Zoe's India Adventure

Our last visit

Bats in the trees at Reliance Corp.

Note:Tuesday and Wednesday blogs have been updated below

We had our last business visit today and, wow!  We went to Reliance, which is the second largest telecom provider in India.  The facility was amazing and the geeky side of me wanted to stay and play.  This company is entering the global market and, looking at some of the products they showed us, they will do well.  They have an IP product that puts Tivo to shame both in the interface (it's pictoral and very easy to use) and what it can do.  Needless to say, I want one!!

We're off to dinner soon and to the elephant caves tomorrow morning.  The sfternoon is our flight to Delhi and then we head home on Saturday.  Though I have thouroughly enjoyed my stay here, I am ready to head home.  I'll give you a run down on the elephant caves in tomorrows blog.

Mumbai

We arrived in Mumbai without incident.  We're staying ion a hotel just a block from the ocean, which is really nice because the ocean brings a breeze that is very welcome in the 100 degree weather we've encountered.  On the way to the hotel from the airport we made a couple of stops.  One was at the hanging gardens and the other at the gateway of India (not to be confused with the gateway to India which we saw in Delhi).

The gardens were beautiful, even though the flowers were pat their prime, I woulde have loved to have seen it a month or so ago.  THey had animals and archways made out of vegitation.  There were spaces to picnic, fountains, and best of all, a wonderful view of the ocean.

On the opposite side of the street was a small park with a really nicely kept Bonzai garden, old mother hubbards shoe (filled with children), and a spectacular view of Mumbai snd the coastline.  THis side of the road was crowded with people and street vendors all of whom were relaxing in the shade provided by a couple of huge trees. 

Our next stop was the gateway of India. 

The Colors of India

Silk material being woven

During the last couple of days we have had some time to get out, see the sights, and shop. One of the biggest attractions for us has been the shops that sell clothing and the material for Saris.  A Sari is simply a 6 to 9 yard piece of cloth that is wrapped around the body in a specific way.  The material is usually brightly colored, elaborately decorated, or both.  It is amazing the variety of colors, patterns and decorations the material comes in.  Going into a shop that sells the Saris looks pretty non-descript until they beginning pulling material off the shelves for you to look at.  In moments the shop transforms from non-descript to a feast of colors and patterns all glittering and shimmering in the light.  If I had know what amazing material I'd find here I would have brought another suite case with me to take a lot of it home.

We visited a government run training center for entrepreneurs interested in starting their own silk business. People interested in learning the silk trade learn every aspect of it, from growing the cocoons to weaving the material.  They also have facilities that show how to do everything by hand and how to automate the process.  It was a very interesting morning and I have a whole new respect for where our silk clothing comes from.

Hospitality

Photo page has been updated, see Chennai link on the right

The thing that strikes me most, so far, is how gracious our hosts have been in all the places we've visited. It began when we got off the plane and our tour guide gave us each a lei of chrysanthemums. We've received flowers, food, and/or gifts at every stop along the way.  The businesses have taken us in at sometimes quite an expense to them; in one small business we visited we spent the morning in the area where the work stations were, which means no work got done during the hours we spent there.

The people in Chennai were especially generous with the flowers. Not only was the city covered with flowers and people selling flowers (there were even fragrent flower blossoms scattered on the street in front of our hotel), but we were each given flowers at almost every stop. At one of the businesses we visited, instead of flowers, we received a floral scented lei made out of very thin wood shavings shaped into flowers (see picture above). The workmanship on these leis was amazing and I'm hoping my lei will survive the trip home. 

The Amazing Race

Quote of the day
"I will never complain about the gas station restrooms at home again!"

Fun story of the day
While relating a story about how hard he worked bartering for some items with a street vendor, the story teller paused thought a second and then said, "darn I gave him a 100 and forgot to get my change!" All that hard work wasted ....

Today was one of the most fun days we've had so far. My day began riding Mopeds through the streets of Chennai. Ok, I wasn't driving, but I was on the back of one of the mopeds. It was quite an adventure, and it's a great way to see the city. Those of us that were lucky enough to go will appear in an Indian Motorcycle magazine next month.

A look at traffic from inside a 3-wheeler

After the ride we met the bus for some sightseeing and a visit to a bronze museum. Later in the afternoon, Siva took a bunch of us shopping. We began the adventure by renting 3-wheelers for all of us, 2 or 3 to a 3-wheeler and set out. We stopped at several places but, either didn't find what we were looking for, or weren't willing to pay what was being asked for the goods. Time was running out, we had to be back at the hotel by 7:30 to meet with the students from Great Lakes University, we were getting desperate. After another unsuccessful stop someone noticed a street market up the road, just what we were looking for. The group split up and we were off!! Five us set off on a shop til you drop in 40 minutes spree. I don't know how we did it, but we were able to hit several shops, purchase some souvenirs