Month: December 2013

These really are just a few of the enormous number of resourceful ways that India’s 1.2 billion population move themselves and goods from a to b. Few snaps from the road.

Don’t be goin’ to Goa at Christmas… the place is packed, teaming with tourists. Unless… you go up a river somewhere. We found a beautiful restored old Goan house up a river, on an island, in a village, at the end of the lane. Tranquillity.

We celebrated Christmas day with an enormous buffet breakfast, then hanging out on the beach in Goa, including a banana boat ride for the whole family (thankfully there are no photos of this experience). Ethan invested some of his Christmas money in great beach experiences, including jet skiing on his own for the first time, and para-sailing, naturally.

The kids were gutted that we wouldn’t be sharing Christmas with all our wonderful extended family in Australia, so we went out of our way… to Goa in fact… to give them a great Indian Christmas.

The Christmas Eve buffet stretched all the way back to Pune and included every possible cuisine and some very creative decorating.

The kids woke up to their Christmas stockings (smuggled from home) and lots of cards and presents from family, plus the ones that Lucinda made.

Christmas night we wrote our wishes onto a paper balloon and watched it float over the Arabian Sea.

Merry Christmas x

When I asked each of the kids the highlight of their 12 days travelling around Rajasthan, Delhi and Agra. Camel rides, elephant rides, safaris and the Taj Mahal all rated a mention… but the best thing of all? Being invited to dinner at our driver Prakash’s home.

Prakash, his wife and 3 children, plus his parents and his brother’s family live in a three room home in old Jaipur. His family have a farm 30kms away and Prakash’s three boys all go to school in Jaipur, an opportunity Prakash didn’t have out in the village.

We arrived with a box of sweets in hand and went up to the roof. Great view of the mountains and old city. After papadams and drinks Ethan and I were taken downstairs to dress up in traditional Rajasthani clothes. Ethan borrowed a son’s kurta and turban. The pants were too large, so they wrapped a dhoti elegantly around his legs. Prakash’s mother, wife and niece dressed me in a wedding sari. Including heavy gem encrusted necklaces and bangles and a tikka. Ethan and I then posed on the family’s bed for pictures, before changing back and going up onto the roof for a delicious vegetarian dinner.

Prakash’s grandfather lived to 105 years of age and only ever rode a camel. We sincerely wish Prakash and his family a long and prosperous life and thank them for opening their home and hearts to us – a gift we couldn’t have anticipated.

Picture this… Nick purchases a truckload of Indian fireworks, skyrockets and crackers at Diwali, hides them in a wardrobe and bans the use of naked flame within a 50 metre radius. Now Christmas is imminent it’s time to start celebrating. We load up the children’s arms with fireworks and head downstairs onto the street. The street hums with Saturday night activity, pedestrians, rickshaws, scooters and expensive cars (we’re in Koregaon Park after all).

Armed with an empty beer bottle to stand the rockets in, a packet of matches and armfuls of Indian fireworks in a busy Indian street. What could possibly go wrong?!! Hilariously – no disaster befell us. The highlight was one of the skyrockets going spectacularly awry and flying sideways up into the apartments, crashing into an open balcony and exploding. Of the 100 balconies it could have crashed onto… this was ours!!! We ran upstairs… somehow the washing and windows are all unscathed. Time to call it a night 🙂

If you would like to get an idea of just how unreliable Indian fireworks are, check out the flight path on this one we launched out of a beer bottle gaffer-taped to the balcony!

Check out these vids. When you hit the ‘play’ button it may take a moment to load. Parental Guidance is recommended (but not always applied) and please don’t try this at home 🙂

The doors and locks in Rajasthan are often very beautiful and very old. Burmese teak studded with brass. Cut glass door handles.
Very decorative padlocks. I could fill an album just with photos of doors… but I’ve exercised some restraint.

Warning: There are a lot of photos in this post. The havelis of Rajasthan were the mansion homes of wealthy merchants the majority of which are now in a state of graceful decay. They are lavishly decorated with frescos and massive Burmese teak doors. These mini palaces were built as recently as the 1920’s, but now line near deserted streets in dusty towns and villages. We stayed in a converted haveli called Vivaana, in a village near Mandawa. Beautiful.