India first impression - a different kind of waow factor

We are in India the view from the plane was different to what we have seen in our previous landings.

Space seem to have a different meaning at least from up here, the land seems dry there is a haze, we are excited and scared of this new country we're setting foot on. We have been warned so many times about this countries different negative aspects we on our end being scared have warned the kids and as a result we are expecting well I'm not sure what we're expecting but it isn't positive.
As we landed we got a pre-paid taxi and got assigned taxi thirty three. A guard or what looked like a guard came up to us and said this man was not trust worthy and that we should take another taxi. I went on gut feeling and took the one assigned to us. The driver explained to us about how the other taxi had probably paid a commission to the guard in order to have him direct people to him.

People in India stare, it is a stare that is not averted when you look back, it is like a kid stare that looks at something he hasn't seen before it is a curious inquisitive stare, not a glance and like we are accustomed to it last too long we consider it impolite and tell our kids they shouldn't, yet here it is normal. Our noses are tickled by smells we don't know and can't yet quite define.
This car trip is different, lots of traffic people drive at one centimeter from bumper to bumper they honk all the time break only if really necessary, the rule seems to be, if you honk louder drive more aggressive and elbow yourself in front you'll be the first to get there, I wonder if there actually are rules on traffic. The HM Ambassador we were in seemed to have breaks that took ten times the distance it needed to bring the car to a stop. My experience is don't look through the front window, look around and the trip will be a relaxed one.
We have been eased into New Delhi by being hosted at the Ambassador of Portugal's residence in Channakyapuri. I hadn't seen Jorge and Maria many a year and we were welcomed like family. Jorge is still the same person busy and all absorbed by what he is doing, and Maria is as warm a person as my memory recalls. I say eased in because this is the diplomatic compound. it is not quite India yet, as a matter of fact you could say this is our first time in Portugal, technically speaking.

We took a cab to Lodi Gardens a beautiful park orderly filled with trees and plants a few old mosques in the middle of it. People are exercising, walking, runnig, visiting.
A great meal at our hosts residence and a good sleep brought us across our first night in India.
Humayun's Tomb was the first Indian monument we visited before hitting Old Delhi, an impressive palace looking place used as a mausoleum surrounded by gardens, it is said to be used as a prototype for the Taj Mahal.

On to Old Delhi.


The drive to here was different, more cars, more motor bikes, more people, rickshaws, and people and cars and motorbikes and...and more...and more... .

We passed a few 'repair shops' let me describe, thousands of scooter pieces on the floor just thrown there while motorcycles stopped to have something broken fixed. And more people and more cars and bikes and honking and more...and more.
We went to eat at Karim's apparently a must do, for our first Indian meal and although spicy we all had a feast. We decided to loose ourselves in the narrow streets of the old city The kids are not at ease to much noise, people, bikes, cars, honking and more...and more.

We took the smaller streets because the kids got overwhelmed by 'the more' and walked around for at least three hours. Shops and shops of beads, fruits, spices, bits of this and that, printers, carton cutters, iron casters, you can find just about anything here if you know where to look which, take my word for it is not an easy task.
We past a goat attached to a fence, two shops before passing the butcher displaying  a couple of similar goats heads, and more...and more, smells, colors stares.
We all fell in love with Old Delhi and are eager for more India.

Bye Thailand - Hello India

We have spent around seven weeks here, right in the middle of our trip.
Is it the time spent traveling, is it that we were so spoiled by the US and Oz, is it the culture shock of being the only white people and suddenly being the strangers or maybe we are just in need of stability?
Probably a cocktail of all of the above contributed to the fact that the Thai experience was a little overcast by feelings of tiredness, nostalgia and a mixture of we need a rest, a proper rest.
I am convinced that we also underestimated the actual living in and out a suitcase all the time as well as the strain of being together twenty four seven, anyway the last weeks of our Thai experience has been dominated by lazyness, sports, beach...,visiting islands a real holiday in the proper sense.
The South of Thailand makes way for amazing scenery, the coral islands left above sea level due to the lowering of the water over the year provided us of dream views set in the middle of the blue green waters.
Lolo visiting us was a breath of home and we always seemed to run out of saliva from all the talking we did.
The kids are going through some changes and seem to finally settle down a little (I am very apprehensive as I am typing this, it's usually enough to even think about it for all hell to break loose).

Thailand has nevertheless been an amazing experience, bringing with it more introspection on our part. It has allowed us to rest our bodies and minds and that way make us eager to explore India and travel again. This place is really the land of a thousand smiles even if sometimes it is just a smile and a yes meaning "I didn't undestand a word you said, so I guess saying yes seems the right thing to do".
A switch of mind has taken place, the pace is different people think different and express themselves from a different view point, for example if you ask someone if they haven't got something and they say "yes" it actually means "no I haven't got it". Val had a lot of difficulties with that one.
Val - "Do you have a diet coke"
Thai - smiling "yes"(I didn't get that)
Val - "where is the diet coke"
Thai - smiling broader "yes"(what are you on about)
Val - slightly agravated "NO DIET COKE?"
Thai - still smiling "yes" (no I don't).

A little bracket about my last Thai massage by the 'mama' of the place. This lady found every muscle that was hurting and went on a mission to cure my tensions resulting in quite a painful experience with me having NO say in the matter.
Thai massage is purely pressure and stretching and 'mama Sunee' was using her hands, elbows, feet and heels to 'help' me. As a result I got rolled over, pulled, poked, walked on, had heels and elbows put on me as if I was hard dough needing loosening up. Whenever the pain was getting to much because on the pressure she was putting on (it seemed like IN) my muscles and i would say something or moan, 'mama Sunee' would triple her pressure and say "I know bat you need too, good far you lelak later". As a result I tried to be as quite as possible whenever I was hurting, which didn't help at all cause she was feeling it all, and ended up my ninety minutes of torture with a shoulder I couldn't move any more. Sunee told me that I should be very relaxed today no moving no swimming nothing. The same evening my shoulder loosened up and it has never been so relaxed, I wonder if the expression 'no pain no gain' was invented in Sunee's massage parlour?

In conclusion we are ready to leave this country with a mixture eagerness and apprehension for India. The kids will surely keep an unforgettable memory of here as Thai people are extremely kid friendly.
For myself I like this country a lot it is certainly not the most beautiful place so far but it's friendliness and warmth is special. We were disapointed with the commercial touristy side of it and the dollar sign in peoples eyes at times especially down South nevertheless we will keep a great souvenir of this country (and it's mosquito's).
We feel rested if not so much physically for sure it gave us the opportunity to re-center ourselves.

Sawadee kap Thailand.

Club Med Phuket

You can say whatever you want but since the first time in six month the kids are taken care of from nine am to nine pm with an hour and a half to wash them at 5. What a relief on everyone's end.
They craved age peers and activities as much as we craved peace and quiet.
Matthew and Julian are having a blast whether it's Matt showing of on stage or Djudj climbing on the trapeze they are both open to any action coming there way. Lots of Asians especially Chineese here and Julian in his usual discrete approach manages to conquer all no matter what nationality, he mingles so easily and does it so unobtrusively.
Everyone knows Matt who talks and speaks to just about anyone (wonder who he's got that from).
We can finally hear each other think, have a talk without having to watch say or run anywhere. We are having a reaaaaal holiday. A much needed re-charge of batteries.
Now this may sound bizarre to some of you, traveling is fantastic, taking a year of is great but boy does it drain you energy to pack unpack move on and on all the time and that without mentioning the constant attention we have to give one another other even when we give each other space.
I suppose one of the things I learned is, although I never realized it before, how much time one needs alone in order to re-orden and look at one self in order to get a bit of perspective.
This week has been close to that and although I am blessed with a family that gives me space at times, I crave a spiritual retreat of some sort, I know Val feels the same way and can actually see the kids going through exactly that due to the fact that they are not together nor with us.
We are recharging our batteries to move on in our years adventure, we are slowly getting the into start exploring again moodas opposed to the heaviness that resided five days ago where no destination seemed to trigger anything.
I am having some tummy problems, funny enough I had a European breakfast this morning instead of an asian noodle soup...
Big day on the thirteenth for those who know what I am talking about, I called up the crew and was promised a cake, is it the irregularity of attendance that gets me psyched I don't know, but I am grateful to all who have contributed to who I am today either by support, knowledge, joy or aggravation.
Thank you and thanks to that Power taking care of me and my family.