So tomorrow I return to India and I must say I don’t really want to go back. Not for any really negative reasons, but just because I have so many things going on back here at the moment. I am enjoying my new job, despite it being extreamly busy, and have just started making arrangments to sort the work on the house out. Taking two weeks out now is just a pain in the backside.

I fly tomorrow morning at 10:00 arriving at 23:00 IST tomorrow night, after being Duty Manager all weekend. I am looking forward to catching up with the team again and saying goodbye properly but it’s going to be difficult managing my now UK based diary with the time difference. The saving grace is its only for two weeks.

On the home front it’s been really nice catching up with family and friends again after so long, and the sun has been out which has made doing things possible. It’s been really nice on the weekend sitting in a beer garden putting the world to rights before tucking into some good old English food. What’s been even nicer is the peace and quiet when I get home from work. No horn’s sounding, no dogs barking!

Tags: Family, Food, Friends, Travel

Okay so I arrived back in the UK Friday afternoon and was met on time by my taxi for the 40 minute run down the M25 / M3 to Basingstoke. Walking through the door I felt I could finally relax and kicked off my shoes and through myself on the sofa with a cold beer. I chilled out for about 30 minutes before I grabbed a shower and changed my clothes which made me feel about 10 times better, but I still couldn’t face unpacking so resigned to leave that until Saturday. I grabbed another beer and through myself back on the sofa. I managed to last until about 19:30 before I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer and headed for bed. It was so nice being back in my own bed with big soft pillows I fell straight to sleep.

Saturday morning I was awake at 04:00 and ready to go. I had a bunch of shopping to do and Williams 3rd Birthday at 14:00. Then I remembered that the shops didn’t open at 04:00 so settled on unpacking my case. Now one thing I am not going to miss about India is the dust and dirt. This time around I brought the majority of my electronic equipment home. However before I could set it up I had to wash everything down as it was coated in a fine layer of dust. This is made even more fustrating when your an apple fan and most of the kit is white, well was white when I brought it. Once I had done this I needed to let everything dry off so I laid a big towel out on the landing and set everything up so it could dry.

At 09:00 I headed into town as another side effect of being away is that I have lost a lot of weight and none of my clothes fit me. So after buying a couple of new suits and half a dozen shirts I was feeling a little peckish. I headed to nearest cafe, where I found Mum & Dad just finishing lunch and joined them for Sausage, Egg, Chips, and beans. After lunch and catching up with the folks I had the energy to finish my shopping so headed back into the crowd and cringed everytime I handed over my credit card. It’s going to take some time getting used to spending in pounds again!

13:00 Mum & Dad picked me up and we headed to Katrina & Rob’s for Williams 3rd Birthday party (Photo’s here). Katrina & Rob had setup an big marquee and laid out sandwiches, crisps, and a variety of sweets. The kids all had fun playing with Williams toys and playing the party games that Katrina had organised, while the adults enjoyed a few beers and chatted. About 16:00 we set off as I was feeling knackered and Mum & Dad had things they needed to do. I got back home and had a couple more beers and contemplated how I was going to try and stay awake. I ended up washing down all the electronic’s equipment again as it all still looked dirty. I managed to stay awake until 21:00 but once again had no problems getting to sleep.

Sunday I managed to lay in until a respectable 09:30, and actually felt a little more human. I finished unpacking my suitcase and set about setting up my electronic equipment. I then set about catching up on my personal email and sorting through my post. By 13:00 I was about 50% of the way there but decided to head up to Mum & Dad’s as Mum was cooking Roast Beer and I thought it would give us chance to catch up. We had dinner about 15:00 and then were joined by Clive & Sue (Friends of Mum & Dad’s). I walked home about 17:00 feeling tired but mainly because I had eaten a big meal and enjoyed a few beers. I set about finishing sorting out my email and post and then sat and watched TV for an hour. I lasted until about 21:30 before I felt my eye’s straining to stay open and decided it was better to not fight it.

Monday I woke up at 08:00 and headed into town as I had realised that I needed a few more bits and pieces. I was finished by 10:30 and decided to take the car for a spin as it had been sat there for a while. I headed home for lunch and enjoyed my first salad since coming back. It was paradise! I spend the rest of the day sorting out the house, and a few personal things with the bank and insurance companies before chilling out on the sofa and watching a couple of films.

Today I woke at 09:00 and feel that I am back in the mix. I had a few personal things to sort out and it was nice to have the extra days to do them properly. It’s back to work tomorrow and I am looking forward to being back in London, if not the commute. It’s going to be slightly strange going back and picking up my new responsibilities, espcially now that former peers are reporting to me. I think the saving grace however is I know they are professional people and honestly don’t believe they will have any issues, as they are as eager as I am to see improvements, but I’ll let you know how it goes.

Tags: Beer, Birthdays, Family, Food, Friends, Party, Shopping

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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 at the airport.

I spent a couple of hours laying by the pool before heading off to the beech. I spent my last 5 hours sitting on the beech, swimming in the sea, and sitting at a beech bar with a cold beer watching the world go by, before getting a cab to the airport to meet up with Laurence and Ndidi.

We had a good flight back, and I slept all the way. Laurence's driver picked us up at Delhi Airport and dropped us all back home.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday I chilled out at home, did a little shopping, got my hair cut, and drank some more beer. I think tomorrow I might venture to the gym!

Checkout the Photo's, and over the next few days I intend to cut the footage together I shot with the Handycam and upload that to the Movie Gallery.

Otherwise check out some of the photo's the others took;

• Chris's Photo's.

Tags: Beer, Food, Friends, Fun, Relaxing, Sightseeing, Travel

Okay so it's been quiet this end, in more ways than one. To start with my Internet connection has been up and down since last weekend which has left me feeling like my hands have been cut off. I knew I shouldn't have asked for the phone to be moved.

It has been quiet socially to however. I think people are recovering from the Christmas / New Year hangover, but know a lot of people are also planning the next holiday. How do I know this? Well I am one of them.

Well let me start at the beginning, Monday Laurence arrived back and we had some catching up to do. We were both pretty knackered so settled on a local restaurant called Bar-B-Q-Nation, we had a good meal and a few beers and then headed home. Tuesday was a normal day, you know fireworks, several fire's, and the odd fallen comrade, but about 16:00 I developed a headache that i just couldn't shift. I got home about 19:00 and went straight to bed, by this time with a sore throat. I woke up Wednesday morning feeling *crap*. Sore throat, headache, and general "please take me now" sentiments. I settled on a day in bed and slept for about 14 hours, only waking for a drink of water and to see what the time was. Thursday morning I woke and still didn't feel great but headed for the office and limped through the day.

Friday I felt a lot better and Friday night I had my first Team Leader offsite meeting and headed to the MGF Mall for dinner and drinks with the team. We finished up about 22:00 and I called Laurence to see what he was up to. A few beers later (01:00) I headed for home, with that warm fuzzy feeling.

Saturday morning I had a nice long lay in and finally got up about 13:00. Sandra had emailed me earlier saying they were heading to the cinema and it seemed like a perfectly lazy thing to do on a Saturday afternoon so Laurence and I tagged along. We watched The Golden Compass which was good but I didn't particularly like the way it ended, mainly as I now know I have to watch the sequel. After the show we headed for TGIF for dinner.

Sunday I decided I needed to get back to the gym so about 15:00 left the apartment picking up laurence on the way, hoping Amit wasn't on duty (I knew I would get told off), he wasn't thankfully and I had a 45 minute workout (which hurt) and hit the sauna. After the workout we grabbed dinner and then headed for home.

This morning I woke, after having the best nights sleep in a while, and headed for work, committing to getting back in to the gym routine.

Tonight my Internet connection is working so I am catching up with email, and this (my blog), and preparing for my next holiday. Yes I said holiday!

So here is the plan. This weekend I am off heading towards Pune, Vikram's home town (or where his wife is currently living) so we are going to try and hook up. Then Mum and Dad are due on the 24th so I have booked the first week off to show them around, which will actually be cool as it will encourage me to get out and about and show them the sights i have seen and some I haven't. I have also booked the last week of there visit off to do some more sightseeing and spend some quality time with them. There are a number of tentative plans (these are the ones I need to firm up) to head off with Chris, Sandra, and Laurence during this period too.

Then at the beginning of March Chris, Sandra, Laurence, and myself are off to Goa via Mumbai (formally Bombay) for 4-5 days before I head back to the UK for a week or two.

Well as you can see I have a bit of planning to do, but if the Internet gods are on my side it should all be very interesting. I'll keep you posted on the plans as they develop or fall apart.

Tags: Beer, Family, Friends, Cinema, Gym, Sightseeing

Okay so the end of last week was hard work. Nobody really wanted to be in the office and I was clock watching from about 16:00 every day. Friday arrived and spot on 18:00 Chris and I headed for a local bar glad to put the week behind us. Vikram and Sandra joined us an hour or so later and we headed for a nearby restaurant for dinner. We finished up about 23:30 and headed for home having made plans to tour old Delhi Saturday.

Chris and Sandra picked me up at 11:30 and we headed off for old New Delhi. We arrived about an hour later and headed into the throng of people making our way towards Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India. Unfortunately it was near to prayer time and was closing to tourists so we opted to come back later heading of towards Chandni Chowk, by way of Chatta Chowk (covered bazaar). Once in Chandni Chowk we found the Digambara Jain Temple. Unfortunately camera's are not allowed so I can't show you just how beautiful it was, but it really was.

After looking around we were all feeling hungry and Sandra hadn't experienced Karims, so we walked back via Jama Masjid, cutting through the main courtyard and found Karims without a problem. After butter chicken, mutton rice, lamb kebab's, and butter narn we headed back to Jama Masjid for a proper look around. When we finished we called for the car and sat on steps of Jama Masjid watching life go by. It's complete chaos and personally I couldn't take it for too long, but it was very interesting watching life go by.

We then headed for Humayun's Tomb, described in the Lonely Planet guide as a "must see tomb". It was quite remarkable and the symmetry, especially of the water features, is amazing to see. The effort put into these places is admirable but I can't help but wonder if they had spent the money on the country India might be a lot further advanced than it is.

We were all knackered after the visit to Humayun's Tomb so we headed back to Gurgaon, via the off-license at the Galleria Mall for beer and snacks. Chris and Sandra hadn't seen my apartment and a review of some of the Wii games I had brought back with me after visiting the UK. Sandra and Chris headed for home about an hour later and I spent the evening chilling out in front of the TV quite happy that I had done something with the day. Today I am taking it easy. The tailor is coming round between 15:00-16:00 to do the first fitting of my suit and then I am off to do some shopping and get my photo's taken for my registration tomorrow morning. Then I fully intend to lounge about and chill out.

Why not check out the Old Delhi Photo's.

Tags: Architecture, Beer, Food, Friends, Muslim, Sightseeing