Mmmmmm, neatly packed truck? NOT
Garage with walking space for a skeleton
I unpacked 3 boxes with clothes, never before my laundry looked like this.
Thursday, 8 November 2012
Halloween
My darling husband still hasn't sorted out the Sri Lanka photos, so that blog will have to wait a bit longer...(I know, I could sort them out too, but it is something A loves to do and he is very particular about it).
Today I am sitting at home waiting for the movers to arrive with our personal belongings from Libya. Part of it was delivered to our house in NL and the rest of it will arrive on our doorstep in Bangalore today. Unpacking these boxes will give us final closure. This is it, what we get is all that is left from our possessions. Scary much, cause what is not there will never be returned...but at least is is closure after almost 2 years.
Another scary thing was our Halloween celebration here on Adarsh Vista. We never celebrated till last year when we jumped right in and helped organise and participate in the hunted house. This year our American friends transformed their house into a hunted house and we had great fun being ghouls for the night. Thanks Sheri and Darren for letting us be part of this and thanks for the photos!
Today I am sitting at home waiting for the movers to arrive with our personal belongings from Libya. Part of it was delivered to our house in NL and the rest of it will arrive on our doorstep in Bangalore today. Unpacking these boxes will give us final closure. This is it, what we get is all that is left from our possessions. Scary much, cause what is not there will never be returned...but at least is is closure after almost 2 years.
Another scary thing was our Halloween celebration here on Adarsh Vista. We never celebrated till last year when we jumped right in and helped organise and participate in the hunted house. This year our American friends transformed their house into a hunted house and we had great fun being ghouls for the night. Thanks Sheri and Darren for letting us be part of this and thanks for the photos!
Simon, myself and Ruben, ready for action
Simon, tied to the stairs, jumping out when people walk past
Ruben 'hiding' behind the bar
The lovely hosts....
Pumpkin art!
The rest of the crew
Sunday, 4 November 2012
Sad
Last Monday we got the sad news that my father's younger brother, my Godfather, had passed away at the age of 66. Unexpected and very sudden. Yesterday he was burried. Gone, just like that, leaving behind a lot of people that will miss him so much.
Monday, 29 October 2012
Back from Sri Lanka, but no time to blog...
This sort of sums up our holiday: elephants and Buddhas.
But there was more, much more. I have to sort out the photos first and then I will blog about our 8 days in Sri Lanka.
Monday, 15 October 2012
Visitors, part 3
After our mega day trip to the Jain temple, we were forced to spend a day at home because of a state wide strike. Adriaan, Ian and Joshua kept themselves busy with constructing a hot air balloon from a bin bag, copper wire and tea lights. They managed to let the balloon fly up for a few metres, one or two times and to burn the grass in our garden to a crisp.
Monica made her delicious Singapore Laksa for dinner.
On Sunday we went to Nandi Hills, just outside Bangalore. Again we took the small roads, through the villages and farm land.
We visited a temple at the foot of Nandi Hills and then drove up the hill and walked down through the botanical gardens.
We ended the day at Costa Coffee, Ian's favourite coffee place, and picked up KFC hot wings on the way home (Monica's choice junk food, jammy!)
On Monday I took Ian and Monica to the Bull Temple and we went Saree shopping. To finish off their sight seeing in Bangalore, we went to the uber luxurious UBCity mall for lunch.
I love having visitors (hint, hint) and it was wonderful to spend time with good friends. Who can we welcome next????
Monica made her delicious Singapore Laksa for dinner.
On Sunday we went to Nandi Hills, just outside Bangalore. Again we took the small roads, through the villages and farm land.
We visited a temple at the foot of Nandi Hills and then drove up the hill and walked down through the botanical gardens.
We ended the day at Costa Coffee, Ian's favourite coffee place, and picked up KFC hot wings on the way home (Monica's choice junk food, jammy!)
On Monday I took Ian and Monica to the Bull Temple and we went Saree shopping. To finish off their sight seeing in Bangalore, we went to the uber luxurious UBCity mall for lunch.
I love having visitors (hint, hint) and it was wonderful to spend time with good friends. Who can we welcome next????
Sunday, 14 October 2012
Visitors, part 2
After all the sight seeing in the villages, we finally made it to Sravanabelagola, to visit a famous Jain temple with the Gomateshvara statue.
Lonely Planet India:
A steep climb up 614 steps (once at the top we were sure it was double the amount of steps) takes you to the top of Vindhyagiri Hill, the summit of which is lorded over by the towering naked statue of Gomateshvara. ....carved out of a single piece of granite...in AD981.
We were greeted by several men who wanted to sell postcards and little trinkets. They showed us their merchandise and said "Maybe later?" instead of "Would you like to buy xyz". We had to laugh, but they didn't understand why it was funny.
At the bottom of the hill/rock we had to take off our shoes, but we were allowed to wear socks to protect our feet from the boiling hot stone.
The climb to the entrance of the temple was long and steep so we had to pause several times on the way up, to catch our breath. Inside the temple walls, we had to climb up even further to get to the statue, but it was worth it.
Lonely Planet India:
A steep climb up 614 steps (once at the top we were sure it was double the amount of steps) takes you to the top of Vindhyagiri Hill, the summit of which is lorded over by the towering naked statue of Gomateshvara. ....carved out of a single piece of granite...in AD981.
We were greeted by several men who wanted to sell postcards and little trinkets. They showed us their merchandise and said "Maybe later?" instead of "Would you like to buy xyz". We had to laugh, but they didn't understand why it was funny.
At the bottom of the hill/rock we had to take off our shoes, but we were allowed to wear socks to protect our feet from the boiling hot stone.
The climb to the entrance of the temple was long and steep so we had to pause several times on the way up, to catch our breath. Inside the temple walls, we had to climb up even further to get to the statue, but it was worth it.
View from halfway up
Almost 18m high, made out of 1 single block of granite!
We were blessed
Close look at the statue from the roof of the temple
This is what you missed, Monica ;-)
Because we took a long time getting to Sravanabelagola and a long time to climb up to the temple and look around, there was no time left to go to the other places we had planned to go to, but on the way back we got held up by a Ganesha procession. Another great photo opportunity!
Typical Karnataka dancers outfit
Ganesha on tour
All accompanied by this Indian Ghetto Blaster, if it is not loud it is not Indian
Friday, 12 October 2012
Visitors part 1
On the morning of my birthday, I went to the airport to pick up our friends Ian and Monica. They stayed with us for 6 days and I have a strong suspicion that someone somewhere shortened the days, because they flew by.
We have known Ian and Monica since our time in Tripoli. Ian was Adriaan's boss till the reorganisation, when Ian made the smartest move ever and retired at 51, making Adriaan really, really jealous. Monica and I have been friends since the day we met and are never out of topics for a nice, long conversation and a good laugh. We have spent many hours over coffees and lunches and I love her Singapore Laksa.
On Wednesday we celebrated my birthday, so poor Ian spent the afternoon having lunch with 11 women while trying to battle a jet lag. He soldiered through like a trooper!
On Thursday I took them to the slum, to show them the Anu project and to buy some handbags (Monica will have her very own handbag-room in the near future).
Adriaan was walking across the play ground of a little school on his way to a temple and the kids spotted him. They were very keen to have their picture taken by the tall, white Uncle and all of them wanted to shake his hand. It must have been at least 25C at that time, so I can't imagine how the boy in the jumper and woollen hat must have felt.
If the boy in the sweater and hat was warm, this guy must have been boiling. He was sitting inside the hut, keeping the fire going to cook the sugar water that the men outside were pressing out of the sugar canes.
We could only stay inside the hut for a little while, because the sticky air and the heat made it hard to breath.
All this just on the way to the temple...to be continued
We have known Ian and Monica since our time in Tripoli. Ian was Adriaan's boss till the reorganisation, when Ian made the smartest move ever and retired at 51, making Adriaan really, really jealous. Monica and I have been friends since the day we met and are never out of topics for a nice, long conversation and a good laugh. We have spent many hours over coffees and lunches and I love her Singapore Laksa.
On Wednesday we celebrated my birthday, so poor Ian spent the afternoon having lunch with 11 women while trying to battle a jet lag. He soldiered through like a trooper!
On Thursday I took them to the slum, to show them the Anu project and to buy some handbags (Monica will have her very own handbag-room in the near future).
Embroidering cement sacks to make into bags
Browsing through the tetra pack bags
After the shopping spree in the slum, we went to the Phoenix Mall for lunch, to experience the more luxurious side of Bangalore.
Adriaan had taken Friday off so we could go to see some sites outside Bangalore. We left with an ambitious plan to see 3 temples, but ended up only seeing 1, because we got side tracked in some little villages along the way that there was not enough time left.
When we go out on day trips, we prefer to take the smaller roads. This gives us the opportunity to see the villages and their people. We often stop to take photographs of village life.
Taking the outer skin off of the coconuts
A silk worm farm, the caterpillars are fed mulberry leaves
Adriaan was walking across the play ground of a little school on his way to a temple and the kids spotted him. They were very keen to have their picture taken by the tall, white Uncle and all of them wanted to shake his hand. It must have been at least 25C at that time, so I can't imagine how the boy in the jumper and woollen hat must have felt.
If the boy in the sweater and hat was warm, this guy must have been boiling. He was sitting inside the hut, keeping the fire going to cook the sugar water that the men outside were pressing out of the sugar canes.
We could only stay inside the hut for a little while, because the sticky air and the heat made it hard to breath.
The sugar cubes being stacked and packed
All this just on the way to the temple...to be continued
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