Random thoughts for today

My thoughts in this blog will most likely be quite random, but hey that makes it interesting right. We had the wonderful breakfast this morning as usual. I told Vikas that I could get used to just living in the hotel here for the rest of the year. They have everything we need and it leaves things so uncomplicated.

So yesterday we went by the house to look at all the updates and to sign the lease. We also met the couple that owns the house. Since it was our first meeting, I didn't bombard them with wanting to take their photo. I hope to get one later though. They are just the sweetest couple and seem so very kind. As our real estate agent mentioned, you won't find landlords like them very often. They were there to make sure everything was as we wanted it and were really going out of their way for us. Usually when you rent a house, they don't do much work on the outside, but they were having the landscaping and outside of the house cleaned up and refreshed. It was very sweet of them. See photo below.

Vikas talking with one of the landlords. I, sadly, can't remember her name at the moment.

The gentlemen working on the repairs on the house. It's looking wonderful! It looked wonderful before so now it's just that much better. 

I think we're both ready to move in now though. I'm also ready for the crates to get here. I've kind of been antsy about working on jewelry ideas. At some point I'll be checking some of the jewelry supply stores here too. I can't wait to see where I can find some nice beads to work with. I have some creative ideas that I would like to start working on. Glass and ceramic beads are some prominent finds here. 

On our way back from breakfast, it was a little funny to see one of the staff running quickly around a corner in her beautiful sari and as soon as she sees us she immediately stops running and leads into a quick paced walk while saying, "Hello m'am. Hello sir." Then she passes us and proceeds to take off in another sprint. You could hear her footsteps running around the other corner. I found that pretty humorous. The staff here is very courteous, well mannered and helpful.

I've been reading up a bit on the areas throughout town to visit. There are a few museums of interest. As we explore each one, I'll be writing about them and showing images of each place. 

Well, it's not much but it's all for now.  

The Unknown

So because of some body pains and issues, I get massages every now and then. I've been researching where to get a good massage that is more what I'm used to in America, versus the Asian style that is here, meaning no sheet, bare and being massage a little too close to the "no go" zone than I prefer. I've been reading other people's experiences which seem WAY more intimate than I would EVER prefer. I think I've found a place called SPA.ce (http://www.spacethespa.com/). There might be a couple of other spas too but I need to make some calls and ask some questions. I think the key is to let them know up front what you expect, which is exactly what I'll do. If that's very "american" of me then so be it. I'm paying them and it's my body so I should get the experience I prefer and am comfortable with. I will let you all know what I find and what I like most. SPA.ce is run by an expat Brit (meaning British expatriate) so I'm thinking that may be more directed towards what I'm expecting. I also can't wait to try reflexology massage. Actually, I'm also going to see about the spa here at the Taj West End hotel that we are staying at (http://www.tajhotels.com/Luxury/City-Hotels/The-Taj-West-End-Bangalore/Accommodations.html).

So each time we've stayed here at the Taj West End hotel in Bangalore, they've given us a gift. It's such a nice and thoughtful treat. Last time they gave us a small aromatic pillow. I missed taking a photo of it. This time they made us monogrammed pillows (each pillow has our first name on it). So on one pillow, it has my name (spelled correctly too, yay!) and the other has Vikas' name. You can see photos below. I absolutely adore these pillows! It's so hard to find my name on anything unless it's made specially so this was an absolute treat. The pillow came with a little card and a sweet note from the Housekeeping Team here at the Taj. The pillows are made with silk and down feathers.

This little fella was on our path to go to breakfast yesterday morning. Had to take a photo. Beautiful little home he has there. :)

Took this photo at the domestic section of the Mumbai airport when we flew from Mumbai to Bangalore. Beautiful and modern. Of course we didn't feel so beautiful due to our eventual 5 hour delay.

So we found out today that the house will not be ready for us to move into until next Monday. We will be staying a few more days at the Taj (darn <---- sarcasm). Right now I am a little bored from time to time, but I am honestly enjoying the rest and being a bum. It's also giving me time to do some research for things and find places I want to go to during the day on my own. I plan to do a little more research via phone calls tomorrow to find out more about places that do massages the way I would prefer. I'll keep you informed so that if any of you travel here you will know of a few good places to go. Well, and I'm not being too much of a bum because I actually have work to keep me busy. I'll try to take photos at any places I go too so you can see. :)

Off to breakfast and another day of new things to do and learn.

Just as I was about to publish this post.. out goes the electricity but of course within a few seconds it was back on. One thing to get learn to get used to here.

Naptime!

Just hearing the rain hit the ground outside and the whirring of the ceiling fan has me in such a peaceful and relaxed state. It would be so easy right now to sleep. Lunch will be ready soon though so I must control that urge to want to close my heavy eyelids. Now a good breeze is picking up and there is a lot of moisture in the air which, after being in the extreme heat for so long, my skin is singing songs of praise. I love a good rain and I have missed it since Texas has been in the drought for so long. I hope that the good ole Lone Star state gets some rain soon. Last I heard there was a tropical storm heading that way.

Vikas, my husband, and the name I will use for that from now on (since he said it was okay) is happy to get to visit his parents. They are so sweet and they really know how to make one feel so at home and part of the family. As most of you know, I am pretty shy and quiet at first, mostly to observe my surroundings and figure out things and what is okay and is not okay. I was raised to be respectful and I will always do my best to do so. Also, let it be noted, his mom can make some amazing food!

I took a few photos but I'll post them later. I don't want to take up too much of the bandwidth here.

Hmmm.. trying to think of the other things I thought of on the way here that I wanted to mention on this blog entry. I saw so many places and things I would have loved to photograph but there was too much traffic, we were trying to get to Vikas' parents place, and it was pouring outside. Well, off I go. Time for lunch. I'll probably not write again until we reach Bangalore. Sweet dreams America!

We have arrived in India

We arrived yesterday evening. There were a few irritating issues with not being able to check our luggage through to Bangalore. We are staying a few hours here in Mumbai to visit my husband's parents. It will all work out though, just a lot of luggage to lug around.

Other than that and a little bit of a sore knee from the flight, all is going quite well. So let me begin with the flight. As you know from reading the previous blog (if you haven't, what are you waiting for? get to it!), we were able to get upgrades to business class for the 14 hour flight to Mumbai. This was by far the best long flight experience I've had yet. We flew Continental and their business class is first rate in my opinion. Below are some photos for you to see. I took them with my camera on my phone so pardon the lower quality.

We get a menu before we take off. It lists all the options for our meals on the plane, including snacks, desserts, drinks (including a nice selection of alcoholic beverages). You can click on the images to see them larger if you would like a closer look at any of them. The menu is readable (meaning the image isn't blurry this time). Well, not all of them are blurry, but some might be. :)

The menu was also in Hindi. 

This is our little "survival package" as I call it. The airline calls it a care package. It's made with a nice material with a double side pocket area when open. Below is a photo of it the items that are in it. 

This contains, toothpaste, toothbrush with plastic cover, mojito lip balm, bergamot and honey lotion, tissues, hair brush and comb, grapefruit and bergamot refreshing cleansing cloth, eye mask, writing pen, earplugs and a coupon to take $10 off a purchase for any of the body items (lotion, lip balm and cleansing cloth) from the actual manufacturer, Escents. (http://escentsaromatherapy.com)

The remote for our monitor/tv. You can listen to music, watch games, watch movies and more. It was touch screen too which was fantastic!

The monitor/TV.

Our seat controls. Yes, that far right one is so you can lay flat. Loved it! I preferred my head slightly higher up, which one can do. It was so comfortable to watch tv and sleep. The chair was also very soft and cushy, along with the blanket and the pillow. If any of you ever have the chance to fly business class, don't turn it down (even if you are the only one of your group to get it.)

Dinner: Mashed potatoes with chives, sautéed veggies and leg of lamb.

Dessert: Edy's ice cream with hot fudge and nuts (passed on the cherries and whip cream). 

The seats in business class. 

My husband took this shot. The goober left the flash on. Haha! Still good shot of the chair though. :)

So we went through our debacle at the airport with what to do with the luggage (which we ended up stuffing into a car that was not quite equipped with enough room for that much luggage), got everything in the car, and headed for our hotel. With all the luggage blocking my view (it was in the spare seat up front). By the way, in India, they drive on the other side of the road. I was sitting on the left so the luggage was on the seat in front of me. Anyway, I could see somewhat out the side window. It's raining a lot here because it's still monsoon season, which lasts from about June to October. Honestly, it's nice though since I haven't seen it rain like this in A LONG TIME. 

The view from our room here at the Hyatt in Mumbai. You can see that it's quite gray outside and rainy. Anyone up for a dip in the pool? The floaties are already in there. What more do you need? In case any water gets splashed out there is plenty more filling up the pool at the same time. Haha!

Our breakfast this morning, which was included with the room stay. You can get just about anything from fresh parathas (with or without aloo), freshly made omelet (I got just egg whites, so yummy), fresh juice, fresh fruit and so so much more. My husband has on his plate above: papaya, pineapple, and chocolate bread. 

On the plate to the left is a tomato vermicelli. It was on the spicy side but soooooo very good. Always good to try new foods and things and I'm glad I tried that one. It was great.

So I meant to take a photo before I had started to eat my omelet but it looked so good that I forgot so here is my mostly eaten omelet with mushroom, bacon and cheese (egg whites only) with rosemary potatoes, roasted tomato and a wheat croissant on the side. 

Me working on this very blog. :) 

So we are about to head off to visit my husband's parents. I will write more soon because there is much more to write about. Maybe I'll have more photos to post too. Enjoy the read and I can't wait to write more.

The Day Is Upon Us

We are here at Newark airport. I'm just staring out at the planes going and coming. At least we get to sit here in the comfy lounge. So far so good on all things travel related. My digestive system never likes it but other than that, all is good so far. Sorry if even that little tidbit was too much info. Haha! Though, remember, I said, no holds bar. This blog is not for the squeamish, timid or prudish. I'm going to lay it all out there from time to time. Don't worry though, it will all be done with a little humor too. :)

There is something pleasant about airports to me, but maybe that's because I'm a people watcher and being at an International airport is a great place to people watch. I'm sure many of you are people watchers yourself. If you carefully look around and watch, there are many others observing also. For me, I'm always wondering where one person or group of people is coming from and going to. It's amazing to think of how many lives one comes across in a single moment. Even now, as I type this, a man walked by with his plate of snacks and never realized that he dropped his cheese (no that is not a euphemism) so now it's sitting there, waiting to be picked up and tossed away. I would get it, but I partially want to see just how long it takes for someone to realize it. I only hope no one steps on it or it causes them to fall. That would be bad. "The Cheese stands alone!"

Laptops are everywhere too. I wonder what these lounges looked like during the days where there were less cells phones, laptops and other tech devices. I bet more people got to know or meet people they never would meet today. Interesting enough, even though technology brings us closer, in many ways it keeps us further apart too.

Here's another crazy thought, a magazine about shopping centers. Yes, it's literally about shopping centers around the world, from the largest to the most elite. I grew up in a small town where I was lucky to even find a JCPenney. I think the mall we had only had three major stores, Sears, JCPenney and Bealls. Forget Dillard's or even Neiman Marcus. If you wanted to shop there, then you had to drive 2 plus hours to Houston for that. Keep in mind, even in 3rd world countries, where poverty is at such highs, there are some of the most fancy shopping centers. Bangalore even has one. It's a beautiful Mall and has high end stores. An example of an item in this mall was a purse that I saw on sale, it's sale price was $1000. These are all just thoughts running around in my head right now. It's more of a thought than a rant.

So maybe you're wondering, when is she going to even mention India, well, there's not a whole lot to mention yet, other than I'm ready to be there because the flying part is probably the most uninteresting part. I do love that I'll get to watch movies on the plane, be waited on and enjoy a nice sleep. We were able to get an upgrade so it's nice knowing I will probably get some sleep. Our flight is around 14 hrs. So that's about one good 6 hour sleep and approximately 4 good movies... depending on the length of the movie, of course. I'm not complaining. It's going to be nice.

I will say I'm a bit anxious, nervous and excited about what's ahead this next year. I'm hoping I can give you all some great stories and show you things I see and things I'm working on.

Hasta Luego everyone! Will write again soon! Oh and the cheese disappeared at some point while I was writing this. Dun dun dun... will the mystery cheese ever get's it revenge!?

The Countdown Begins

Well, the time is almost here. In one week, we'll be doing our bit of traveling. The journey of learning and experiencing new things will begin. I'm so excited! Oh yeh, and I'm a bit exhausted, but hey, if you're not exhausted in life, then you're not living it right (that's what I say).

So I'm sure you might be wondering if we're finished packing and all ready to go and the answer is, "hell no!" My husband makes me giggle a bit lately because he'll tell me something last minute and I already have so much on my mind that he gets "the look". Haha! All of you married folks know just what I mean. When you've been with someone long enough, you begin to learn what each "look" means.  All of you who know me well, know too, that I have numerous expressions.

Overall though I feel most of what we need to take care of is taken care of. Last week I felt more stressed. This week is feeling a bit more relaxed. I'm all for feeling relaxed. I feel all will go as it should and we will get there with what we need and if not, then we'll find a place to get it or we will make do.

I'm so glad I have had the experience of packing enough to backpack through Europe for 5 weeks. It makes packing for a year, with the allowance of crates and suitcases rather than one big giant backpack, seem so much easier, and yet, it's still a pain in the butt because it was only a year ago we packed everything and moved it to the new house. So which is harder you ask? I'm not sure to be honest. Overall though, each are great fun in many ways because it's something new and something new to look forward to.

I think I'm like a kid in all this because I want to be done with packing and the flight and just get to the big show already. I'll try to write more each day up to the day of our flight and of course once we are in India. I know my writing right now is a bit more informative and not as journalistic but I'm new at all this so give me time. Soon there will be funny stories, more photos and so many other whimsy things to keep you smiling and laughing.

Have a good night everyone!

I have a few minutes before needing to grab the bags and head to the car to go to the airport so I thought, "hey, why not write a lil bit". I figured what better time to write about some of the interesting things I'm learning about Bangalore. Sandalwood is a major export here. We went into a government owned store that sells items that can be bought for gifts, your home, as souvenirs, you name it. Not all cities have them but I can tell you that Bangalore and Mumbai have them. Most often it's the tourist cities that will have them. Anyway, we went earlier today to one and the scent of sandalwood was astonishing inside. It smelled so lovely, a tad strong, but a nice smell to be a strong one I'd say. The level of incense in the store blew me away also. There was a counter, entire section of the store, that had so much incense in different forms from sticks to cones to sachets and more. My nose went crazy!

I also noticed, while being here this week, that there is a large Christian community. I was a little bit surprised. I didn't notice this as much while in Mumbai back in January/February. I know there are some but it seemed as though each corner had a church that was Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Assembly of God, or something else. The ones mentioned though you saw more of. There is a large Catholic community here. There are even Catholic schools and there's a Sacred Heart Church, which as anyone who is reading my blog is the name of the church I grew up going to.

Lastly there is a large military presence here. It actually makes it feel quite a bit safer. There is an aeronautics base here called HAL, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. They test and build aircrafts for military use. They even help with the building of the F18 which is a jet used by the U.S. AirForce.

I thought I'd also post a few photos on here that I took to be creative, funny or just informative. 

Alright, it's time to head out to the airport. See you soon Austin!