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

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

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

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 so the week dragged, mainly as all I could think about was my trip home, but Thursday came before I knew it. I left the office and headed back to the apartment for a little lay down before grabbing a shower and a change of clothes. Karan picked me and my luggage up and we headed off to Dine Estey, where I met up with Laurence and Vikram for a few beers. I headed over to the Crown Plaza as I needed to see a friend of mine there, and there were a bunch of COLT people staying there who were on the same flight as me. I bumped into them just as I was leaving for the Airport and met them again in the check in queue.

After checking in and blagging a pass to the Business Lounge we had a few more beers before clearing security and boarding the plane. We took off on time and I had just enough energy to consume a few bottles of red wine and watch a film before passing out. I woke up about an hour from Heathrow and had enough time to have a coffee and a quick wash before we landed.

We landed on time and it all went pretty smoothly as I cleared immigration and collected my case. I exited the terminal and had about 10 minutes until the Rail Air coach arrived which was just enough time to get my nicotine levels back up to normal. The coach trip to Woking, and then the train trip to Basingstoke was straight forward with no waiting about and I was back at home about 10:00.

I grabbed a quick shower and changed, unpacked my bag, and then headed round to Mum and Dad's to say hello. Katrina and the kids dropped round about an hour later and I got to say hello to everybody. By the time lunch time arrived I didn't really know what planet I was on and decided to take a walk into town to get some fresh air. It was certainly fresh, so much so that my teeth chattered as i walked, but after I got going I warmed up a little and soon started to feel comfortable.

I walked around town not really looking at anything in particular, although I did stop off at Jessops to take a look at camera's before walking home via McDonalds and a large Big Mac Meal. I got home and laid on the couch watching TV, but could feel myself drifting off so decided to settle in the study and sort some of my post out. I got about 80% of it done, and realized that I needed a clear head to focus on the rest so started to take a look around the house and asses the work that needed doing.

The kitchen waste water system has fallen to pieces, and the garden fences came down in the storm a few weeks ago. The freezer had defrosted but thankfully Mum and Dad had thrown away the contents and installed 5000 air fresheners to get rid of the smell. The driveway and patio need weeding and cleaning, but otherwise things were in pretty good shape. The kitchen has needed redoing since I purchased the place, but has been usable, but I know that I will need to gut it and redo it completely when I return in August. Time to start saving!

So this morning (I think it's Saturday today) I woke up at 06:00 and thought I would take the car out for a run as it's been stood for a while. My suspicions where confirmed when I got in and tried to start it and the battery was flat. So I rang Jaguar and am now waiting for the man that can to turn up and sort it out. Once that's done I think I will take a drive to the supermarket and stock up on provisions. The only real plan after that is to meet up with Dad for a few beers.

Tags: Beer, Family, Food, Relaxing, Shopping, Travel

Okay Mum and Dad arrived back from Goa on the 14th February. They had both caught the sun and looked a lot more relaxed. I was working so after work I returned to the apartment and we caught up over a few beers before heading out to dinner at a restaurant called Earth. Now none of use had even given the date a second thought (14th February) but it soon became apparent when we arrived at the restaurant, as there were heart shaped balloons all over the place. We didn't have a reservation but the waiter said he would try and find us a table. We sat down at the bar and had a few drinks arriving at the conclusion that everywhere would be the same. Finally, about 22:00, we sat down for dinner. We were all starving and tired by the time the main course came, we just ate and then headed for home.

Friday was back to work for me and I also had to go to the ministry to re-register but after that I sent Karan back to the apartment to pick up Mum & Dad who then went off shopping. Friday night was the start of my first Duty Manager shift so Mum cooked at home (Home cooking). I eventually finished work at 04:30 Saturday morning. Mum and Dad had arranged for Karan to pick them up at 10:00 and they headed off to spend some more money. I woke up about 10:30 and resumed working. Mum cooked again and we had another evening in. About 04:30 my internet line stopped working and I was left working on my BlackBerry, eventually getting to bed about 05:30.

Sunday I still had no internet connectivity so went around to Laurence's where I camped until about midnight. Lucky things were going largely to plan and I finished about 01:30 Monday morning. I grabbed a few hours sleep and then Mum, Dad, and I headed off the Delhi, in particular the old part. We went straight to Karims for lunch before touring the narrow side streets, stopping off so Mum could buy ribbons and other handy craft bit's and pieces and so Dad could take a look around a Jain temple. We headed back towards the point we had agreed to call Karan from but he found us before we could get there. We headed back to the apartment for a shower and a change of clothes and then to Dine Estey for dinner. Tuesday morning Karan picked us all up at 11:00 and we headed to the City Center mall were we left Mum to have a Manicure and Pedicure. Dad and I headed to the gym, where Dad had a massage and we both had a Sauna. We then headed back to the City Center mall and met up with Mum at Ruby Tuesday's for lunch, before returning to the apartment for a sleep as Mum and Dad had an early morning flight. We woke up about 19:30 and headed to TGI Friday's for dinner.

Mum and Dad left at 03:00 Wednesday morning, and me, well I went back to bed. I woke up at 11:30 and opted for a lazy day, chilling out on the sofa. Thursday morning Karan picked me up at 11:00 and I opted for another me day. I headed to the City Center mall where I had my first every manicure and pedicure. I then headed to the gym where I had a Balinese massage, and a sauna, before returning home for an afternoon nap. I woke up about 18:00 and Laurence and I headed to Italiano for dinner and a bottle of wine.

This morning I had another lay-in (Something to do with the bottle of wine) and headed to the Metropolitan Mall to do some shopping. I have had my eye on a pair of Bose headphones for a while now and finally took the plunge. They weren't cheap, but I figured I was owed a treat. So now I am back at the apartment. Karan is due to pick me up at 16:30 so I can goto the gym and then tonight I am off out with my team leaders for our monthly offsite team dinner.

Not sure what the plan is for the weekend yet, but it's warming up here now (28 Degrees) so am contemplating sitting by the pool at one of the hotels, but then it depends largely on alcohol consumption this evening.

Tags: Family, Relaxing, Shopping, Food, Gym

Well this week has been quiet compared to the normal chaos, but that was to be expected really with the wind down in Europe this time of year. Monday night Vikram and I grabbed dinner and Friday night we enjoyed a few to many beers, but other than that I haven't done that much apart from enjoying a few relaxing evenings in front of the TV. Saturday night me and my Windows support team went out for a long overdue meal at a restaurant called S4 in Delhi's Defense Colony. It was a chinese/thai menu and was very good. I forgot to take my camera with me so unfortunately there are no pictures,

Today I have taken it easy in anticipation of the parties ahead, but did manage to venture out and get my hair cut (Rs 50 / £0.062) and get some groceries in. Vikram will be on his own for Christmas so we intend on hitting a few bars and partying hard together, and no there will be no pictures. I am thankfully now off work until the 31st December so intend on getting out and about a bit, maybe even venturing down to Agra. Mum & Dad have now got there visa's and will be out on the 24th Jan so I need to step up my game and check a few places out for them. Otherwise I intend on doing little other than relaxing.

I'll try and post as I do stuff, but otherwise I really don't have anything more. so it just remains to wish everybody a very happy Christmas.

Tags: Beer, Food, Friends, Party, People, Shopping

Okay so I have been a little slack again with updating the blog, but let's see if I can pick up where I left off last Sunday. Well the plan was to head off to the Red Fort in New Delhi so Laurence's driver picked us all up at 13:00 but advised us that it was closed this time of year due to terrorist bombing incidents in the past. So we headed into Delhi anyway and just drove around to give Mark Leggo a sense of what it was all about. We then then headed for Khan market and did a little shopping in preparation for the cheese and wine party Laurence was hosting that evening. As soon as we entered the market we were stalked by a couple of shoe shine boys and just before we left Laurence relented and allowed them to clean his shoes (Rs 50/63p). Mark and I were then feeling hungry so we headed for Ansel's Mall where we sat down to Pizza and a couple of beers. We then headed back towards Gurgaon and the local off-license to pick up some wine for the evening.

Sunday Evening Laurence, myself, Mark Leggo, Chris, Sandra, and Vikram meet up and enjoyed several bottles of wine and a collection of cheese and biscuits. Vikram had been partying the night before and excused himself early. He did look delicate. Now unfortunately the real purpose of the evening was uncovered early on as both Chris and I turned up with out MacBook Pro's, and after sufficient cheese and wine started waxing lyrical about the virtues of Mac's compared to PC's. Chris had discovered a cool piece of software called Mojo that allows you to share iTunes library's. The only problem was I couldn't get it to work. How frustrating. Well the party finally broke up about 00:30.

Monday we were joined by Jason Hamer and Simon Derry. They were both pretty tired and by the end of the day were struggling to stay awake. We headed to the Crown Plazza for a couple of beers and then they both headed for there respective rooms and a nights sleep.

Wednesday night we all met up (Myself, Mark Leggo, Laurence, Simon Derry, Chris, and Sandra) at the Galaxy Mall for dinner at a restaurant called Axis. The food was very good and everybody was able to catch up with events in the UK and compare views on India. Mark Leggo flew back on Thursday, and Simon and Laurence flew out early hours Friday morning. Friday night I had a few beers with Jason as he wasn't due to fly out until early hours Saturday and didn't intend on going to bed. I got back to my apartment about 21:30 and after a quick short hit the sack happy in the thought I didn't have to get up early.

I woke up yesterday (Saturday) at about 11:00 still full of cold (I brought it back from the UK with me) and decided there and then I needed a R&R weekend. I was supposed to meet up with one of my teams that evening, but I was still tired and knew that I wouldn't be good company so postponed it. I ended up laying on the sofa watching DVD's all day (Pirates of the Caribbean, and The Office). The temperate has dropped to about 10 degree's Celsius and I am feeling the cold, so I am laying on the sofa with the heater on high next to me wearing two pairs of socks and a jumper. I managed to speak to Mum & Dad via Skype and planned a video call for today.

So today I am feeling a little more together, but decided once again to take it easy. I got up about 10:00 and the ironing man turned up about 11:00 but that is as social as I have got and intend to be today, with the exception of my Skype call with Mum & Dad. I have managed to catch up on email and few person admin tasks, but otherwise this afternoon I intend to chill out with a book.

Next week is going to be be very busy with everybody trying to get things completed prior to the Christmas break, and I am on leave the week commencing the 24th so need to get as much done as possible if I am going to enjoy it. I was planning on getting away, but I have left things a little late so I think I will just try and explore Delhi a little more, especially Old Delhi, and then get out and about a bit in the new year.

Tags: Sightseeing, Shopping, Beer, Friends, Sickness

Okay so tomorrow is one week since I returned from the UK and it has flown by, then again time does seem to move faster here. Wednesday night Mark Leggo and myself headed off to a restaurant called Earth and enjoyed a few beers, dinner, and generally caught up. Thursday was another quiet night, after work I went back to Laurence's and we ordered Thai curries before heading home about 22:30 for some much needed shut eye. Friday was a really busy day and leaving the office at 18:30 we all needed a beer so Chris and I headed to Dine Estey, a local (Indian) Chinese restaurant, not to eat, but just because the bar is one of the cheapest around. Vikram joined us later for a drink and then had to head off to meet up with some other friends just as Laurence arrived. Sandra joined us later and I think by the end of the evening was the only sober one there.

Yesterday was "lay-in/sleep it off" day and I didn't wake up until about 11:00. Mark Leggo and I headed into Delhi about 13:00 and visited the Indian National Railway museum. After spending a couple of hours looking around we had seen everything there was to see so jumped in the car and headed for Delhi. Karen took our to the Parliament building and then to India Gate (Photo's available in the gallery). About 16:00 we headed back to Gurgaon so I could do some much needed shopping. I had pretty much run everything down before returning to the UK so needed everything. Mark made a very good basket carrier!

Once we had stocked up on the necessary items (we also bought food), we headed back to my apartment for a snack and a beer. We met up about 19:00 with Laurence and headed for a nice Italian restaurant creatively named "Italino" for dinner.

Today we are off to the Red Fort in Delhi and then depending on the time into Delhi itself to do some sightseeing (I'll post some more pictures later). Tonight Laurence is hosting a Cheese and Wine party. Life in the fast lane!

Tags: Friends, Beer, Food, Party, People, Shopping, Sightseeing

Okay so my mind has kind of moved away from food now I have satisfied the few cravings I had. The last few days have been spent catching up with friends and family, paperwork, and shopping. Yesterday afternoon I visited Katrina and William, picking William up from nursery. His face was a picture and while he gave my a big cuddle he kept touching my face to make sure I was really there. Today I have spent waiting in for a parcel to be delivered, which surprisingly hasn't arrived but it did give me a chance to catch up with all the paperwork that was outstanding, and to play with a few of the new Wii games that I have brought to take back with me. At the moment I am addicted to Star Wars with all the characters made from Lego.

Tonight I am off out for dinner and to the cinema, not sure what we are seeing yet but I am sure there will be something on. Tomorrow I start my Christmas shopping.

Tags: Shopping, People, Relaxing

Okay so I am back in the UK. I left my apartment at 04:30 IST Friday 16th November for New Delhi International Airport. We took off about 07:30 and arrived in the UK at 11:35 GMT. I managed to get about 5 hours sleep on the plane so felt pretty good. I travelled with only hand baggage and had cleared immigration and customers by 12:10 and caught the 12:30 coach from outside terminal 4 to Woking train station. I arrived at Woking at 13:00 and the next train was at 13:16 so I had enough time to grab my first ham, cheese, and pickle sandwich in three months, which was made "even more delicious" (That's a joke for the guys in India) by adding a pack of walkers salt and vinegar crisps.

I arrived at Basingstoke station about 13:45 and headed straight for the Carphone Warehouse store to pick up my new iPhone. 14:30 I grabbed a cab and headed for home, arriving just before 15:00. The first thing I did was put the hot water on for a nice shower, while the water was heating up I unpacked and setup my laptop. As it downloaded my email I took a look at the post that had been delivered while I was away. Mostly junk, but there were a couple of official bits, but I decided they could wait. I phoned my parents and let them know I was back home, safe and sound.

Once the water was hot enough I had a nice long shower and changed into some fresh clothes, I felt human again! I had a couple of beers and read my email, then set about activating my iPhone. I was surprised how easy it was and within 15 minutes I had not only activated it but synchronized it with my iTunes library.

At 17:30 I walked around to my parents house to a very warm welcome, and an nice cold beer. We talked for a couple of hours before we sat down to one of my favorite meals, cottage pie. After dinner we caught up a little more and about 22:00 I walked home. I still wasn't particularly tired so I opened up the MAC OS X Leopard disks I had pre-ordered . I decided to follow the advise of Don McAllister over at ScreenCastsOnline and backed up my existing setup before even opening the disk box. Once the backup had completed I started the upgrade process and went to bed.

I woke this morning at about 07:00 hours and after a shower and breakfast I checked my MacBook Pro. It was complete so I logged on. I checked the applications that I use most often, mail, safari, and they all opened up without a problem. I then commenced playing with some of the new features.. At 08:45 I decided I needed to get on and headed into Basingstoke town center. First stop the police station.

Yes, I did say the police station. It would appear that last weekend some person (as yet unknown) thought it was a good idea to shoot at my Windows with an air riffle. My father had reported it but I wanted to know what was going on and needed an incident number for the forth coming insurance claim. The guy behind the desk was very helpful and gave me all the information he had and the incident number, and has advised the officer dealing will be in contact with me shortly.

From there I headed to the garage to arrange the annual service on my car and then for a fried breakfast at Mr Munch. After double sausage, bacon, egg, beans, and a fried slice I felt heavy but satisfied. I then took a walk around the town center window shopping for nothing in particular. The only things I did end up buying where a sailing and computer magazine.

It's now 12:36 and I am off to make myself lunch. Not sure what it will be yet but I will more than likely contain beef.

Tags: Food, Relaxing, Shopping

Okay so this week started out well, things certainly seemed to be getting better all around. Thursday night I went to Laurences for a BBQ and met his Aunt and Uncle who are out visiting, and to say goodbye to his Mum who goes home Tuesday. Friday however it all just went to s**t. There was just so much going on and going wrong at the same time the only thing I could think of was if it was worth all the stress. I was juggling so many things and inevitably failing at them all. Saturday morning I woke up still wondering what I was doing here at all and missing home and somebody to talk to. By Saturday afternoon however I had talked some sense into myself and remembered why I came here; because I want a good suntan, and a boat.

Karen, my driver, picked me up at 15:00 and we went and did some shopping. After that I was at a bit of a loss as to what to do for the rest of the day but knew if I sat in my apartment I would just end up working. So Karen suggested a nearby park (Leisure Valley). It's quite a large park, like you would see back home (minus the wild dogs) and it took me a good hour to walk around it. I can see why Karen likes it as it has lots of trees under which you can catch a rather decent 40 winks, and quite a bit of wildlife if you look closely. What really brought a smile to my face was all the young couple's sitting on benches innocently holding hands but sitting about a foot away from each other. Well they were by the time I noticed them but by the looks on there faces they hadn't been a few minutes before. I instantly flashed back to my school days when we all used to rush home, change, do/not do our homework and then rush to the park to meet our "Girlfriends". The big difference is that we didn't flinch if someone came close not even if it had been the "girlfriend" you were supposed to be with.

After that I got in the car, and Karen said in his normal unassuming manner "Where Sir now?". I sat there for a minute just looking out the windows. Karen waited a couple of minutes and simply said "Sir?". Karen I said lets go for a drive. It was like magic! As if I had found Karen's on switch. "Yes Sir", he said. "I show you". We toured round Gurgaon first with Karen pointing out the offices, funny he started out with Fidelity. He then explained the name Gurgaon. It apparently mean's Sugar Cane Village, and pretty well describes the origin's of this new metropolis. Then after telling me about all the other parts of India where there is too much sugar cane, he drove me into old Gurgaon. I don't know why but it reminded me of Hanoi in Vietnam. As I said, I don't know why, it was a lot cleaner and a lot more colorful. I gave the now accepted "Let's park" command and Karen pulled the car into, the well nowhere in particular position, jumped out and opened my door.

Now I stepped out and was immediately over taken with a variety of smells, most of which I will say were pleasant. Every car horn and bicycle bell were now going as Karen said again "I park here sir". I said okay and headed into the throng of people, rickshaws, and bicycles. Spices, silks, and fabrics of every color were on display. Together with pots, pans, religious statues, and jewelry. I wandered around, for the most part pretty unmolested until I came across one shop that caught my eye. It was full of small wooden handcrafts but high up on the shelf were too wooden die. Now for those that no me I collect gaming equipment. Dice, cards, poker chips, and the like. I was just about to move on, aware that I had only brought a few hundred bucks with me, when an older very well dressed gentlemen stepped out of the doorway next to the store. "Good afternoon sir, may we be of any help to you?" The most perfect English I had ever heard, even in England. "Are you English Sir, I just presumed that you were. Sorry if I have offended you."

I laughed and said I certainly am, but don't tell anybody I am undercover and I don't think anyone else has noticed yet. He laughed, held out his hand and introduced himself as Rajeev. I shook his hand and complemented him on English and his shop. In hindsight not the smartest thing to do (Compliment the shop) if you intend to start bartering with someone. Anyway he moved straight into the normal ex-pat interview questions, Where are you from? How long are you visiting for? What do you think of India? Do you like the food?

When I said I lived south of London in a place called Basingstoke I was amazed when he said M3 from Southampton. It turns out he lived there for 26 years and came home when his father passed on to take care of his mother. He is married to an English lady called Wendy and they have three sons and a daughter. His wife came back to India with him, but all the children still live in the UK. When I said I was living here he nodded and said it was only fair. I laughed again when he said, but the thieves in India are a lot more honest. He offered me a cup of tea, which I accepted (I hate tea). I drank it (slowly) and we talked for another 25 minutes. I thanked him for the tea, shook his hand once again, and moved on. I walked around for another 30 minutes and found myself (accidently) back at the car. It was a good job as I hadn't a clue where I was.

It was only as I got in the car and said "Okay Karen, let's go home." I realized that Rajeev the shop owner hadn't tried to sell me anything and I didn't by the die. So I guess I am going to have to go back. On the drive back I was in a much better frame of mind. As I smiled in the back seat of the car. Karen asked, "feel better now sir?". I was quite surprised that Karen could read me already, it's only been two months, but then again he does see me in many different forms and moods. The serious business manager, when I am with the team or members of the team, right down to the depressed ex-pat that is missing home. "Yes Karen, Thank you!" I said.

As we pulled up to the apartment, Karen asked if I would like to go and see a temple Sunday. I didn't need asking twice, I said yes. Karen told me about a water show that doesn't start until the sun sets. He suggested we leave at 16:00 so I arranged for him to pick me up at 13:00 so I could go to the gym first.

I got to the gym about 13:15 and Amit the god of pain was on duty. He asked why I hadn't been all week and I could only say work and parties. He immediately made me get on the scales and weighed me. He was surprised (so was I) that I am still down (69 Kilo's to 64 Kilo's), but never the less made me do an extra 15 minutes on the treadmill and cross trainer as a punishment. After weights and an abdominal workout where all he could say is one more, I agreed not to miss any more sessions. (I think I would have agreed to anything at that stage).

I got back to the apartment about 15:30, changed quickly and then we headed for the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple via Delhi, and the India Gate. and Karen pointed out absolutely everything on route.

As we got close to the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple, I got the impression this wasn't like any other temple I had been to before. This is a very new temple, in fact they are still working on it, but it is huge, and very impressive. I wandered around in awe of the work and size and enjoyed the water show about 18:30. I did a couple of the exhibition centers, but think I will save some of the others for when people visit (Including the main temple). There were thousands of people there, and everybody just seemed to exude happiness and contentment. I am not a religious person, but do have an interest in religions and the Hindi (Hindu) religion is certainly a beautiful one. Now the downside is that your not allowed to take camera's into the temple, which is annoying but makes sense, if you did they wouldn't be able to sell you the book and DVD.

Well I bought the book but there for photo's check out this link. Tomorrow I go back to work and I feel good about it. I think I have found my balance, and understand that I need "My Time", and will be booking more time off and admitting when I simply don't have the bandwidth to take any more on.

Tags: Relaxing, Shopping, Temple, Sightseeing, Beer

Well I know I have been quiet this week, but after a nice relaxing Sunday last weekend I decided I needed to concentrate on getting my head into gear. I have been spending between 12 and 18 hours a day working, and I knew I just couldn't keep the momentum going any longer. Monday and Tuesday were very busy days, but with Vikram on board they were much more manageable. Monday was the worst, I woke up with Delhi Belly and despite trying everything I knew I just couldn't shake it. I tried to get out of the office early but it just wasn't happening. I eventually left at 19:00 but I was still working at 02:00 Tuesday morning. Tuesday my stomach still hadn't settled down and I struggled through the day before declaring myself out of action at 20:00, opting to go straight to bed.By the time Wednesday arrived I felt much better, aided I think by a full nights sleep and all day I felt more in control, and although busy the rest of the week felt much more organized.

Friday night was Saurabh's Wedding, and I was determined I was going to make it. I finished work at 18:00 and headed home for a shower and a change of clothes. At 19:00 I headed back to the office to pick up three of the guy's and we headed into New Delhi. We arrived about 21:30 and felt like we were the first ones there. Saurabh arrived about 22:30 and things started to develop from there. I had to leave before the main ceremony, but Indian weddings are very long events and by 01:30 I was shattered and still had a 2 hour trip home. Not to mention my driver had to then drive back to Delhi.

The wedding itself was amazing and very colorful. The reception was held out doors and must have been at least the size of a football pitch. Everything was lit up and every color you could imagine was in is use somewhere. It's funny because in the UK we talk about colors clashing, but out here anything and everything just seems to work. The event was "dry" but Saurabh knew his audience and had catered accordingly. So about midnight we retreated to the comfort of the car park and enjoyed a couple of beers, before heading back for something to eat.

Check out the Movie Gallery for the video I shot. It's not quite BBC material but I am still getting used to the camera. It doesn't really do it justice but I think it gives a good insight.

Saturday I was up about 10:00 and Laurence and I headed into Delhi to do some shopping just after lunch. I picked up another UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) as I am fed up with the electric going out at the good part in a movie. Saturday evening I finally joined the gym and committed to giving up smoking again. As part of the membership I get full use of the Gym, Sauna, Steam room, Jacuzzi, foot spa, and nine free massages, which I think I will need given the amount of time that has lapsed since I did any real exercise. It's a new gym and all of the equipment is the latest, and best of all the gym is very quiet. After a workout and Sauna we headed for Berco's and grabbed dinner, before heading home about 22:00.

Sunday morning I was up at 09:00 and Karen, my driver, picked me and Laurence up for another gym session. We headed down about 10:30 and finished about 14:00. I am pretty sure tomorrow I will ache from head to toe, but it did feel good. After the gym we grabbed some lunch and did a little shopping before heading back to our respective apartments.

It's just coming up to 18:00 now and I am going to catch up with some personal email, before settling down with my Lonely Planet Guide to India. I am going to start planning out some weekend sightseeing, starting I think in and around New Delhi and then start looking further afield. I'll let you know what I come up with.

Tags: Beer, Party, Shopping, Weddings

So I am into the second official week of my assignment and its been another busy day, but more about that later.

This weekend was time to catch up with some sleep and get a little me time. It was nice having the time back in the UK but I really didn't stand still, and having Wednesday off really just allowed me to avoid the jet lag and sort the apartment out.

So Saturday after a nice lay in (10:30). I had a spot of breakfast and watched a movie before heading to the office to check on some work that was being done. It was quick 30 minute visit, and then I headed to one of the many malls to meet up with Laurence and get some shopping. We both needed different things so we went our separate ways agreeing to met up at my apartment later so Laurence could check out the Apple TV.

There are malls everywhere in Gurgaon, and one of the most popular past times on a saturday in India is to shop. However Gurgaon is one large building site and