DATELOG FRI 16 JAN

Today we were picked up by the rest of the gang and we headed off to Infiniti Mall for a bit of shopping as we are due back for lunch at Uncle Tony and Aunty Joyce's house. I don't recall any major purchases worthy of note!

Aunty Joyce is James's sister and they live in an apartment in one of the housing co-operatives. Their son Lloyd, who came to Australia most recently for Trason's birthday, also lives with them.

Lunch was very tasty and we were also visited by James cousin who is a homeopath.

We headed off late afternoon back to our hotel, after a short three hour stop at the neighbouring Oberoi Mall to enable Bern to tick off the remaining people on her shopping list. We also bought a new suitcase to help get everything home!

Off to bed for our final sleep in India !

Location:Mumbai (Maharashtra)

DATELOG THU 15 JAN

Today the May's and D'Souzas relocated from Mahim (Jocelyn's family) to Goregaon East (James family).

We just hung out at our hotel all day which was very relaxing and enjoyable. Our hotel is a classic Mumbai juxtaposition - we are about 25 stories of hotel with a commercial office building in the same estate and a shopping mall next door.

We overlook the highway which is always bumper-to-bumper in at least one direction. We are also surrounded by slums - you sit on the 18th floor having breakfast and you can see the little kids standing on to of the rooftops flying kites.

Location:Mumbai (Maharashtra)

DATELOG WED 14 JAN

We had a bit of a sleep-in today, meeting for breakfast at 9:30 and checking out around 10:30. Today we are going to the Ellora Caves which are much closer - about 30 mins away.

The Ellora Caves are also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The comprise 34 caves - actually they are structures cut out of the rock. The caves were established between the 5th century and the 10th century. The first 12 caves are Buddhist, the next 17 are Hindu, and the final five are Jain.

We didn't visit all of the caves, but we did visit the major ones from each group.

We started with the Jain caves 30 and 32:


The major feature of the site is the Hindu Temple Kailasa (known less eloquently as Cave 16):


Cave 10 is a Buddhist cave known locally as the carpenters hut - this is because it includes "timber" roof beams carved into the roof:


The most fascinating thing about Ellora, however, was the number of local Indian tourists who wanted to take their picture with us. We were in no less than 20 or 30 different family group photos, which Joe and Xavier also getting including in a full class photo for one of the school groups!

This lovely family took our photo, managed to get a hard-copy printout, then tracked us down and gave it to use later that day !

After we left Ellora we headed back to town. We were hoping to visit the Bibi Ka Maqbara (sometimes known as the "Baby Taj"). Unfortunately there was some sort of road or monument closure which meant we could not get there.

So we ended up at the new McDonald's across from the airport. The major interests here were a brochure showing people how to use the drive-thru and the very catchy hashtag #MeandRonaldinAurangabad

Usual security and waiting around rigmarole at the airport we got back about 21:00 and headed our separate ways. We have moved to the other side of Mumbai so we got picked up by a hotel car.

Our new hotel is the Westin, and we got a room upgrade so that was a bonus!
Shower and sleep !

Location:Aurangabad (Maharashtra)

DATELOG TUE 13 JAN

Aurangabad is just under a hour away from Mumbai by plane, but of course this calls for the usual extra hours of attending the airport and associated security checks.

We got off at the terminal and, walking past the machine gun nest, entered the building. There were no airport staff manning the counters so we tried one of the automatic check-in counters. To our alarm the only flights it was coming up with were 15:15 - over twelve hours away!

After about ten minutes of mild panic we realised that we weren't flying Air India this time, and that the reason we couldn't see our flight was that it was on another airline in another terminal !

So after getting permission from the army to leave the terminal we walked over to the correct terminal and got ourselves organised. Our flight wasn't leaving until 6:00 but we managed to keep ourselves amused.

We landed at the new and modern Aurangabad airport around 7:00, and were met by our two hire vans. For the sake of accuracy, we note that Jocelyn stayed in Mumbai with her sister for the two days and had a lovely time !

We went past our hotel, were we were able to access one of our rooms and have some breakfast. Then we headed out to see the Ajanta Caves. The Ajanta Caves were over two hours away on possibly the most poorly maintained highway we have come across in India. Fortunately, because we were all so tired most of us didn't have to watch as we were sleeping soundly!

The Ajanta Caves are a UNESCO World Heritage site featuring about thirty caves cut into the rocks and featuring carving, sculptures and paintings of Buddist religious art. They range from approximately 2,200 to 1,400 years old. A number of buddhist monks were among the visitors.

You did have the option of being carried around here in a pole-chair which was carried by four porters. The offer of a chair was re-made at the top of each set of stairs which, it must be said, were rather arduous for someone in my peak physical condition ! We did refuse the chairs, partly on healthly lifestyle grounds, and partly because it just seemed a little too "British Raj". Later when we actually saw someone being carried we would add a third reason - visible terror of the carried as they went up and down the stairs.

The caves were certainly impressive. After our visit we headed back to Aurangabad, had a rest for a couple of hours, then dinner, then off to bed.

Trina, Anelise, Bryony and Bern also managed to fit in a massage treatment. We also discovered that getting laundry done here costs about 20% of what it cost at the Taj - should have bought a couple of bags of dirty washing !

Location:Aurangabad (Maharashtra)

DATELOG MON 12 JAN

Today we had breakfast at the hotel before getting picked up about 10:30 for our bus tour of Mumbai. We were the first stop and then we went to Mahim to pick up all the others.

The first stop was Dobhi Ghat - a huge open air laundry (and associated village) where all of the Mumbai hotels and hospitals get their washing done. The place is set up with individual wash pens where the washers soak and beat the sheets and clothes by hand. According to the young boy who was telling me about the place approximately 5000 live and work here.

The next stop was Mani Bhavan which was Ghandi's Mumbai headquarters for about 17 years from 1917 to 1934. There is not a lot of excitement here - it comes across initially as pretty boring. However there is clearly something magnetic about the man and his achievements - we left thinking that it was probably our favourite stop in Mumbai.

On the ground floor they show all the stamps from around the world issued to commemorate his life, as well as a large library (behind glass).

The second floor has a series of old articles and quotes on the walls, as well as a short audio-visual presentation. Some of the articles and letters are quite fascinating.

The third floor has one room that has been preserved as it was / may have been when Ghandi used it. The real treat on this level was a series of approximately 20 dioramas highlighting major events in the life of Ghandi. These were a great was to tell the story for both adults and children.

After this we went to the Hanging Gardens - so called because they sit on the side of a steep hill. The gardens weren't that impressive, but in a city as crowded as Mumbai I guess any significant public space (especially a green one) becomes culturally important. It did had a play space for kids modelled on the "Old Lady who lived in a Shoe" !

We drove past Victoria Terminus which is the major railway station and is an impressive piece of design and construction. It is rumoured that the plans for Victoria Terminus and Flinders St Station were mis-delivered but there is no solid evidence to support that proposition.

We also drove down the streets that James and Jocelyn lived on when they lived in Bombay, and saw the school that Jocelyn first taught at.

Our guide also took us to a couple of local sporting goods stores where Xavier was able to fulfil the major desire of his trip and buy a cricket bat in India !

After this Joe, Xavier, Ronin & Bryony returned to our hotel for a swim and a rest whilst the others went for a bit more shopping. We all got picked up about 19:30 to head over to Eddie and Doreen's for dinner.

We had a lovely night at Eddie and Doreen's with tasty food, good company, parlour games and a fair bit of singing - led in the main part by the melliferous tones of Uncle Eddie.

We got back to the hotel around midnight and we are getting picked up again in two hours for our early morning flight to Aurangabad. Yes, that right - three nights of hotel charges for 48.5 hours of accomodation!

Location:Mumbai (Maharashtra)

DATELOG SUN 11 JAN

We are staying at the Taj Lands End which is a beautiful hotel. We checked in around 1:30am.

This morning we had a bit of a sleep-in before heading over to Griselda's flat at Mahim. After having a snack for brunch we headed out to a local shopping centre for about two hours, before heading back to Mahim. This included another trip to Hamley's toy store !

We had lunch about 2:30pm back at the flat, and then we headed back to our hotel for the rest of the day. The Mays and the D'Souzas had a wedding on for Jocelyn's second cousin - so they did that on SUN night. Apparently the wedding had around 1,000 guests !

Xavier and I had a hot spa, a sauna and a swim but the day spa was fully booked so poor old Bern couldn't get a massage !

Room service for dinner and off to bed.

Location:Mumbai (Maharashtra)

DATELOG SAT 10 JAN

Another changeover day - you really do lose most of the day when you change cities!

Checked out about 11:15 and headed off to the airport. A minor traffic jam but we are allowing plenty of time so no dramas.

Got the plane to Mumbai and have to say the process from touchdown was extremely smooth. Baggage started coming off as soon as we reached the carousel and we were straight out the door to meet Griselda - another one of Jocelyn's nieces.

Griselda had booked a very cool mini-coach which we used for most of the week.

We went to Griselda's apartment in Mahim where the Mays and D'Souzas are staying. Here we had afternoon tea and met her children Keegan and Brooke.

Tonight there is a function at the Catholic Gymkhana so Griselda has arranged for us to go there to meet up with everyone. This is the venue where James and Jocelyn were married.

We left about 19:30 and we were stuck in traffic for about 75 mins. We stopped to visit Aunty Doreen (Jocelyn's sister) and Uncle Eddie, who were also joining us at the Gymkhana.

The Gymkhana is a social club and there was a band playing as well as a buffet dinner selection and bar.

At the Gymkhana we met Godvin (Griselda's husband), as well as Griselda's brother Floyd, his wife Janice and two of their four daughters.

The food was delicious and we all did a bit of dancing and it was a very pleasant outing overall !

We headed off just before midnight and dropped the Mays and D'Souzas home before heading off to check-in to our hotel - the majestic Taj Lands End!

Location:Goa to Mumbai (Maharashtra)

DATELOG FRI 09 JAN

Today the Mays came past our house on the way back from para-sailing!

We headed into Panjim City which is the capital of the state of Goa - it is about 25 mins away.

The feature today was a visit to a "7D" cinema which was, of course, too inviting to pass up. The 7D was the normal 3D with extra features such as:
• Moving chairs with seat belts
• Water mist effects
• Wind effects
• A strange feather duster that whacks you on the legs.

We saw two ten minute features here - the standard roller coaster type films.

They also had a pretty lame haunted house on site too so we did that.

Then we went to Timezone and played laser tag, dodgems and video games before finishing off with KFC for lunch.

After this we headed off in our separate directions. We took in a nice ocean swim at dusk before heading back to the tailors to pick up my new suits - very flash!

Bern is also very excited as she had picked a fabric and ordered new cushion covers for the old Ikea lounge suite - she has spent about ten years tolerating the previous color.

After a nice restaurant meal the day ended with a quick trip to Ucasaim to farewell the Campos family and to resolve an unfortunate hotel laundry mixup.

The road to Geoffrey's house is much more confusing at night - but we got there eventually!

Location:Goa

DATELOG THU 08 JAN

Today we headed off to take in some of the famous sites of Goa.

As you may be aware Goa was a Portugese colony that still retains a strong Catholic influence. The remains of St Francis Xavier are held there is a crystal coffin on the Basilica of Bom Jesus which is administered by the Jesuits.

The coffin has only recently been returned to the Basilica after the recent Exposition of the Saint which occurs once every ten years.

We also visited the nearby Se Cathedral which is just over the road from the Basilica and which is physically connected to another separate church. The entire district is covered in significant heritage churches and chapels.

The Mays and DSouzas went off the visit a local Hindu temple and we visited the Museum of Christian Art (not the unmissable feature my guidebook suggested) and also the ruins of the St Augustine Church.

After this we headed back for a swim and the rest of the group eventually came past for a swim.

The hotel manager had been encouraging us all week to come to dinner at the restaurant tonight as they were getting live music.

The others had to head back to Geoffrey's house for dinner so we thought we would take a chance at the restaurant.

We were very glad we did for two reasons - hardly anyone was there so we were glad we made the effort and secondly because it turned out to be karaoke!

The DJ would sing if no one else did and he was quite good. There were a couple of other guys there who had a go from time to time but apart from that it was mainly Xavier and I.

At the end of the night one extended family who were there celebrating a first birthday invited us to help sing happy birthday and to be in their photos.

We headed back to the room at 11pm after everything wrapped up. Bern very impressed with both her boys!

Location:Goa

DATELOG WED 07 JAN

Today was another quiet day around the pool, although we also took a half hour to check out the beach.

Candolim Beach is pretty impressive - there is plenty of sand and the ocean is also very warm.

There are not a lot of hawkers (which most would argue is a good thing) but there are plenty of lounges and umbrellas available for hire as well as a couple of nice restaurant bars.

It is about a 100m walk from the back of our hotel to the beach - we didn't stay out too long as the sun was pretty warm.

The Mays and D'Souzas came over late afternoon for a swim and a relax poolside. They had been visiting various ancestral homes around Goa.

After they headed home Joe went over for a suit fitting - coming together nicely!

This was the second night in a row we tried to eat out but left after pre-dinner drinks!

It was past ten o'clock by the time we got to the restaurant and the live band (whilst entertaining) was very loud. After waiting 20 mins to put in our order we cut our losses and headed back for room service.

Location:Candolim (Goa)

DATELOG TUE 06 JAN

A quiet day on our own today - we had a quick look around the street in the morning and found a great tailor about the doors down.

Joe has been measured up for two suits and five shirts! The prices are comparable to what we pay "off the rack" in Australia - about $400 for a suit and thirty to fifty dollars for shirts.

Apart from picking up a few t-shirts and souvenirs the rest of the day was spent poolside and it was very relaxing.

If you travel to India and need a relaxing break Goa is certainly the go.

It has direct flights from Russia now so you can see some of that influence creeping in too (shop names, menus in Russian script).

DATELOG MON 05 JAN

Our hotel is on one of the "main" roads in the area - however there are still no gutters or footpaths and the (slightly redder) dust is still everywhere.

Like many tourist strips our road is engulfed by restaurants and souvenir outlets, as well as quite a few clothing stores. We went for a wander this morning and finally got around to purchasing a couple of SIM cards so we could communicate with the Mays more easily. As will subsequently be revealed their village doesn't have very good reception and so this add only minimally to improved communications!

Today their host (Geoffrey) is having a day of celebrations with his neighbours to mark the completion of the house. It starts with Mass at the local church at 7:00, followed by a blessing at the house at 8:30. At lunchtime most of the village has been invited around - due to delays getting the SIM cards we arrive around 13:00

The house looks great and unfortunately I didn't take my camera. So far there are three bedrooms, three bathrooms a lounge and kitchen with a whole section upstairs to be further developed.

The village feast includes a house series of seats out the front and a large colourful canopy to rest under. The villagers take turns to entertain he house for a session on the floor eating traditional style from banana leaf plates. We all had a go too:

Later in the afternoon we got a lift back to town, and had a pleasant swim before settling in for the night!

Location:Candolim Beach (Goa)

An Update on Blogging !

I am sitting in Singapore Airport during a 12 hour layover trying to finish this blog record of our trip.

I am dating it earlier so it fits into the correct order for readers!

I am doing the blog as an personal online record for ourselves, but also to share the adventure with (particularly younger) family and friends.

Due to a range of technical issues (access to internet, blog app issues, photo sizes and sources) I haven't been keeping the whole thing as current and up-to-date as I would have liked - so apologies to anyone tuning in on a daily basis!

However, as I am home tomorrow I know there is a significant risk of non-completion if I don't get a move on!

So, just to explain I will be shifting into the more boring "express mode" for the remaining posts. The major implication of this is no photos in the initial posts - once I get back to Melbourne will try to add the photos snd repost at that point.

I know the photos are a pretty critical element so bear with me - it is just that they slow down the whole process immensely, especially when out on the road.

Cheers !

Meet The Family (Delhi Style)

We were very honored to spend time with members of Jocelyn's family whilst we were in New Delhi.
James and Jocelyn stayed with Jocelyn's older bother Ossie, who is 87 years old. His wife, Winnie, turned 80 during our stay and they have been married for 57 years. Winnie also cooks delicious food including a very tasty butter chicken!
They live in a ground floor apartment in the same suburb as their daughter Sharon. Like many Indians they live in a housing co-operative that owns the block of land. There are about four apartment towers and they share parking, security and a small lawn / courtyard. This is us in front of the apartment:

Here is Trina, Anelise, Ossie, Winnie, Jocelyn, James and Bryony.

Here is Sharon, Jocelyn's niece. Sharon has been our awesome tour co-ordinator and has kept us organized in the lead-up to our visit. She hosted the Mays at her apartment and has picked us up and driven us around at all hours of the day and night! She is also in charge of telling off Joe for over-tipping which appears to threaten the ongoing health of the Indian economy.

Last, but by no means least is Sharon's daughter, Jocelyn's grand-niece, and Trina's god-daughter Saira. She has been driver number two, shopper number one and all round helpful as well.

We all greatly appreciated the kind and generous hospitality of the Delhi connection! Jocelyn was very glad to see her brother but it was very hard when they had to say goodbye...

Location:New Delhi (National Capital District)

DATELOG SUN 04 JAN

Another early morning start for our crack support team Sharon and Saira as we headed off to the airport for our trip to Goa.

Airports in India are very secure and require a fair bit of time for processing. Visitors are not permitted to enter the airport - you have to show your ticket and passport to get in to the building. Security is all provided by the army - including all entrances, metal detectors etc. At Mumbai there is even a machine gun nest by the front door. At the regional airports you have to get your hold luggage scanned and tagged before you lodge it with the airline.

Once you have your boarding pass your hand luggage is scanned and everyone gets a pat-down body search and metal detector waved all over.

Anyway, a very helpful man from Air India helped us check in as a group which was very beneficial for the Hally-Konynenburg baggage allowance (domestic is 15kg instead of international 30kg). We are the notorious over-packers!

Our flight was due to leave about 10:00 and it was only a few minutes late. airport operations over the whole trip have been pretty efficient. Our flight transited through Mumbai but we stayed on the plane and some new passengers joined in Mumbai as well.

We arrived in Goa around 14:00, but the luggage took a while to come through and so it was around 15:30 by the time we got cabs to our respective destinations.

The D'Souzas and the Mays are staying with an old friend of James named Geoffrey in the village of Ucasaim (past Mapusa). Geoffrey lives in New York and has been away for 35 years but he has recently rebuilt the old family home in Goa for holiday and heritage reasons.

The Hally-Konynenburg's are off to Candolim Beach to a small resort hotel called "The Clematis".





Looking at Trip Advisor a few days before we got here we were starting to get a bit nervous as there were mixed reviews but it was a great spot and we were very excited to check it out !

Dinner at the in-house restaurant (which has a very Swiss Family Robinson feel) and then off to sleep!

Location:New Delhi (National Capital District) to Goa

DATELOG SAT 03 JAN

Today was a "wrap-up" day - our last full day in Delhi.

We started with a trip to the India Gate which is the major national war memorial (originally built to commemorate the First World War). It also has an eternal flame, tomb of the unknown soldier, ceremonial guard and, like many monuments in India, actual guards as well.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/India_Gate

They were starting to set up for Independence Day celebrations on January 26 (yes, also Australia Day).















After India Gate we went to a huge mega-mall, complete with security scans on entry. It will be interesting to see how India deals with growing wealth disparity as more of these foreign brand names start to settle in, but huge portions of the community can't access the goods.

This did have a Hamleys toy site outlet (spread over three levels) which the kids all enjoyed. We were initially supposed to leave here at 5pm but everyone was meandering all over the place so we eventually got away just before 7pm. The trip home was over an hour due to the heavy traffic (20mins to get out of mall car zone).

We finished of the day with a lovely celebration at Ossie and Winnie's house where we had takeaway Indian food to celebrate the birthdays of Winnie and Sharon.

Location:New Delhi (National Capital District)

DATELOG FRI 02 JAN

Today was our Delhi sightseeing day, and we were joined by Sharon and Saira. James and Jocelyn stayed at home to catch up with Ossie and Winnie.

We kicked off the morning with a visit to The Red Fort, which is a towering 375 year old fortification / palace compound that until ten years ago was an active army barracks for the Indian Army before being turning over to the Archeolgical Survey of India which is the institution that manages their significant heritage sites.







The Fort is obviously still considered to be a significant terrorist target as there were a number of manned machine gun nests located around the fort (including to the right of Nick's knee).




For further info here are some more facts, figures and photos:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Fort#/search
















After this we stopped at McDonalds which was an exciting first for the kids!

Then another couple of hours in another "Cottage Industries" type showroom which spread over two buildings and about eight different levels. This had a range of textiles, clothing and fabrics, metals and woods etc.

After this we drove through the district that hosts the major parliamentary buildings, before making it (just in time) to the Qutub Minar.

This is another UNESCO World Heritage site and it houses the second tallest Islamic prayer tower in India and the ruins of the first mosque built in India (1198AD). A range of other ruins are present - including an abandoned attempt to build and even bigger tower! It was an awe inspiring location - especially on a misty evening with dusk setting in.













After this we stopped for some diner, and Trina, Bryony and Anelise got a henna hand tattoo in the "local" fashion.

We finished our day of sights with a stop (and external roadside viewing) of the famous Bahai Lotus Temple.

Location:New Delhi (National Capital District)

DATELOG THU 01 JAN

Today we gave ourselves a late start after New Years Eve, and we headed out about 11AM. Unfortunately it took us about a hour to get clear of Jaipur - traffic was really bad. Could have been worse - could have been travelling by elephant !




Who am I kidding - traveling by elephant would have been awesome!
Once again the whole group proved to be stalwart travelers and the six hours in the bus passed without incident!
I didn't take any photos today so a rather textual blog entry unfortunately! The main reason I didn't take any photos was I have about 300 India Road photos already - really must get that roads post underway! I did however shoot a short video in the bus that became our New Years Greeting (see separate post).
Upon arrival in Delhi we were all dropped at Ossie & Winnie's house and Winnie had prepared a lovely meal for us. After a pleasant evening of conversation - back to the hotel for a comparatively early night.

Location:Jaipur (Rajasthan) to New Delhi (National Capital District)

New Years Greetings from India

Well 2014 started off well and then came crashing down mid-year.

We are a long way away but this is the sentiment that I wanted to share with all my friends on New Years Eve.

All our love to all our family and friends and best wishes for a cheerier 2015 !

Location:India