A day at the village

 Arrived back at the hotel around 11.30pm not because we went to a wedding, now that might make a good yarn one day, but because we attended a sangeet.

With the body crying out for sleep starting the blog now would be foolish so if you are interested sign back in late this afternoon 

 Breakfast restaurant opening hour in the hotel was 8.00am and that suited us fine as Ashok had arranged a pickup for 9.00am but when we went it was obvious that there was no way service would start then and we were told to come back in 30 minutes.

 

We did so and sat in the restaurant for around another 10-15 minutes before we were served a very basic breakfast though the coffee wasn’t too bad.

 

Ashok then took us to a couple of city sights – firstly the city park which is named after a “freedom fighter” and contains a 14^th century monument which is undergoing restoration and then onto a Hindu temple which sat many steps up on top of a hill.

The temperature was 37 at 9.30 and rose steadily through the morning and by late morning was at 41 degrees which is barely tolerable so after picking up Sherry’s saree and buying some bananas and mangoes from a fruit cart we went to Ashok’s house.

 

A bunch of around 15 bananas and 3 mangoes cost the equivalent of $3.75

 

Ashok cooked lunch, he is quite a dab hand in the kitchen, and as seems to be the norm a siesta type period commences as it is too hot to be out and about. The two girls don’t seem to recognise siesta time as they were all over Sherry and me, tugging at my glasses, pushing the buttons on Sherry’s watch and then playing makeshift games with our phones and the aircon remote.

After mid-afternoon we decided to go for a stroll, Ashok having gone somewhere else in the village, and as we did we met up with him and went visiting the widow of another friend.

 

This friend was a policeman and, I think, was killed on duty on the same day that one of Ashok’s daughters was born.

 

There was a group of around 6 at this house and we spent quite sometime standing around in a group talking, showing photos from my phone of our family, watching the lady of the house milk a buffalo, drinking hot fresh buffalo milk and listening to banter between the folk.

 

The lady then came back to Ashok’s place and she, Gita and Sherry then went off to the local tailor where Sherry was measured for a blouse to go under the saree.

 

By this time we were very unsure of what was happening as yesterday there was the indication of going to another wedding in the evening so I asked Ashok and was told it was “cancelled” and that we were going to the sangeet for Sapna the village girl whose wedding we have come for.

 

We went back to the hotel to change and returned to the village where Bollywood type music was starting to blare out through an impressive piece of kit.

 

Sapna and her cousin were dancing as we watched from Ashok’s house before Sapna came over and urged us to join in! A sangeet is a night before the wedding where the woman get together and dance the night away so I was, thankfully, less encouraged to join in but Sherry was not afforded that luxury and was “pulled” into the centre of floor numerous times.

 

What started off as a group of two dancing ended up with a large group of ladies, young, old and in between, filling one of the streets in the village enjoying themselves until around 11.

Ashok and his family then returned us to the hotel to end our day which at times was somewhat stressful.

Village life is very hard, especially for the women, but the familial aspects are what makes it special.

We have been offered drinks from numerous water sources, in numerous different cups by so many folk who live in below average, by our standards at least, conditions that it will be a small miracle if we don’t get the dreaded Delhi belly!

 

Sleep comes easily

 Sleep comes easily so sang Kenny Rogers and the First Edition and they weren’t wrong but staying asleep is a different story as the upset body clock kicked in around 4.00am.

Downstairs for breakfast, which consisted of papaya, curd, chapatti, curry, the old staple cornflakes and coffee, and we were waited on by a young fellow who is Nepalese and from memory the first person from that country that I have ever spoken with.

 

We then decided that we would book the room for the rest of our stay so sent a message to Ashok telling him what we planned and that we would discuss later when we got together and then off downstairs to see the receptionist.

 

We could see that they were preparing to host a wedding so it shouldn’t have been a surprise that all the rooms were booked for the next 2 nights so it was quickly upstairs to pack our gear as checkout time was fast approaching.

Ashok duly arrived and obviously was told the situation by the receptionist as he said there was a hotel in Narnaul we could book into so we headed into the city.

 

He parked the car and disappeared for 5 minutes and then came back saying we could have a room in this particular hotel yet before he could turn the car around to be in front of the hotel a guy came over and spoke to him. As they were talking Sherry said to me that she had heard the guy say it was fully booked. 

 

Without telling us the situation Ashok then started driving through the city, or at least the main street the runs through the city obviously looking for an alternative.

 

Finally we pulled up in front of Hotel Dev and he went inside reappearing shortly after asking that I go with him for “room inspection”

 

A quick look showed that from a man’s perspective it looked acceptable and it even had a proper loo so I gave Ashok the thumbs up and so we returned to the reception desk to sign the paperwork.

 

I discussed with Ashok that we would book it for two nights, the two that Royal Tulip were full and then return to Royal Tulip for the remainder of our stay but he said after two nights his house would be finished and we would stay there – an issue to be resolved a little later!

 

Hotel Dev has a rating of 4.5 but that wildly exaggerates it’s qualities but it is comfortable enough and might well have been the last hotel accommodation available so beggars can’t be choosers

 

By now it was getting into the afternoon so we and Ashok and his eldest daughter Priya went to a local restaurant for lunch- we had a filling if slightly spicy lunch which we insisted on paying for and  which came to the princely sum of the equivalent of $8NZD – then it was back to Hotel Dev to get out of the 41C heat while Ashok returned home to prepare the room for our stay.

 

It was during lunch that Ashok invited us to a fellow tourist driver’s daughter’s wedding tomorrow night some 45mins out of Narnaul – if we had come all this way for one wedding it seem logical to go to another so we accepted.

 

While we sat around in the hotel room I found a radio commentary of the Warriors game so turned in before loosing connection at 18 all with 15 minutes to go that being a signal to go for a walk which we did in what was now 42C of sapping heat.

After about an hours we returned to our room to wait for Ashok’s return to take Sherry saree shopping 

 

He returned around 5.40 with Gita and Riya three up on his Hero motorcycle and we then headed to the far end of the town for a saree which was duly completed but not without also coming away with an Indian styled dress for one of the days where formality is required.

 

After doing that we returned to the hotel and Ashok left to go home and we had a meal in the hotel restaurant before retiring.

Arrived

 Last night I wrote a detailed blog, one of my best, of the time since leaving NZ but as (bad) luck would have it, when I posted it the IT gremlins took it off into the ether never to be seen again and as I was shattered from lack of sleep I didn’t have the motivation to rewrite it.

 

So as a quick summary:

·       Met Ashok at airport – big smiles, hug, handshake and he placed a garland around our necks

·       3hr drive to his village- sore bums from flights and drive

·       Heat very oppressive 

·       Met his family- Gita, Priya & Riya

·       Was shown his new house – surprisingly still under construction but “your room” will “be finished tonight”

·       Was introduced to other family members and villagers

·       Met Sapna the bride to be – she seems excited about the upcoming wedding and didn’t ask who invited you!

·       A friend of Ashok, Raj Kumar Yadav, made up a room in a building adjacent to his home for us to stay in

·       Room exceptionally hot even with aircon, ceiling fan and two small fans going 110%

·       Bathroom attached was found to have a squat toilet!

·       Was left alone for a couple of hours to “relax” but that didn’t stop 2 ladies on one occasion and a guy on another coming into the room

·       On a couple of occasions folk who we met leant down and touched my shoe which is a sign of respect

·       Around 7.30 we went outside and Raj came over and took us to his house next door 

·       Sat on the “verandah” and quickly Marsala tea and bottles of water offered as they had been on meeting others – becomes embarrassing saying no thanks all the time

·       Chatted with Raj and his family while waiting for Ashok to come – Raj is such a delightful gent describing his life as “I’m on a low income but that’s ok as me and my family are happy”

·       During the conversation he had conversations on the phone with who knows whom but after one said we were to stay in a hotel tonight implying the room he had provided was not good enough

·       Ashok arrived and brought us to “The Royal Tulip Hotel & Resort”

·       I went to pay on signing in but found that the cost had been taken care of

·       Long story short Sherry doesn’t have to squat at least until we move somewhere else which we might have to politely resist 

 

It is only 12 months since we were last in India and it is surprising how quickly we had forgotten how:

 

·       Crowded Delhi is

·       Chaotic the driving is

·       Bad the roads are in parts

·       Violent the speed bumps are

·       Frequent the car horn is used

·       Much rubbish sits on the side of the road

·       Rundown most of the buildings are

·       Cows wander in front of vehicles bringing them to a halt

 

but most of all and perhaps to our discredit,we had forgotten how

 

·       Friendly, welcoming and delightful the people are

What the next few days holds remains to be seen but sure as hell we will find out

Too tempting to say NO

Over the Christmas period we received an invitation from Ashok to return to India to attend his eldest brother's daughter's wedding. 

After serious consideration we accepted the invitation and commenced the planning. 

Firstly flights, then Visas, followed by more inoculations & a visit to a local Indian shop to purchase some traditional Indian garments. 

This morning I received a message from Ashok to say that he had just purchased me some Indian style shoes in Jaipur - will be intriguing to see if they fit!! 

We leave on 23rd April and return on 5th May and I hope that I can post blogs of our trip but that will depend on internet access as we are staying in Ashok's home which is in a semi-rural environment some 3 hours from Delhi

It’s over

As it was going to be a long day today with a checkout required by noon and a flight not leaving until 10.25pm we were able to move at relatively glacial pace in everything we wished to do today so started off with a late breakfast followed by a final repack of the suitcases before, around mid morning moving cases down to the foyer and entrusting them to the hotel efficient staff for the day.

Having done so and handed in the room door card we took the MRT from City Hall to Tiong Bahru in the hope of seeing some old housing. While we couldn’t find any we did find the wet market and food court, the food court buzzing as it was now around lunchtime.

With the body temperature starting to rise we decided to head back to the MRT and go to Marina Bay Sands to get into an air conditioned environment. This centre is high class with all the prestige shops, some with more than one outlet, throughout. We walked down one branch of the complex and it was high value watch shops one after the other.

Around mid afternoon we decided to go back to Marina Square to see whether the balloon display had been completed and as luck would have it, it was. I never imagined that we would be so engrossed looking at balloons but we were as it was a wonderful display.

The completed display

It was then a walk back to the hotel to pick up our bags (all the time following the Warriors game – Up the Wahs!) and getting a taxi out to the airport. We struck a taxi driver who wanted to talk about his medical history which was interesting in that we have never found Singaporean taxi drivers to say more than a few words.

We have now checked in and had dinner and waiting for the next 2.5hrs to pass before we start the last leg home.

A fabulous holiday in a very different part of the world will now start to be a memory, but a memory that we hope stays with is for a long time!

One to go

After breakfast we walked to City Hall and took the MRT to Harbour Front before climbing up the hill to Mount Faber and then onto Henderson Waves, the tallest pedestrian bridge in Singapore with a length of 274m and a distinctive wavelike structure. By the time we got to the end we, like quite a few others, sat with sweat freely flowing and taking some water on board.

If Singapore do one thing well (they in fact do many things very well) it is developing green parks and attractions in the outdoors e.g. botanical gardens, Gardens by the Bay.

As we were going up the walkway there was a worker blowing leaves off the walkway something you would not see in Auckland – you never see a suburban footpath being sweep clean let alone one effectively in a bush environment!

 There were some nice views out to sea and also towards the city looking past what appeared to be government provided accommodation.

After recovering we returned down to Harbour Front and took the MRT back to City Hall having lunch in Marks & Spencers in Raffles City.

After dropping some bags and an umbrella we were carrying back at the hotel we walked to Marina Square to pickup Sherry’s new glasses. While there we noticed a wonderland of balloons being erected this being the 15^th annual balloon display put on in this vast mall and which starts on Saturday so it was unfinished when we saw it but nevertheless very impressive.

As the promo says

Step into our balloon wonderland where breathtaking flowers dance amidst fairies, giant butterflies take flight and vibrant hot air balloons float above a spectacular balloon garden.

A video looking at the display being constructed- listen closely and you’ll hear balloons popping

It was then back to the hotel to rearrange our suitcases and submit our arrival card & customs declaration to NZ Customs.

After dinner we walked to the Riverfront area and along the river which had a very vibrant and colourful atmosphere with all eateries being well patronised and queues waiting to ride in the bumboats.

As we did so we agreed that we were in a city that we very much enjoy and which has been a magnet drawing us back numerous times but is this the last time???

Tomorrow we need to fill in the day once we have checked out until we fly out around 10.30pm - shouldn’t be too hard.

Muggy

One of us slept well last night, the other didn’t.

The intention today was to find the Pan Pacific Orchard a hotel which was voted Best Tall Building in the world in 2024 which my research suggested was near Istana, the President’s residence in Singapore which is located in Orchard Rd at the end nearest to our hotel.

Having walked to the area around Istana no hotel was found so asked an individual who after looking it up on his phone said it was further along the road so off we went again just as a motorcade with outriders and numerous vehicles came down the road at speed with all other traffic brought to a standstill.

Not too much further along Sherry spotted the flagship store of a clothing retailer she likes so a detour was made and some time was spent, coming out with another bag of goodies.

Now using our own Google maps we found the PPO up Claymore Hill which is off Orchard Rd and in my opinion not an ideal position for such an iconic building nevertheless the building is quite eye catching.

The building has around 7000 sq. ft of greenery over the building and four open aired terraces – it looks very different from all the other hotels in Singapore.

When we returned to Orchard Rd we were now at “the far end” and we saw the Isetan, a large department store so not near Istana!

By now we were well into the afternoon so found a café for lunch and a sit down following which we started the walk back to the hotel. On the way back at an intersection traffic in one direction was stopped so we stood around to see what was going to happen and sure enough the same motorcade we had seen previously was now returning to the Presidential residence.

A Google told us that it was a visit to Singapore by the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, To Lam.

motorcade in Singapore

After it passed we continued back to the hotel now feeling quite drained due to the muggy conditions and soon after we were into the pool though that was cut short due to it beginning to rain so we retired to our room later crossing over to Raffles City for a touch more shopping and dinner.

During the afternoon news filtered in that one of our usual four had a hole in one on the ninth at Pupuke today – well done Tony M and good to see that he can break 90 again as it has been a few rounds since he last achieved it!

Jaded

Arrived in Singapore after the short(ish) flight from Kochi - turbulence and a noisy child ensured that any deep sleep was not going to happen.

Fast taxi into the CBD dropping us at our happy place in Singapore, Carlton Hotel, a hotel we have stayed at, on at best count, 5 of the 7 times we have stayed in Singapore. It is well situated being next to Raffles Hotel and across the road from a metro station.

Once the city started to come to commercial life we left the hotel and walked to one of the many shopping malls here so that Sherry could get her hair trimmed at a stylist she has used previously and then to an optician so that she could have an eye test and new glasses - the new glasses will be ready tomorrow but the lass there is off that day so won’t be picked up until Thursday; even that is a far superior service than we are dealt in NZ.

Seems to me to be a very long way to travel to get a haircut and specs though.

During the day we received the following lovely message from Ashok:

I miss you so much.🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏❤️

Once again my greetings to you and your wife!

Please message me when you reach home.

A late lunch and then a walk to Bugis Junction to poke around there before two quite weary oldies had an earlish dinner before getting our heads on the pillow.

The final day

Packed after breakfast and sat around waiting to be picked up by Jinas at 11 o’clock.

While waiting we said goodbye to the two guys (never got their names but the guy on the right in the below photo called himself the map man as he was the one who told guests the directions around town) who ran the accommodation at Kochi and who I had friendly banter with while watching the cricket final. The map man had a very engaging personality with a ready smile and was another person we met who knew what customer service was all about.

This time Jinas arrived on time despite having travelled home to Alleppey overnight (by bus both ways), which is an embarrassment to us, and we then went to Ernakulam, the central business district in Kochi, to another marketplace the intention being to fill in as much of the eight hours that we needed to before going to the airport.

It was a typical Indian market which we strolled around before finding a nice restaurant for our lunch, a very nice meal for the princely sum of $8.

After lunch Sherry spied a clothing store which attracted attention and so sometime was spent doing some more shopping before we called up Jinas to pick us up and move on to a mall.

The mall was as modern as you would see anywhere with both high end and mid range shopping however by this time we were finding it difficult to motivate ourselves to give it the attention it may have deserved.

After an hour or two we again messaged Jinas and had him take us to the airport. On the way he was as chatty as he had been at any time in the trip and we saw a different side of him.

While it was not our doing we did apologise to him once again for the inconvenience of not being provided overnight accommodation at Fort Kochi.

.

He told us that in fact it was a new government directive that accommodation, washroom and facility to wash vehicles needed to be provided by all hotels for tourist drivers.

We now sit at the airport waiting to book in for our overnight flight to Singapore.

And so our Indian odyssey comes to an end, a holiday we have very much enjoyed having seen the real India, marvelled at some stunning monuments and temples, coming up close and personal with a fabulous Bengal Tiger but more importantly being made welcome by some lovely friendly people (& our dear friend Ashok). If anything the people may have been the highlight - getting a wave from youngsters, high fiving or fist bumping many of them and answering the frequent question “where are you from” and having told them normally getting a reply suggesting NZ is such a great country.

As much as we enjoyed it I doubt that we will be back.

And for anyone thinking of coming to India, Delhi belly is a myth (unless we get struck down by our last meal in India in the airport lounge - an uninspiring cold buffet!)

Drivers Plight

Must be something about websites and being on holiday as I tried to submit our arrival cards for Singapore this morning, which must be done online, filled in all the details for both of us, hit submit and got an error message “System not available, try again later” – a grand way to start the day!

Spoke to family back home prior to being picked up at 10.30 by Jinas however 10.30 came and went and no Jinas so sent him a message and received the response “2 mint”.

He arrived around 10.45 and it transpires that there was no accommodation provided for him in Kochi so he had driven home to Alleppey (2 – 2.5 hr drive) yesterday when we said not required and he has driven back again this morning to take us out for a couple of hours. If we had known we would not have asked to be picked up today and used tuk tuks and he could have stayed at home for another day. Can only assume he sleeps in the car tonight as we need him tomorrow to get to the airport. Something is not right the way these drivers are treated!

He took us to the Jewish area, though apart from a synagogue and being cleaner than most there was nothing much to suggest it was other than a typical Indian area with market stalls to catch the unwary tourists (which they did) and a few streets of well patronised shops selling in the main clothes of all colours, styles and prices, antiques and Knick knacks.

It was a nice environment to be in and also to interact with the market sellers. When we arrived it was relatively quiet and we got haggling over an item but we didn’t make the purchase though to get away I promised we would be back. A couple of hours later after lunch we returned to that area and the crowds were significant but as we walked towards the stall the seller came from behind us and said welcome back – their ability to KYC or at least their potential customer is well honed. We did the business and a little more and found the driver who returned us to the hotel where the pool was the magnet.

Finally got the Singapore arrival card sorted during the afternoon as well as following the cricket which is not trending the way I would like.

Tomorrow is our last day in India as we fly out tomorrow night at 11.00pm to Singapore arriving there at 6.10 am on Tuesday morning. Tomorrow we will have to find something to fill in around 8 hours from the time we book out until heading to the airport but alas a dip in the pool won’t be one of those things.

Squirrel on the hotel roof

$4 cheese, tomato and egg toasted missing a bite!

I’m not kidding you

Some colour seen in recent days

Unless there is good wifi on the flight next post will be from Singapore