March 23 Mahablipuram

It has been a busy week. We are as adjusted to time as we are going to get and have somewhat of a routine and some energy to be a little more adventurous. Although I have realized there is a limit to just how adventurous you can be with a 2 year old.
Friday 23rd was a really good day. Scott took a day off, and we headed to Mahabalipuram about 56km south of Chennai on the coast. During the journey "A" learnt to say Mahabalipuram, she kept asking where we were going. The city is famous for its 7th century carvings ans they are truly spectacular, it is a World Heritage site. We first visited the Five Rathas, or Five Rappers as "A" called them. One thing that quickly became apparent was that we going to get approached by guides and merchants. As soon as we were out of the car people were trying to sell postcards, and carvings, one guy attached himself to us and waited while we toured the Rathas. I did end up buying from him after halving his original price for a carved Ganesha. (luckily I had a previous purchase of Scott's to benchmark against). The other thing that is also very noticeable is that there is little restriction touching and climbing on the carvings. Scott commented on the fact that the grass areas they had were protected by fences, while these ancient works of art were on the whole open to all comers. To start with we had the place pretty much to ourselves and then all of a sudden it was overtaken by a party of school kids (7-9yr olds). They seemed more fascinated by "A" than anything to begin with and she became overwhelmed. The teacher ended up positioning himself between us and them. Once the novelty wore of some and the kids approached in smaller groups "A" warmed up and had some fun with them. Scott and "A did a lot of exploring while Mum took lots of photos and was awestruck. After the Rathas and some purchases , it was off to the Shore Temple, another beautiful sight, dating back to the8th century and impressive in the fact that it still exists despite it's proximity to the sea. One wonders if anythings we build to day could stand this test of time. With the sun reaching it's peak and a toddler who wanted carrying, it was time for lunch. We had fun locating the restaurants recommended by Lonely planet, but it was well worth it. We dined at the Santana, some how it seemed appropriate. Ate fresh Mackerel that we selected off a plate and was grilled while we soaked in the view and marvelled a what we seen not just for the craftsmanship but also that the ability to develop the infrastructure that need to exist to support such a massive task. Feeling suitably refreshed it was time to put our feet in the sea,"A" had a blast and of course required a change of clothes. After that we decided to visit just two more sites since everyone was still in good spirits and we didn't want to push our luck.
Having thought that what we had seen to date would be difficult to beat we were wrong, the Arjuna's Penance with its details and variety surpassed everything.You could spend hours staring at it and still find more to admire, well at least you could if you didn't have a spirited 2 year old who wants to do more exploring.
We then visited Krishna's butter ball, a rock that is perched precariously on a slope, children were using the hill as a slide and "A" was most disappointed that we would not let her try. Our driver, we thought, was taking us back to the car but had different ideas and lead us to some more of the hillside carvings. We were all flagging and much to the driver's consternation decided it was time to go. Not before the mandatory ice cream though. All in all a very enjoyable day.

Cholamandal Artist Village and The Crocodile Bank

Last Wednesday "A" and I took a road trip out of Chennai to the south. Our first stop was Cholamandal Artist Village, the driver had never heard of it but knew the village it was supposed to be in. As we drove out of town the number of cars decreased and the number of cows and goats increased proportionally. The cars now are doing 80+km/h and overtaking becomes a game of chicken! We missed the entrance to the village first time through. The village proved to be a very tranquil spot. We were greeted by a couple of women who ushered us into two small galleries. I don't think they get many visitors, the lights were all off. The first room contained mainly pictures, with a few sculptures. The pieces were varied, more modern than I had anticipated. I was handed a price list and soon realised that even if we could get one in our suitcase they would be out of our price range! "A" made it clear that this was not to her liking by making a run for it. Luckily there was a fish pond to pacify her for a while. It was tough to get her away and in to the second gallery, which contained mainly metal work pieces, sculptures, bowls and jewellery. They matched more my taste and wallet. They were also more to "A's" liking, especially when I showed her the Ganesh necklaces and asked her which she would like. She then helped me choose a dish. It turned out that the pieces were made by sisters. We were invited to visit one of the artists. Is work was very detailed pen & ink and acrylics. I noticed some sculptures similar in style to the pieces we had purchased. In fact they were his daughters, he then showed me a wall of pictures by his son. I congratulated him on his talented family. We had a short but pleasant chat about his travels to Europe. It was another brief but memorable encounter. The grounds of the village were very peaceful and attractive, it is easy to see why it would inspire creativity. It would have been nice to linger longer, but"A" was getting too hot and bothered so it was time to move on to somewhere more "A" friendly, the Crocodile Bank (more on this tomorrow)

A quick summary of the trip so far

We are still struggling with getting "A" adjusted to India time. I've heard it said that it takes a day to adjust for every hour time difference, given that we are 13.5hours ahead, that means we should be fine by Saturday. (That is of course if "A" has read the same information). And yes you did read that right 13.5, I haven't worked out where the 0.5 comes from but as Scott says "you can't argue with 1.1 billion people"
I don't think I'll ever get caught up with daily accounts so here is a summary of where we have visited since arriving. We haven't really been that adventurous yet, partly because of jet lag, partly heat ,partly because we haven't wanted to risk A getting sick, and also because we hadn't had a driver who speaks English well enough for me to feel comfortable going too far afield.

Number of Temples visited 1: KAPALEESWARAR
A very impressive site, magnificent carvings and vibrant colours. We went on Sunday so there was lots of activity, it appears that the temple function as a meeting place and there were many families and groups hanging out in a shaded area. We enjoyed just sitting on the floor amongst them all, with A running around and exploring. It was a very pleasant way to spend an hour and do some people watching. We went to visit the cows and meet a woman who was feeding them, she explained that it was the new moon and that on that day they remember their male ancestors and give an offering to the cows. The female ancestors are remembered on the full moon. She then allowed "A" to have some of the feed and give it to the cows. We thanked her and she told us it is important to teach people about her beliefs. It was a simple but memorable encounter.

Number of Malls visited: 2 SPENCER'S PLAZA and CITI CENTER (see previous post) . Spencer's plaza was the first mall in India and was in built in the 70s. It was the first place "A" and I visited and it was pretty intimidating to start with. It is multi-levelled with a maze of alleyways, the low slung ceilings made me feel like I was in a rabbit warren in the bowels of the earth, then all of a sudden we came to a wide open atrium area, (will get photo next time) it was like a breath of fresh air. Got a number of curious and amused looks for having the stroller, you don't find many strollers here, the ones you do see do not belong to the locals. We managed to find Landmark a book/toy store and get "A" stocked up and even went to the food court for some lunch. I was very proud of myself for being able to navigate back to the parking structure and find the car and driver.

Number of times eaten dinner out of hotel: 1 COPPER CHIMNEY
Since A has not adjusted to time zone and most evenings we have had to wake her (0r try to) , we have only been able to get out for dinner once in the first 10 days. We are fortunate to be in an area with many recommended restaurants, this one is directly opposite the Chola Sheraton Hotel where we are staying. Of course you can not just cross the road, nothing is that simple here (more on traffic and transport later) . The food is Northern Indian, which is what we usually eat, didn't realize that when we set off there. We were the first to arrive but it was pleasing to see the place fill up quickly with locals and lots of families, always a good sign and the food did not disappoint. The flavours were more intense and complex than even the best Indian food we get at home. A ate some white rice and then just as we had almost finished decided she like the chewy lamb and ate a few pieces. She managed to eat plenty of the really good Mango ice cream we had for dessert. A very successful first dinner out

Number of cars and drivers used: 5
Number of drivers that have spoken English well enough for us to all be happy: 1
You really do not want to drive over here, it is like playing a video game where you have no idea what the rules are and which control does what. Yes, there are road lanes and signs but it seems that they are treated merely as a suggestion. If the road is marked for 2 lanes and there is space for 3 vehicles you can guarantee there will be at least 4 there. Favourite forms of wheeled transport for locals are bus, bike, moped or motorbike. The most I have seen so far is 4 on a motorbike. Little kids are held by mom on the back as they get older little boys sit between dads leg and hold on to handle bars. 90-95% of the motorcyclist do not wear helmets. The other favoured form of transport is the auto rickshaw. Basically a three wheeled yellow dodgem car. "A" learnt quickly what they were, although the pronunciation is a little difficult. I spent a good 10 minutes one morning trying to understand why she was saying she wanted to see "Uncle Richard".
The way the drivers communicate with each other is by horn. To the unsophisticated ear it all sounds the same but after a while you realize there are subtleties, there are of course the sounds from the different types of transport, ring ring, bebeep, beeebeeep, honk honk. "A"is getting good at discerning the differences. Within each group, you have the different intonations "hi I just wanted to let you know I'm here" "Watch out I'm behind you" "Coming through ready or not" and "GET OFF MY ROAD" All this makes for quite the cacophony, that takes getting used to. It also makes for good entertainment and sources for songs for "A", which of course you need when you are stuck in traffic. We no longer have just the horn on the bus, going beep beep all through Chennai, now replace it with all other modes of transport.
So throw is a few thousand pedestrians and the occasional cow (Scott says there are fewer than last year) and you see why you need a driver. It is a great concept provided that you can communicate where you want to go and the driver knows the city. This was not the case for the first driver, who kept having to stop and ask directions, apparently even his Tamil was not great. We wonder whose cousin he was to get the job. After a week of Scott's colleague trying to get a different driver from the company they swapped companies only to discover a new failure mode. Despite our request we now get a different car and driver each day, each with varying driving, navigation and English skills. Needless to say, Scott has got very good at fitting the car seat.

Number of Supermarkets visited:3 Foodworld,Niligris and Spencers Daily
Number of Types of diapers tried:3
Theses two go hand in hand since one of the main purposes for "Superdooper market" visits has been to find diapers for "A". We still have some that we carried with us but rather than wait till things get desperate we started the hunt early. There are familiar brand names, Pampers and Huggies, but they don't seem to have the same feel as those we use, more plastic and thinner, there also previously unknowns. I think I have found a brand that works best. The biggest challenge now is finding any quantity the correct size, even if the kids wear diapers at all they are pottied trained earlier so the supply is smaller. Luckily the ones we like are sold at a Citi Center, Foodworld store very near Fun City, which we will be visiting regularly and I shall grab them whenever I see them.
Today's challenge was to find baby wipes because of course Foodworld doesn't have them, but luckily Niligris supermarket close to us did. Although the assistant didn't know they did! Call it stereotyping (or prejudice?) but I was very surprised to encounter a man with a toddler of Indian origin looking for large diapers and baby wipes at the same time as we were . I could not resist asking him if he was local, no from the US. We saw them again later at Fun City.
OK sorry if I bored you with stories of diapers and wipes when you were expecting more exotic stuff, but it is reflective of some of the challenges of taking a toddler abroad. Tomorrow we can talk about the challenges of feeding "A" and her nutrition choices up to now!

Well it took me 3 days to get this together, it is already Sunday and "A" did read the same literature and has settled into a US sleep pattern. May be now I'll manage to keep the blog going, although the down side is that, like at home, she is not napping every day. The upside being that tonight we were able to go out to eat and her food intake is looking up.

Hope to catch up with stories of Mahallipuram and KLA picnics soon.

Mar 17th- Trip to Marina Beach

Marina beach claims to be the world's second longest beach, of course there is some controversy about this, but it is certainly very impressive. We took a trip there on Saturday, arriving there at around 11.00am there were very few others on the beach. I was reminded of the Noel Coward song "Mad Dogs and English men go out in the midday sun" Current temperatures are high 80's low 90's with ~70% relative humidity.

A seemed pleased to be outside at a beach and was keen to get her shoes off. I was a little wary having read the comments about the beach being polluted but it didn't seem too bad and it is very difficult for a 2 yr old to resist walking bare foot in the sand. I tried but nearly burnt my feet, A seemed oblivious to the heat. We had a walk along the beach, bought a couple of sea shells from a guy. Saw some crabs who were scurrying to their holes, looked like they thought it was crazy to be out side too! Found an interesting sea urchin. Then decided it was enough sun for now and headed back to the car. Found a place on the map marked Aquarim and thought we had scored big for since A loves fish, on our way there the driver informed us it was a swimming pool, whoops, now one upset A. She did seem to forgive us once we went to Citi Center Mall and fed her ice cream and visited the play area.

After that it was back to hotel for a short nap before heading over to meet some colleagues of Scott who had children of similar ages as A. The three little girls had fun playing together, A was a little hyper and a few plants were worse for wear but no real harm done, I think we might get to see the hosts again. They were very generous and have lent us their camera for the duration of the trip. These photos were taken with Scott's tiny digital that has absolutely no bells or whistles.

Snap shot of Mar 11th and 12th

Due to jet lag, computer problems and lack of time, I am way behind on blog, so here are a few higlights (low lights) from Hong Kong I will try to back fill later.

Hong Kong Highlights

Visting the Big Buddha on Lantua Island
Taking A on a double decker bus
Watching A play peekaboo, with a little chinese boy in the cable car on the way to Buddha, they were using the universal language of kids.
Great public transport system
Getting diaper bag back
Fascinating seeing the high rises and how there seem to be cities on top of cities, vertical sprawl instead of horizontal?
Getting to us the Singapore Raffles lounge while waiting for flight, great snacks and comfy chairs. Having soon good laughs while dashing through Singapore Airport to make connection, only had a 45 minute layover, I think we have come up with an idea for a new board game, "world traveller"
Good flights to India, with plenty of sleeping for A

Hong Kong Lowlights

Loosing diaper bag and having camera and wallet stolen
Thick fog and rain so we couldn't see the view on the cable car to the buddha, and could barely see buddha's head.
Not reading info on Buddha properly and ending up carrying stroller and Aminah up 268 steps!
Jet lag so we didn't see as much as we intended
Having to get permission from airline to take handbags through security because one was "too big"
Stress of dashing through Singapore Airport to make connection.
Too much nursing on the flights

March 10th Hong Kong

We arrived in Hong Kong at 7.00am. Passed through customs and immigration with no problem. I was amused that one of the first things we saw was Starbucks. I resisted temptation to have one, and shortly afterwards we saw an Irish Pub, also resisted that!

Hong Kong Airport is very modern, and like the rest of Hong Kong very clean and most importantly well labelled. We were able to locate the Hotel easily and were pleased to find we could take the baggage trolley all the way there. As soon as we stepped inside the hotel someone was there to take our bags. The concierge were all taken with A and wanted to say hi. We tried to check in but were told that wouldn't be able to until 8.00am Wewent in search of an outdoor area for A to play in and were delighted to find they had a small area with some play structures. A was very happy with that. I was thirsty and went in search of a water fountain but to no avail, at this point we realized we have handed over the bag with HK dollars in. Luckily we have US$, first have to exchange them at hotel reception, at a rate of 7.1 and then find cafe to buy 1 litre of water at $45 HK. Can not believe I have just spent $6+ on water!! Scott cautions A not to spill it since she is drinking her college fund. We fill the rest of the time by having light breakfast, pastry and we try a new fruit, dragon fruit. A is not impressed and sticks with kiwi.
Hotel room is great, huge king size bed looks very appealing but when Sarah tries to sleep in it she can not stop sneezing, because of an allergy feather pillows and comforter, which we have to get changed. A is, as always, keen to try out her new crib. After baths and showers we all take a nap for 8 hours-in hindsight that was probably a mistake! When we wake we decide that we should take the Airport express into the city for dinner. A is excited to be on another adventure and ride the train. We have to deviate from the original plan of going to Kwoloon when we realize that the train doesn't connect where we thought it did. Instead end up in Lan Kwai Fong, which is the nightlife area, reminded me of London but with very steep, stroller unfriendly roads. We choose a random restaurant that worked out well. Ordered a plate of tofu, noodles, soup and rice. They bought us some green jellied egg, Aminah and I rejected them straight off, Scott tried a little and that was enough. We managed to close the restaurant, it was 11.00pm and anything that wasn't a bar seemed to be closing. We found a K-mart store and grapped ice creams and some snacks for the room. Water was a very reasonable $6 HK. Started to head back to the underground and train, we were a little worried when the lady we asked directions looked at her watch, luckily for us the Airport express continues running, the underground was closing. Back to the hotel by 1.00am all ready to hit the beds.

Journey To Hong Kong

Background
This is the trip that was postponed some many times that it began to feel that the universe was telling us something! The estimated time from when the suitcases were first packed to the time we actually got on a plane is 14 months. There were three postponements in the 2 weeks prior to take off., one by Scott's work and two by us, due to A coming down with a bad case of teething with molars and diarrhea, Needless to say it felt somewhat surreal to finally be sitting in the stretch Limo at 8.30am on Thursday Mar 9th.

Thursday March 9th:The Journey to Hong Kong.

A was very enthusiastic about the Limo ride and how big the car was. She was full of “adventure” and excited by the prospect of an Airplane ride in a green plane. (Green was the color of the week).
We arrived at the airport in plenty of time and with Scott's Star Alliance card we were able to by pass the economy class line (I guess that is one benefit of him having traveled so much in the last 12 months). First hurdle was to get bulk head seat, we were told only for bassinets, (for which read, “I don’t know how to assign them”) we said we had requested them earlier by phone and were told not a problem; (guy goes off to find buddy who is able to assign them). Next hurdle, told that the one suitcase is too heavy by 3.3kg and no you can not average them. Thank goodness we had packed some things in bags that were easy to shuffle around from one place to another.
That done, we are ready to take on the dreaded security. We begin to learn that having a 2 year old can actually make traveling easier, I kid you not. People are much more friendly and willing to help you if you have kid in tow. I think it helped that A was in excellent spirits. Talking to everyone and generally being cute. Although they checked my hand luggage, the guy who did it was very friendly and was very forgiving that I had not out the “Butt Paste” in the clear bag.
We proceed to try and find the Singapore Airlines lounge but are turned away, reason is confused, too many of their own members there to let in Star Alliance, and only one guest allowed, Aminah is too many. We interpret this as “we don’t want a very excited 2 year old in our lounge thank you.” A is not phased and proceeds to run along the terminal towards the gate saying “ Watch me run” and “look how fast I run” We kill the time with games, walks/runs around the airport. There is a little distress when they take away A’s new stroller to load it on to the plane. She is pacified knowing that it has to go in a special place and will be there at the other end.
The actual flight goes better than anticipated, some sleeping occurs, mainly on me and with plenty of nursing. We thought we had scored big time when we were able to get her to sleep on the floor at our feet, but after about an hour, I awakened by “excuse me is that your child down there” Had I not been quite so sleepy and more with it, I might have been able to come up with a smart alec answer that the question deserved. Anyway, A is not allowed to continue her peaceful sleep and so started the sleeping toddler juggling show for a few hours. When she wakes up Dad enjoys some lap and play time and does a great job on entertaining her, while I sleep. A only ends up watching DVD for about an hour, towards the end. We arrive in Hong Kong reasonably well rested considering it was a 14.5 hour flight. Bags and car seat also arrive safely and immigration is pain free.