten seconds to reach the beach so a morning cup of tea watching the waves was the routine each day...

Our favourite beach was near to the dive school and was a calmer more protected bit of reef. The sea was clear warm and inviting. It teemed with fish and quite honestly it felt like you were in a tropical fish tank. So many species and beautiful colours to witness. Believe it or not Max noticed the noise too - Its the Parrot fish chomping at the coral that made a crunching sound.

 Another reef shark

 One of the local turtles

 In a sort of apology, it's hard not to put more photos on the blog, as the colour and lighting out in the Maldives was just wonderful. India is good but the azure coloured sea was so beautiful, so here are more photos to close with...

Just to add that the accomodation food and service was all very good at the Bandos resort A super friendly team at the kids club were able to entertain Milo on may occasions, especially when he had seen enough fish for the day, so that was also a bonus.

The island was not too big - approx 700 metres across and was well laid out with lovely tree or plant lined avenues that got you across the various points. The routes took you from beach side to dining areas and to other leisure or amenity areas and ultimately back to a new beach appearing every so often. 

Our final day was spent trying to maximise our time on Bandos and we made a full day of it before we then took the slightly bouncier sea crossing back to Hulhumale. A final leisurely evening at the same hotel allowed us to think about the highlights of our few days. Despite flaky internet the boys had survived without too much use of tech so proving that it can be done!

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Just in case you wish to do the same: www.bandosmaldives.com

The Island Beach House - www.ibh.mv