A year in India

Happy Birthday and Volcanoes

2010-11-10T03:15:00.000-08:00

Everybody must be nice to me – its my birthday (or at least I have not yet gone to sleep so it still counts as my birthday). As most of you know I have been on an extended holiday since August. The original plan was to keep a blog of my travels and activities. However I was too busy to do so. November is national blogging month and the 2 blogs I read have committed to posting daily. Inspired by then I will do the same. Every day from now until end of November I will blog either on what I have done that day or from the last few months adventures in Mexico, France, Italy, Spain and Hawaii.

I am often melancholy at birthdays thinking about what I haven’t achieved and how I am getting older but not always wiser. Additionally this birthday is somewhat significant (my age is between 30 and 40 and is the product of two prime numbers but I am neither 33 nor 39). So there were all the ingredients for quite a depressing day. To combat this I arranged to go to Hawaii with my friend E.

We arrived in Honolulu on Saturday. We are staying on Oahu but today we flew to the Big Island to visit the Volcano. I am fascinated by geothermal activity, that’s why I love Rotarua in New Zealand and Yellowstone in USA. Every so often I think it would have been better to keep on geology rather than choosing chemistry but then I remind myself of how terrible geology field work is in Ireland – standing on a narrow road trying to avoid the passing traffic as I look at rocks while failing to keep myself or my notebook safe from the relentless Irish rain. But its different in Hawaii. We had no rain on the Big Island and despite the relatively short time on the Island, we saw some of the newest land in the world and an active volcano.

The US state Hawaii is a series of 8 volcanic islands. The pacific plate is slowly moving over a geothermal hotspot. The older islands are to the northwest and no longer have volcanic activity. Maui has both dormant and extinct volcanoes but real geothermal activity is on the island of Hawaii (also called the big Island because it’s the biggest – indeed all the other Hawaiian Islands could fit in its landmass). The Big Island is actually 5 different volcanoes in different stages of lifecycles
1. Kohala—extinct
2. Mauna Kea—dormant
3. Hualālai—active but not currently erupting
4. Mauna Loa—active, partly within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
5. Kīlauea—active: has been erupting continuously since 1983; part of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park

As we only had a day we took an organised tour which visited the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Before that we visited a black sand beach. To be honest the beach was tiny most of the area was covered with hardened black lava. The lava had flown underground until it reached the sea where it cooled. It was amazing the amount of land that had been created. Also the old shoreline was still easy to spot with lines of mature coconut trees. Some baby coconut trees were growing in the black rock. I thought there was no way the rock could sustain plant life but there was overwhelming evidence against me (even though they were only baby coconut trees)

After the beach we went to Volcanoes National Park. We saw an active caldera complete with gaseous plumes. Unfortunately there was neither lava nor magma to be seen. Probably just as well as the lava is dangerous. The visitors centre had a display about the geologist who got caught up to his knees in lava. After several months he was able to walk again but if that can happen to an expert, God only knows what might happen to the lay people!

But the best part of the day was the birthday wishes I got from all over the world (from Europe, the US, Asia and the Middle East). I got emails, texts, facebook posts and a present from my friend E. I also spoke with my sister, brother and mother. Thank-you everybody for helping me have a happy birthday. Over the next few weeks I will be in Chicago and Toronto so some of you can help me celebrate in person (because November was Helen’s birthday month long before it was national blogging month)

Random India fact with picture

2007-04-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

I've recieved a lot of feedback (some might call it complaints but feedback is a more positive term, don't you think?) I have lots of photos of India and here is one from Qutb Minar in Delhi. This complex has the largest minaret in the world. It also has a iron pillar. I'll let wikipedia tell you about the official story

The pillar bears an inscription which states that it was erected as a flagstaff in honour of the Hindu god, Vishnu, and in the memory of the Gupta King Chandragupta II (375–413). Made up of 98% wrought iron of pure quality, it is 23 feet 8 inches (7.21 m) high and has a diameter of 16 inches (0.41 m). Also, it was confirmed that the temperatures required to form such kind of pillars cannot be achieved by combustion of coal. The pillar is a testament to the high level of skill achieved by ancient Indian iron smiths in the extraction and processing of iron.
It has attracted the attention of archaeologists and metallurgists as it has withstood corrosion for the last 1600 years, despite harsh weather. Its unusually good corrosion resistance appears to be due to a high phosphorus content, which together with favorable local weather conditions promotes the formation of a solid protective passivation layer of iron oxides and phosphates, rather than the non-protective, cracked rust layer that develops on most ironwork.

Apparently in the 1970s, some people were amazed that the Iron pillar did not rust and concluded (as one does) that it was evidence of alien landings on earth.

Back in Chicago

2007-03-11T16:57:00.000-07:00

On Friday, March 2nd, I arrived back in Chicago. The weather was bitterly cold as I took a taxi to my friends’ apartment. M & R invited me to stay the first night back which was wonderful as my apartment had been vacant since the tenants had left in early February. Despite carrying all sorts of strange Indian spices and having only been in the country twice since obtaining my green card, I successfully negotiated the US immigration and customs.

On Saturday, all my belongings came out of storage. I was reminded of something my mother often says “Helen, you have so much of this world’s goods”. Well it’s very true. I’m still unpacking a week later (this morning I found some curtains that I have only the vaguest memory of purchasing; also a very cool meat thermometer that I remember contemplating buying but thought I had decided against, seems not)

On Saturday night M & R invited me over to dinner. There’s a group of us who meet up for games every so often and we were doing that night. However when I got to there, I discovered they had organized a surprise welcome back party – the first time ever I had a surprise party. I was very surprised but many people said I didn’t seem surprised at all – probably it was due to the jet lag. At the party were the following

M&R – bought a new apartment, both got new jobs.

E – moved appartment, acquired a long-term boyfriend in my absence. I had never met boyfriend who I insisted on calling “the mysterious X”. E was the friend who forwarded all my mail to India. At least he enjoyed reading the several magazines to which I subscribe.

J – work colleague. You may remember her from the transcontinental gossip. Been promoted in my absence

J – work colleague. Completely rescued me in India by sending over Shiseido skin softener, crystal light and ant poison.

K – work colleague. She sent Clinique pore minimizer to me while I was in India. Retired in my absence

R – work colleague– lost 20 lbs in my absence

P&R – became pregnant in my absence. They were there with their adorable daughter K who has got much much better at walking since I left and is getting more bilingual by the day

I – the friend I met in Singapore. Bought her first apartment while I was away. Also interviewing for other jobs

G – got engaged in my absence. Also fiancée broke off the engagement – poor guy

T – the friend I met in Sydney. Is now an official architect.

Also there were D and M. M – no significant news that I know about. Meeting M for dinner tonight so will check for gossip.

It really was a wonderful evening. I am very lucky to have such great friends (especially M&R). And it’s very very nice to be back.

I plan one more blog entry probably next weekend and then I’ll be finishing a year in India blog.

Quick entry - the final days!!

2007-02-18T10:32:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I called my recently engaged friend L who mentioned that I hadn’t updated my blog. So well things are busy (I know it’s my usual excuse but it’s true). It’s gone midnight and the movers are coming at 9.30 tomorrow morning. So I am busy getting ready (oh my god how do I accumulate so much stuff). I do plan to post a few more entries (various ones in the works – mainly only in my head)

As I haven’t been emailing people I’m going to post my travel plans too

Tuesday to Thursday (Feb. 20th- 22nd): Munich
Friday to Monday (Feb 23rd – 26th): Brussels
Monday to Friday (Feb. 26th to March 2nd ): Cork
Friday March 2nd Chicago.

Yes it’s going to be a busy few weeks and I’m supposed to do some work too!!!!

More fire and more sightseeing

2007-02-04T09:41:00.000-08:00

So again I haven’t been posting but I have less than 3 weeks left in India so have been busy jetting around the country. I’m just back from Jaipur. Those with keen memories may remember I went to Jaipur last May, so why may you ask did I return to Jaipur. Well a very nice French colleague was over to deliver training last week, she wanted to stay and see some of India we went off to Jaipur. The original plan had us in Agra too but we decided to return straight to Delhi as 8-10 hours in a car was too much. It’s no bad thing we decided against Agra as it would have been my fourth trip to Agra and I’m not the biggest fan of the Taj Mahal. Many call it a tribute to love but when all it said and done it’s a very big tombstone. It is a beautiful building but it is over-hyped.

Jaipur was good fun. I spent a fortune on shawls and cushion covers. On the prior trip I bought some beautiful pieces of jewellery but this time I was not tempted much, only one bracelet bought. On Saturday evening we went to a recreation of a Rajasthani village (Rajasthan is a province in western India – much of it is desert but it contains quite a few palaces as the Rajasthani rulers the Maharaja were very keen on building palaces. While we were at the royal palace we saw the current Maharaja – he’s quite old but looked quite distinguished. I was a little disappointed that he wore western dress as I would have iked to see the extravagant maharaja costumes). Some elements of the recreation were very tacky – a guru in a cave. However most were interesting (puppet shows, folk dancing) or fun (camel and elephant rides). Also included in the admission price was a traditional Rajasthani meal. This comprised of several dishes (they claimed 27 which doesn’t seem far off the mark). I have no clue what half th stuff I ate was but most of it was good. The restaurant was a little too authentic for me – there were no chairs; everybody sat on the floor. Not only that I got a terrible cramp in my leg and had to walk it off half way through the meal. This drew the attention of half the staff where all I wanted was to be left alone. The plates and bowls were made from leaves which is all well and good except the leaves are not entirely waterproof and the spinach dish was watery and split all over my poor colleague. Fortunately as I am an India veteran now I was well equipped with tissues and wet wipes to help clean up the ensuing mess.

The prior weekend I was in Goa and Mumbai. I flew into Mumbai and negotiated the tricky matter of getting a taxi from the airport (I tried to get the hotel to arrange a car but after 3 attempts and more than 30 minutes of my life spent on hold, I gave up). Upon checking in I was informed I had been upgraded due to my gold card status – the room was fine and the view was spectacular looking out over the Arabian sea. I had read that Mumbai is a “happening place” – it’s the home of Bollywood and India’s financial centers. Foreigners abound there. It is also home to one of the largest slums in the world. I was prepared for a hectic city which overwhelms, charms and devastates all at once. However I found a beautiful city ruined by the smell of sewage coming from the sea which surrounds it. I ventured out for a walk, braving the smell (familiar pleasant salt air contaminated by too many people and a lack of urban planning) – perhaps I could have survived the smell but the heat finished me. It was 35C and this is winter. Summer must be hell. Fortunately I only had 24 hours in Mumbai. I left not unhappy but with a strange feeling I get more and more often. I think it is a sign of getting older. I leave a place and think “this is probably my last time here”. It’s not that I can’t go back but thinking about time, money and desires it’s unlikely I will be back in Mumbai or Shimla or Agra. It’s not that I want to return but just that I probably never will. I realize that time is speeding by and that even a full and long life is still a very short time.

After Mumbai, I proceeded to Goa. It seems everybody loves Goa – beautiful beaches, tropical hillsides speckled with Portuguese colonial houses, exquisite churches, delicious food. The beaches were big and sandy but when traveling alone (as I was) swimming is not an option. The food was lovely especially the Goan bread and prawn curry. Old Goa was marvelous – for me it required no imagination to see 17th century Jesuit priests wandering about the church gardens. The churches looked out over blue seen, the view obscured only by the forecast of palm trees. A pleasant breeze circled the area. There was a lot to like about Goa but also some things blighted my visit
I was seriously misled by Lonely Planet. The place I stayed was fine but completely overpriced.
No diet coke in the hotel or any restaurants. I found some in one shop. I know it seems childish to complain about the lack of diet coke but in a town where you can order kingfisher beer for breakfast it seems some diet coke is not an unreasonable request.
It’s still India and you have to bargain with everybody for everything. Even when I bargain hard, I know I’m being fleeced and the injustice of it drives me crazy so I get in a bad mood and don’t buy things I want. Even the things are not so expensive but I know somebody else is getting it for less and I just feel I would rather pay double in Ireland in the knowledge that everybody is charged the same price.
It’s not as poor as other parts of India but there are still beggars and the little girl who grabbed my leg and pleaded for money for food affected me more than any beggar has for quite some time.
The flight from Goa to Delhi was delayed for ages.

The observant among you will have noticed that I mentioned a fire. While packing to go to Mumbai and Goa, it was cold in Delhi so I had the heater on. I noticed an unpleasant burning smell but thought little of it – the poor homeless souls in Delhi are often burning rubbish to keep warm in the winter months. However in this case I should have paid more attention because the burning item was my portable heater. The plastic handle caught fire and the flames went dangerously close to the curtains.

On planet Helen, household fire is sufficient reason not to be blogging.

More Indian adventures

2007-01-21T11:16:00.000-08:00

My Indian colleagues believe I have the worst luck. This may be the case but before I came to India I would say I had above average luck for the general populations and average or below average luck for an Irish person (I do believe Irish people are luckier – I know it’s not scientific but science would have you believe there is no such thing as luck which is not the case either).

Today, I went with a Russian colleague (Olga) to the train station as we were taking the evening train to Chandigarh. On the way to the train station, another colleague (Jake) telephoned me. He was already in Chandigarh:

Jake: Hi, Helen it’s Jake
Me: Hi Jake, how are things in Chandigarh
Jake: not so good
Me: why (expected to hear complaints about the team or problems with hotel booking)
Jake: the hotel is on fire
Me: pardon?
Him: they’ve evacuated us all and we are all waiting outside. So maybe you want to change your travel plans
Me: is the fire engine there?
Him: not yet
Me: maybe

We spent the next 20 minutes driving to the train station as I called the Taj hotel central number to ask them if I should cancel. They didn’t even know there was a fire and unhelpfully said they couldn’t reach anybody at the hotel (da, it’s because they’ve all been evacuated). I also tried to see if tickets were available for the next day but the ticket office closes at 2pm on Sundays.

Upon reaching the train station we sought help from many of the railway employees. They were spectacularly unhelpful. After talking to 4 separate people (each of whom acted as though he was doing us a massive favor by agreeing to talk to us), we discovered:
The ticket office is closed.
The ticket office which is open will only take bookings for trains leaving in the next two hours
Nobody can help us until 5.40 in the morning (2 hours before the train)
We can get a refund of 50% of the ticket price but only if we cancel today
We would have to wait to cancel
The cancellation policy is not clear

As each ticket cost 820 rupess (about 20 euro) we decided to be extravagant Europeans and shake the dust of Delhi railway station from our feet.

On the way back from the train station Jake calls again
Jake: Helen, it’s comical now.
Me: why
Jake: They are throwing stones to break windows
Me: why
Jake: because the fire brigade do not have axes. They are taking big stones and trying to break the windows. They’ve tried to break one window four times now.
Me: any sign of controlling the fire
Jake: apparently all the sprinklers went off in the rooms so the fire is under control apart from the lobby. Of course this also means all my clothes are wet!

Various other phone calls follow. Eventually Jake and another colleague who decided to travel despite the fire are booked into another hotel in Chandigarh. I may travel tomorrow or I may not – I suppose it depends if my Indian colleagues have more success with the Indian railway staff than I had!

Really, you can't amke this stuff up :)

train travel

2007-01-16T09:22:00.000-08:00

Chandigarh train station is infested with birds. I don’t know if I am capable of describing the incessant squawking. Indeed I’m not sure if anybody can adequately do justice to this sound. They seem to be sparrows but I’ve never heard sparrows be so noisy. Ever so often the sound lessens as though there may be relative silence but then the crescendo starts again – it is unharmonious, chaotic and annoying; indeed it could be symbolic of India. But most of all it is unrelenting, even the public announcements which are loud can barely be heard over the birds. The only relief is that I have only 30 minutes to wait before the train arrives. I’m writing this as I wait for the evening Shatabi to Delhi. I’ve been at our office up north for the past week and am now heading back to Delhi. Birds aside, Chandigarh train station leaves a lot to be desired. There is no diet coke to be purchased anywhere. I wouldn’t mind a snack but the options look dangerous and Indian trains are a miserable place to be sick (not that everywhere is a little miserable when one is sick, Indian trains are miserable even when one is completely well). I’m blogging really to preserve my little remaining patience and sanity. I would like to call my sister to see if the Belgian post office has traced her package, or call other project manager to see if there are issues in Delhi but the birds would beat me out in any conversation. I bough far more reading material than I read so I could catch up but again the birds would disturb me. A nice café at the railway station would be ideal but there is none. So to summarize Chandigarh railway station – nowhere to sit down and eat, food and drink only available from places from where consumption almost certainly equals illness for non-locals, and birds, and birds, and birds. I knew Chandigarh station was seriously lacking, so I tried to explain to the driver that he should stop to let me buy some diet coke. Here my very limited Hindi combined with his limited English failed me: Me: can we stop to buy something Him: train station Me: I would like some diet pepsi Him: train station Me: Pepsi, Coca-cola gesturing Him: office Me: no train station Him: train station (smiling) Those global branding folks at Pepsi and Coke need to do a better job! It’s not like it’s going to get better when I’m on the train either. Due to late changes in plans I am in coach rather than executive coach. To be fair I complain about executive coach as it’s manky but it’s 4 seats across rather than 5 in the case of coach. The whole train seems so old and not old in a faded grandeur way, old like it could never have been new. Everything is dirty, the windows barely open, not that you would want them do looking at the rubbish and human waste which lines the tracks. Also the windows provide some barrier from the poor destitute souls sleeping by the railways. The bathrooms are unsurprising also disgusting. Often I find my self thinking – can I wait until I get home or do I really need to go now. There is a choice between western and Indian. I always choose western and I suppose I should be glad that at least that choice exists. I’m on the train now. My seat (like those in the rest of the carriage) is not facing the direction of travel. I wonder whether the rail powers that be are just thoughtless or whether the cost/time/effort to re-orientate the carriages was considered excessive. Whatever the case, it’s not doing much to improve my mood. One good thing is there is a lot of food served on the train. This means I can eat what I like (about 30% of what is served) and still be reasonably full. The food supply (was going to say feast but that’s not fair to the word feast) begins with tea and snacks – usually samosas and some bizarre sweet made from nuts with a texture like asbestos. Then there is very watery soup with breadsticks pretty far removed from any beadlike substance. Then there is the main meal – typically Indian with rice, dal (lentils) and vegetables. There’s also Indian bread (roti, nowhere near as nice as naan), pappadums and pickle. Pickle just sounds far too scary for me to try. Then there’s ice-cream which initially I refused to eat but have recently softened my stance since I eat it and didn’t get sick. This is all served to you in your seat and is included in the 500 rupee (about 10 euro) ticket cost. So I suppose it’s not bad. On that somewhat positive note, I will stop. There thousands (literally 3671 emails in my inbox). They don’t all need to be answered (thank God) but they do need to be deleted, filed. And soon the system administrator will prevent me from getting more emails if I don’t reduce my mailbox size. At least there are no birds……………………..yet!

Course 1 -snacks? course 2 - soup and breadsticks course 3 - main meal

Indian English

2007-01-11T09:58:00.000-08:00

So, it’s 23.00 and wiser counsel would have me working but somehow I lack motivation. It’s not that there is a shortage of work to do nor that there is plenty of time to do the work but somehow the motivation is a little slow tonight. Rather than write up meeting minutes or clean up my 3000+ mail in box, I’ve been reading my sister’s blog which has long posts frequently updated. I have no idea where she finds the time.

Anyhow as I’m not writing up meeting minutes I thought I may as well update my few loyal readers. I’ve only been working the last few weeks and it’s rather dull talking about work. I have however from various emails culled interesting Indian expressions - please see below some Helen editorial in blue.

While team members would have already got in touch with their respective teams at home locations regarding their forthcoming visit on 10th, 11th and 14th Dec, this mail is to officially intimate you of the same from

Request you to go through the mail below and let us have your comments. Secondly, for the purpose of data cleansing and physical verification we will need to send xxxx to xxxx factory for a week. It will be ideal to have xxx as well there for this purpose for the entire week and if the same would not be possible then at least for 3 days. Basis their occupancy please let us know if this is possible and when will it be possible to make them available for the same.

Request you to kindly include my name on the subject mail as I am not marked any copy on this subject.

Please be invited to attend the meeting on xxx

We must ensure there is no hanky panky in procurement department

If we say that these are untraceable, will not be digested by the auditors

You are cordially invited to a meeting to update you on the 2007 strategic plan and to ‘High Tea’ thereafter. The venue is the xxxxx Banquet Hall and the timing is 5.30 PM to 7.30 PM on Friday , the 7th .
Please do make it convenient to attend (seemingly this means one should RSVP – who would have guessed!)

Other interesting expressions in common use
Donkeys years – meaning a long time, I thought this was only used in Ireland
Prepone – as in opposite of postpone
Revert – used in practically every email, please revert incase of issues = please let me know. However official meaning is to return in discussion to a previous topic – perhaps that’[s why emails rarely communicate anything of value in India!
A few years back – it’s like the word “ago” doesn’t exist

However the most amusing came from an Chinese colleague emailing an Indian colleague

“It seems you are very forgettable” (err we hope he meant forgetful)

So now dinner has arrived thanks to the wonders of room service. Will eat nice meal and then work very hard to write up meeting minutes.

No, I’m not dead, just busy.

2006-12-28T01:28:00.000-08:00

Nobody has asked me if I’m dead. I hardly sent any Christmas cards and been shamefully remiss in updating my blog. In my defense, have been busy what with major work deadline (ie project go-live in 1 week) and Christmas.

I visited my sister and her family before Christmas – wow having 3 small children is exhausting. I really don’t know how she and her husband do it. In any case, she was unoccupied enough to determine I am a crackberry (addicted to my blackberry - see below, courtesy of sister who really shouldn’t have any time to be sending such things one – maybe she doesn’t sleep).

It seems Airtel (India mobile service provider, customer service patchy to bad) decided that 11,000 rupees ( about 200 euro) is a definite flight risk. Between sending me a message to say I had too high roaming fees, they allowed me service for 4 minutes before cutting me off entirely. That was Dec 21st, now its December 28th. Despite numerous phone calls, emails and 2 cheques , there no sign of service being restored any time soon.

PARIS (AFP) - The Internet has given birth to a quirky range of modern addictions and maladies, the British weekly New Scientist says in its Christmas issue published this Saturday.They include these:-

CRACKBERRY: "The curse of the modern executive: not being able to stop checking your BlackBerry, even at your grandmother's funeral." (A BlackBerry is a popular handheld device that can be used for phoning, emailing and web-browsing).

EGO-SURFING: When you frequently check your name and reputation on the Internet.

BLOG STREAKING: "Revealing secrets or personal information online which for everybody's sake would be best kept private.

GOOGLE-STALKING: Defined as "snooping online on old friends, colleagues or first dates."

CYBERCHONDRIA: "A headache and a particular rash at the same time? Extensive online research tells you it must be cancer.

PHOTOLURKING: Flicking through a photo album of someone you've never met.-

WIKIPEDIHOLISM: Excess devotion to contributing to the online collaborative encyclopaedia, Wikipedia. (Wikipedia even has a page where you can test whether you're an addict: (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wik...ic-Test)).

CHEESEPODDING: Downloading of a song "so cheesy that you could cover it in plastic wrap and sell it at the deli counter." Cheesepodders are especially vulnerable to soft-rock favourites from the 1970s.

India – country of the future

2006-11-29T18:51:00.000-08:00

You can scarcely pick up a business magazine without some mention of all the call centers and outsourcing in India. Indeed this is old news. However this picture of India does not fit in with a recent meeting I had at work.

IT Manager: we may have some problem supporting Site A

Me: We will have 8 people there and they can call the help center

IT Manager: the help center is not in India, they can’t make international calls

Me: it’s Ok we have an India free phone number

It manager: it probably won’t work on our phone network and even if it does we don’t have enough lines

Me: how many lines do we have

IT Manager: 9

Me: 9 for more than 400 people!!!

IT Manager: well one for the manager and 8 for the rest of people and only 1 of the 8 can dial internationally

Me: can we get more?

IT Manager: no, the exchange is full

Me: can we move to VOIP (voice over IP – you know calls over internet, just like skype)

IT manager: network bandwidth won’t support it

Me: OK, next topic, let’s see if we can get the IT hardware out of customs (it’s been lingering there for a few days now)

I don’t even want to discuss bandwidth in India – we’re having major problems. Seriously does this seem like the type of conversation you would expect in a place where you outsource IT and other services!!!

Marriage Proposals and Engagements!

2006-11-24T22:59:00.000-08:00

Apologies that I have not been blogging for a while. Work has been consuming most waking hours and some hours usually earmarked for sleeping. As you may have gathered from earlier posts my brother was here for a few weeks. As my brother left my boss arrived with a large contingent of important people, important people who needed status presentations, travel companions for the various locations; you know things that generally require time and effort. Happy to say though the visit went off splendidly (apart from some exhaustion on my side).

Finally I packed off the important people on plane on November 16th. On November 18th (Saturday) the plan was to fly to Singapore. I had arranged to meet up with my friend IK who was there for a few days with her family. The original plan was that I would fly on Friday but all the flights were full so I booked Saturday. Given the busy sleep deprived few weeks preceding the trip, I was very tired so decided to pack in the morning (the flight was at 8.10). All went well, the alarm went off at 5.30, the driver arrived at 6.50 (a little late, original plan was 6.30). However the original plan was that I shower and pack between 5.30 and 6.30 but it ended up that I fell back asleep and only woke when my driver called the bell. No time for shower; scarcely time to pack. I finally left my place at 7.10 – the airport is a good 20km away. I arrived at the airport at 7.40, not very optimistic about getting my flight. Yes, the Jet airways flight to Singapore was boarding, the check-in counter was abandoned. Then I saw somebody from Jet airways. She asked me to wait a minute. I launched into a long speel*– I know I’m really late but please check me in and let me try to catch it. Amazingly they checked me in, I ran to the front of the passport checking line where a lovely German man allowed me to crash the queue. There was no line at security and at 7.55 I was at the gate. I wasn’t even the last one on the plane. Amazing, and given my experiences at Delhi airport I would have said unbelievable. Jet airways – why can’t the other service providers in India be more like you? It would make the country a much better place

I arrived Saturday evening to Singapore, met up with IK. It was really lovely to see her and catch up. We went on a bus tour to see the Christmas light-up ‘Christmas in the tropics”. The lights were nice but the warm weather seemed wrong. And wow was Singapore warm – over 30C and very humid – and this is their winter!! Summer must be unbearable. On Sunday we went to Sentosa – Singapore’s tropical island paradise (or so the tourist brochure says – for me it was tropical forest with many shops and services to take your money, but at least it was well organized). Also we took a cable car over the the island – it was well cool to go over the sea on a cable car.

On Monday, I had planned to see some more of Singapore but instead spent the entire day in retail therapy. I don’t think I have ever spent so much money in marks and Spensers (M&S). M&S is what I usually call a mother’s shop. They sell good quality, reasonably priced, comfortable clothes. I do have a lot of clothes from M&S but it would never be my first port of call for clothes shopping. Food shopping is another matter as the milk chocolate swiss mountain bar and white chocolate covered dried fruits are divine. In any case, I was excited to see a regular shop where goods were priced and had clothes that fitted me and where a size 14 is a size 14 and not a random number as seems to be the case in India. In addition to M&S there were other purchases in the luggage shop, Esprit and a few Christmas presents. I’m not really the sort of person to travel somewhere to go shopping but India is challenging for shopping (no marked prices, bargaining the norm and many people trying to rip you off because you’re not Indian – though the Indians tell me that they try to rip off Indians too but it’s just easier to rip off foreigners!!).

I bought two Christmas cakes at M&S in Singapore and on Wednesday brought them into work to share with my colleagues. I asked the administrative assistant to get plates and knives and to send a mail to the office (in the 5 minutes I managed to find between meetings). At 5.30 we went and cut the cake. There was much curiosity as to why I had brought cake – the administrative and said in her email Helen would explain why we were having cake. A reasonably innocent and innocuous comment I thought. However in the 45 minutes between email receipt and cake cutting my colleagues had concluded that I had gotten engaged over the weekend in Singapore!! They obviously think I have a lot more free time than I really have!! Christmas cake was a big hit and I had quite an interesting time telling some latecomers that no really I wasn’t engaged as they came up to congratulate me. It seems gossip spreads very fast in my office, if only work was done as quickly as rumors were spread, my life would be much easier.

Then on Thursday, I got an email from my friend L in Canada who just got engaged. It’s a surprise and not. L and J have been together for 7 years. For many years we kept waiting for an announcement and every Christmas we would speculate if this year would be the year. However nothing happened and gradually one stops asking. Congratulations – L and J – I’ve tried to call you a few times, hopefully we get to talk over the weekend.

*Irish slang for a long explanation/prepared speech

Guest blogger entry

2006-11-05T02:07:00.000-08:00

So as you know my brother is here and becasue he writes well and I had a extremely busy week at work, I am posting my brother's email (with a few minor editorial comments).

Hi All,
this will be just a quick email as I'm writing on a dodgy old computer(think our old computer before I put the extra RAM in) and I'm afraid I'll lose all the info before I get to send the email........ This is my first travel email for quite soma while so it's time to reaquaint yourseves with the diet of unfinished sentances, obscure analogies and spelling that appears in no (English) dictionary. Anyway the trip has gone very well so far allthough thanks to Helen's input the pace has been fairly hectic....arrived in Delhi, was barely over the jetlag when I was taken out for a look at the famous red fort and walk around the market in the Muslim quarter in old Delhi. The red fort is was impressive with mosques and palaces and stuff. One problem with Delhi is that it is fully of beggars and people trying to sell you stuff you don't want (allthough I managed to accumulate enough of the latter in Ireland without any pressure). The problem in Delhi is getting stuff you do want, beer would be easier to find beer in Chicago during prohibition, junk food and ready meals are easier to find in our (new) fridge at home. All in all the place is though going but not as bad as Helen makes out (that would not be possible). (Helen - hey the first day I thought India was OK too, he should wait and see)

Next day we flew to Nepal, had a look around the city, we saw temples full of monkeys (not sure how this would work in St. Agustines Helen - local church in Cork. no wildlife there). Continuing the tour (think American tourist in Europe pace but in a country with no infastructure) we went down to the jungle area in the south of the country for a 2 day safari. We were staying in a bueatiful lodge in the middle of the jungle, very atmospheric place, I felt like a British Explorer from the 19th centurary, all I was missing was the shotgun and hip flask. The views were spectacular but the wildlife took a little patience, we were hoping to see the elusive tiger, but we found him deserving of this adjective..... howevr we did see rhino's up close, crocadiles(the good ones ie hrbivores), deer (only in the distance, funny to think you try to avoid them in the Pheonix park Helen - large Park in Dublin where my brother lives) and pay good money to see them in Nepal.) All in all it was a brilliant experience. From there we left for Pokhara, (Mum I think I saw the atlas in the drawing room) and that's from where I write this email. Helen is flying back to Delhi on Friday morning and I'm going on a 6 day trek in the Annapuerna mountain range, will report back aftterwards.

Helen - The brother returns tonight. Seeems like he had a good time on the trek.

Visitor!!!

2006-10-29T07:45:00.000-08:00

My first proper visitor arrived. My brother arrived for 3 whole weeks. Very exciting. . Last week was Diwali (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali) , so I had a week off work. There was a lot of debate about what we should do. My brother naturally wanted to see the Taj Mahal but I’ve seen it often enough at this stage (not a big fan – at the end of the day it’s just a very big elaborate tombstone – I know this is a minority opinion). After deciding Rajasthan was too far away, Goa not really India, we finally settled on Nepal! Nepal, of course is not part of India. Indeed, partly to prove that Nepal is a separate country, it has a different time zone. India is GMT + 5.5 hours and Nepal is GMT + 5.75 hours. It may sound silly and petty but the half hour difference always gets me. I’m OK to Europe but US/Canada always requires serious calculations. I had just got very good at calculating and now it has changed again. Like many countries near the equator India does not observe daylight savings time, so last week India was 10.5 hours ahead of Chicago, now it’s 11.5 hours ahead of Chicago since daylight savings time has begun in North America. Nepal is a separate country; Nepal also has rupees but Nepali rupees, but I seriously question how different Nepali (the language) is from Hindi. I really only know the numbers in Hindi but they are identical in Nepali. I can’t complain too much as Serbian, Bosnian and Croatian are really all the same language but few of the native speakers would concede the fact (for more political then linguistic reasons). Despite being a separate country, amazingly Indian rupees are welcomed all over Nepal. I had been informed by my colleagues but didn’t entirely trust then. Nonetheless I had a large wad of Indian banknotes (here I often feel like a drug dealer as I’m carrying 20-50 bank notes at any time which is quite considerable). Of course they had failed to inform me that 500 and 1000 Indian rupees notes were not accepted (500 rupees is about 10 Euro). The US dollar was a lot more popular.

Now my brother (D) would say this is unfair but as he admitted to not reading my blog I suppose I’m safe writing this. I got the distinct impression that D thought I was being “a glass is half empty” person about India. At the best of times he is sensitive to my complaints that women not have equal rights in the West and he finds my impassioned words about the oppression of women in India annoying (I think he would use the words ranting and complaining). He says but Hel, you have a driver and an apartment in a posh neighbourhood, what are you complaining about. However when he arrived, he finally understood where I was coming from. He sent my mother an email complaining about my water supply (not enough pressure to shower, one must use tap), the traffic (he kept trying to warn my driver he was going to hit something, like my driver would listen to him!), the neighbourhood (where is the posh part of Delhi), the shopping (it’s impossible to buy the things you want, and inevitable to be pestered to buy things you don’t want), the inefficiency (there were 3 check-out guys but it was slower than at home with only one!) . He gathered all this is about 24 hours in Delhi. I make him sound bad which is not true at all. It was lovely to see him and he bought all the food I requested from Ireland. Toffee crisps and club orange may be the nicest food combination in the world. He also brought Barry’s tea (a very popular tea in Cork, my hometown) http://www.barrystea.ie/ which was very welcome. He is spending this week in Nepal and he’ll arrive back next Sunday.

first visitor

2006-10-19T08:13:00.000-07:00

My firend J came in September but she was in Delhi for only a few days and we didn't get to spend much time together, so I'm counting my brother (arriving tomorrow) as my first (and possibly only!) visitor. A recent email from him
___________________________________________________________________
Hel,

Like I was saying yesterday I'm booked, see the itenary below. Must get a phonecall in over the next few days to get a gameplan together. Looking forward to the trip and rejoining the lonely plannet brigade, possibly for the last time, allthough I have a few concerns-namely no idea what to do in India, (i'll be relying on the lonely plannet and your good self, the former seems much more enthusiastic about India), also the Embassy is processing my visa and won't say when they'll have it back. They'd better have it back to me before departure.................the people in there as we both already know are monumentally arrogent and unhelpful, customer service course badly needed methinks.

___________________________________________________________________

we finally got a gameplan together - and we are off to Nepal. he will get to experience about 2 days in delhi beforehand which is probably enough to get a feel for India.

Trying really hard to like India

2006-10-16T11:10:00.000-07:00

A colleague of mine (the transcontinetial gossip girl) recently sent me a fab article about India. It's title: trying really hard to like India.

initially I thought it was somebody's blog and got a bit depressed as it was much better written than mine and flowed logicially. Then I realized it was actually a professional writer so felt a lot better.

It's a long article but as I say well-written and probably more balanced then helenindia!!!

Hope you enjoy

Article URL: http://www.slate.com/id/2143259/
Copyright 2006 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC

Usually BA are quite efficient but this is India!

2006-10-15T11:51:00.000-07:00

hi all,

A pretty short post as it's late and I want to sleep as a vast quantity of work awaits me this week (yikes). Recently I booked my flights home for Christmas. Booking was fine - paying was a different matter. Here is the letter I wrote to BA. Suffice to say I was very very cross (cross at the incident and even crosser than India brings out the grumbler in me that I had well under control for many years). To be fair to BA; even in the midst of inefficency, they were very pleasant

Dear Sir/Madam

I recently went on to BA.com to book a flight from India to Europe over Christmas. I had a good on-line experience as I have had with ba.com when booking from other countries. However there was no possibility to pay online. A number was provided for me to call to make payment. I called it but it was closed only having limited office hours (starting at 9.30 am). Since I am working I was obliged to call during work hours. When I first called I was on hold for 25 minutes. When I finally talked to somebody, she was unable to accept my credit card as there was a GBP 300 limit on American express. After some debate she was going to try something. However the message came that the card has been rejected. I said I would call back later with another credit card. I asked what time of the day was less busy and I was informed that mornings were less busy, so I called back the next day at 9.30. However I got the message that the office was closed and continued to get this message until 9.35. Then I was put on hold for 20 minutes, was obliged to give all my details again and this day my American Express card was accepted.

This is not the first time I have tried to book with BA from India. On the other occasions I booked with BA via expedia.com or traveled with KLM. I was tempted also on this occasion to travel with KLM but unfortunately their price was more than 50,000 more so I decided to stay with BA.

I do not understand why you cannot accept online bookings as your peers do. Furthermore I am shocked that I spent one hour of my life trying to give your company money. As BA is a global company I expected 24 hour service not 10 hours during which time I am at work. Additionally a credit limit of GBP 300 is ridiculously low – there are few flights out of India costing less than this!!!

Only if, as in this case, the price is considerably lower will I choose to book with BA from India which is a pity as I find your in-flight service excellent.

I would be grateful if you could reply this grievance.

Kind regards

Helen (last name excluded from blog for privacy purposes)

PS – I attempted twice to submit this information via your website but failed as an “incident type” and Flight number are required fields but I was unable to complete them.

Mahatma Gandhi birthday - October 2nd

2006-10-03T23:02:00.000-07:00

Possibly not my finest work this week I’m pretty tired and it’s late. Today is Gandhi’s birthday so most of India is closed ad celebrating. There are a few restaurants open but it is a “dry Day” which means no alcohol is served. Seemingly Gandhi didn’t believe in drinking alcohol, eating meat or lying. To be honest normally I won’t care one way or the other as I don’t really drink alcohol but I had a few colleagues over and I was responsible for their entertainment today. They really wanted beer with lunch but the restaurant won’t serve it because of the day. Indeed there are quite a few places in India that don’t serve alcohol at all – Gujarat for example.

However I can’t complain too much because it was a 4 day weekend for me. Friday wasn’t so good as I spent the morning sick, the afternoon on a conference call preparing for some important meetings and the evening struggling with Delhi traffic (or more accurately sitting in the back seat while my driver struggled with Delhi traffic). I left my apartment at 16.40 to go to the gym arrived there at 17.10 only to find I had forgotten all my gym gear save my shoes and washbag (no wonder the bag felt light – nothing at all to do with my tidying session). Then we drove back to my apartment but already the traffic had begun to built so it was close to 19.00 by the time we returned to the gym. After my workout I went back and retired to bed – exhausted by Delhi. Saturday I pretended to be a tourist and went to the modern art gallery – there was some interesting stuff but nothing spectacular. The collection was quite small, no more than 300 pieces, but 2 were called “Toilet in the Woods” – both were by different artists. Very strange. That evening I went to church in the hope of catching mass from the Irish priest but it was his Indian colleague who looked about 16 – I suppose he was more (‘tis unlikely the Catholic Church encourage child labor or vocations)

Sunday a colleague (also called Helen) arrived in from the UK and we went off to Agra (home of Taj Mahal and former capital of the Mughal empire). Agra’s only 200km from Delhi but with holiday weekend traffic it took more than a hour to leave Delhi so more than 4 hours in total to get to Agra. Once there we really only had time to see the Taj which was I suppose to whole point but I wished we had time to see Akbar’s tomb which is rated pretty highly by the guide books – I’m sure I’ll get another chance to see it. The journey back was shorter about 3 hours but all in all it was a long day but I think my colleague enjoyed it and ‘twas more interesting than my standard Indian Sunday.

Today (Monday) more colleagues arrived and we went to Humanyan’s tomb – the site of my first tourist activity in Delhi (mentioned in one of my first posts along with photograph). We were only half-hearted culture vultures as the mid-30s temperatures don’t encourage serious exploring of ruined tombs. My colleagues were pleased to have seen a bit of Delhi . After a pleasant (but alcohol-free) lunch we took the train north to Chandigarh. Chandigarh is a planned city designed by the famous architect Le Corbusier. The whole city is composed of sectors (originally 45 but now numbering 88) – each sector being a 1km block with the same basic structure – residential, commercial etc. Block 17 is the city center and is entirely commercial. I suppose somebody was superstitious as there is no block 13. Chandigarh sounds interesting and even though this is my third trip to the town I’ve never seen that much of it as usually I’m here for less than 24 hours and what with sleep, commuting to the factory and thanking God the commute to the factory didn’t cause my early death, there's not much time for other activities. As I’m here 36 hours this time I may get to see some more of Chandigarh.

Busy day

2006-09-24T11:08:00.000-07:00

A reasonably short post today because it’s late (23.20) and my bed is beckoning. Despite the still very high temperature I had a very active day yesterday. First of all I was awoken at 7.30 by the rubbish collector requesting money. I feel he is fleecing me but as he doesn’t speak English and I don’t speak Hindi further communication seems unlikely. After giving 100 rupees he left with my rubbish. Anyhow I couldn’t get back to sleep so I spend at least an hour playing Sudoku. Later I went to the national museum http://www.nationalmuseumindia.gov.in/ where foreigners pay 300 rupees to enter while locals pay 10 rupees (I know there is good reason but it still annoys me). There was a pre-recorded audio guide. The guide spoke clearly in mainly comprehensible English but the numbering system was all messed up starting at 1 going on to 2,3,4, then 5 and 6 were no where to be found continuing with 7 (eventually I found 5 and 6 in an entirely different room – Hercule Poirot would have failed to match each piece with its audio guide). Despite this annoyance, the museum was interesting though not worth killing yourself to see if you have limited time in India/Delhi.

Then I went off to the gym. I had tried to go on Friday but it was closed, that is to say closed down and demolition starting. Then I remembered a strange SMS I had received saying alternative arrangements had been made for me at DLTA at 1 Africa Avenue. Of course my driver had no clue what DLTA or where exactly on Africa Avenue number 1 might be but after some searching we arrived at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association where my gym also has a branch. I had a good workout (surprising as I hadn’t been since before my Africa trip). Then I went shopping to buy a toaster and got this fab toaster/griller combination (just as well as I think my gas will run out there the relocation agency is not hopeful about getting a replacement gas cylinder). Then I went to mass where the priest was from Dublin. It was so nice to hear an Irish accent and I shamelessly monopolized his time after mass finding out he was from Dublin, his parents from Tipperary, his length of time in India and other facts. Then I went home, used the new griller to make toasted sandwiches tried to watch the Ryder Cup which was on Friday night but not Saturday night. Fortunately I was able to see it again today and even better Europe won by a mile.

A year in India, a year in the world – or a year in airports?

2006-09-10T08:45:00.000-07:00

I just arrived back from a week’s holiday (that’s vacation for any Americans) in South Africa. Two friends of mine M and R took a year off last year and went traveling. They completely fell in love with Africa and have gone back there for a vacation. They invited me along and I’m very happy I decided to go with them. They really provide an excellent service!! They met me at the airport, drove me around all week, arranged the itinerary and accommodation and did a way better job than I would have done. R is very organized. We spend the week driving around the Kruger park. To set the scene I’ve borrowed form the South African national parks website Kruger is home to an impressive number of species: 336 trees, 49 fish, 34 amphibians, 114 reptiles, 507 birds and 147 mammals.

It was really great to see the animals in the wild. For me the biggest surprise is how well camouflaged the animals are – quite honestly a few times I missed even large animals (like elephants and giraffes) even thought they were standing less than 10 meters away! On top of that the park is littered with tree trunks that look like leopards, stones that look like lions and various other things (I suppose the animals that didn’t merge in with the fauna were pretty quickly eaten up).

The journey back was long. Friday lunchtime I flew from the Kruger Park to Johannesburg. I spent Friday in the hotel in Johannesburg (I thought it best not to go exploring Johannesburg on my own). Then Saturday back to the airport to fly to Dubai, then onto Mumbai and finally from Mumbai to Delhi. Fortunately I got an earlier flight from Dubai to Mumbai. It was still 3 days and four flights and this got me to thinking about how much I have traveled this year. So I wrote down all the flights I took, both personal and business. So I’ve traveled 186,865 km (115,856 miles) by air this year. That large number comprises 47 flights, 11 airlines, 8 delays of more than 90 minutes, 2 missed flight connections, 20 flights lasting more than 8 hours. The number surprises me because one year I went on 120 flights and it felt like less but that was pre 9-11 and mostly short haul. What is most remarkable is that I have traveled to 5 continents during my year in India!!! There is some debate, I always believed there were only 5 continents – Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia (Oceania), Americas. There are others who would split the Americas into north and south and declare Antarctica as a continent but even still it’s quite an impressive breadth of travel. Talking with M and R world travelers they talked about how they also covered 5 continents (or 6 if you split north and south America) in one year but with one big difference – they took a year off work!!!

I know I’m very lucky to have the opportunity to travel so much. But most of the time I’m traveling into and out of Delhi airport which is hideously inefficient. But maybe Mumbai is close by. Today I changed from the international to domestic terminals. Total time required from disembarking the aircraft to arriving at domestic terminal: 70 minutes!! How? Passport control, baggage collection, customs screening of every bag, waiting for the bus, traveling in the bus, waiting for people to get off the bus (with all their bags). I was in no hurry as it was about 12 hours before my flight!! I went to change the flight – after much discussion she agreed to let me pay the difference of 500 rupees (about $13) to change my flight - she thought it was too much to pay for an earlier flight – I guess everything is relative!

Before I sign off, I must share one very strange experience with you. I was lucky and got an emergency exit seat from Dubai to Mumbai. Every silver lining has a cloud. First of all the dragoness air hostess get telling me to pick things up (I know it’s her job but usually they are not so insistent or unpleasant). Then a Muslim man walked over with a rug, spoke to the man traveling next to me that he was sorry to disturb him. Then Muslim laid down his carpet and started praying! I suppose this was the only part of the plane facing east (or maybe west) but still. I think I would have been fine except every time he stood up his fat bottom nearly touched my face. And Muslim there’s a lot of standing up and kneeling down in Muslim prayers. But what really annoyed me was that he completely ignored me – talking only to the man next to me who was not really put out at all. I was so mad. It probably didn’t help that I had only had 2 hours sleep there was definitely due cause. Aaaaargh!!

Well as far as I know, there are no plans for me to leave India until December so there’s a reasonable chance that this blog content will reflect the title of it!! You never know!

I never thought I would appreciate Chicago weather in August!!!

2006-08-21T13:26:00.000-07:00

It’s a short post today as it’s 01.46 in India and the golden rule to survive jet lag I to adjust your sleep schedule to the local time zone as quickly as possible. I arrived back Sunday night. The flight was 2 hours delayed (on the ground in O’Hare) so in total I was the plane for 16 hours. Thank God I was in business class. I finally got back to my apartment at 23.30. No rest for the wicked as I jetted off to Bangalore at 7.10 this morning. The return flight from Bangalore was supposed to get in at 23.30 but finally landed at 00.50. Suffice to say I am quite exhausted. This week looks unlikely to bring me rest as tomorrow I’m off to near Chandigarh where we have a factory. We ‘re traveling by train, executive class so perhaps it will be far superior to the usual journey. I doubt it but you never know.

Chicago was fab. At times it hardly felt like work even though I was quite productive. I met up with loads of friends. Normally I hate Chicago weather in August but this year it seemed fine – I think it was not as warm as usual and I’ve become hardened by my India experience. Thanks to all my friends who entertained me and sorry I didn’t get to meet everybody.

Delhi contacts and night life

2006-08-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

My limited circle of acquaintances in Delhi has increased. The weekend before last I met R. R is a former student of my friend C (who I stayed with in London) who decided to come and live in India for a year or so. I know this may be a case of the kettle calling the pot black but I think he is a bit mad, very nice, but mad. Significant differences between him and me

I got transferred with my company (he got a job here with a company via the web)
I have some kind of plan when I’m done in India

I know this might not seem significant but at least I knew some of the people with whom I would be working. Anyway R has completely put me to shame. Arriving two months later than I did, he knows the Hindi alphabet, can sdpeak quite a bit of Hindi and has understood the (for me) incomprehensible public transport system. Really it’s a bit of a shock. Among the non-Indians I know in Delhi, I was the most clued in but R completely beats me.

In my defense I think it’s worth saying that it’s different for a woman. My 2-day Berlitz “living and working in India” did a good job making me cautious. Also R hasn’t been sick at all which wasn’t the case with me at all at all. Of course I have one advantage over R – I’m living pretty centrally (that’s not to say it’s quick to get to town, but distance-wise it’s pretty close) – R however is stuck out in Gurgeon which seems to only have shopping centers, offices and houses. I won’t mind some shopping centers but I can see having no bars or restaurants and being at least an hour from downtown Delhi is bad.

More impressive than R is 23-year old J. He has just finished university and applied for a stage with the EU. He ticked the box which said he was willing to work outside Brussels. By outside Brussels he assumed that would mean Strasbourg, Luxembourg maybe Geneva but lo and behold it meant Delhi (he arrived 2 weeks ago). A German colleague of mine met J out one night and we’ve met him a few times since. On Saturday a group of us went for dinner and afterwards met up with J’s friend, another German. Or at least he claimed he was German - the real Germans said he wasn’t really German but couldn’t place where exactly he was from. There was an eclectic mix of people – a model, an importer/exporter and two guys who were in their father’s business (details a bit limited on business – not sure if it was because the business was shady or the guys were a bit clueless).

Anyhow seven of us ended up in a “nightclub” Well, I’m not a big nightclub person and my Delhi experience certainly isn’t going to change that. The music was loud (I know I sound just like my father), everybody was crowded and sweaty and I felt old. Not as old as my colleague who has over 10 years on me. Despite the deafening music, many people attempted communication. One guy in particular was (I think) trying to chat me up. But quite honestly if he said one more time that “life is like an ice-cream, you have to lick it before it’s all gone”, there was likely to be physical harm done to him!!! The girl beside me thought he was a great philosopher. I guess there is someone for everybody.
I can say I’m glad to have gone, but no further visits planned.

Today I was talking to my friend S

Me: you won’t believe what I did voer the weekend. I went to a nightclub in Delhi

Her: What! You don’t go to nightclubs in Cork

Me: I know but thought I should experience it

Her: How was the music?

Me: boring

Her: did you dance?

Me: yes

Her: you don’t dance

Me: believe ‘twas easier to dance than not to, but I left early

Health alerts, terrorists warnings and other things travelers need to know

2006-08-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

I booked a trip back to the US via my company’s website. As a result I am signed up automatically for trip warnings. Here is what they have to say about India.
Not very comforting – fortunately on Thursday I’m off to the US. (I’m sure that’s a big surprise to my regular readers)

Health: UPDATE 3: Indian officials July 31 report twice as many polio cases in 2006 as recorded in all of 2005. Get immunized before travel.
This alert affects India.
This alert began 31 Jul 2006 21:55 GMT and is scheduled to expire 30 Aug 2006 23:59 GMT.
UPDATE 3 to Jan. 9 alert:Indian officials launched a polio immunization campaign July 31 as doctors reported twice as many polio cases so far in 2006 as they recorded in all of 2005. Officials are reporting a spread of cases from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to states that had been previously polio free: Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh.During late 2005, polio spread from India to Nepal after a hiatus of four years, and to Bangladesh after a gap of more than five years. Areas in India reporting polio cases since late 2005 include Haryana, Uttar Pradeshk, Bihar, Gujarat State, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh states. Be sure your polio immunization is up-to-date before travel to the Indian subcontinent.Confirmed numbers of cases always significantly underestimate the extent of an outbreak because there are at least 200 mildly symptomatic cases that go undiagnosed for every infection that causes paralysis.Polio is highly infectious and can spread rapidly. The poliovirus is carried in fecal material. One in 200 cases leads to irreversible paralysis. Among those victims, five to 10 percent die when their respiratory muscles become involved. The risk of paralysis increases with age. There is no specific treatment for polio (Helen: I'm immunized, thank God Polio sounds horrible)

Health: Hundreds sickened by Leptospirosis outbreak in Mumbai, India, since early July. Observe food and water precautions.
This alert affects India.
This alert began 27 Jul 2006 15:30 GMT and is scheduled to expire 26 Aug 2006 23:59 GMT.
Health officials in India announced on July 26 that an outbreak of leptospirosis had sickened nearly 200 people in Mumbai since July 7. The outbreak coincides with the Indian monsoon season when flooding is common throughout the city. Waterborne disease outbreaks, including leptospirosis, occur frequently.Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection that affects wild and domestic animals worldwide, but is most common in tropical climates. Human infection occurs through exposure to water, food or soil contaminated with the urine of infected animals. Infection causes flu-like symptoms including fever, malaise, headache, nausea and diarrhea that begin two days to four weeks following exposure. Prompt treatment with antibiotics is important to prevent complications. Leptospirosis can be fatal if not treated early with antibiotics and supportive therapy. People traveling through flooded waters are at highest risk. Travelers who engage in recreational activities in fresh water or who work in wet areas are also at risk. There is no immunization for the disease, but prophylactic antibiotics can prevent infection if begun one to two days before exposure and continued through the period of exposure. Antibiotic prophylaxis is advisable for travelers with short term high risk exposure. Consult with your healthcare provider.
Humans are usually exposed to leptospirosis through contact with, or ingestion of, contaminated water. Infection can occur when Leptospira come into contact with mucous membranes or abrasions in the skin. Observe food and water precautions.

Health: India officials report epidemic of Japanese encephalitis in four northeastern districts of Assam state. Vaccine recommended.
This alert affects India.
This alert began 21 Jul 2006 20:25 GMT and is scheduled to expire 27 Aug 2006 23:59 GMT.
On July 21, Indian health officials reported an outbreak of Japanese encephalitis in four northeastern districts of Assam state. Doctors say that hundreds are ill and at least 15 have died in July alone. Last year, over 1,400 people died of Japanese encephalitis in India's most populated state, Uttar Pradesh. That outbreak spread to several northern states. Risk for this disease exists through December in northern India. The greatest risk of disease is in people staying for prolonged periods in rural or agricultural areas, especially areas of rice culture and pig farming. However, during an outbreak travelers to urban areas may also be at risk.Japanese encephalitis is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito and causes flu-like symptoms, including headache, fever, and respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms, and may progress to confusion, convulsions and death. The disease kills approximately 20 percent of afflicted children, and more than 50 percent of adults. (helen: yikes 50% of adults!!!) It may also result in permanent neurologic or psychiatric problems.There is no specific treatment for the disease, but immunization is effective in preventing the disease and mosquito precautions are important for all travelers. A full complement of immunization requires at least two weeks (three doses) for maximum protection. Avoid exposure to mosquitoes by staying in screened or air conditioned areas whenever possible. Use mosquito repellents that contain DEET, and wear long sleeved shirts and long pants for protection.

Helen: I can’t help thinking that a very unlucky person may get depressed by the antimalarial medicine, hope it will pass and then find he has permanent psychiatric problems due to some other biting insects. My father is a doctor, so on my last trip home I asked him why most of the nasty diseases are in tropical places. We concluded that insects in hot humid climates seem to be perfect hosts for all types of nasty diseases and there’s no harsh winter to kill them off. Subzero temperatures sound better every day!

Security: Communist party rallies scheduled in different localities in Haryana State, India, on Aug. 12, 20, and 27. Avoid protests. (Helen: like most tourists/visitors go looking for protests!! Dah!!)
This alert affects India.
This alert began 01 Aug 2006 03:23 GMT and is scheduled to expire 28 Aug 2006 23:59 GMT.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) is planning to stage mass rallies to mobilize grassroots support in Haryana State in August. The first "August Campaign" rally will occur in Panipat on Aug. 12. The second will take place in Hisar on Aug. 20. The party has scheduled a third rally in Rohtak on Aug. 27. All three locations are industrial towns north and west of Delhi.CPI-M protests over price hikes for fuel and other essential commodities could lead to unrest, although widespread violence is unlikely. Trade unions could call strikes to support the CPI-M agenda, which includes opposition to privatization and a number of issues related to improving labor conditions. Avoid demonstrations and expect transport disruptions in the aforementioned cities on rally dates. Consider avoiding the area around the Indian Oil Corporation refinery in Panipat on Aug. 12. (Helen: Consider avoiding the area - that's a bit mild)

Helen: I’m off to Rohtak tomorrow to visit a distribution center – hopefully being 11 days before the first rally I won’t have anything to worry about (except my driver driving more than 100km on Indian roads – he’s not the safest driver in the world seeing one-way streets as a guideline rather than a rule!)

Security: U.S. Embassy reportedly targeted in terror plot in New Delhi, India; expect tight security in Chanakyapuri through Aug. 15.
This alert affects Delhi.
This alert began 25 Jul 2006 21:10 GMT and is scheduled to expire 16 Aug 2006 12:00 GMT.
The Indian Intelligence Bureau has reportedly warned police and paramilitary agencies that terrorists are plotting a suicide attack at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi sometime before July 30. Consider avoiding the mission, which is at Shantipath, and nearby areas in the Chanakyapuri diplomatic enclave. The bureau claims that about 20 seasoned Iranian, Afghan, and Kashmiri terrorists plan to storm the embassy. The men have reportedly been in Delhi since June. Authorities have identified the group's leader as Jawad Shah Shanas. Unconfirmed intelligence claims that the Iranian cell members might be members of the Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MeK), which the U.S. government branded a foreign terrorist organization in 1997. MeK involvement is doubtful for a number of reasons, however. Other dubious details and the timing of the announcement raise speculation that leaked information about the plot might be an attempt to manipulate U.S. foreign policy, although terrorists have targeted the embassy in the past, so an outright dismissal of the threat is imprudent. Authorities have been dealing with repeated bomb hoaxes in the Indian capital. On July 24, police responded to at least five terror threats targeting the India Gate, Red Fort and Income Tax Office building in Central Delhi. Since the July 11 Mumbai train bombings, similar hoaxes have targeted the Akshardham Temple, PVR Plaza, Satyam multiplex, Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib, and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi.More threats against commercial, diplomatic, government, religious, and historical sites are likely ahead of Independence Day, Aug. 15

Helen: well I’ll be in Chicago August 15th, so Mum no need to worry.

My apartment

2006-07-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

My parents have recently purchased a new computer. I somewhat bullied them into it as there was no way I could work from home with dial-up and changing to broadband seemed to mean getting a new computer. To be fair, the old computer was from 1995 so it wasn’t before time. My mother is now a pretty regular blog reader but she keeps asking – "why have you no pictures of your apartment?" So now, to satisfy Mum are some pictures of where I live. Here is the view from my bedroom

Here is the very scary looking washing machine set-up. Yes, that is an electric cable attached to a hanging extension socket under a shower. I know it doesn't look safe so I spend as little time as possible when the washing machine is on

Here is my living room – very big with not that much furniture

Here is the complex water purification device which allegedly makes water safe to drink. I still boil it afterwards. I still boil it afterwards.

India seems unable to standardize on plug configuration – note the multiple options available. Of course I rarely have the right ratio of devices to corresponding sockets
and finally here is my bedroom – unusually tidy!!!

One of my faithful readers

2006-07-19T11:59:00.000-07:00

As you know (if you can keep up with my travels) I traveled to London for the weekend to attend a wedding. I stayed in London Friday traveled down for the wedding Saturday back up on Sunday. The wedding was great fun – it was pretty small about 80 people and as I’ve known both bride and groom for over 8 years, I knew a lot of the guests either really or by reference so it was good fun. I shared a room with the bride’s niece who I never met but had once searched Michigan Avenue in a vain quest to find some discontinued perfume. It’s always good to put a face to a name. The wedding was in Exeter and I took the train down – ‘twas strange to be on that train again as I was a frequent traveler when I lived in Plymouth 1998-2000 (Exeter being on the rail line between Plymouth and London). The weather was exceptionally good and the countryside looked spectacular. The bride looked great and the groom wore a kilt; he’s a brave man to wear a kilt in the company of some of the guests!

On Sunday, my friend C met me from the train, we went for lunch and then we went to meet N. N is my brother’s-in-law sister – she said that made us sisters-in-law but I’m not really sure. I really like N even though my niece M has declared N her favourite aunt and I am only trotting behind in popularity. It was nice to meet up – we went to the cinema which was great as I haven’t been to the cinema in India. I know India has the world’s largest film industry but as I explained to N, there are difficulties (pardon my shameless recycling of earlier material but it’s gone midnight and if I were sensible I would be in bed and there would be no blogging but where’s the fun in that)

My first email
It was great to see you on Sunday. The company and film were great. The memory will sustain for the long period of my current stay in India (20 days!!!)
Finally if you want to come to India, I have loads of space and would love to see you (and I reckon it’s much nicer to visit India than to live here).

Her reply
Hi. Was great to see you as well - what a pity you can't go to the cinema more often - why exactly? I guess I will find out on the blog!
Hope the flight wasn't too dull. Will look up India fares - sounds tempting!
Take care and I'll check in on the blog,

My reply
On the cinema, a few problems
* very little personal freedom as I depend on my driver to bring me places and feel guilty to have him waiting outside while I’m watching a film
* guidebooks say women should not go to cinema alone (further reducing opportunities as I have to persuade somebody to come – actually not that hard to do)
* did try to go twice – first time was sold out, second time only showing Indian movies and something that was released in US in 2005!!!!

Must update blog – it’s great to have loyal readers

Her reply
Oh, well, in response to the first I'd say he's delighted to put his feet up for an hour or two while you are off his hands. Only problem is probably making him come back at the right time! Not sure I can solve the second two ...!

See N has inspired me to write (2 long posts today – a miracle). Thank-you N. Now though ‘tis really time for bed, but I want especially to thank C for letting me stay at her recently purchased apartment over the weekend; getting tickets to the Constable exhibition at the Tate; taking me to Hampton court palace on Sunday – ‘tis fab, highly recommended for London visitors and residents but it’s definitely a whole day affair rather than a 2 hour event but needs must when the devil drives.

Transcontinental gossip

2006-07-19T11:14:00.000-07:00

Some of my readers are managing to keep up with my travels while others are completely confused. Sometimes I fall more into the latter category. To briefly recap – since mid May I have flown the following routes Delhi – Bangkok – Sydney – Christchurch – Auckland – Sydney – Bangkok – Delhi – Bangalore – Delhi – Amsterdam – Cork – London – Munich – London – Cork – Amsterdam – Delhi – London – Delhi. To be fair both Bangkoks, both Amsterdams and two Londons I only stayed in the airport but it’s still a lot of travel. I suppose I should also mention there were two longish train journeys in there too (Cork-Dublin and London-Exeter). In any case it’s a lot of travel (and there’s a bit more to come as I’m off to Chicago in early August)

So it should come as no surprise to you that my gossip should be of an intercontinental nature. Every morning at 8.30 (or thereabouts, punctuality is not valued in India) my driver comes, I give him the key and ask him to collect my germane colleague who lives some distance away, he returns about 8.50 with my colleague and we proceed off to work (which takes about 20-25 minutes even though it’s probably 3 miles away). This gives us ample opportunity to chat. Often we chat in German so the driver cannot understand. I never thought my German would improve while I was in India but improving it seems to be. A few days ago I was commenting on how I didn’t understand why some people have several romantic relationships while others had relatively few. The conversation went like this:

Me: Take for example Juliette (not her real name), she has many boyfriends but she isn’t really approachable, not very pretty nor bubbly. I would say that given the choice between her and me, no, let’s take me out of the equation, let’s compare Mary (again not her real name). If I were a guy I would much rather date Mary.
Him: But Mary has a boyfriend
Me: no, she doesn’t (and if she has and hasn’t told me there will be trouble)
Him: yes, she’s dating N
Me: Gasp!!!
N’s married and for sure Mary isn’t dating him
Him: But D told me they were at the Christmas party together – they came together and left together
Me: maybe they did but they’re not together

I know people are often surprised when work colleagues get together but believe me, this particular relationship is unlikely as N is married, a decent guy (ie would not cheat on wife), has kids and really doesn’t have any time for a relationship. Mary also is dead against dating work colleagues (not a bad rule and given where we work not a major sacrifice) and I’m pretty sure N is not her type even if he were single and available but Mary is way too sane and sensible to date a married guy. So today I called Mary (in US):

Me: hi, you answered your phone (she’s known for call-screening)
Her: this is so weird - I was just sending you a mail
Me: freaky
Her: I know
Me: I heard some gossip about you
Her: really
I recount the gossip; she is shocked and goes on to say
Her: who says I am dating N
Me: D
Her: Who’s D
After some discussion, it emerges Mary has no clue who D is
Her: I wasn’t at the Christmas party
Me: that’s your excuse
Further discussion interspersed with giggles; Mary is shocked but can see the funny side
Me: think you need to get a boyfriend to stop the rumors
We both agree this is the best course of action but easier said than done.

Mary has asked me to inform the German colleague the truth of the matter. I said I would but I plan to wait until the return journey home tomorrow as it could put a downer on the day – I feel even if the gossip is transcontinental, it is not ideal to inform the principle participant. Still I rarely laughed so much so I think it’s worth it.

Off again

2006-07-13T10:06:00.000-07:00

Well, It's been almost 2 weeks so of course I'm off again. I'm going to England to the wedding of my former boss. Looking forward to it but I certainly didn't plan a relaxing weekend.

Friday
Arrive 7.05 jetlagged on econmony flight from Delhi
get taxi to friend's house
sleep (I hope)
meet friend for lunch
wander around London (shops, temperatures below 30C - can't wait)
go to exhibit in the tate
stay at friend's house

Saturday
get train to Exeter
persuade taxi to take me to a hotel in the middle of nowhere
check into hotel
iron clothes
shower
go to wedding
wedding fun, fun, fun :-)

Sunday
train back up to London
meet friend
meet brother-in-law's siser to go to pictures
head back to friend's house

Monday
wander around London with friend
have lunch
leave for heathrow
17.10 fly back to Delhi

Tuesday
arrive in Delhi 6.15 local time
go home
shower
go into work and face the mountain of work which will doubtless have grown in my absense.

But I'm Catholic, not Hindu so believe I only have one life of which to make the most!!

I'm fine

2006-07-11T21:22:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post today. A number of people have asked me if I'm OK after the bomb attacks in Mumbai. I've never been to Mumbai and I suppose this makes me less likely to go. But anyway i just wanted to post to say I'm fine. Will post later in the week but better go and do some work now.

Wow it's hot

2006-07-09T12:17:00.000-07:00

Wow, it’s hot

So it’s my first weekend in India for quite some time, since May 12th-13th to be exact. During the week, I am at work most of the day, where the air-conditioning is highly effective (perhaps too effective as I need additional clothing). Yesterday was Saturday, I woke early (before 7) in a lather of sweat despite my air-conditioning being on all night. I showered in cold water, but the “cold water” must have been about 50C. However it did the trick, as the water evapourated from my skin, I felt cold for the first time in hours. Alas the effect was temporary so I repeated the process approximately every 30 minutes. But the gods were not smiling on me because about 11.00, the power went out for about an hour. I still showered but worried that I may use up all the water in the water tank – and with no electricity, I have no means to replenish the supply. (Like so many things in India, I don’t fully understand why, but every day or so, I must turn on the water pump for about 20 minutes to fill my tank on the roof. It’s very important not to leave the pump on for too long or the motor may wear out. However once I left it on all day and luckily there was no adverse effect).

At 15.00 my driver arrived and a German colleague and I went shopping. Food shopping is a pretty major affair here, the supermarket being some distance away it usually takes 20 minutes to get there but it has taken me more than an hour when traffic is bad. But there is a supermarket there which is the best I have come across in India and they accept credit cards. After shopping we went for dinner in an Italian restaurant. Later than evening, I spent hours on the telephone catching up with friends, many of whom are now utterly confused by my fluid schedule. I think it’s the best Saturday I ever spent in Delhi, despite being a little bit sick and very very very hot

Today is Sunday and my driver has the day off. This means that really I cannot leave my apartment because
• There’s nothing interesting within walking distance apart from a hotel which involves crossing a very busy road (very adrenalin-inducing and not in a good way)
• People look at me strangely and I really don’t feel safe as I’m usually the only non-Indian and often the only woman
• It’s really hot – I sweat in air-conditioning even when I don’t move!!

I realized that this may be the first Sunday in my apartment when I’ve been well or at least not horribly sick. I cooked for only the 3rd time in India. It’s strange because I love cooking but India does not make it easy to cook. Let me talk you through washing a courgette (zucchini for the Americans)
• Fill bowl with filtered water and baby bottle wash
• Leave vegetable in water for at least 2 minutes but no more than 5 minutes
• Rinse at least twice in filtered water to remove all traces of bottle wash
• Dry with kitchen paper
Fortunately the results were worth the effort. But slaving over a hot stove doesn’t even being to describe the event; as mentioned previously it’s hot, my kitchen lacks air conditioning and I had the gas on.
Now it’s late (past midnight) and it’s still hot, so hot in fact I wonder whether sleep is possible. Also the second half of the world cup final is on and since I’ve watched no game this tournament, and it’s once every 4 years, perhaps I stay up a little bit longer

Back in India. again

2006-07-03T10:42:00.000-07:00

So there was a serious campaign to understand my visa status involving a very kind official in the department of foreign affairs (a family friend), the US legal department of my company, Indian HR and the office of Michael Martin – my local TD. Various calls were made but on Thursday there was still no news. Even though my very indulgent parents installed broadband at home just so I could work from Cork, I struggled to be effective while working from Cork. So I decided to move forward my trip to Munich (originally scheduled for mid-July). Strangely enough the Indians would probably say prepone in this context but as far as I know prepone is not a word even though postpone certainly is (they do speak a strange form of English here – when was the last time you heard the word thrice?!!!). So I had my ticket to Munich booked and on Friday morning a very helpful girl from Micahel martin’s office called me and asked me to call somebody in the Indian embassy. I did so, to be told they were “having difficulty laying their hands on my application” and requested I resubmit. I couldn’t believe it – they were so rude and nasty and then they had managed to loose my application – at least I hadn’t left my passport with them. Outraged I called my sister

Me: can you believe it
Her: it happens
Me: I can’t believe you are so calm
Her: well you know the prosecutor lost the Brendan Smith file (High profile case of pedophile priest). Your application is less important. Stop complaining and resubmit
Me: Is there a special test so government officials can think like this
Her: I like to think it’s an acquired skill!!!
Me: I can’t believe we‘re related!!

This prompted a conversation comparing government agencies in different countries.

Most efficient
Illinois secretary of State – got state ID card in less than 10 minutes, driver license (including road and written test) in less than 3 hours.

Most quirky
British social welfare interviewed me before giving me a PRSI card. Strange thing was I first had to go in and make the interview in person and then a week alter the interview took place. They really had nothing to ask me but offered me tea. I reckon it could be there don’t get many outsiders in Plymouth!

Runner-up most efficient
You can get an Australian visa online – very cool

Most “this is my job”
In Munich, work permits are given out only in the mornings between 10 and 12 (God knows what the office does in the afternoon). Each office handles a different section of the alphabet. I went to O which was easily as about half of the applicants they get are from Ireland and they are familiar with the paper work. I was in and out in 30 minutes. However my colleague was in the P queue (logically right beside the O queue). However despite the fact the O queue was non-existent and the government official had no other work; nobody could leave the P queue to go to the O lady. It wasn’t just the O lady; I noticed the same thing with F.

China was remarkably unbureaucratic. I suppose it has to do with expectations but after having to get an official invitation letter for my 3 month multiple entry visa and filling up a special form (each visa has a different form – all very similar); I did not expect the visa processing lady to say – “you’re traveling to China a lot – do you want a 6-month multiple entry visa?” “Of course I do, thanks!”. A Chinese government official bending the rules in Germany – no bribes either – very unexpected

Going back to India, after all this blog is called a “year in India” and I don’t want to be in court fighting the trade descriptions act. The legal department in the US requested that I do not re-apply for the visa but to apply for a change of status in India. So I traveled back on the same visa I left with – now I will have to deal with Indian bureaucracy in India! Cn it be worse than in Ireland, I doubt it but as they ads say it is incredible India!!

Munich was very nice. Speaking with some colleagues that had also visited India, we came to the conclusion that the main problems for Helen are:
Helen is in Delhi
Helen is a woman on her own
I do think that if I were somewhere else other than Delhi, it would be better and if I didn’t have to work among a sea of Indian men, that I may be more positive about it. However I doubt anywhere in India will make me believe the hype that India is the “country of the future”. It reminds me of what my Brazilian friend says about Brazil – “brazil is and always will be the country of the future!”

Anyhow I’m only back for 2 weeks, and then I’m off to England for the weekend for a wedding. I know it seems like I’m never in India but I had already committed to the wedding, I want to go, the flight is reasonably cheap and I refuse to bend to Indian inefficiency!!

Before I sign off, I just to want to say that despite being a member of Fianna Fail, Michael Martin has my vote the next time I vote in Ireland (which may be a while away). Also the foreign affairs family friend was fab – it’s nice to have friends in high places

More detail on Indian work permit application

2006-06-22T15:46:00.000-07:00

My sister suggested I also include the email I sent to the legal department of my company. She seemed to think my last paragraph was hilarious!! Please read the earlier post "why I haven't been posting" first!

Looks like next week I will be working from our office in Munich. I'm looking forward to it. I used to live in Munich so it'll be nice to catch up with old friends. Only problem with this plan is now I cannot legitimately go to Munich for work in July.

Dear x,

Thanks for your quick response. Today I went in person to the embassy in Dublin. I was able to talk (via telephone) with the person handling my work permit application. I asked him for his name but he refused to give it saying that I did not need to know his name. Basically he would not tell me anything except that the application is in process. I put it very strongly to him that I needed to know how long it would take but he refused to say nor give any information about what steps remained in the process, only that it was Indian internal embassy procedures and these could not be shared. He said I should wait to make any travel plans until the work permit is granted. FYI my brother submitted the application on my behalf on May 8th (I was still in Delhi at that time)

My contact in the Irish department of foreign affairs also spoke to the Indian embassy. She will telephone again tomorrow (she is ambassador level so hopefully she should have some influence but she did say the Indian embassy in Ireland had caused problems in the past even for quite senior government officials). She recommended I stay in Ireland and not to enter India until this situation has been resolved. She also recommended that I contact the Minister for trade in Ireland who happens to be my TD (Irish congressman) to see if he can help.

I think it would be good if you could also contact them as quite frankly I did not get very far on my own. I can be contacted on xyz and am also checking email. I have changed my flight to leave over the weekend. The project is at a pretty critical phase and there is only so much I can do from Ireland (or indeed anywhere that is not India).

If it is any help I took down two names and email addresses – Mr. TC - and Mr. M.C. N There was a notice saying one could direct any comments/complaints to these people. I do not plan to do so right now as I think it may not help especially as I think I was talking to TC

Please let me know your thoughts on this matter. Many thanks

Why I haven't been posting lately!

2006-06-21T14:27:00.000-07:00

I know I’ve been a bit delinquent posting. In my defence I haven’t spent much time in India recently. First of all there was a glorious two weeks holiday to Australia and New Zealand. Then a mere five days in India (actually less as I arrived Monday morning and left Friday night) before heading off to the old country. There were a number of compelling reasons to return to Ireland. In chronological order

1. Get my tooth fixed (there will be an entire separate entry on this epic tale)
2. Get my work visa
3. Go to my friends wedding

The good news is that I managed to do 2 out of 3. My tooth is better than it has been in years (even pre-India), the wedding was fabulous and the bride looked beautiful (I know everybody says that but she really looked like she had stepped off one of those bridal magazines). However I am still visa-less. It is for this reason that I am still in Ireland when by rights I should be back in the Indian heat!

Fortunately I am keeping my blog reasonably anonymous so I can say that I have the wrong type of visa for the type of work I am doing in India. However this has not yet caused any major problems. Nonetheless the legal department and HR are a bit worried so after some failed attempts (well this is India the home of the most complex bureaucracy), my application was submitted on May 8th. The use of the passive is not without reason as my brother submitted on my behalf. There were a few questions via email (amazing how the Indians can use technology to sustain the inefficient practices) and then nothing. I emailed asking the status and got no reply. My Indian colleagues assured me this meant that everything was in order, for if it was not I order somebody would certainly tell me. So I planned to go up to Dublin (as I’m staying in my parents house in Cork) on Wednesday to collect the visa. However my brother suggested I post the passport up to him and he would get the visa for me. This made a lot of sense as I would have an additional day in Cork and wouldn’t have to spend like 6 hours on a train. So the passport was posted on Monday, no sign Tuesday, no sign Wednesday, post office say they can’t do anything until it’s been missing a week. Much stress – my poor brother visiting all his neighbours to see if it has gone to them by accident, also venturing out to other housing estates with similar names. All to no avail. It is totally and utterly lost. We decide if it has not appeared on Monday at 12.00, then I must declare it lost, get a new passport and then worry about Indian visa. Of course with no passport there is no hope to fly out on Sunday as originally planned. Changed my flight with KLM and I must say they were absolutely brilliant – I have a pretty cheap ticket from Delhi to Cork and they let me change and only charged me 3000 rupees (about 60 euro). Also on advice of my sister, I contact a family friend M who works in the department of foreign affairs. She approves the plan and offers any help should I run into problems.

On Monday there are multiple phone calls, I can finally call the post office who tell me they will send a case number and once I get the case number I can call them back (perhaps there is an Indian designing their customer service procedures!!) but at least they are pleasant. My brother and I have agreed that he will call me at 10.00. My poor brother only arrived home at 08.00 after the night shift so it is very decent of him to get up to check the post. However it’s 10.30 and hasn’t called; his mobile is turned off; and his home number keeps going to voice mail. Finally after persistent calling (I could definitely be a stalker) I get him. Wondrous thing – my passport has arrived, my brother will go to the Indian embassy to get visa I will be back in India on Wednesday.

Well not exactly. Indian embassy say visa is not ready and won’t say when it will be ready. I decide to go up on Tuesday as when I got my other Indian visa it was a lot quicker when the applicant went rather than the visa service (the opposite from most embassies but hey it’s India). As the embassy is very strict about it’s 12.00 noon closing time, I get the 7.00 train, my brother collects me and we battle through Dublin traffic to the Indian embassy (don’t ask me why Dublin traffic should be heavy mid-morning but it was). We arrived there I talked to the sari-clad Indian lady behind the screen.

Me: good morning, my brother came to collect my visa yesterday but there was some problem
Her: there’s no problem, it’s not ready
Me: I submitted it May 8th
Her: silence
Me: may I speak to somebody about it
Her: just sit down and wait

One hour later (20 minutes before closing) – queue up again

Me: Have you any news on the visa?
She calls somebody and after a few minutes hands the man on the other end of the phone over:
Me: Hello my name is Helenindia. Can you tell me when the visa will be ready
Him: no
Me: My manager really needs to know when I can travel to India
Him: You should not make any travel plans until the visa is approved
Me: Can you tell me the time frame?
Him: No
Me: that is not a satisfactory for my company, we have many things to plan
Him: I understand the answer is not satisfactory but that is the answer
Me: well I will communicate that message, can you tell me your name please
Him: you have no need to know my name
(How can you reply to that?)
Me: How will I know when the visa is ready?
Him: We will email you
Me: will that me in the next week or month?
Him: I cannot say
Me: do you need additional information
Him: if we need additional information, we will contact you
Me: I emailed you for the status in mid-May and got no reply
Him: you did get a reply asking a question.
Me: I replied to that email and later sent another but got no reply
Him: you should not say you got no reply (but I did, however I let it go)
Me: can you tell me what steps need to take place before you issue the visa
Him: that is internal Indian embassy policy which we do not share with outsiders
Me: is there anybody I can talk to?
Him: you have no need to talk to anybody, we will contact you when it is ready
Me: Can you tell me if it is likely to be in the next 2 weeks
Him: No, I cannot tell you that

We go back and forth for a while really getting no further. Having failed utterly to get my Indian visa, I took my receipt and passport. Then the embassy closes and I leave

I talk to M in the department of foreign affairs. She has also contacted them but only got voicemail. Her contact (an Irish person, not an Indian) told her a ghastly story about how a senior government official wanted to go to India for a conference and neither hell nor high water would persuade the Indian embassy to expedite the request. I think the applicant in question ended up missing the conference.

In addition to wonderful M calling various people, she also suggested I contact Michael Martin’s office (he is the Irish government minister for trade and industry – so responsible for work permits). His people are very helpful and promise to get back to me. Also the legal department in the US is contacting people as well as HR in India (even though the embassy man says there is nothing that needs to be done).

So now it’s Wednesday in Cork. Maybe I will return to India on Sunday or maybe not. Who knows? But at least you know why I haven’t been posting.

Every so often I planned to post but never did. Finally a comment spurred me to action. The next post should come from India but you never know!

oh and another bad thing

2006-05-18T13:41:00.000-07:00

For many weeks I've been happily walking around my marble floors barefoot (the maid cleans the floors every day so they are probably cleaner than the insides of my shoes). Occasionally I would slip a little but nothing serious, until Wednesday. I fell dramatically on some water and managed to cut my wrist in a most peculiar manner so it looks like a very half-hearted suicide attempt. and it hurts. In order to elicit sympathy, I attach a picture (I know this is not the type of India picture you want to see, so I'm also including one of some elephants to counterbalance it and stop some of the complaints)

Getting better? Escape imminent

2006-05-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

Signs I am better

1. So late last week I started to feel better. On Sunday, upon passing a pastry shop, I had a sudden urge to buy a cake; since this was the first such urge in many months I decided to follow up on it (to be honest I’m not much good at self-deprivation anyway so even if it had been days rather than months I still probably would have gone it and bought something. I bought apple cake (only alright) and 3 truffles (absolutely delicious – probably helped by the fact they get to the perfect temperature very quickly in India).
2. I went to the gym 3 times (and once managed to jog/run 5 K)
3. I felt hungry
4. I stopped having headaches (probably due to the fact I was eating)
5. I drank loads of diet coke (a Helen standard – indeed I wonder if Coca-Cola stocks went down during my illness)

Other great things

1. I have internet at home. I spent the weekend on Skype. For those you don’t know Skype is brilliant – it lets you make internet calls. It’s free for pc-to-pc calls and cheap enough for pc to regular phone calls. Also you can telephone numbers for other so then people can call you. So even when I am in India I can have a US phone number. It’s fab! On Saturday I even video-conferenced with some friends in the US using Skype – modern technology is great
2. Had a three-way conference call (on Skype again) between Galway, Chicago and Delhi!!
3. I am going to New Zealand on Saturday
4. 2 weeks off work (and even better out of India)
5. When I come back from New Zealand I am back for a week and then off to Ireland for a wedding.
6. There are a lot of colleagues here from the US and Germany here on business. Only one woman who didn’t stay fro long but at least some other foreigners
7. With these foreigners I went off to Agra and also Jaipur so finally feel like I’ve seen some of India
8. Jaipur is beautiful – I would recommend it over Delhi any day (I tried to attach photos but failed to get it to work - maybe next time)

And now onto bad stuff

1. I’m sick again :-( On Tuesday I felt terrible and subsequently spent 11 hours asleep. The silver lining was I so sick and tired even the noisy air conditioning did not keep me awake.
2. Lots of problems at work. I had a status meeting where I reported that
• 5 team members were diagnosed with typhoid
• 1 with hepatitis
• 4 team members due to be provided by our consulting partner would not show
• Consulting partner is saying I and my company are being unreasonable in our expectations. On this last point I must say my boss has been wonderful, fully supporting me and telling the consulting partner to deliver on promises made.

So what with having lots of bad news beyond my control and being sick I guess I didn’t sound so great on the conference call. Well my colleagues were great and many sent me emails to tell me they were thinking about me, missing me. One colleague sent me a great email which is so hilarious I feel I must reprint it here. It’s long but definitely worth it.

Hello Helen,

It was good to hear you on the POP meeting call today. Sounds like you have your share of challenges! Hope things are working out for you and I thought I would share a completely non-work and non-India related story with you give you a laugh (at my expense unfortunately) and help you feel connected with us over here…..

The other day I had the pleasure of having 5 staples removed from my head. How did they get there??? Well, I’m glad you asked…. It wasn’t easy. It all started 2 Saturdays ago at about 8PM, as I was putting something in the back of our mini-van and I was closing the hatch, something caught my eye. Instantly I realized it was nothing of importance, but that half-second delay in moving my head caused the door to strike my head with considerable force. I was not knocked unconscious… but a pretty good knock none-the–less. After shaking my head a bit to clear off the circling-stars I started out of the garage. Suddenly it occurred to me that it was an odd thing that my ear felt wet. Putting my hand to my ear I quickly discovered that source of the wetness was in fact resulted from my recent encounter with the mini-van hatch when my hand was wet and red.

8PM is the preferred time to be reading stories to the Family name Children before bed, and this is generally not an activity we want to interrupt with the drama of a bleeding head…. And besides it was probably not “that” bad. So I got a wash cloth and ice and keep this new development to myself for the moment. The moment passed quickly when I received 4 simultaneous questions regarding the wash-cloth and ice from the story reader and listeners. Determined not to present any obstacle in getting the children to bed I down played the whole thing. To this I was successful as stories finished and the children got to bed without so much trouble. But now it is occurring to me that my head is still bleeding. S and I discuss the merits of going to the ER to have this checked out. Threats of infection and continued bleeding through the night finally convinced me.

So we secured my father-in-law (who by the way agreed it was not much more than a minor flesh wound) to mind the sleeping children, we were off the ER. It has been a while since I was in an ER I guess and I was rather impressed with the speed that they move you through that place. Maybe it was just a slow night. Anyways… I explain my incident to the nurse and then to the doctor, and I got the strong feeling from them that they were trying to ascertain if alcohol was involved (which it was not!) I had not had a single drink (though I could have used one). It did not help that I was pretty ragged looking as we spent the day doing yard work, so I was probably quite a site.

I cannot be certain of this, but I think the doctor only suggested staples as a “serves you right” treatment for his suspicions of my drunken condition (which I remind you I was not). I had not heard of staples before…. Stitches, yes… sutures, yes… but staples… not so much. But there you go, I get 5 staples in the head and a little bit of a hair trim to boot. We are out of there within an hour. I also suspected that this young doctor might have been using my head as practice for his new stapler. They sent me off with the instructions to take some Ibuprofen and “sleep it off”

Needless to say my father-in-law had a good laugh about it. A few of my co-workers also had a good laugh, though it was not completely obvious, so I did not need to explain it to everyone. Then on Monday (3 days ago), I visited my doctor to have the staples removed. This was almost completely painless… though it sounds worse. My doctor assured my staples were probably required, so maybe my suspicions of the ER personnel are unjustified. Now I am almost as good as new, just one extra bald spot off the back top of my head.

Have a good (and staple-free) day!!

I am very lucky to have all these people who I can call up and complain when I have problems and make me laugh. It doesn’t make me any less happy that I will in NZ where I will be driving a car on my own (impossible in India) and able to eat food withour worrying about getting sick. And I hear it will be cool and rainy – sounds like perfect weather :-)

A miracle - I have internet at home. Also surprising things about India

2006-05-05T09:32:00.000-07:00

For the last 3 hours I've had internet at home. It's wonderful. Also it means I can post this entry I prepared earlier (just like those TV cooks!!)

Unexpected things about India (in no particular order)

• It’s not that cheap for many things – notable example hotel rooms are higher than New York or Chicago. One extreme example is Bangalore were a colleague paid $450 a night and it wasn’t even such a great hotel. But the average for a Marriott-type hotel is $200 - $250 then there are all sorts of taxes and services fees on top of that
• Men urinating everywhere – and making absolutely no attempt at modesty or privacy
• The number of cows
• Cows eating rubbish at the site of the street
• Temporary makeshift homes no more than a few square meters, constructed out of sticks and blue plastic. It’s amazing to think people live there – but more amazing to see that many of them have TV sets! (the electricity wires are cut and fed into the homes illegally)
• Power cuts – for hours at a time; many homes and business have generators to compensate
• Almost impossible to buy tampons
• People ask “Please let me know your good name, sir”
• You can go whitewater rafting on the Ganges
• Most women wear traditional dress
• People (mainly men) waiting at the side of the streets for no particular reason and with no apparent purpose (a friend suggested there could be drivers; a reasonable suggestion)
• My driver says things like “Would madam like to go to market” I hate being called madam and being questioned in the 3rd person is just weird
• The definition of considerate. We had been on a very long bus journey, about 10 people were singing loudly while about 20 tried to sleep. Eventually at 11.30 I asked the minority to stop singing. My Indian colleague explained to me that Indians were very considerate as they did not complain that they could not sleep. I, of course define the 10 singers as being incredibly inconsiderate
• I don’t find the people polite – they speak in fancy antiquated language but basically have no concern for your comfort or place no value on your time
• Airtel has 6 million internet subscribers in Delhi!
• Foreigners have to pay more to enter national monuments (about 10 times more) or to travel by plane (about double)
• Plastic surgery is big business here
• Arranged marriages are the norm. Even “love marriages” need parental approval – my colleague told me “I was lucky my parents approved that I could marry a girl from another religion” (both are Hindu but one drinks alcohol and the other not and some other differences that didn’t seem so big to me)
• Extended families often live together
• Despite a serious lack of women at work, there are quite a few women in senior positions
• Practically everybody aged 30 or more is married. I am a complete anomaly here (but I would not be if I were a man)
• Everybody talks at the same time
• The concept of queuing up for something doesn’t seem to exist. Though as discussed previously the concept of waiting is integral to the Indian culture!
• Even the Indians get Delhi belly. Our HR manager told me he assumes people will miss 2-3 days per month (that’s every employee, every month) because of illness! Just as well there’s a lot of people here!
• It’s cheaper to hire a person to stick labels to letters than pay for self-adhesive labels (or at least this was the case when my landlady worked in an Indian office a few years ago)
• There is no attempt to make India look even remotely inviting at the international airports. Delhi and Bangalore are both shabby and dirty with limited toilet facilities
• When booking train tickets, they insist upon knowing your age. My last train ticket is issued not to my name but to a 30-year-old female!!!!

Off to Agra

2006-04-28T07:05:00.000-07:00

Dear readers,

Another short post but you may be pleased to know that I am working on a post which could rival war and peace regarding my dental adventure in India, which involves a cast of multiple dentists and involved at least 6 hours of international telephone calls. I'm sure you're riveted (to be fair most of my readers were telephoned for advice during the saga so may be intereseted)

Still no internet at home. Suggestions of Monday but my confidence is not high.

This weekend I'm off to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. Apparently it's is even already too hot for Agra but my colleague tells me later on the marble is too hot to walk on even with socks on (visitors must remove shoes before entering the Taj Mahal)

Still no internet but have telephone

2006-04-23T22:45:00.000-07:00

and telephone number but alas no dialling tone. On Saturday evening 3 men spent at least 2 hours laying cables for internet and phone. I really don't understand why as the previous tenant had internet and telephone so I assumed the cables would still be good. Now an engineer must come and do something so the telephone and internet work. My account executive (a fancy name, I think he is far from an executive) says he will call me today. I am not too hopeful because when I called him uyesterday to ask about the engineer he said first the cable people must come. When I told him the cable people had come he was surprised and asked me to wait while he wnet to verify!!!

In any case when (or if) I get internet at home, there will be some longer posts. Indeed I have one written already but only on my personal laptop not my work laptop.

On an unrelated topic I got my first anonymous comment - it was most complimentary, thank-you anonymous! It's nice to think complete strangers are taking the time to read what I write

weekend in Europe

2006-04-16T21:35:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I escaped to Brussels to visit my sister. Of course India was never far from my mind as I was still sick. Speaking of which I'm not yet recvered but definitely on the mend (Thank God). Tomorrow I am off on a team building event - tents, no electricity, no mobile phone signals - my friend joked that the team building event is to make people realize that working 12 hours days together is better than having to go on a team event. He may have a point.

I haven't time to write much but Europe was great - I even liked the cold weather and the rain!!! It was lovely to see my sister and her family. We chatted, ate out in restaurants, I drank water from the tap, walked down streets on my own - excitment all around.

Sick :-(

2006-04-09T21:26:00.000-07:00

I have just eaten my first food in 36 hours. For the second time since arriving in India, I am sick. I will spare you the details but it is miserable. Saturday I spent most of the day in bed. It’s amazing how tired and weak I felt. I opened a can of diet coke and could only manage a mouthful – for those you know me, you know how sick I must have been.

Even now as I write this I feel far from 100%. I called my sister who asked if at least I was losing weight. Amazingly I’m not. I don’t really like the food so I’m not eating much; on average I would say I don’t eat dinner 3 days a week. Also I live on the second floor (that’s the 3rd floor for any Americans reading) and the office is also on the second floor so there’s a lot of stairs. Of course there’s less general movement as it’s hard to walk anywhere on your own. I plan to join a gym but this is an expensive proposition costing about $1000 (that’s US dollars not rupees) a year. My gym in Chicago costs me less than that.

I also called my parents looking for sympathy. My mother is great at sympathy but she was out so it was my father I spoke too. He said I needed to be more careful about what I ate. I said I was being careful (which I am) to which he replied not careful enough! I know he meant well but it made me cross.

Still no internet at home so I am writing this on Sunday and will post it on Monday when I get into the office. My application to get internet has not even been submitted as there needed to be some communication between the relocation company and my office. After many emails and phone calls this happened. I called my office contact on Friday to ask the status – he said all was ready (I wonder if he ever planned to tell me or would have waited until I called whenever that was).

I need to leave India to get a different type of visa. I was supposed to be in Ireland this week but I again underestimated the amount of time it takes things done. But by stage the thought was already in my head that I may be away for Easter. What with no internet and nothing to do on the weekends I decided leaving was a good option so I’m off to Brussels to visit my sister. The flight was dead cheap $460 and even though it’s a long way to go for a weekend I’m glad I decided to go.

Sorry this entry is a bit mundane but every entry can’t have cows wandering the streets and other strange happenings!

BTW it’s very hot here – and last night (Sunday) the air conditioning in my room broke. Here is why having 3 bedrooms is an advantage as I just moved into one of the bedrooms with functioning air conditioner. Should that fail, I have another back-up and if the third fails I’ll take it as a sign from the gods that India is not part of Helen’s destiny!

Settling in

2006-04-02T21:16:00.000-07:00

I’m getting better at finding my way around Delhi. I’ve been to a few of the markets more than once and things are looking familiar. I even asked my driver to go back to a particular market so I could buy a printer. I’ve been in the apartment 6 days now and I am finally settling in. I have a cooker (with 4 functioning rings, oven doesn’t work), a fridge, a microwave, furniture (not much but enough for a year), air conditioning and a water purifier. I even have a washing machine which got it’s first use on Sunday. It was something of an event to get the washing machine working. It stands on 4 legs in the shower area of one of my bathrooms (I have 3). There are 2 tubes – one for water coming in and one for water coming out. While attaching the one for water coming in, I accidentally broke the fixture however it stayed in and unless it stops working I guess it will remain that way until I leave. By pressing various things turning on and off water at various times, I successfully washed the clothes. Quite how clean they really are is another matter. I only have cold water for the washing machine and during the final spin cycle there was still some soapy water leaving the machine (it might be better if I could not see the water leaving the washing machine). Anyway there are done and drying on the balcony as I write this.

I still don’t have internet or phone service at home so I will probably post this at work. There are rumours I may have phone and internet by Wednesday. I seriously doubt it. Watch this space for more information.

Today I am stuck at home. I live on the second floor and there is a terrace above me (Potential visitors don’t get too excited about the terrace – it’s more for drying clothes than having drinks while watching the sunset). My landlord has hired a company to put reflective paint on the roof. This reflective paint is similar to that used in space shuttles (allegedly). Its function is to reflect the sun thereby reducing the temperature in my apartment. In order to se if it works I have to record the temperature every hour. So I have shut off three of the rooms and have no air conditioning on in them and each hour I go and read the thermometers that are been placed in them. The same will need to be done on Tuesday but I’m at work so somebody else will have to do it. Even if I weren’t here taking temperature readings there’s not much to do anyway as my driver has Sunday’s off and there really is no other transport option. In a few weeks I might get brave and drive myself – not very brave as I will stick to residential areas and avoid areas with heavy traffic and cows. Such areas are limited in Delhi.

I also have cable television with 100 channels; more than I ever had before. Approximately 85 of them are in languages I don’t understand but on the remaining 15 there is at least enough to keep me reasonably entertained. I’m not watching TV today though because the TV is in one of the rooms where the temperature is being taken (hence no air-conditioning).

A colleague of mine is over from Germany so last night we decided to go to the cinema. We asked the hotel and thy recommended an area called Saket, so off to Saket we went. Unfortunately the cinema was full so we went for coffee instead and looked at the world passing by. We saw 3 other non-Indians for the entire 90 minutes or so we were there. I got quite a few stares from some of the Indian men. It’s very weird they completely look me up and down. I don’t like it at all. Fortunately it doesn’t happen too often. So it was authentic India – one surprising thing was that most of the women were in western dress but everywhere else Indian dress (saris and the like) is far more common. Indeed for the first 2 days in India I never saw any Indian women in western dress. There were bars and nightclubs, shops and coffee houses. Apart from the people and some of the food and the cows it could be anywhere in the world. I also saw a pregnant women – I mention this as she was the first pregnant women I saw and it struck me that to only see one pregnant women in 3 weeks was a little unusual. I’ll have to do some investigation into pregnancy and India.

More inefficiency

2006-04-02T21:15:00.000-07:00

The inefficiency continues. I really did not plan to be a feature of my blog but it is unavoidable. Yesterday (Tuesday) I received 3 calls from the moving company to agree a time. Each time I proposed had to be confirmed with the warehouse, a new time proposed by them then discussed with me. I suppose given that process that I am lucky it only took 3 calls. To be fair, perhaps the problem is that there is nobody in my apartment all day – in India it’s quite common to have a maid or security who can take care about such things. Anyhow we agreed on 8.00 as I have a meeting at 10.00 (actually I told them 09.30 as any time here can be give or take (usually take) 30 minutes). So at 9, I still have not heard from them. My driver had arrived so I went down to tell him to collect my visiting colleague and to collect me afterwards. Lo and behold, the moving company were there – 3 men asleep in the front of the truck. My driver went to talk to them in Hindi. They say they must wait there until the supervisor comes at 10.00. resigned I tell my driver to leave. Then the movers decide they can actually move my 7 items (it’s not significant moving – only some books and clothes). As they deliver my stuff there is an abundance of paperwork to sign – at least half of which seems not to be relevant to my case. In any case all my stuff arrived (except my computer mouse which appears to have vanished). Despite being finished with me, the van continued to wait outside. I finally left at 10.00, arriving at the office at 10.30 – I suppose being half an hour late is almost being on time in India.

I’m not sure if the next example is inefficiency but it’s certainly annoying. On Saturday morning I stayed home as one of the people from the relocation agency was supposed to come to get the gas installed and get the cable TV installed. I was told it would take between 1 hour and 1 ½ hours. 11.00 was the agreed time. Mindful of the different clock used in India, I asked my driver to come at 14.00. At 11.00 no sign, at 11.15 no sign, as 11.30 I call my contact and leave a message. At 11.45 Francis from the relocation agency arrives (there are a few Indians with western names – most of these are Christians, usually from the west or south of India). He needs to take a copy of my passport, my visa, my lease and a letter from my company to get the gas connection. I have only copies made of my passport and lease (foolish Helen obviously for not realizing you need copies of everything!!!). He goes off to get copies asking if I will be here until 12.30. I say yes I plan to be here until 14.00. He returns witht eh copies makes a few phone calls and says he’ll be back soon (it’s now 12.00). I’m busy pottering (as my friend Kathy would say) – unpacking boxes, washing dishes, doing Sudoku, making a few phone calls. At 13.00 no sign. At 13.30 no sign, so I call the relocation agency, they tell me Francis will call. At 14.00 my sister calls I relate the story to her. It’s now 14.30 so I can the relocation agency again who tell me Francis is detained. I say how much longer will it be as I have plans. They say don’t disturb your plans but tell us when you will be back (like my plans aren’t already disturbed!!). anyhow we agree we will resume the activities at 18.00. I go off and have a frightfully productive afternoon purchasing fascinating things like teatowels, clothes rack, Diet Coke. I am sure I pay seriously more than an Indian would but I am learning to accept being overcharged. It’s about the same price or a bit cheaper than Chicago. I guess there are a lot of foreigners in Delhi as one can buy decidedly non-Indian things like Nutella, Ribena, weetabix, Betty Crocker cake mixes. I bought some Ribena – I used to drink it a lot but haven’t had any for about 5 years. It’s very nice and full of vitamin C – also full of calories and bad for teeth but you can’t have everything.

Delhi traffic

2006-03-26T02:34:00.000-08:00

lots of traffic
moving pretty slowly but making lots of noise.

Here is a typical site - a man on a motorbike with a woman (often in traditional dress) riding sidesaddle. Helmuts are completely optional (or so it seems)

Getting started

2006-03-19T05:01:00.000-08:00

It’s Saturday, March 18th 2006 and I have been in India for 9 days. I had great plans to get fit again, call friends more often, send postcards, start a blog about India. So I went to look at the gym but haven’t worked out yet, I’ve not been too bad at calling people (but then again not great), bought postcards (no stamps, not all written), the first Saturday I went and started a blog but didn’t post anything. My great plan was to update it each Saturday with news and interesting photographs from the prior week. I’ve started a week late but hey, you lucky people you get photographs from the entire stay in India.

I’m staying at a hotel near the office. In Delhi traffic, it’s great to be near the office so as to minimize the time traveling. Unfortunately the office is in an industrial estate so there’s not much around. There isn’t much to see around the hotel. Added to this are some serious deterrents (in no particular order) beggars, many of whom are children, people desperately trying to sell books and magazines, heavy traffic, and finally all cars entering the hotel are checked for car bombs – it doesn’t make one feel like it’s a good idea to venture out. Last Wednesday, March 15th was the festival of Holi, which is a kind of Hindu celebration of spring. Despite reading quite a bit about it I don’t know why, but the Indians throw water and paint/dye at each other. By all accounts it is a quite boisterous event. The prior evening, there was a letter from the hotel manager waiting for me in my room. It basically said everything would be closed and do not plan to go out unless you are prepared to fully participate in the energetic celebrations. Then I read a few of my many guide books (I am well-stocked possessing the lonely planet, the rough guide and the eyewitness guide) – the general advice is that non-Indians, especially unaccompanied women should not go out during Holi. Also I wasn’t feeling great that day so all things combined I stayed at the hotel the entire day. My colleagues assured me subsequently that I would have been fine and also told me it was a great festival. I’m sure they’re right but cannot corroborate!

On Sunday I visited Humanyan’s tomb. This is a Muslim tomb, on which the Taj Mahal was partly based. It was quite impressive, more than before I look forward to seeing the Taj Mahal. Photograph above

I also went to an Indian market which was perhaps a more authentic experience than I wanted – I was the only non-Indian I saw and there were cows in the middle of the market.

I know nearly everybody has seen photographs of cows wandering the streets in India but I was still not prepared to see them everywhere! They certainly contribute to the traffic problems but I suspect even if all the cows were gone, traffic in Delhi would still be terrible. One comforting aspect is that nothing goes very fast so even if you had an accident it probably wouldn’t as serious as in other cities. Despite this, not for all the tea in China (or India, I suppose) would I ride sidesaddle on a motorcycle as many women here do (occasionally with a child between the parents – very scary).

I have signed a lease on my apartment which is good. I have no air-conditioning (which is bad). Today I bought a bed, which will be delivered Tuesday. I hope I will move in soon, but I am learning that, in India, patience is not only a virtue but an essential characteristic. Case in point, yesterday I wanted to get something scanned, so at 9.00, I went down to the business center, asked the hotel staff to scan the document which she gladly did, or at least started to. She chatted to her colleague while I stood and waited, and waited. After about 5 minutes I started browsing through the Time and other assorted magazines on offer, still standing. More time passed, I decided to sit down and actually read one of the articles. More time, the hotel employee calls somebody on the phone. I wait. At about 9.20 I stand up in the hope, this action may produce some results. I suppose it did – I was told there was some problem (like I hadn’t guessed!!!) and they needed to rescan it. Eventually there are 4 people hunched around the computer trying to scan the document. Finally it works (this is 9.40) and they email it to me. I return to my room and call my friend (who is expecting my call at 09.00 – I figured how long can it take to scan something). Later I check my email. The document has not arrived. I go into my other email account and check that the email server is working. It is, still no sign of the document. I call the business center, they resend it. I know such inefficiency can happen anyway (possibly even in Japan) but this is certainly not an isolated incident (don’t get me started on Delhi airport, it is unbelievable how many things you have to queue for: entering the airport; x-raying and sealing bags; check-in; passport control (combined with customs – some efficiency), security. All told I spend 6 hours at Delhi airport, at least 2 ½ waiting in lines to get to the boarding gate)

On the positive side, it seems in India I will be considered pretty punctual :-)