Starting to go places……

Our first trip out of Bangalore was two nights at Dubare Elephant Camp. Dubare is situated on the Cauvery River in Kodagu which is a province in southern Karnataka. It’s about a six hour drive from Bangalore.

To reach the camp we had to cross the river by ferry and walk to our cottage, which was one of ten situated on the banks of the river.

The elephant experience consisted of washing elephants in the river in the morning, watching them being fed and then having an elephant ride. Other activities included a coracle ride in the early morning and a jungle wildlife trek in the afternoon where the largest wildlife I saw was an enormous spider hanging from a tree and have been having nightmares ever since.

The buffet breakfasts, lunches and dinners served in the rustic restaurant were wonderful! On the second night the guests all sat round the campfire and sang songs. We thought we’d got away with it in terms of participation being the only Europeans there and all the songs were in Hindi. However, the other guests demanded a song from us and we managed the first five verses of Green Grow the Rushes, O. The only other camp fire songs I could remember were ones I had sung during scout camps and were definitely unsuitable for such a mixed audience. Later we played charades.

Anne, John, Bethan and an elephant!
http://www.junglelodges.com/resort_overview.asp?resort=Dubare

My New Camera

Just before we went away I treated myself to a ‘proper’ digital camera. It’s a Canon 30D – just like a SLR except it’s digital. I’ve been having hours of fun finding my way around it. I’m sure it has more functions than I would probably use in a lifetime!

What is really weird is that although it uses a completely different technology to a 35mm camera, all the functions are the same. For example, if I take a photo in low light levels, I can change the ISO and use a ‘faster film’ although there’s no film involved at all. I can also take B&W photographs. I bought 2.0GB of memory for it which means that I can take over 400 photographs before needing to download and the battery lasts for over 1,000 shots!

I’m looking forward for my belongings to arrive from the UK so I can try it out with my other lenses.

Stepford Wife?

My first major job when we arrived in India was to find somewhere for us to live. I visited about 14 houses and apartments in one day in all different parts of the Bangalore. Bethan’s school, the Canadian International School, is about seven miles north of the city centre and we decided that it would be most sensible for us to live close to the school and away from the traffic and pollution.

The development http://www.sobhadevelopers.com/projects/malachite/ is not really India. It looks more like an American desert community. It is, scarily, very much like the picture. The front gardens are all uniform and scrupulously maintained. It has a very surreal air about it. Bethan, however, is extremely happy here. It’s a gated community which means there’s very little traffic and she can cycle her bike around, visit friends and have a lot more freedom than she’s used to at home.

I am concerned that it looks just like the sort of place that Stepford Wives inhabit!

And on the way there….

We had a two week holiday in Skiathos at the beginning of August. We’d been to the same hotel the previous year and owing partly to a total lack of imagination and the fact that it had worked really well for us in 2005, we booked to return in 2006. In retrospect it was probably one of the best things we did. By the time we flew there we had already moved out of our house and were already either staying with relatives or in hotels and it was great to go somewhere we knew!

The highlight of the holiday was the two days we spent on a fifty foot catamaran cruising around the island. Bethan had a fabulous time swimming in the sea and playing with friends round the pool. John and I enjoyed drinking the local vino and doing nothing.

The picture is of me and Georgia sitting in the net slung between the two front hulls of the catamatan. A very refreshing place to be on a hot afternoon.

Kent to Bangalore in 4 months – how I got here!

All it took was a five second phonecall. I was in Primark in Peckham one Tuesday lunchtime in late April when John called me and asked whether I’d be prepared to live in India. Primark in Peckham is not one of the more inspiring places on the planet and my answer was an almost instantaneous, yes!

From that moment there was no going back. John and I went on a five day trip in May in order to have a look around and find a suitable school for Bethan. We returned, I resigned from my job and started packing.