Okay so I am back from India and am feeling like *crap* right now. I arrived back at about 13:00 Friday and after a shower and change of clothes I hit the pub for some drinking. I didn’t fair to well and by 20:30 was in a taxi and on my way back to bed. Saturday I mainly spent lounging around the house feeling rough. I think I might need a few months in hospital (Man Flu). Today I got up about 10:00 and I must admit to feeling a little spaced out. This morning was good and I got some stuff done, but now I don’t really trust myself to do anything.

I’m therefore going to publish this and get my head down for an hour and see if that helps. More later!

So another busy week that finished with the announcement of my promotion and return to the UK. It’s now official I will be flying back to the UK on 11th July and taking up my new position as Senior Manager Systems Support. I will be sharing my time equally between the UK and India for the next month or so until my replacement starts, so expect to be even busier than normal, if that’s possible.

I have really enjoyed my time in India and have learnt a lot and made some good friends but I am looking forward to the new challanges ahead. I haven’t really missed anything about the UK until now, but with my flight booked I can’t help think about a nice roast beef dinner and a few beers with friends and family.

Tags: Sickness, Travel

Okay standard busy week, however this week I was given the task of trying to get through it with a bad dose of Delhi Belly, It hit me Wednesday lunch time, by Thursday morning I didn’t trust myself to be more than 3ft from the bathroom. So Thursday and Friday I worked from home and suffered. Yesterday I felt a lot better but darn hungry as I hadn’t eaten for two days, and hacked off as I had been stuck in the apartment.

So to cheer myself up Laurence and I headed for ambience mall and a KFC. The idea being something familiar (Junk Food) might help me. After that we headed to the cinema and watched “Sex and the City”. Now I loved the TV series and the film was just a good, especially in Gold Class.

Today I slept in until 13:00 and the plan is to do nothing but lay on the sofa and watch TV. I might venture out for a walk early evening when it cools down, but I’ll see how I feel.

Tags: Cinema, Food, Friends

Okay so today I spoke to my banks (Nationwide) fraud department, and a really helpful and informative guy called Steve. He took all the details and then told me what I wanted to hear. He told me that I was fully covered and that the money would be refunded in the next couple of days.

He went on to tell me how this problem is quite prolific in Asia and one of the biggest markets for stolen card details at present is Austraila. Now I am not 100% sure how true that is, but he is the man in the know and I have no reason to not trust him.

Tags: Travel, Money

So last night both Laurence and I agreed we needed to get out and do something. Gurgaon isn’t the most happening place on the planet and you generally are reduced to drinking and dancing. We both had work to do today so drinking had to be moderate, and as for the dancing, well English men don’t unless they are drunk. Known fact. We decided therefore on a rather more subtle evening.

Karan picked us up at 18:30 and we headed to Harriez, Gurgaons first revolving resturant, maybe even India’s, for dinner. After a rather nice chicken sizzler steak and a couple of beers we headed for the new Ambience mall out on national highway (NH) 8. They have a new PVR cinema there with a Gold Class theatre. The normal cinema costs about Rs 200 (£2.36) and the gold class weighed in at Rs 500 (£5.90). This extra entitles you however to a full lazy boy leather 180 degree reclining chair, and at seat service. I will never be able to visit any other cinema again.

We saw the incredible Hulk, which was pretty good but not what I would call movie of the year material. The special effects were pretty cool but the plot was a little thin and predictable. It did however get both of us out of our respective apartments for the evening and made a welcome change.

Today I woke up nice and early, okay about 08:00. I grabbed a couple of slices of marmite on toast and a glass of mixed fruit juice and caught up on the news [web}. After a shower I sat done and managed to get into the work I needed to do very easily. I managed to get everything done by about 15:00 and then managed to catch up with Mum and Dad via Skype.

I have now done my washing, life in the fast lane, and ordered my shopping, including beer. This afternoon will be spent on the soft with a couple of cold ones watching movies.

Tags: Beer, Food, Friends, Movies

Dam....Dam....Dam....Well it’s happened to me! I am now officially a statistic. Checking my bank account today, like I do on a regular basis, I noticed a rather large transaction that I know I didn’t make.

20 June 2008 Crazy Johns SOUTH YARRA. 2,516.00AUD at 2.07 £1212.80

Now I have never been to Australia, although in the last Month I have been in India, Thailand, India, the UK, and India again, and have used my bank card in all three countries. I always try to take as much care as possible, and have a dedicated credit card I use abroad to avoid such occurances, but it looks like I have come unstuck this time.

I have phoned my bank, who have suspended my bank card and are going to issue new ones, but it means I am going to have some fun getting access to money for a while. The real pain is I have to wait until Monday before I can speak to the fraud department and start the process to reclaim the money.

In the meantime I have contacted the company concerned (http://www.crazyjohns.com.au/) and spoken via there online helpd to a BenN. He was very helpful and promised to send all the details to his fraud department.

Why did I contact the company concerned? Well the thing about theives is there generally not as clever as they think they are and often try to use the same company again and again. More over as this company deals in Mobile phones that is even more likely as they are easyily distrabuted and often in demand. The theif can offer them below market rate (Well they didn’t cost him anything) and the client, while suspecting its too good to be true, often can’t resist the opportunity to get there hands on the latest phone at a reduced price.

Tags: Travel, Money

So while I was waiting to board the ferry from Koh Tao to Koh Sumai I made the school boy error of checking my BlackBerry. I had an urgent mail stating the I was needed (Work) back in the UK. So after arriving Sunday night I went into the office on Monday morning to say hello to everyone, pick up my plane tickets, and then say goodbye again.

I flew out of New Delhi Tuesday afternoon and arrived about 19:00 BST that night. It was about 20:30 by the time I got home. By this time my body didn’t know what time of what day it was, or if it was time for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I resolved myself to get something to eat and go to bed.

Wednesday morning I woke up about 04:30 and got ready for work. It was lovely being in my own house with all my own stuff around but reality set in as I drove to the train station and tried to find a parking space. After finding one the horror set in as I realised it was now £6 per day to park. I purchased my train ticket and (another horror) and boarded the train. It felt kind of strange but I did enjoy seeing the lush countryside whisk by. I arrived at Londaon Waterloo and boarded the drain to Bank and then walked the 10 minutes to the office.

All the time it felt kind of strange, as if I was a visitor or maybe even a tourist. I arrived at the office and said hello to the guys and girls I haven’t seen in a year and then went into three days of meetings.

By the time Saturday arrived I was just getting used to the time zone but was dreading the flight back and adjusting to IST again. I decided to worry about that when it came and met up with friends and family. The last time I had seen my niece she was only a week old and she had grown quite a bit. My nephew was the monster I had left behind and some, although he didn’t need anytime to get used to me this time.

It was great to see everyone again and as I left for Heathrow on Sunday I was aware that it was only two months until I return home. As I arrived a New Delhi IGI I felt strangly comfortable. I would go as far as saying more comfortable that I felt arriving at London Heathrow.

The last two weeks have been work, work, and more work, with a duty manager shift last weekend. This means I hadn’t had a day off in three weeks. So yesterday I took a day off. I needed to get my foot checked as I had cut it while diving and I think all the walking around London had opened it back up to the point where I have spent the last two weeks hobbling around the office like a 90 year old man. The doctor gave (well sold) me some cream and bandages but told me to keep it open to the air as much as possible and told me to stop wearing shoes until hit had healed more. The rest of the day I spent shopping as I have been living on takeouts and fast ood for the last too weeks and really need some wholesome food, and catching up on personal stuff.

I have a bunch of work todo before Monday, and am going to do a couple of hours today before going for dinner and then the cinema with Laurence. Tomorrow will be a work day.

Tags: Beer, Family, Food, Friends, Travel

Wow, it has been over a month since my last entry but at least I have something to blog about. Well that’s not quite true, I actually have a lot to blog about! Now the hard bit is deciding where to start.

So in my last post I was Duty Manager and trapped in my apartment in India planning my trip to Thailand, so let’s start there. Well on the Monday Chris Gothard, a collegue from the UK arrived in order to meet the team and discuss a few organisation changes. It was a great week and Chris enjoyed putting names to faces and catching up with people that he had only spoken to previously via the phone and email. It was a busy week with a lot of stuff to cover but we got through everything and even resolved some long outstanding issues. Sometimes its just so much easier when you can sit down and discuss things. Friday was Chris and Sandra’s last day in India before they flew back to the UK so there was a big party to see them off. I think most people from the team in India made it along at some point and judging by the fact you couldn’t get on the dance floor I think everybody had a great time.

Saturday morning I woke up feeling a lot better than I expected to given the amount I had poured down my neck. I love a free bar! Karan was prompt as usual and after manhandeling my suit case into the car we headed for Delhi’s IGI Airport. I arrived with plenty of time to spare but I was in holiday mode and didn’t care as I sat there listening to my iPod watching the world go by. We boarded the plane, and my backside struggled to get use to the economy seats. Thankfully it was only a three hour flight and after few beers to top up Friday nights quota I was soon asleep.

We touched down at Bangkok’s International Airport about 20 minutes late and disembarked straight away. I sailed through passport control and my bag was on the belt waiting for me. Perfect! I headed out and grabbed the first taxi I could find and gave him the address of the Hotel and we set off. As we drove the 40 minutes to the hotel I answered the normal question on where I was from, how I was here on holiday, and yes I liked beautiful women. I looked out of the window at the high rise skyscrappers and felt very much at home even though there was palm trees everywhere. We arrived at the hotel and I checked in, grabbed a shower, and changed my clothes. Unpacking would have to wait as I had spotted a McDonalds across from the hotel as we arrived. As I walked in through the big glass doors I am sure I looked insane with the smile I was wearing, as I ordered I must have looked like a raving lunatic. As I approached the counter thoughts raced through my mind, how many Big Mac’s did they have in stock? Would I be allowed to order them all? Would they deliver to India? I approached with caution and ordered a large Big Mac meal. I don’t remember the next 3.6 minutes as I was in a “Happy Place”. As I liked my fingers and drained my full fat coke I could only think of one thing. A Cheese Burger Meal! So back at the counter and then back to my table and the “Happy Place”. After eating I just felt really tired, but knew if I went to bed to early I would be awake early hours so I went for a wander. It didn’t take me to long to find a bar and as I walked in I was welcomed by 3 or 4 very beautiful girls. I sat at the bar and ordered a beer and two of the girls sat down with me. They asked me the same questions the cab driver had asked me and made general chit chat. By the time I finished my beer one of the girls was sat on my lap and the other one rubbing my shoulders. I made my excuses, well they weren’t really excuses as I was totally knackered, and headed back to the hotel alone. I grabbed a quick drink in the bar and then headed to bed.

Over the next few days I enjoyed laying in, usually until 10:00 before venturing out to for breakfast. After breakfast I would do a little shopping and generally look around before heading in search of Lunch. Lunch usually focused around beef in one form or another. After lunch I would head back to the hotel to drop my bags off and would then spend a few hours by the pool. Around 15:00 I would generally doze off and wake a couple of hours later ready to eat. I would grab a shower and change, not that it was really worth it as I within 30 seconds of leaving the hotel I would be sweating profoundly. I would then enjoy a few drinks and make small talk with the girls. They tried to teach me Thai and laughed at my mispronunciation.

Tuesday night I caught the night train from Bangkok to Champon. It was very similar to the train I caught from Mumbia to Goa although there were less bunks per carriage and a lot more space. I arrived in Chanpon about 04:30 Wednesday morning and was meet at the train station by the company that runs one of the ferries between Champon and Koh Tao. It was about a 20 minute drive from the train station to the ferry terminal and then we had an hours wait until the ferry left. Luckily there was a cafe which sold coffee and snacks.

The ferry took about 3 hours and I got talking to one of the deck hands who spoke very good English which passed the time. We reached the island of Koh Tao about 11:00 and it was a short walk along the beach to the dive school. Once at the school I filled in the paperwork and checked into my room. The room was quite basic, bathroom, double bed, TV, but it would do. I grabbed a shower and then headed off in search of some lunch. It wasn’t hard as there were only two main streets and every other building was a resturant which sold good old English food. It was fantastic sat in shorts and t-shirts looking out at the beach eating Sausage and Mash. After lunch I headed back to my room and grabbed a few hours sleep. I woke up and headed to the bar grabbed a drink and got chatting to the other people that would be on my course. We all had a few beers and then headed off for dinner.

The second day we all met up at 09:00 and headed for the class room and a morning of video’s and tests. We finished about 14:00 by which time I was starving so headed in search of lunch. The afternoon was spent in the swimming pool running through some of the basic skills. Over the next few days we headed out to sea a practices our skills before diving the various reefs and huntng down different fish, stingyrays, and turtles. The last dive of the PADI Open Water exam was a night dive, which was in my view one of the best. We headed out about 18:00 and arrived at the dive site just as the sun was setting. We entered the water, turned on our torches and desended. It was amazing as there seems to be a lot more around. As we surfaced we all looked up and the stars seemed so bright. We bobbed around for about 10 minutes just staring at the sky before returning to the boat.

The next day we started our advanced course, and more book work. Luckily it was just the morning and in the afternoon we headed out to do our first two dives. The first was fish ID, which as it says was all about identifying underwater sea life, whilst the second was navigation, and I think my sailing helped a little as I was familiar with a compass and found the tasks no problem at all. When we got back I elected to do another course, NITROX, which allows you to dive on a mixture of Oxygen and Nitrogen rather than air. The benefit of this is that you can stay under for longer periods. There was another exam but it was basically algothrims so was pretty easy.

The folowing day was the last two dives of the advanced course and probably the most fun after the night dive. The first was the deep dive, which basically sees how you are affected by Narcoisis. We reached just over 30 metres and nobody showed any signs. Quite disappointing really. The last dive I did with a Dive Propelled Vehicle. This allowed us to cover an awful lot more ground and use a lot less air as we weren’t expending as much energy. As I had completed the NITROX course we completed the last two dives on Nitrox we were down for about 40 minutes on each dive and still came up with enough for another 20 minutes, but had to surface as others were low on air. That afternoon we completed all our paperwork and recieved our tempory certificates.

The following day was my birthday so I decided on a different type of sporting activity, namely drinking until I fell down. I was accompanied by a number of the Dive Master and Instructors and got to bed about 01:00 the following morning after basically crawling my way around pubs all day. I was surprised when I woke up at 10:00 the following morning with only a mild headache, which was quickly resolved after a visit to the NITROX tank building. That afternoon I signed up for two last fun dives. We went back to places I had seen before but it was a lot more fun as we didn’t have to practice all the skills and I was put with an experienced diver. We were on air for both of these dives but were down for over 50 minutes each time. When we surfaced I still had enough for another 15-20 minutes. That evening I went for drinks with some of the Dive Masters and long term visitors who just couldn’t bring themselves to leave.

The following morning I packed, ate some lunch and then headed for the ferry port as my time on Koh Tao was over. As I sat there watching the ferry pull in I checked my BlackBerry and saw an email saying that I was needed in the UK as soon as possible. I made a couple of calls to find out what was going on, and then returned to my holiday. The ferry ride took about two hours and when I arrived at the ferry port in Koh Sumai I was greated by GIANT. No kidding you this guy was about 40” Tall and like 18 tons. Okay maybe not quite but you get the picture. I swallowed hard when he held up a card with the name of my hotel on it. I wanded over and said “Hi!” He introduced himself as Vince and lifed my suitcase, which by now did weight at least a ton, cleanly onto his shoulder. I followed him to the minibus, where he loaded my case into the back and then waved goodbye. It was about a 30 minute ride to the hotel and I was pretty knackered. Koh Sumia according to everyone is very touristy, and that’s the impression I got as we drove through what looked like little spain. We arrived at the hotel, which was right on the beach and I checked before grabbing a shower and change of clothes. I went for a short walk, but there wasn’t much about, apart from the normal gift shops. I headed to the hotel bar and order a drink and something to eat but struggled to finish them both, so called it quits and headed to bed.

The following morning I woke up about 10:00 felling a lot better but didn’t really have time to do anything as my flight was at 15:00. It was only 15 Minutes to the airport so I opted for a morning by the pool. I arrived at the airport on time, and enjoyed the whole experieince. Seriously I have never seen an airport like it. You felt as if you were on the beech. They even had free fruit juice, fruit, and pasteries.

We departed on time and 2 hours later landed back in Bangkok where I repeated the actions of my first day and grabbed a cab to the hotel. I had a 18:00 flight the following day but a 14:00 checkout and 3 hour airport checkin, so I grabbed something to eat and then hit the bars for one last night in Thailand, and the last steak for a while. I got to bed about 02:00 and woke about 11:00 the next day. After showing and packing I had a quick brunch and then checked out and headed back to the airport.

I arrived back in New Delhi at 21:00 Sunday night and was met by a very happy Karan. He couldn’t wait to tell me the good news about he and his wife having a baby son. I got back to the apartment about 22:00 and unpacked. Well I think most of the clothes walked to the laundry basket themselves. Then headed to bed.

See the Thailand Photos.

Tags: Beer, Birthdays, Family, Food, Friends, Fun, Holiday, Party, Photography, Shopping, Travel

Well I have had a couple of pretty boring weeks. My own fault really as I swapped one of my Duty Manager shifts leading to me doing two in row this month. The really annoying part is that I had the chance to get away this weekend and go to a Tiger sanctuary, but it just wasn't to be. Chris & Sandra have gone and will no doubt taunt me with the photo's next week.

Being confined to the apartment has forced me to sort out my trip to Thailand however. The plan as it stands at the moment is to fly from New Delhi to Bangkok on the 17th May. Then on or around the 20th May I travel by overnight train to Chumpon where I get a ferry to the island of Koh Tao. I stay on Koh Tao until the 30th May (Diving Courses) when I then get a ferry to the island of Koh Sumui where I stay the night before flying back to Bangkok on the 31st. All I need to do know is sort out what I am going to do for the first 3/4 days. I am thinking of a day in Bangkok and then heading north but I am still trying to sort out the finer details.

I am also starting to plan some weekends away as time is running out fast. With the weather the way it is some of the hill stations sound alluring as they tend to be a lot cooler, but I need to do some more research.

Tags: Beer, Friends, Holiday

So a short post tonight as it's been a busy week and I am knackered. I am going to have a cold beer and watch TV for an hour just so the AC can kick in and cool down the bedroom.

The temperature is starting to climb now and we are easily in the 40's. The out look for the week just show's it getting hotter and my main job each night is to make sure there is enough water in the fridge for the morning. It's starting to get difficult to sleep now and you can't leave a bottle of water, coke, or beer on the table for 5 minutes before it's undrinkable. I also never feel hungry. I eat because its breakfast, lunch, or dinner tine, but never because I am hungry.

It's not all bad thought! There is something good about waking up and knowing its going to be a nice day, and walking outside with the sun on your face. Knowing that you can sit outside in the evening and have a drink. Not having to think, do I need a coat?

Tags: Weather

After feeling rough mid-week I decided I needed to take it easy and stick to a plain (English) diet. Thursday I was feeling better (In as much as I could function) but by Friday I felt normal again, but decided not to have an easy weekend.

It was Mik Bedson's (Operations Director) last day Friday, before he fly's back to the UK to take up his new role, and as always it called for a party. The band he played with here in India gave a very good performance and Mik, his normal fun loving self, was soon there guitar in hand to join in the fun. Friday night there were drinks and joint dinner party for Mik and Nick De Vansey, who is also leaving shortly, at the DLF Golf and Country club where we all got to say goodbye, or see you in a few months for those of us following in his foot steps.

It was a lovely evening and a lovely venue and I got to catch up with a lot of people I only usually speak to across a meeting room. It was a nice and relaxed evening and I was home and tucked up in bed by 23:30. Click here for pictures.

Friday Chris, Sandra, and myself had made tentative plans to get out and do something on Saturday. So after a nice lay in Saturday morning Karan picked us up and we headed towards Delhi. We first of all headed to a dear park which we spent about an hour and a half walking around before stopping at a restaurant for lunch. After lunch we had about an hours walk around the rose garden before heading to Buddha Jayanti Park. This was an extremely large park that has been created along what is known as Delhi Ridge, which according to the guide book is the last outcrop of the Aravalli Hills extending northwards from Rajasthan.

After about 5 hours walking we were all pretty tired and had trouble keeping our eyes open during the drive back to Gurgaon. Once in Gurgaon we headed to Harriez for something to eat and lots of water as we were all feeling pretty dehydrated after all the walking. Click here for pictures.

Today I woke up about 09:00 and did the normal washing and called upon the services of the Ironing man (really need to find out his name before I leave). Now I am sitting down with a cheese and onion sandwich sorting out my trip to Thailand, oh and another trip I am looking at doing 1st-5th May to Khajuraho and a tiger reserve. More on that later!

Tags: Beer, Food, Friends, Fun, Party, People, Photography, Relaxing, Sickness, Sightseeing, Travel

Okay so feeling better today, but still not 100% confident. One thing that keeps me going is when you look out the window in a traffic jam and see things like this!


Funny nobody cut the Elephant up!

Tags: Photography

About 03:00 this morning I woke with terrible stomach pains. I took some tablets and hoped they would sort me out and tried to get back to sleep. I was up and down for the next few hours until about 07:00 when I got showered and dressed and headed for the office. By 11:00 I knew I just wasn't going to add any value and at lunchtime I headed home. I took some more tablets and crashed out. I woke up about 15:30 and although still not confident I am starting to feel a little better. I have drunk about 3 bottles of water and plan to starve myself today in the hope I'll be okay tomorrow, but being unwell in this heat isn't much fun at all.

Tags: Food, Sickness

So yesterday I woke up about 09:00 and decided that I needed to do something with the day! Karan picked me up about 10:15 and we headed to the local shops so I could get my hair cut and pick up some groceries. We were done by midday and I headed back to the apartment for some lunch. After lunch we headed off towards Surajkund. There wasn't much to see but I didn't want to hang around the apartment all day. On the way back we stumbled on an old fort, but unfortunately it was closed as they are currently restoring it, but we had a little walk around the outside.

We got back to Gurgaon about dinner time and I got Karan to drop me at TGI Friday's. The staff were all please to see me again as I hadn't told them I was going back to the UK and they thought I had left. I told them not to worry and that they still had a few more tips coming there way. I had a couple of beers and something to eat when a bunch of the staff from the Crown Plaza (The hotel I stayed in when I first arrived). came in. They all said hello and were keen to hear what I had been up to and what I thought about India. I then grabbed a rickshaw home and had a few more beers. I must admit this morning I woke up with a sore head.

Tags: Beer, Food, Relaxing, Shopping, Sightseeing

So I have now been back in India for a week, and the time has just flown by. It's strange but it feels good to be back, I think it's the sunshine. It has warmed up here quite a bit while I have been away with temperatures now in the 35-38 Celsius range. At the beginning of the week there was a nice cool breeze that made it bearable, but by the end of the week even the wind was warm.

In the space of over two weeks I received over 4500 emails, so most of the week has been spent trying to catch up. Otherwise it has been the normal meetings, conference calls, interviews, and escalations. I can't complain however as being really busy makes the time fly by. Last night both Vikram and myself were ready for a drink so we headed to TGI Fridays and enjoyed there Happy hour and a plate of Nachos. After happy hour had finished Vikram invited me back to his apartment for a few more beers and dinner. We caught up on what had been going on while I was in the UK and about life in General. I eventually left about 01:00.

This morning I had a nice lay in before walking to the local shop for some bread for lunch. After lunch I kicked back and watched a couple of films. It's now 16:45 and I am starting to think what I will do for dinner. I think I might take a little walk up to the mall and treat myself to a steak, and a few beers.

Tags: Beer, Food, Friends, Email

Okay so after a 1 hour delay at London Heathrow I took my seat ordered my beer and decided on the movie I was going to watch (I am Legend - Don't bother). We arrived at New Delhi International airport about 1.5 hours late but I had managed to grab about 6 hours sleep so didn't feel to bad. Immigration wasn't to bad either, my bag was waiting for me on the belt, and Karan my driver was waiting outside; I was back at my apartment by 09:00 IST.

I had a little down time, unpacked, and grabbed something to eat before going to the office where I spent most of the day catching up on what had been going on while I was away and sorting through the email that had built up. I worked until 18:00 IST and then went to the spa for a sauna and dinner with Laurence and a few beers before returning home.

Tomorrow will be a normal day, but I need to go shopping and stock up on provisions (Beer, Vodka, Cheese, and Biscuits) but I think it will be a quite night so I can adjust my body clock. Until my next update I will just leave you with the comforting thought that I am back to wearing shorts and a t-shirt.

Tags: Travel

Well it has been two weeks since I flew back to the UK for a short break and time has really flown by. I have spent most of my time catching up with friends and family, eating, drinking and generally relaxing. I did manage to get down to Boscombe Beech and took a few pictures, and I also managed to get into the office one day and meet up with a few people, although I didn't take any pictures there as most of them would of just been people drinking.

Well now it's time to do some last minute shopping and pack my case before I fly out on Sunday. Its been nice being back, but I have missed the sunshine. It's a little over four months until I return to the UK permanently and have quite a bit of work and travel to do before I eventually return.

Tags: Beer, Family, Food, Friends, Photography, Relaxing, Shopping

Would you spend 16,000 on a set of headphones, well I did and no I am not mad! First things first, when I say 16,000 I am talking Indian Rupees which is about £200, and the headphones in question are the Bose QuietComfort(R) 2 Acoustic Noise Canceling(R) headphones.

Now I was introduced to these by a friend of mine who loves traveling but finds it hard to sleep on a plane. I'll be honest and say I have never paid more than £30 for a set of headphones in my life, but I tell no lies when I say if I lost these tomorrow I would be back at the store with another £200.

If you travel regularly and travel internationally crossing time zones, you will understand what I mean when I say "You grab sleep where you can!". Well these things are just fantastic. The sound quality is excellent and they come with all the cables and connectors you need including an extension cable, and the dual pin adapter loved by some airlines. What is even better is the cable disconnects at the headphones themselves so once you have watched an inflight movie and numbed yourselves with a few bottles of red wine, you can unplug yourself and fall asleep without the noise of the aircrafts engines, small children, and the constant ding that emanates from those people summoning the attendant for more red wine because they can't sleep, knowing that you aren't going to strangle yourself.

Now I did look at the newer QuietComfort(R) 3 Acoustic Noise Canceling(R) headphones, and while they were lighter I didn't like the fact that they sat on my ears rather than around them.

Next time you pass a Bose shop, stop and take a look.

Tags: Technology, Music

Okay well it's all confirmed and my flights are booked back to the UK for this Friday. I leave new Delhi on BA 0142 at 03:25 Friday 21st March and arrive at London Heathrow at 07:25 also on Friday (You got to love Time Zones some times), and I return to New Delhi on the 17:20 flight on the 6th April which gives me pretty much 17 days at home.

I am really looking forward to seeing everybody again and catching up on all the news and gossip, together with the odd home cooked meal.

Tags: Family, Travel

Okay you can now see the edited highlights of the Mumbia & Goa visit in the Movie Gallery.

For those involved the unedited DVD will be on sale for £1999.99 Excluding VAT (Victims Additional Tax).

Tags: Beer, Friends, Photography, Sightseeing, Travel

Okay so going back to work was hard today! The work was the same but I was still chilled out and relaxed and everything just seemed to annoy me for some reason. By mid-afternoon however I was back in the flow and realized how many things I had to do, and started ploughing my way through them. Tonight however I have no energy at all and intend to do nothing more than order a pizza and have a few cold beers while i plan my next holiday.

Well not strictly my next holiday as that is already planned, Easter weekend I fly back to the UK for two weeks, no I am talking about the one after that! One thing that I have realized is that I don't really have much time left in India and still have so much to see. The downside is I still have a job to to, but flights and accommodation are so cheap there is nothing to stop me getting away for a weekend or even a long weekend if I plan it. So that is exactly what I am going to do!

Tags: Relaxing, Beer

Okay so starting at the begining Karan picked Laurence and I up at 07:30 Saturday morning and we drove to the domestic airport terminal. Laurence, Sandra, and Chris all flew with SpiceJet but I was on a Go Air flight that was supposed to leave 5 minutes earlier, not that is the reason I booked it, I booked it because I wasn't paying attention. The flights were about an hour late taking off but we all arrived at Mumbia airport within minutes of each other and all met up outside. Leon, a friend of Chris and Sandra's, flew into Mumbia International from the UK and the hotel cab picked him up then came around to the domestic airport to collect us before we all headed to the Farias hotel where we checked in, dumped our bags, and meet by the pool for a few drinks and a late lunch. After lunch we headed off into Mumbia, checking out the Gateway to India on the way.

We wandered around the streets taking in the sights, sounds, and smells, before making our way towards the beech for a long walk along the promenade. We stopped off for 10 minutes to take a walk down to the sea. Laurence and I then headed to Leopolds bar for a few beers leaving Sandra, Chris, and Leon on the beech. We got to Leopolds and it was obvious we were not going to be able to eat as the queue for the restaurant was out the door and half way up the street. So we headed upstairs to the bar and ordered a couple of Budwiesers. The place was dark, crowded (mainly with ex-pats) and very very smokey. We were half way through our second beer when Sandra, Chris, and Leon walked in. We quickly decided we were all hungry and tired so we finished our beers and decided to walk back to the hotel for dinner. We walked, talked, and headed in the general direction of the hotel. We were just starting to doubt ourselves and a street kid came up to us offering to show us the way. We turned left and walked about 200 yards and we had arrived. Laurence gave him about 8 rupees (10p), and we all laughed at his demands for 20 as we headed for the hotel restaurant. We grabbed dinner and a few more beers before all heading to our respective rooms for an early night.

Sunday morning we met for breakfast by the pool and discussed the plans for the day. We decided to head off on a boat trip to an Island called Elephanta (http://www.sacred-destinations.com/india/elephanta-caves.htm). The island is basically a set of 5 temples all carved into the rock. They are pretty worn now, and any restoration that has been done hasn't done anything to preserve the beauty of the carvings etc, but we walked around all 5 caves and then up to a place called Cannon Hill. Named basically as it featured a large cannon on top of a hill. After a little rest and a bunch of photo's we headed back down the hill only stopping off for a quick soft drink. We were just in time for the 13:30 boat back and most people snoozed all the way. We arrived back at the hotel and met up with another friend of Chris and Sandra's called Scott who has setup camp in the bar. We dragged him out and up to the poolside bar where we had lunch and got to know each other over, yes you have guessed it, a few cold beers.

It was early evening by the time we set off out taking Scott to see the Gateway to India and the streets of Mumbia. We found one of the other hotels we had considered and decided to stop for cocktails and later dinner. We had to be at Mumbia train station for 23:00 so we all ordered stuff that we knew wouldn't take long to prepare, cook, and eat. We left the hotel and grabbed taxi's back to the Fariyas to collect our luggage and then drive us to the train station.

We arrived in good time but checking the boards we found the train was running 45 minutes late so we headed to a waiting room and waited it out. The train eventually arrived and we found our bunks. We made ourselves at home and then sat back and took in everything that was going on around us, you know the call for Coffee, Tea, and Chicken Lollipops, before eventually succumbing to tiredness and falling asleep.

We woke up Monday morning traveling through some beautiful countryside and it all looked so much more civilized. I decided to go for a smoke and stood by one of the open carriage doors watching the landscape rush by. We arrived about two hours later and booked a couple of pre-paid cabs for the journey to the hotel. It was so nice seeing different (non-city) scenery and now I felt like I was on holiday. We arrived at the Oceanique Hotel about 45 minutes later and by this time we all needed a little down time. We had slept on the train, but maybe not as well as any of us would have in our own beds. We checked in and the first thing I needed was a shower and a shave. I came back down to find Leon, Scott, and Laurence by the pool and it took no effort to join them lying there in 33 degrees as they organized the drinks.

After a swim and a few beers we headed out in search off food by way of the beech. Sandra, Chris, and Scott has gone ahead of us and had found "Bob's Bar", or something like that. Laurence, Leon, and myslef had waited for Ndidi, who had flown in from Delhi that morning, and then walked down to join them. We took our seats and enjoyed some great food and yes a few more cold beers. We sat, we talked, and we watched the ocean before heading back to the hotel for some more R&R agreeing to meet up later in the bar. Well after a shower (yes another one, well it was hot) I wandered down to the bar and ordered a beer. My intention was to have one, maybe two, and then go exploring as I wasn't tired. It didn't quite work out that way. I was about halfway through my first beer when Ndidi walked in. She wasn't tired either, having only flown the couple of hours from Delhi. She was closely followed by Laurence, Leon, Scott, Sandra, and Chris. Now after this things are a little bit of a blur. I remember sometime later we decided it was time to head out for dinner and I remember walking into town with the gang. I also remember saying to Chris that I wasn't hungry and was going off exploring. The basic upshot was that I had figured out I was rat assed and needed to go to bed. So I wandered back to the hotel, stopping off for a beer or two on the way, and once back at the hotel I promptly passed out. I am told that the rest of them bar Chris and Sandra didn't fair much better as they were drinking until about 02:00 Tuesday morning.

Tuesday morning I found Chris, Sandra, Scott, and Ndidi in the restaurant having breakfast. Sandra had arranged for cab's into old Goa. Chris, Sandra, Scott, and Myself headed off in the first cab about 10:30 and the others left about 11:00 in the second cab.

Goa was invaded and occupied by the Portuguese and is predominately Roman Catholic. We looked around ruins of old Churches and some of the older churches and cathedrals that are still very much in use, before heading down to the Quay and the admiralty arch that most of those that came here entered through. We then headed back towards the hotel as Sandra, Chris, Scott, and Leon were all due to leave. Scott and Leon for Jaipur and Chris and Sandra for Delhi.

We decided however there was enough time for lunch if we went straight there and that's exactly what we did. Well Sandra, Chris, Scott, and myself. Leon walked down from the hotel as they had got back before us and went for a final dip in the ocean, and Ndidi and Laurence walked down to say goodbye. I got the cab back to the hotel with Chris, Sandra, Scott, and Leon, and opted for a few hours by the pool.

A couple of hours later, a subtle shade of red, hot, and sweaty I decided on a shower followed by a couple of cold beers. Laurence met me in the bar and we headed down to the beech to find a bar and food. Ndidi was going to catchup with us as she had a massage booked. We sat, drank, ate and then bar hopped our way back to the hotel.

Wednesday morning I woke and the guys had arranged to go and see a spice market. I had already toured the Delhi spice market and decided a day by the pool and on the beech was in order, and we agreed to meet up