Gosh time flies over here… I can’t believe I’ve been in India 4 weeks already! Last week we went to the movies to see RIO and to my surprise the cinemas over here are great! It costs $2.50 and are just as comfortable as the ones back home maybe even more so as the seats recline. The movies also start on time, so no 20 minutes of previews plus they have an intermission (10 minute break) for that toilet run I always seem to need!!
Later in the week I went and saw Fast & Furious plus last night we saw Pirates of the Caribbean with a group of girls I’ve met over here. So you can see our new hang out… plus the movies change weekly so there is always something new on (Hangover is out this weekend). Plus any excuse for getting out of the heat!
On Saturday we decided we needed to treat ourselves and headed to a spa… clearly I’ve been working too hard and need to relax! It took almost 2 hours to ride out to the 5 star resort and was pretty tough going. It’s like playing a video game on the bike, the rules of the road seems to be take over at every opportunity possible (no matter how slim that possibility may seem!) And beep the horn several hundred times every elapsed 10 minutes. To overcome the consent annoying car horn sounds they have resorted to making musical horns and most cars have another tune that plays when reversing.
Among the highway symphony there are trucks pilled with men heading home from work, motorbikes whizzing in and out of traffic and buses of people hanging out of them, as they are so full. The road changes from smooth to rough within seconds and the scenery is lush one minute and then it’s like you are in the dessert in a sand storm the next. You are not only watching the road but to your left and right, watching the traffic, bikes coming out of nowhere oh and you can’t forget to give right away to cows – only in India.
I’m starting to get into a routine and it can get quite boring at times so I have to keep myself occupied. I have a yoga instructor 3 days a week that comes to our place along with the rope yoga I’m doing with the girls. It’s so cheap, $60 bucks a month for 1-hour sessions 3 times a week – I’ll be fit in no time. And that’s actually expensive in India. I’ve also booked a driver for Friday to take me around the city and explore Baroda.
Well I didn’t book it – I tried but eventually had to hang up and get one of Al’s work colleagues who speaks Hindi to call. One thing that the Indians do on the phone is if they don’t understand you then they say ‘hello’ ‘hello’ so you think there is a bad connection and repeat it back ‘hello’ ‘hello’ it turns into a battle of who can say hello the most. When really they don’t understand what you are saying and probably a better phase is I DON’T UNDERSTAND… seriously it’s so frustrating.
I’ve heard there is a Bollywood dance class & kickboxing not far from our place I thought could be fun to join. Plus I want to roam around and check out the town oh I also need to find the magic peroxide too – someone is looking like a top deck chocolate.
It’s almost impossible to catch rickshaw’s around if you don’t know where you are going. They don’t speak English and most of them can’t read so you can’t just show them the address. Otherwise that would be the cheapest option. To hire a car for a month is around $800 so no chance… The other ladies have drivers but their partners work for International companies who pay for the drivers and Al works for an Indian firm.
I’ve found a material shop that sells beautiful cottons for $1-$2 a meter and also a tailor so I’m going to attempt to have a few things made. So pretty excited about my solo road trip.
I now have an alcohol license – cost me a whole $2 and now I can purchase 2 bottles of spirits a month and 12 bottles of beer. Al bought his 12-bottle limit on the Friday last week and pretty sure 10 hours later it was all gone! Yep he now has to wait a month to get more beer!! We don’t drink too much, just on the weekends and even then I’m a Cadbury kid these days.
The local supermarket is an adventure in itself. The quality of the produce even at the best supermarket is average compared to home.
How to pack a grocery bag in India…
1. Grab the largest bag you can find
2. Place the empty bag into the shopping trolley
3. Throw items into the plastic bag, be sure to start with vegetables and fruit-pretty much anything that can bruise or be squashed should be packed first
4. Continue filling the bag with the heavier items
5. Pack 3 milk containers at the top of the bag, press down and tighten the bag with a safety tie
6. Make sure to leave out at least one item that the customer has paid for but will be too lazy to return and complain!