Heather's Blog

I always have the best of intentions...

2006-06-08T08:44:00.001-07:00

Here are a few things that I need to update you on:
1. March - My birthday long weekend trip to Goa
2. April - My cousin's visit/ trip to Goa part 2
3. May - Salim's week-long (for me, at least) birthday trip to Thailand

A few of you may be noticing a trend here. We seem to be going to every place twice. I have no idea why. At the end of June, we are planning a trip to South Africa. Who knows, we might go there twice before we leave India. I do know I MUST get to the Taj Mahal at some point, just once, so that I can hold my head high when I get backto the States.

How could I forget about Thailand!?!?

2006-01-26T04:30:00.000-08:00

After purusing my own blog (is that conceited or what?) I realized I had completely forgotten to post some pictures from Thailand. Thailand is an amazing place. I was able to get a whole week off thanks to Diwali, so we planned to spend the most amount of time on a beach then explore Bangkok a little at the end. Salim did most of the planning. I just sat back and enjoyed the ride.

We flew directly from Hyderabad to Bangkok, then flew down to Koh Samui. If the airport is any indication of the locale, I knew we were in for an amazing trip. The airport looks like an open-air bar. There are these little Disneyland-like trolleys that take you from the plane to the airport. We picked up our bags on the outdoor converyor belt and found our ride to the resort. The guy was late, but he made up for it by bringing his wife and adorable son along for the trip. We played with the little boy the whole way. It was late when we got to the resort, so we had to pick our bungalow in the dark. Fortunately for us there is no such thing as a 'bad' bungalow in this place. We decided to upgrade for a mere $20 a night to the deluxe suite. I have no idea what the real difference was between the deluxe and non-deluxe, but we were so happy in our little home for a week. We were steps from the ocean, had our own lanai, and easy access to the pool.

We quickly fell into a routine of waking up and going to the free breakfast buffet, putting on our suits and swimming in the calm blue-green water for a few hours, eating Thai food for lunch, then Salim would usually go to town on the mopeds we rented to shop while I sat on the lanai to read a book. It was luxurious. One night we went in to the main part of town to watch some Muy Thai fights. It was sort of like a bar that happened to have a boxing ring in the middle of it. It was hot, and like everywhere else, the fighters were on island time, so Salim and I had quite a few beers before we realized it. This led to me almost adopting a small, wild kitty that followed us out of the arena until a group of prostitutes snatched her up and we lost her forever. In my heart of hearts, I knew we could never work out.

The water, the food, the people - they were all amazing. I certainly didn't want to leave. We spent five days there, then headed back to Bangkok. We went to one of the open-air markets to shop the one day I was there, and Salim was clearly smitten. He was in heaven. So much so, in fact, that he changed his flight so that he could stay on for a few days. He keeps asking when my company will open an office THERE. I only wish.

Happy...and Sad

2006-01-26T03:35:00.000-08:00

I'm back in India after a whirlwind 3 week trip to the States. I swear my head is still spinning. Salim and I flew from Hyderabad, to Singapore, to LA, to SF to Chicago to Indy then drove to Evansville in the first three days, if that tells anything about the pace of the trip.

I spent two glorious weeks with my family and played with my new nephew Simon. I will try not to gush, but man, is that boy handsome and smart. I will post a few of the hundreds of photos I took of him on his own blog if you want to see him. Seriously, he is the happiest full-head-of-hair, two-teeth-having kid I have ever seen. And he has eyelashes that would compete with a dragqueen's. I'm so jealous. Check them out here.I had to say goodbye way too soon to him and the rest of my family so that I could head back to SF to attend a conference.

I flew in on a Sunday, and my friend Elizabeth flew in the next morning for a visit. Salim's parents where there already so it was a full house! I had to split my time between all the company and the conference, so I'm not sure I did any one group the justice it deserved. I must say though, that I have never felt so loved in my life. Thank you to all of you that squealed when you saw me and remembered my name. I have been MIA for so long that I was certain I wouldn't be remembered.

It was amazing to be back in SF, our apartment, and our neighborhood. We found out while were in India that the landlord was trying to evict us. There was a hearing and we are very lucky because while we have to pay a little more rent, we still have a home. The prospect of being homeless definitely helps you appreciate what you have.

I was so great to see everyone and eat thai food. It makes it very hard to be back here in India, especially since Salim is still in SF. The team that I work with definitely help, though. They truly are amazing people, and this is an amazing experience. A few thousand people asked me when I will be back to stay, and I just don't know. It's hard to be so torn between two totally different places. I love my job and the opportunities I have here, but I feel like my life is on hold. I am so lucky to have all that I have. Let's end on that before I get too sappy. I miss you all already...

Mumbai

2005-11-05T09:00:00.000-08:00

Mumbai was a last minute trip that Salim and I took. Mumbai is a huge, huge city that is completely polluted. Coming in on the airplane we saw miles of slums and layers of smog. The drive from the airport to our hotel was surprisingly civilized. I am beginning to truly believe Hyderabad is the craziest city to drive/travel by car in.

This first picture is of the Gateway of India. This was were we caught a ferry to take us out to Elephanta Island.

To get to Elephante Island, you ferried across a small part of the Arabian Sea. While on the ferry, some of the families made a game of throwing their juice boxes and other garbage overboard. The child would toss it, and the whole family would clap. This is probably the least of the problems in Mumbai given the amount of poverty, air pollution, and water pollution from the oil refineries, but it hurt my heart nevertheless. We were told to avoid seafood while in Mumbai. After that trip across the water, I realized what great advice that was.

We got off the ferry and walked the 100+ steps up to the temple. It was a still, hot, hot day and we were both drenched by the time we got to the top. Salim was sure there was something wrong with him he was sweating so much. There were guys at the base of the steps that would actually carry you to the top of the staircase for a small fee. I kid you not.

Some details in the temple. Most of the sculptures were damanged in some way becaused there were used as target practice during the Dutch (or maybe English??) occupation.

Hampi

2005-11-05T08:11:00.000-08:00

If you want a painful detailing of the train system in India, please take a moment to read Salim 's posting on Hampi. Basically, we boarded at night for our 12 hour journey, *tried* to sleep, used the bathroom once and only once because it was a nasty, urine soaked hole in ground (literally), got off asap and tried not to think of the trip home until absolutely necessary.

The ruins made the trip worthwhile. I've posted a few of my favorite, but I have over 100 if you are interested in more. The place was unbelievable for two reasons:
1. You could go anywhere, literally. There were no off limits signs or ropes cordoning off delapidated stairways, etc.
2. We had this hilarious tour guide constantly screaming, 'hello, excuse me, please come...' the first day that entertained us for hours.

This is one of the main temples in Hampi. There was a great bizarre at the entrance of it. We spent a lot of time and rupees there. There were a lot of kids around and they were fascinated with us. This little boy was so stoked to get a couple of pieces of fruit. I just had to take his picture.

Yeah...

2005-11-05T07:47:00.000-08:00

So... it's been a while since I last updated. Things have been crazy. I was traveling for the past few weekends in a row. Here is the list of places:
1. Hampi - took a train to a World Heritage Cente r for the weekend
2. Sri Lanka - yes, again. Love that place!
3. Chennai - recruiting trip for work & saw little to none of the city
4. Mumbai (Bombay) - long weekend in a megacity with Salim for shits and giggles
5. Thailand - 5 days on Koh Samui and a couple in Bangkok

Pictures to come.

Saamra's Wine and Cheese party

2005-09-12T21:24:00.000-07:00

It started out so innocently. We were all going to meet up at Saarma's apartment to celebrate her quarter of a century in a calm and adult-like fashion. The ladies had created quite a spread with various cheeses and breads. There was even some smoked salmon and pasta salad. Quite nice.

Things started to change ever so slightly as we progressed through our 5th bottle of wine. Suddenly, there was dancing, singing, and Josh riding on a small neighbor child's bike in the middle of the living room. I don't divulge secrets, so I won't go in to more detail, but I will post a telling photograph. Needless to say, we all had a very good time and finished off 10 bottles of wine, one bottle of coconut whiskey (arrack), and a few Bacardi Breezers...

Photographic Proof That I Left Hyderabad

2005-09-11T04:44:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka

2005-09-11T03:36:00.000-07:00

So I finally made it out of Hyderabad. At the very last minute, Salim and I decided to go to Sri Lanka! It was incredible. We flew in to Colombo and I had my first taste of beef in 5 months. yeehaw... We drove 3 hours south from Colombo to Bentota, and stayed at the Taj Exotica. Bentota is a tiny little beach town that I could call home very easily. Since we only had 3 days, we decided to do nothing but play in the sun and eat and the Taj Exotica was the PERFECT place to do that.

Our room had a view of the pool and ocean, so the first thing we did was tap into the minibar for red wine then went directly to the lanai. We got to the hotel just as the sun was setting. We took a few pictures and since we were feeling decadent, ordered room service for dinner and called it a night. Saturday was gorgeous, and we order more room service and had breakfast on the lanai (sensing a theme?). Afterwards, we jumped into our suits and went to the beach to play in the Indian Ocean. The water was was warm, the sand was so soft and the waves were scary but fun! I had my first experience with getting stung by a jellyfish, which is not as exciting as it sounds. We dried off on the beach and bought two wraps from a local for 800 Sri Lankan rupees (about $8 US) . Next stop was the pool. Did I mention the swim-up bar? We hung out there all afternoon, and I tested the limits of my sunblock. By the end of the day I was fried, tired and SO relaxed.

That night Salim and I had booked a table on the lawn of the hotel's Asian restaurant. When we got there, we were the only people there! It was like they had opened the entire restaurant for us. They had set up a table with a white table cloth in the middle of the lawn a few feet from the ocean. We dined by candlelight under the stars and felt like royalty. A few more tables started showing up as we were finishing, but we had the lawn to ourselves for quite some time.

The next day, Sunday, I realized just how burnt I was and decided to skip direct sunlight. Salim had arranged an elephant ride on the beach, which was so cool! I did not have any desire to ride it, but it was great to pet it and feed it whole pineapples. Afterward, we found a couple of pool chairs in the shade and relaxed by the water. Later that evening, we went gem shopping. Sri Lanka is known for it's gems, so we thought we should see what it was all about. We went to one gem shop and spent ages looking at things. They had a little museum next to the shop as well as some workers creating pieces of jewelry. We got a little something to remember the vacation, but I think we were a disappointment to the jeweler that kept insisting on showing us 2.5 karat rubies. All that shopping wore us out so we went back to the room for a room service dinner then bed.

Monday came way too quickly. I was so sad. Luckily, our flight was a little later in the afternoon, so we spent the morning lounging. Packing was so hard because I did not want to leave. We had room service one last time then said goodbye to our little haven. The drive back to Colombo was miserable. We had the worst driver. My theory is that he was used to driving a tuk-tuk, not a full-sized care, because he had no idea of the size of the car he was driving. He would brake and honk incessantly at things that were many feet away. Salim's theory is that it was his first day driving. I felt like the drive back practically undid all of the relaxation I had gotten while in Bentota. We finally made it to the airport in one piece and got on our flight fairly painlessly. We are back home and planning our next vacation. I am officially addicted.

2005-07-20T23:55:00.000-07:00

Tiny sleeping baby

2005-06-14T06:07:00.000-07:00

Simon opens his eyes!

I'm an Auntie!

2005-06-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let you know that my sister had her baby on Sunday, June 12! It's a boy, and they named him Simon Porter. He was 7.12 lbs and 21 inches long. As you can see from the photos, boyfriend has a mess of hair! I can't believe he is finally here. I won't get to see him until Christmas (sad) but hopefully we will meet over the webcam soon. I hope he doesn't mind getting his first glimps of me on a computer screen.

Let the shopping begin!

Getting around

2005-04-24T20:36:00.000-07:00

We have about 5 drivers that take care of the expats here in Hyderabad. We call one person, Ismael, to organize a ride if we need it, and the drivers show up to take us where we need to go. It's fantastic, and very fortunate for us, because not only do they drive on the left side, but traffic rules seem to be completely optional.

People come at you from any direction at any time, and the lines on the road don't necessarily mean anything. There are water buffalo, pedestrians, carts, tractors, fruit vendors, mopeds, bicyclists, motorcycles (with around 4 people on on them at a time), Rickshaws, water tankers, buses and other cars that make for an interesting trip. If you happen to get behind one of those water buffalo, pedestrians, cart, etc, and you want to pass - no worries! You just honk your horn until they move, or cross over the line into oncoming traffic to pass. It's good fun.

The road conditions don't help matter much either. You can be driving along on the same street you were on the day before, and suddenly it will be under repair with no warning signs or indication other than the elephant-sized hole in the ground.

I haven't taken any trips by car out of the city yet, but I've heard that's even more of an experience. In the city, you are forced to drive slowly since the areas are usually so congested. In the outskirts of town, however, there is still the 'no rules' policy, but at 60 mph. Needless to say, we all buckle up when we get in the car no matter what. Safety first!

The Trip...

2005-04-14T19:23:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

I promised those I love and cherish that I would try to keep a blog of the things that are happening on the other side of the world. I thought I should start with the trip over, and a few photos I took in Singapore.

I was lucky enough to be able to travel with three other co-workers on this huge trip. Lauren, Adam, Aradhana (Arod) and I were able to entertain each other for the various stints in airports. We left SFO around 1:30 am on Thursday (4/7/05), and sat for the next 14 hours on a plane. It was the longest plane leg of the journey, but it actually went by very quickly. I slept for almost 8 hours!

We landed in Hong Kong and I spent $30 on six bottles of water, then we got back on a plane.

This trip was from Hong Kong to Singapore. We arrived in Singapore and signed up for a free tour of the city to help the 7 hour layover go by quickly. The tour was ok, but we were so tired by that time that it was all a great time to our sleep deprived minds. I'll post some photos below. Please remember that I was very tired...

Finally, our last leg of the journey was from Singapore to Hyderabad. For me, this was by far the worst flight. I was so tired, but I wanted to stay awake to adjust my body clock. Our seats didn't recline and the entire plane was dark so it was a battle the whole time. I was immensely relieved to arrive in Hyderabad, and the expats that were already here all came down to meet us at the airport. They gave us these huge, amazingly fragrant lei that went down to our knees and directed us through the choas.

Our apartment is great. I share a flat with Lauren, Arod and Regina. The rooms have their own bathrooms, but we share common spaces and a kitchen. Oh, and did I mention we have a houseboy and a chef? The chef, Ranjit, is so sweet, and he thinks that we are all starving at any given time. He makes enough food for 12 people. The houseboy doesn't speak English, but he smiles a lot and giggles if you try to talk to him.

I think I've adjusted to the time change fairly well, but I have manage to get a terrible cold my first week. I have no voice whatsoever right now, and haven't for about 24 hours. I feel ok, but I just can't talk. Everyone is so sweet, and they are all offering their favorite remedies.

I found out yesterday that I am going to be managing a group of about 30 people here. I'm so excited! The whole team is so enthusiastic, and the people on my team seem so thrilled that I'm here. I'm sure that excitement will die down once they get to know me. :)

I'm outty for now, but I will try to keep this updated whenever I can.

2005-04-14T06:50:00.000-07:00

Sculpture

2005-04-14T06:49:00.000-07:00

Fountain

2005-04-14T06:48:00.000-07:00

Theater and Cultural Arts building in Singapore

2005-04-14T06:47:00.000-07:00

Singapore

2005-04-14T06:46:00.000-07:00

Singapore