Back from India!
Jun. 13th, 2011 10:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
motodraconisIn spite of the fact that we were late getting to the airport due to some of my co-workers still being in bed when we were supposed to leave at 5.30am. Co-worker F thought I was being over-paranoid banging twice on everyones' door to wake them, but it turns out lucky I did, one of the guys thanked me as his phone battery had died (and hence no alarm) and he'd have just slept on! The others were awake but not shifting their arses! I'd not got my wake up call, and was only on time due to waking up naturally.
Oh, and we didn't have any tickets to get home, as they forgot to give them to us the night before - that would have made things less stressful, and the taxis to take us to the airport had not been booked even though I'd checked the night before. GAH!
Picture taken from outside of the famous Ganesh temple in Pune. I didn't feel so bad snapping Ganesh as locals were taking photos of him with their mobiles from the same spot!
Since this was a business trip, there was very little time to see anything much except the inside of offices, so sightseeing was really minimal - alas!
The gates of Shaniwar Wada a fortress in Pune. Notice the spikes on the door, these are to deter war elephants from breaking through the entrance. I noticed them straight away, and couldn't work out why there were spikes placed so high, and had to be told. Growing up in the UK, I've seen a fatlot of castles and know a fair amount about fortification, but elephant-attack is not something you're going to think of when you've been raised in England!
Funfair in Pune, on the way to the second famous Ganesh temple.
Builders...
No hard hats on this building site!
Pataleshwar Cave Temple in Pune, an 8th century rock-cut temple.
Wonderfully atmospheric place, quite empty save for one chap singing beautifully at the altar (great acoustics.)
The temple was only about a km away from the hotel, so I was able to run and have a quick view before the morning appointments began.
My sea view from the hotel in Mumbai - in Monsoon rain! We were lucky though, as for the most part the rain held off for us.
A girl in her swimsuit, takes a break from the hotel pool to enjoy the first rains in Mumbai.
Murky Mumbai beach, it's not raining, just a bit smoggy!
In the whole 2 weeks there, we only had a single morning off - Sunday morning, but a taxi was arranged to take us to the sights of Mumbai, a whistle stop tour before our afternoon flights. (Myself to Ahmedabad and my co-worker to Nagpoor.)
The India Gate, Mumbai.
Chhatrapati Shivaji.
Mumbai bay
Last time I went to India, the streets were full of old cars, now they're all modern and only a few taxis remain.
Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat or Laundry Street. This is where all the hospital laundry gets washed.
Pots for sale on main street in what our taxi driver called the "slum" district. This didn't seem like a true slum to me though, more of a manufacturing district, bustling with people hard at work.
Kiln, in the back alley behind the shops...
Back alley, all the buildings on either side full of people hand-turning pots...
Breads (rotis?) drying in the street - taken from the back window of our taxi.
Parts of the "slum" were pretty rubbish-strewn, but without a comprehensive refuse collection service the people are pretty stuck for disposal - a few weeks of bin-men strikes and the UK would look pretty similar in a very short space of time.
Ghandi's house... his main living area.
Our taxi driver did a great tour for us, escorted us on foot and showed us around, even taking us to his spick and span house in the "slum" area (space for housing is at a premium in Mumbai, even the fairly well off can only get small homes.) We gave him a massive tip for his trouble.
Mumbai skyline...
Ladies check out the bay view.
The concept of pedestrian safety is still pretty much an afterthought in India. The only pedestrian crossings I saw were in the embassy district, and seemed to miss the whole point of a safe pedestrain crossing...
Last morning in Mumbai... Spitting Image still lives on in India!
The story of Baba Ramdev's campaign has been dominating the papers during my stay.
Finally, after hearing this song only once, the chorus earwormed me for the whole 2 weeks! I've had to buy a copy (on iTunes) but alas, neither of the 2 copies I bought have the girl singing in them. *sadface*
It's a song from the film Dabangg, and had been pretty popular for the past 6 months, the girls hosting me told me it gets played at weddings now.
Next up, flora and fauna.
Oh, and we didn't have any tickets to get home, as they forgot to give them to us the night before - that would have made things less stressful, and the taxis to take us to the airport had not been booked even though I'd checked the night before. GAH!
Picture taken from outside of the famous Ganesh temple in Pune. I didn't feel so bad snapping Ganesh as locals were taking photos of him with their mobiles from the same spot!
Since this was a business trip, there was very little time to see anything much except the inside of offices, so sightseeing was really minimal - alas!
The gates of Shaniwar Wada a fortress in Pune. Notice the spikes on the door, these are to deter war elephants from breaking through the entrance. I noticed them straight away, and couldn't work out why there were spikes placed so high, and had to be told. Growing up in the UK, I've seen a fatlot of castles and know a fair amount about fortification, but elephant-attack is not something you're going to think of when you've been raised in England!
Funfair in Pune, on the way to the second famous Ganesh temple.
Builders...
No hard hats on this building site!
Pataleshwar Cave Temple in Pune, an 8th century rock-cut temple.
Wonderfully atmospheric place, quite empty save for one chap singing beautifully at the altar (great acoustics.)
The temple was only about a km away from the hotel, so I was able to run and have a quick view before the morning appointments began.
My sea view from the hotel in Mumbai - in Monsoon rain! We were lucky though, as for the most part the rain held off for us.
A girl in her swimsuit, takes a break from the hotel pool to enjoy the first rains in Mumbai.
Murky Mumbai beach, it's not raining, just a bit smoggy!
In the whole 2 weeks there, we only had a single morning off - Sunday morning, but a taxi was arranged to take us to the sights of Mumbai, a whistle stop tour before our afternoon flights. (Myself to Ahmedabad and my co-worker to Nagpoor.)
The India Gate, Mumbai.
Chhatrapati Shivaji.
Mumbai bay
Last time I went to India, the streets were full of old cars, now they're all modern and only a few taxis remain.
Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat or Laundry Street. This is where all the hospital laundry gets washed.
Pots for sale on main street in what our taxi driver called the "slum" district. This didn't seem like a true slum to me though, more of a manufacturing district, bustling with people hard at work.
Kiln, in the back alley behind the shops...
Back alley, all the buildings on either side full of people hand-turning pots...
Breads (rotis?) drying in the street - taken from the back window of our taxi.
Parts of the "slum" were pretty rubbish-strewn, but without a comprehensive refuse collection service the people are pretty stuck for disposal - a few weeks of bin-men strikes and the UK would look pretty similar in a very short space of time.
Ghandi's house... his main living area.
Our taxi driver did a great tour for us, escorted us on foot and showed us around, even taking us to his spick and span house in the "slum" area (space for housing is at a premium in Mumbai, even the fairly well off can only get small homes.) We gave him a massive tip for his trouble.
Mumbai skyline...
Ladies check out the bay view.
The concept of pedestrian safety is still pretty much an afterthought in India. The only pedestrian crossings I saw were in the embassy district, and seemed to miss the whole point of a safe pedestrain crossing...
Last morning in Mumbai... Spitting Image still lives on in India!
The story of Baba Ramdev's campaign has been dominating the papers during my stay.
Finally, after hearing this song only once, the chorus earwormed me for the whole 2 weeks! I've had to buy a copy (on iTunes) but alas, neither of the 2 copies I bought have the girl singing in them. *sadface*
It's a song from the film Dabangg, and had been pretty popular for the past 6 months, the girls hosting me told me it gets played at weddings now.
Next up, flora and fauna.
