I've been a bit busy at work recently so haen't posted for a while.
In the last couple of weeks I've bought a car (Honda City) and passed my driving test.
In most countries, the test itself is he hard part. However here, all I had to do was drive the car in a straight line, do a u-turn and come back again. All this was on a deserted road. But India being India, the difficult part is getting the test, waiting around for a couple of hours, then after passing, waiting around to get the license itself. At least I can legally drive in India for the next 20 years.
Everyone was telling me that driving in India is crazy, although I'm actually enjoying it. It does require a lot of concentration though. The main differences are the motor bikes and auto-rickshaws zipping in between the cars. In heavy traffic if you leave any kind of gap between you and the car in front, it is instantly filled by bikes!
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Thursday, 12 June 2008
Shipping Update
Hooray! I have 18 boxes at home without any fuss. I met the shipping agent this morning at Customs House. He had arranged for a pass into the port area. In hushed tones he mentioned that in order to get the pass quickly, they had said I was an employee of the agent, as otherwise it takes over 48 hours!
Once inside we just walked to the customs warehouse, where the agent told me to wait in an air-conditioned waiting room while he went through the paperwork with the customs officials. I waited for about half an hour in which he came back a couple of times for a signature on a form. Then, with the senior customs official, he took me to the boxes. The customs guy ordered one of his minions to open 6 or 7 boxes, asked me if there were any electronic goods and then apologised to me for having to open the boxes!! The agent then said I could go while he arranged delivery of the boxes, and that was that! There were no "extra payments" that people warned me about, just the agent/transport fees etc. It was all very straightforward and I was able to go and work from home while waiting for the boxes!
Once inside we just walked to the customs warehouse, where the agent told me to wait in an air-conditioned waiting room while he went through the paperwork with the customs officials. I waited for about half an hour in which he came back a couple of times for a signature on a form. Then, with the senior customs official, he took me to the boxes. The customs guy ordered one of his minions to open 6 or 7 boxes, asked me if there were any electronic goods and then apologised to me for having to open the boxes!! The agent then said I could go while he arranged delivery of the boxes, and that was that! There were no "extra payments" that people warned me about, just the agent/transport fees etc. It was all very straightforward and I was able to go and work from home while waiting for the boxes!
Monday, 9 June 2008
Shipping Report
No it isn't a transcript of BBC Radio 4 LW weather forecast, but a report on how our shipped belongings are progressing on their journey from London to Chennai.
After a false alarm when the shipping company sent me an e-mail saying that the boxes were arriving in May, they have arrived in Chennai for real. The ship arrived on Friday and I got a call from the appointed shipping agent. Went to meet him at the agents office and signed the customs paperwork. Apparently tomorrow I will have to go to the port itself for a customs inspection of the boxes. Hopefully this will result in the boxes being cleared and delivered home tomorrow evening (all for a modest fee to agent, customs and for transport from the port).
So far it has been straightforward, but I've been told to be wary of the customs people asking for extra "donations"...
After a false alarm when the shipping company sent me an e-mail saying that the boxes were arriving in May, they have arrived in Chennai for real. The ship arrived on Friday and I got a call from the appointed shipping agent. Went to meet him at the agents office and signed the customs paperwork. Apparently tomorrow I will have to go to the port itself for a customs inspection of the boxes. Hopefully this will result in the boxes being cleared and delivered home tomorrow evening (all for a modest fee to agent, customs and for transport from the port).
So far it has been straightforward, but I've been told to be wary of the customs people asking for extra "donations"...
Tuesday, 3 June 2008
It's Hot!
Generally, I haven't been used to 42 degrees Celsius in London. In fact I can safely say that the maximum temperature I have ever experienced is probably about 37-38 degrees before this. I guess it wasn't a smart move to come to Chennai just before the summer then :-).
For me it isn't too bad. I have air conditioning in my bedroom at home, and in the office so at least Monday - Friday is bearable. Weekends it is a different matter though.
Actually this post is a bit late as we seem to have reached the peak. Apparently it should cool down once the monsoon season starts in Kerala. I was expecting a monsoon season in Chennai as well, but I've been told not to get my hopes up!
The weirdest thing for me is that the only time of day to go out is either early morning or after 5pm. It really does start getting too hot by around 8.30am. I have been told that this year has been particularly severe though.
For me it isn't too bad. I have air conditioning in my bedroom at home, and in the office so at least Monday - Friday is bearable. Weekends it is a different matter though.
Actually this post is a bit late as we seem to have reached the peak. Apparently it should cool down once the monsoon season starts in Kerala. I was expecting a monsoon season in Chennai as well, but I've been told not to get my hopes up!
The weirdest thing for me is that the only time of day to go out is either early morning or after 5pm. It really does start getting too hot by around 8.30am. I have been told that this year has been particularly severe though.
Tuesday, 27 May 2008
IPL
The Indian Premier League (Cricket) has been running for a month now and of course I am supporting the Chennai Super Kings!! (Dhoni! Dhoni! Dhoni!)
It's the make or break match tonight against Deccan Chargers. CSK have to win to make the semi finals.
UPDATE: CSK lost on the last ball of the match! For a full match report see here
I've told my friends about the blog now
This is a quick message to say hi to any of my friends/family who are visiting the blog for the first time. Up until now I have just started out trying to figure out what to write. But I guess eventually I have to have an audience rather than write purely for myself.
Monday, 26 May 2008
Visiting Family
This weekend I visited my family in Kerala (just outside Thrissur(Trichur)). The excuse for the trip was my cousins daughters "choroonu" which is the first time she eats rice. It was good to see several people that I hadn't seen for a long time.
I went by train (Trivandrum Mail) on Friday night, arriving in Thrissur at 5am on Saturday morning. Got picked up by my uncle inmy dads car and went to Peruvanam. I do feel at home in my Dad's house there, even though my mum and dad aren't actually there at the moment. Although I slept there, most of my time was spent at my grandmothers house just 5 minutes walk away.
Saturday was pretty busy with the function at my aunt and uncles place a few kms away. Made use of my dads car which otherwise just sits in the garage while he is in the UK. Lots of my cousins ahave small kids now. It's good to have a play with them, especially as I'm missing my own kids so much.
Spent sunday mostly at my grandmothers place, but also checking things at my dads house. It's a really quiet relaxing village. Here is where it is:
View Larger Map
You can zoom out to see exactly where it is.
Spent the rest of Sunday just relaxing with everyone at home. It was kind of strange just coming to see everyone for the weekend. Normally visiting Peruvanam is a planned 2-3 week trip from the UK including many other visits.
I travelled by train in the 3 tier A/C sleeper car (meaning there are 3 rows of beds the middle one of which folds to let people sit during the day). It's comfortable enough, but a bit tiring as I tend to wake up every time the train stops at a station. It was strang reaching Thrichur station as I didn't recognise the place. It has had a major refurbishment since I last went there.
I went by train (Trivandrum Mail) on Friday night, arriving in Thrissur at 5am on Saturday morning. Got picked up by my uncle inmy dads car and went to Peruvanam. I do feel at home in my Dad's house there, even though my mum and dad aren't actually there at the moment. Although I slept there, most of my time was spent at my grandmothers house just 5 minutes walk away.
Saturday was pretty busy with the function at my aunt and uncles place a few kms away. Made use of my dads car which otherwise just sits in the garage while he is in the UK. Lots of my cousins ahave small kids now. It's good to have a play with them, especially as I'm missing my own kids so much.
Spent sunday mostly at my grandmothers place, but also checking things at my dads house. It's a really quiet relaxing village. Here is where it is:
View Larger Map
You can zoom out to see exactly where it is.
Spent the rest of Sunday just relaxing with everyone at home. It was kind of strange just coming to see everyone for the weekend. Normally visiting Peruvanam is a planned 2-3 week trip from the UK including many other visits.
I travelled by train in the 3 tier A/C sleeper car (meaning there are 3 rows of beds the middle one of which folds to let people sit during the day). It's comfortable enough, but a bit tiring as I tend to wake up every time the train stops at a station. It was strang reaching Thrichur station as I didn't recognise the place. It has had a major refurbishment since I last went there.
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