A word from Belinda:

Wow what a culture shock! Coming back to Australia I mean... It takes a very short stay to be seduced by India and all she has to offer. Within a few days one really feels like a part of this chaotic yet organised ecosystem. Arrived home Monday morning and drove back through Sydney in traffic  once thought of as heavy but now seemed very orderly. Three lanes were really three lanes with traffic even travelling in the same direction!! Quite a contrast to; if you can manoeuvre then go, not necessarily with the flow and cars are interspersed with people, carts, took tooks, pushbikes, motorbikes, dogs, not to mention the occasional elephant or camel. The horn is a constant sound used as a polite tool rather than an aggressive reaction.  The people are warm and welcoming with great dignity in spite of their level of what we term 'wealth'. In sooo many ways they are very rich especially with the amount of smiles they spontaneously have to give away!!.
Would recommend India to everyone at least once in a lifetime xx I for one will surely go again for much longer next time as we had such a small taste. As  the saying goes " You do not decide to go to India; India calls you"

Last Day in India

The last few days have been jam packed as usual! We are on our last day now and its the third day of the Model United Nations conference at Sanskriti School. The kids have been awesome, they have learnt so much about themselves, about extending themselves and realising that these Indian kids are just normal kids, like themselves.

The first day at the school the kids made some new friends and also had a lesson teaching Year 4 about Australia. Our kids were in their element! Ayisha and Claudia had the kids eating out of their hand, and Kaitlyn was looking like a natural teacher. The three day MUN has been intense at times and we have been so proud of how our kids have performed.

Had a speed shopping session at Dilli Haart Market the other night. I was ably assisted by Dayal and Saul who were excellent shopping partners! I think Saul was stunned by my effiency :)

Last night we attended the disco put on by Sanskriti. It was fantastic! The kids had a ball. The Aussies were the first to hit the dance floor and thats when the party started! You shoulda seen them dance. Belinda and I voted Liam and Jack best dancers. Steve came a close third when he let loose with The Steve Shuffle (as it has become known). It was a really fun night.

Only the closing ceremony to go this afternoon, then we will have to say good bye to our new friends. It will be sad to leave India, but it will be wonderful to get home and see our beautiful families.

love to all.

No photos still. Its a techno glitch. Its India;) SM

Message from home!!

Well the traveling surfermums sound like they are having a fantastic time in India. The near daily updates are awesome and am lovin' the photos. (We do need to see photos of you on those elephants though!!).
The last few days of holidays here at home have been beautiful. Nice wave rolling in at "The Reef", water temp really nice (even for a frog like me) and a friendly chat out the back with a few other locals between waves. Then........ had to go back to work!!! I guess that's what makes us appreciate it when it is good.

Am really looking forward to our next MOB surf - must plan a weekender again soon.

TRAVEL SAFE GIRLS - Can't wait for the stories!!

K8 X

Back in Delhi

We have set a new record! The bus trip from Jaipur to Delhi was over 6 hours long and we did it all without a toilet break! We are seasoned travelers these days. Traveling anywhere over here seems to take a lot longer than you might think. But the time seems to fly anyway because we are busy taking in all the sights. There is plenty to look at in India! (mind you, we might be getting used to it because the elephant plodding down the street last night hardly raised an eyebrow...!)

Yesterday we had a tour of the stunning Amber Fort in Jaipur. I could never do it justice trying to describe it but this place was impressive! It's got it all - size, history, a mirror room (!!!) and an elephant ride to the top to kick it off. The kids had a blast. They are like sponges at the moment , soaking it all up. Unfortunately I can't get any photos up here today, best rest assured the kids are still smiling!

Today we visit an underprivileged school where we will spend the day with the kids. Hopefully get you some pics later. Bye!
SM

Jaipur tonight

We just had the funnest expedition around the streets of Jaipur! After the monsoon rains came down this afternoon there was a lot of doubt as to whether us westerners would be able to walk around the streets without drowning/slipping/getting run over, but Steve Our Fearless Leader led us out amongst the people and it was great! We traipsed around like the novelty white Aussies that we are, getting lots of stares and waves (which our kids love!). We met some beautiful Indian kids and made some friends. The kids who chose to step out of the hotel into the big bad world got a lot out of it.



This is yesterday at the Taj Mahal. Everyone agreed it was a wonderful experience and the atmosphere is peaceful and beautiful. I find it amazing that such a populated and busy city does open spaces so well! My last post was titles "Here we are in Heaven" because the whole place has an exterior wall that acts as a barrier to the outside world and when you get into the inner part where the Taj is, it is supposed to replicate what it would be like in Heaven. :)

Back to today: after our adventure on the streets of Jaipur, Bel and I took the group into a textile factory thinking that we would have a quick look...about 2 hours later we emerged with loads of goodies and more to pick up tomorrow! The girls are having saris made up and they will be ready by 7.30am (it was 8pm at the time). That's India! The photo below shows Claudia and Kaitlyn at the back whilst the boys bring out more saris to show them. This was also a kind of heaven. :)

We also visited Fatepur Sikri today but I can only get the photos off the ipad right now and some silly person has taken some good ones but they are upside down... not something I can fix right now. Soz.

But I can put this one up, isn't it beautiful?

And this: East meets West. These are the kind of novelty photos our kids get taken. I think Saul might put this one in his CV.

love ya lots.

SM

Here we are in heaven

The Taj was fantastic! Architecture normally ain't my thing but the atmosphere is serene and the building itself is merging toward art. Gotta run. No Internet.

SM

Pics from Delhi

This is not the Taj Mahal. It's another beautiful mausoleum in Delhi.
Caroline - if you are out there, I hope you can copy these for the AGT blog. We are having a great time. Today will be a different scene I think as we will travel 3 hrs away to Agra and see some more interesting sights of India.
As you can see, getting photos to you ain't so simple. :)

First day in delhi

Wow! Delhi is crazy,amazing,inspiring! The cIty of Delhi is testament to mankind's ability to co-operate.

We saw some incredible sights today. Some make us shake our heads in amazement, some that make us marvel at the resilience of the Indian people, and many that illustrate the differences between our two worlds.

What amazing food! (Husband will be soooo jealous) -curries for breakfast, lunch and tea! 

It's interesting to note that we are the unusual ones over here. We've been photographed by curious 
onlookers and Amelia won over a sweet Indian family with a tiny baby.

I have only now managed to get some Internet, so will hopefully post more tomorrow - off to the Taj in the morning. Hope all is well back home, I love and miss my gorgeous family! (Bel says hi too, but she's snoozing right now.)
SM
Arrgh!!! Technology and I are at loggerheads at the mo! I'll fix that photo tomorrow. Goodnight.

From Pt Plomer to Delhi

As seems to be the way with us jet setting surfermums these days, Bel and I are off to India on Thursday.

The Indian government doesn't officially know the population of India because there are so many people living in slums etc, unaccounted for. It is an entire universe away from the safe little hub that I live in where the population is all accounted for and tucked up in their nice warm homes at night. 

Last Friday afternoon Husband and I enjoyed some fun little waves in the winter sunshine at Pt Plomer - all to ourselves! There was no-one else in the water. Just how we like it. This Friday I will be in one of the most populated cities in the world where millions have never seen the sea, let alone surfed the warm east coast waters of Australia... with a couple of locals for company. We have got it good, no matter what the politicians tell us about how bad things are.

I know we are in for an exciting adventure and an eye opening experience. See you in Delhi!

SM