Nonnax9's Blog

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Our travels

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A new love came into my life at the end of May 2019 in the form of a fur ball so I thought I would introduce my Cavoodle Beau Kay.

He has taken over my life completely. When they told me they were people dogs I didn’t fully understand what that meant. If I had realised what exactly they were saying he just might not be here living with me at Banora Point.

Over the months he has given me lots of joy and is a great companion and watch dog. So much of a watch dog I had to purchase a barking collar that sprays citronella in his face every time he barks. He only had to wear it a few times so I only need to mention the word collar and he stops barking and hides under the bed.

SAUSAGE ROLLS

Ingredients

A quantity of good sausage mince I usually buy about a kilo
1 grated zucchini
1 grated carrot
1 grated onion
And if using a kilo of mince you need about 1 cup of fresh breadcrumbs
Pinch of salt and pepper

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well

Thaw out a packet of Pampas puff pastry and I use pampas because it seems to be the best one. I’ve tried them all.

Fill a piping bag with mince and squeeze a quantity down each side then roll up. Slice into whatever size you want but I make 8 from each sheet of pastry. Glaze with egg and poke a few holes in the top of each roll with a pointy knife and bake until they look done. About 20 mins in 180 oven. This will make about 100 rolls if you make 8 to a sheet.
Great for kids parties and they freeze well

We left Sydney on Tuesday 10th September for our great adventure. India is the very last country I expected to ever visit but ACWW Conference is in Chennai so I thought why not. We had a good trip to Singapore where we had a five hour layover but as there were by then lots of ladies around the time passed fairly quickly and we reboarded at 3am for the flight to India. My back was feeling a little bit better and I kept the Panasonic going so was able to get an hours sleep but was feeling fairly exhausted by the time we got there. Bus trip to the hotel was uneventful and we were able to watch the scenery as we went along. The area didn’t look too dirty and it is lush and green and very hot.
The Hotel we were booked into was the Maidens in New Delhi which appeared to be an old home from the British era.   Andrea and I spent pretty much  of the day at the hotel to stay awake. We had brekky on arrival and early check in. Strolled around the rather lovely gardens took a few pics and then had lunch in the hotel not wanting to go out elsewhere.

A Nanna nap followed after drinking a refreshing beer. (yep I now like beer) and down to dinner with the group. It was a get to know you dinner. Andrea knows a lot of the ladies having been a member for 32 years. Up to bed and a early night although late for me 9.30. Took a normison and feel a lot better today.

Thursday 12th

Well what a day. I thought I was fairly prepared for this trip but the poverty is extreme although I am not sure if all of it is real. One lady had a fairly large baby in her arms and I suspect the poor little thing was drugged. She was there when we arrived at a temple and there again when we left and the baby was still sleeping. Managed to get by the beggars without paying a thing.
We visited the Jama Masjid of course India’s largest mosque built in the 17th century. We all had to wear a gown here and it was stifling.
Into rickshaws although there was a little man peddling not pulling down we went to Chandi Chowk. Apparently means silver street although we couldn’t get out to shop or look. I suppose this ride took us thru the habadashery area of India a bit like a lot of Spotlight stalls. Would have liked to see the silver as Mel wants earrings. These were interesting looking lanes/streets bit like Aladdin’s cave.

Then off to Gurdwaras Sis Ganji Sahib. This is where we all had to take the shoes off and wear yellow or orange head gear.

This is a Sikh temple. If anyone wants to really read about it I have a little book I will lend you. This is also where they cook for the poor and I have put photos onto Face Book as this iPad is objecting to loading photos today.

Oops just put photos in but i think they have gone else where. They are cooking for the poor.It says it is full so I bought some iCloud space for $20 but seem to be doing something wrong. Everyone that works here are volunteers and apparently it is the duty of the rich to do some work at least once in their lifetime.

We had a delicious lunch and cool beer at the Broadway Restaurant. I actually enjoyed the curries and the butter chicken was yummy.

Did a tour pass all the important places which we really couldn’t see properly. Pass India Gate a memorial from the first world war The Presidents Residence and Parliament House.

Onto another huge temple called Humayun’s Tomb. The info is also available in the book.

Somewhere along the was today I got onto the wrong bus and caused chaos. I got onto bus 2 instead of bus 1 only because the man told me to. So then the guides wouldn’t let me go back to the other bus where Andrea was so really I had to spend the rest of the day with people I didn’t know and a lot of the CWA ladies are clicky. I hope I can go back to the other bus again. I had left my back pack on the bus and when I went back to get it they all yelled your on the wrong bus again. Then at dinner the bloody guide had to bring it up again and remind everyone to stay on the right bus. This all started because I got on to a rickshaws when I was told to and I shouldn’t have but the girl I got on with was fun and we had lots of laughs on our way. She was Sue from Terrigal CWA.

Dinner at the Colours and Spice restaurant. Couldn’t eat much.

The big problem of the day other than me on the wrong bus was the lack of toilets they were none really until lunch time and then again dinner. I made the, wait for me while I went at the last temple

13th September

Consortium of Women Entrepreneurs. Another bus trip. This place was originally started by a couple of women who had the ideas to cook for the office workers. Take away really only it was delivered to their desks. And so it went on to expanding to other industries. From pottery clothing and craft in general. Morning tea supplied atho I didn’t have any as the water wasn’t hot and was coming from a water cooler.
I bought a beautiful bright red pashmina here.
Back to the hotel for a Nanna nap and dinner. Out to dinner at 6pm for more curry at the same place as yesterday. The Broadway. This is really interesting. There is a 1927 De Souza in the middle of the restaurant the inside of which seem to be used as a buffet. We sat at a wonderful table which was actually a very old four poster bed with canopy.

Up above it there is an old photo of the bed with a couple dancing a waltz at the end of the bed. The other tables had lovely stained glass lamps on and over them.
An so to bed by about 10pm

Saturday 14th September

And so onto Agra which is the highlight of the trip for me. We left Delhi at 9am for a very pleasant drive down a freeway with hardly any traffic and no beggars. Bit of a change no poor people. I wondered why they all slept so close to the gutters and apparently thar is so the scorpions don’t get them and they get a little breeze as the cars go by. I think they sleep so well because they are knocked out with all the fumes. (Andrea and I are complaining at the moment because our beds feel damp). and now there is a humming in the room and we can’t find it. A lot of them often have a faithful dog lying with them. Another strange thing I noticed is that they feed the bloody pigeons. There seem to be feeding areas for them with dishes of water and hundreds of birds
They drive took about four hours and thankfully we has two toilet stops. I couldn’t go a second time. Today’s mistake was wearing pants. Trying to hold the bottoms up and pulling them down at the same time is a trick. The toilet was clean cos the little lady scraped the pee down the drain with a huge window scraper thing before I went in. God I will never be able to wear my shoes inside again. There were three toll gates. On the way with roadside rest areas. Got some chippies to eat at one of them.
The hotel is the Trident and our room is tiny. Not happy Jan. with two huge suitcases we can’t move in here but the hotel is very pleasant and the food delicious. They have a big Western Menu thank goodness. I just can’t eat curry twice a day yet alone for brekky. We were lucky in Delhi as they were very good at making scrambled eggs. They should have something nice here as well.
After lunch we boarded the bus for Mother Theresa Orphanage. I think these places are franchised as they are in all cities. Of course it made me cry.

New babies crying in their cots with no one allowed to pick them up. Little ones just sitting on the floor with no toys. Then there were big kids nicely dressed in their Sari. One was in a wheel chair made of wood like a square box chair with just little wheels under the legs. I took their photo for them and they both had a look at themselves and had a giggle just like teens.
Then there was the boys/men’s ward. These all had disabilities. It reminded me of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s nest. However at least they are been cared for.
As I didn’t take anything with me for the kids I thought I had better make a donation and just mentioned to one of the ladies “oh I will just give the nun a note”. Can’t do that she says in a bossy tone. There are correct protocols to observe. What a lot of crap. Apparently I need to be reminded I am with the CWA and things have to be done correctly. I thought I was on a nice holiday. The CWA International Officer is with us and she is full of her own importance. She wanted to collect money and the hand it over with photo shots etc. so I have been duly corrected. If I would like to make a private donation another time I would be most welcome to do so says bossy boots. Andrea and I have refused the Indian Opera tonight and stayed at the hotel for a nice night.
So we have had a swim, cocktail and a bowl of tomato soup.
Now in the damp bed and the bloody humming noise. We will be up at 5am to the Taj..

Sunday 15th September

Up very early this morning. I was just blown away at the Taj Mahal. It isn’t just the whole story of love etc but how on earth did they build that all those years ago in 1652? No cranes, tractors, moderns equipment. I wonder how many people were killed doing?
We were there for the sun rise but really it may have risen but it really didn’t shoe thru until later as we were leaving. It was very beautiful.

Back to the hotel for breakfast. Agra was a very smelly town and while the hotel was lovely with plenty of Western food for me to enjoy our room was tiny and we couldn’t swing a cat there and the bloody beds were damp because of the air con and humidity. What with cows wandering everywhere, an odd, camel and what seems like hundreds of dogs everywhere is it any wonder this place stinks. Of course the men pee where ever they like. It is pretty disgusting.
One thing I have noticed I haven’t seen on baby pram since I arrived here. No women seem to do the domestic work in the hotels. Men come and do the rooms. There don’t seem to be any lady drivers either driving motor bikes or cars? I wonder why?

Off to the Agra Fort which was another enormous place of excesses of the 1500’s. Towers, bastions, ramparts and gateways all for the great Mughal dynasty. It was fabulous tho. I would like to down load some pics here but not sure it is working.

After all of the excesses of this morning we had the afternoon off and Andrea and I decided to take tuk tuk on our own and head to India’s version of Westfield’s. However the driver had different ideas and after much tooting and froing we didn’t get there because he deemed it was too expensive store he take to better market. I didn’t get to buy my hat after all.
A swim cocktails and dinner finished us off.g

16th September

I am getting behind in my blog but too tired tonight. Have to be up early tomorrow So will try later as I keep nodding off.

The hawkers are becoming a bloody pest and really spoil things. You can’t go anywhere with them rushing to you. I seem to have sucker written on my face so now I have a bunch of stuff that no one will want. 30 decorated pens in fact. I suppose they are useable.

Today we drove foe what felt like hours but we saw e Fatephur Sikri, a deserted sandstone city. Yet another enourmous complex of empty palaces, forts and mosques. Arriving in Jaiphur at 4pm.
We were taken to the Blue Pottery Factory which Jaipur is famous for.

I did buy some nice pottery beads here which I will re thread with a knot between each bead so they don’t chip.

17th September Tuesday

Well I have been away for a week. A long time for me to be away from home. Having emails easy access to phone calls and cheap only 40 Rupees to ring home maybe a dollar and face book make it all easier to be away.

Today we arrived in Amber which is about 11 km to the north of Jaipur. Here we had to queue for the elephant ride up to the Fort. The elephants were all decorated and we climbed on from a platform. However the bloody hawkers again almost spoiled it. They just do not take no for an answer they are just terrible touching you and hanging onto you. Of course I ended up with yet more stuff.

This was an 11th century fort and palace and a blend of Hindu and Muslim styles. While we see these things on tele it just doesn’t do it justice you need to come and see it. The Hindu part of the palaces the inner apartments are fairly austere, while the later parts constructed by the Muslims abound in rich flourishes.

I just inserted a photo but not sure that it had worked. Will probably have to do the photos when I get home and do it on the computer.

We descended the fort in jeeps with even more hawkers pestering us

Then on the bus for another hour drive to Sanganer famous for the block printing and carpet weaving. It was interesting and bought a nice blue and white table cloth which I will use for a bed spread.

We did stop lunch along our travels today at the Laxmi Palace which was an amazing palace/hotel in the middle of nowhere. Its opulence was unbelievable and beautiful, I had a bowl of soup and a beer

This was a really busy day. On to the Palace of the Winds which OS a landmark in Jaipur. It is on one of the main streets, elaborate and fanciful built of pink sandstone. It is five stories high with semi octagonal overhanging windows. Each with a perforated screen like bit which allowed the
Aides to see out but not the men to see in.. It was in the middle of the Jaipur shopping centre and we had time to to hop but I declined because of the hawker people and went back to the hotel and to the gym.

Andrea and I decided not to go out to dinner with the group and stayed in and had a cocktail in the bar where we met a couple of interesting ladies. Other and daughter travelling together for the daughters 50th birthday. Mum was 82 and her husband had been the Mayor of Windsor and she lived in Ascot and the daughter in San Francisco and worked for Roche Pharmaceuticals and was the Operational Director for the company. They were drinking a nice Sav Blanc from India and finally the waiter came to the daughter and says to the daughter Madam your Mother has had 5 glasses of wine and that is a bottle. As it was happy hour did she want another bottle. Mum said yes I will have another and the daughter say NO YOU WON’T. She was then taken off to bed. We left soon after ourselves. I think I may have got a bug from my margarita as it had lots of ice in it.

18th September Wednesday and Hollie turned 15 today

Well we pretty much spent the day on the bus fairly harrowing 12 hours and the last couple of hours very harrowing around the mountain roads overtaking on blind corners and the traffic was very heavy and scary. I was glad it was dark so I couldn’t see the drop down the side of the mountain on my side of the bus. If anyone reading this that knows the Dorrigo road well think that in a bus.
Toilets were in very short supply and twice we stopped to go by the side of the road. We did stop at Pushkar for lunch at a hotel. This was a vegetarian restaurant no alcohol served.

The bus stopped on the outside of the town and I managed to get a tuk tuk in but it was a pretty place with nice stalls and no hawkers but we did not have time to shop. I had chips and a coke for lunch as I have an upset tummy as has Andrea. Back on the bus. I don’t know how the bus driver keeps going without a stop for rest it must be nerve wrecking. Could you imaging cows sitting and sleeping in the middle of the M5. Well that is what it is like add to that the dogs, pigs, goats and people it is amazing having to swing a bus around to avoid them because no one ,paves them. It would appear all animals are sacred here. There was a man we passed yesterday who was sprinkling something along a wall and we were told it was butter and sugar and you would never guess but he was feeding the ANTS!!
We did go to visit the lake here but as I was so intent on getting to the loo I didn’t think much of it. There is a long story attached to it. For 12 days in the month of Kartik it is transformed into a fairground that spreads over to the dunes west of the town. Thousands of men come first with camels and cattle and came on the dunes and transact business and then three days before the full moon the women come in gorgeous clothing apparently. The peasants bathe and worship which they were doing while we were there anyway and the water wasn’t any to clean either. There was cattle poo around to place of course. Meanwhile at the fair the camels are bought and sold, beautified and and paraded and raced.

We arrived at the Trident Hotel Udaipur about 8pm finally safe and sound.

19th September Thursday

Well Udaipur is the nicest and cleanest town we have been in. There doesn’t seem to be animals everywhere and there are rubbish bins around. There are some nice houses in evidence as well and not so many poor people. And best of all hardly and hawkers and what there were once you said no they seemed to back off a bit. Bliss

Had a later start of 9.30 today to visit the city Palace. This is a privately owned palace which stands on the crest of a ridge overlooking Lake Pichola. The Jagdish Temple was built in the 17th century and once again amazing! This temple has had 70 generations live here apparently. It was very well kept with lots of little balconies everywhere.

We then went off to a little shop that sold paintings which I wasn’t really interested in but I did like the jewellery shop that was next on the list and a managed to get earrings and bits for Xmas pressies.
Afternoon at leisure so after inspecting the gym went to the pool.

We have a very early morning tomorrow of 3.30 am to fly to Cochin via Delhi where we don’t arrive until 3.15pm.
So early to bed. The packing is done we can only have 16 kilos for internal flights but I had 18 out of Sydney when we were allowed 30. We can have 7 kilos of hand luggage.

Well big problems at the airport today. They are so strict here and unless you are flying you can’t enter the airport. Not only do you walk thru a scanner they frisk you as well. Men in one line and women in an another. Women go behind the curtain and a lady pats you down.
Then came the luggage problem all over weight. Our group had to pay $38 and the other group paid only $26 but a lot of them complained bitterly and someone then abused the travel agent ladies so they were crying it was all very unpleasant apparently. You are only allowed 15 kilos on internal flights and as we can have 30 on overseas flts and I had 18 kilos coming out of Sydney you see the problem. Consequently we are all to stay on the bus we were transported to the airport and the girls from the agent will now travel in our bus. very unladylike for CWA. So one group were to fly to Mumbai and the other to Delhi. Andrea and I are in the Delhi Group. Apparently you can’t fly direct to Kochin from Udiapur. So one and a half hours to get to Delhi again another three or more hours there waiting and then three hours to Cochin. A very long and exhausting day. Saw nothing pretty.

20th September Friday

Well Cochin (Kochin) isn’t too bad. Much cleaner than anywhere we have been and people seem to live in real houses. Another Trident hotel. We feel quite at home in them now as they are identical. All the rooms the same.
Cochin is full of churches and they seem to be all catholic and there is a big Catholic community here. Churches built as far back as 1510 by the Friars bought to India. It was the first European Church built in India. This was St Francis Church where daGama was buried who bought the Friars to India however his remains were moved to Lisbon but his grave stone is still here.
The Dutch Palace was built in 1550 by the Portuguese and taken over by the Dutch who later presented it to the Rajas of India.

There are rivers and canals everywhere here which the tour guide pointed out to us as a Government Initiatives as a mosquito hatching grounds. Lol
It is a fishing port and Chinese fishing nets are used to fish. We went to the fish market and saw it all and the fish covered in flies. I will post photos of all of this.
There is a marvellous shopping strip here and we all had a great time shopping so the bags will be even over more. This shopping strip is called Jew Town. There is a Synagogue here but there are only about 45 Jews left in Kochin the rest have apparently gone back to Israel.
We had the afternoon at leisure and then all went off to see Kathakali performance. We were in time to see them apply their makeup which was very intricate and elaborate. The process can take up to a couple of hours apparently. The performers all males then dress themselves in huge skirts and elaborate head dress. They then perform a drama like show with no speaking just facial expressions and body language. And like all our operas this too ended dramatically. It was a very good show..their facial expressions are amazing they were very clever.
Back to the hotel for dinner which once again I didn’t eat. I did have a little over cooked mullet.
Brekky is always good here and I get to eat fruit and have eggs.. As I am not on air at the moment I will finish this tomorrow..

We don’t really have enough time in some of these places to see everything andi had all been rushed

Sunday 22nd September

We set off to visit Mattancherri which is Jew Town again to visit the Synagogue as it isn’t opened Fridays and Saturday. It was built in 1568 and further embellished by someone called Ezekiel Rahabi who added a clock tower and a paved floor. We weren’t allowed cameras in here but there were chandeliersof murano glass apparently everywhere and the floor covered in hand painted tiles a bit like a willow pattern I forget how many tiles they said there were. It is only a little place
A two hour drive followed to the jetty at Nedamudy where we boarded a house boat called a kettuvalam. I didn’t actually enjoy the delightful lunch while we had a leisurely cruise on beautiful back waters ( Their words not mine). I got a glimps in the kitchen and they were actually preparing the food on the floor. Andrea and I ordered a beer and Andrea saw the man open our bottle with his teeth for Gods sake and she didn’t tell me until I had drunk most of it. She said she poured it put of the other side of the bottle. I will probably come home with all sorts of diseases. Thank goodness I had hepatitis injections.
This area is known for its coir yarn, mats and matting.
We disembarked at 4pm after a very long and fairly boring time on the water but the people we did see on the way all waved with happy faces showing very white teeth. Another hours drive to KUMARAKOM which is situated on an old rubber plantation set around Vembanad Lake the longest lake in Asia. The people live on the water way and winding canals here. Finally arrived at the mozzie infested resort which was quite nice but Andrea hated it. She is paranoid about getting bitten and even tho this was supposed to be a fully Eco friendly place they were spraying. I sat out on the verandah just after the man has sprayed around our little hut and was early sick with the stench and Andrea is asthmatic so it didn’t do for her at all. There was on outdoor bathroom so we had to kept that door shut at all time to prevent the bugs coming into the room.
There we’re little stagnate water pools and ways everywhere.
However I did treat my self to a wonderful Ayurveda massage which was full on. Two ladies doing it for nearly two hours and at the end they insisted they shower me and dry me. this massage is very good for the wellness of mind, body and spirit and before had an Ayurveda doctor who took your medical history and took your blood pressure. A bit of a check up.
This was just a place to rest although there were activities one could do from yoga to visiting the butterfly house. Learning to play the drums and cooking again. I did none. Went for a swin and read my book. No shops here.

A couple of the girls walked into the village and stopped to watch a man in his front yard doing the hotel washing with a rock and big tub of water. Then he wrung them out a swung them around and banged them on some more rocks. Apparently he was washing the saris. We decided not to have washing done here. She was invited into the house which was spotless and had a cuppa with the wife and pristine kids who were off to school. Both sponsored children. The kids showed her their books which were English. She did notice kids cleaning their teeth with their fingers tho so apparently tooth brushes are in short supply in the village. Fresh Water is shipped to the Resort on barges once a week.
We did a sunset cruise if the photos have come out you can see how lovely it was. The ladies in the white saris are the waitresses and the chefs came down to wave good bye to us as we were leaving.

24th September Tuesday

Well here we are in Chennai at long last. By baggage was only 5 kilos over so only cost about $15.
We arrived latish about 7pm and it is a big hotel with many problems for a five star place.
Fold up beds, power points that don’t work, light bulbs hanging precariously and only working intermittently, lights that don’t work at all. They should have said 12 months ago that they could’t accommodate us instead of all these problems. Luckily Jenny Mitchell and her husband have very kindly offered to change rooms with us as they had twin bed and we had a big bed and the fold up one which has really done my back in. It was like sleeping on a plank.
There are women everywhere and I am sitting in the foyer typing this while the rooms are sorted again. Dinner wasn’t a happy affair and I waited a long hour or more for mine to arrive and I can’t eat dinner at such a late hour after 9pm. Pasta was nice tho but I only ate a few mouth fulls. Very unlike me when it comes to spaghetti.
I am waiting for one of our ladies to come back from a meeting. We are going shopping together to buy a sari. Andrea has gone off for more sight seeing but four hours in a car doesn’t appeal to me today. I can do that another day as I am not a delegate I can please myself what I do and Chennai doesn’t seem to be too bad and I haven’t seen any hawkers around in fact I haven’t been hassled by any for the last few days

Saturday 28th September

We we have been fairly quite these last few days. Been to real shops for a Westfield fix. Not really Westfields but a Plaza called Phoenix Plaza. A nice big modern place with real shops and a supermarket.
Chennai is a much nicer place although the traffic is a hazard however the place is cleaner with not too many sleeping on the streets but maybe we just haven’t seen them. Not so many cows on the roads here and no pigs or camels wandering. Lots of dogs tho.
There are high rise apartments and houses and of course the shack type homes as well.
We have had some nice meals and have been up to the fish restaurant twice for nice fish. As there hasn’t really been anyone else in the restaurant we get waited on hand and foot. The chef comes out to discuss how you would like it cooked etc. Very nice. The wine waiter knew all about the wines as well. When we went back last night he had remembered exactly what we ate and drank and ate two nights ago. He suggested we might like to try something different now. I try not to think where the fish have come from. We had sole last night and were expecting it to come out whole but it came in little fillets. Very tasty tho. I have had a really nice spaghetti twice with tomato sauce as couple of times but you seem to have to wait a long time. Both times it has taken over hour to come and everyone else has finished eating

I am waiting for the dressmaker to come while I do this this morning but I think maybe we have a misunderstanding on times. I have decided not to go to the conference today and to have a day on my own for time out. I can go to the pool and sit in the shade and read. Well covered in areogard of course. It is my new perfume. Dr Eliades better be right about not needing malaria tablets. I seem to be they only one not taking them.
We had a little note pushed under the hotel room door yesterday morning. It read:

At the Le Royal Meridien we believe I providing our discerning guests with. Only the very best in terms of service and facilities. In this regard we would like to inform you that there will be a flush shut down between the hours of 15.00 hours and 19.00 hours on the 27th of September.

We all thought oh no. Just arrived back from the conference and busting to go to the loo and you can’t flush the toilet. The toilets at the conference leave a lot to be desired. Four toilets for about
600 or more ladies AND no toilet paper. I messages my friend Gayatri and asked about the toilet habits of the sari wearing ladies and the hose caper. She messages me back and said that a lot of ladies don’t wear pants under the sari. Then if they hang around the toilet long enough they dry off but she always has wipes. There are some squat toilets it you are feeling up to it.

Well the conference has opened with a bang. After the registration day the day before which was a complete shambles it went quite well really.
The registration caper was that they do it in two lots but with so many ladies queueing to get their ID photo taken and there was only one camera computer working it took hours. We left as soon as we got ours.

They are supplying. Lunch and dinner supplied by the convent of the daughters of Mary Immaculate who are running the conference. They were most concerned that Andrea and I were sitting outside on the steps eating our eggs and cheese we pinched from breakfast. They were even more concerned that we were leaving at 5.30 without eating dinner. I suspect a lot of it is reheated and served a second time. There were two big pots of soup yesterday sitting out all day with people wandering by coughing and god knows what else for us to eat. I wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole.
I told the nun I needed a special diet. Then crosses myself when the girls told me my nose will grow.
Steph you could be happy here with all the vegetarian food being served. If you like curry of course.

In the photos above the lady in red is my face book friend Afrodita Roman from Romania. I met her on FB and we have kept I touch. She belongs to a Women’s Institute in Romania so it was nice to see her in real like. The pattern on the floor is made of petals and the colourful ladies are from PNG who the CWA of NSW sponsored to come. Gertrude and Brenda. They are lovely. They get parcels from CWA Material Aid. Gertrude has tried for parliament a couple of time unsuccessfully and says they males are handing out cash to people as they go to vote which she can’t do of course. She said she will keep trying. All the girls are the flag bearers from the Convent and were the flag bearers.

A couple of things I am looking forward to when I get home: my family, husband, kids,grandchildren,nieces, my bed, my pillow, my own room and I ever thought I would say it but my own cooking/kitchen with clean running water, spaghetti and broth, I would also like clean water in the bathroom that doesn’t leave you greasy and towels that are properly dry. These come back from the laundry damp. I have washed my bras today and put them out on a little line I bought with me on the balcony which is covered in bird droppings. The hotel is covered in bloody pigeons at night sitting on every ledge available and pooping everywhere. Haven’t seen them getting fed here tho.

Saw my first baby stroller on Thursday haven’t seen one in India at all and I know it would be far to difficult to use one here and they probably couldn’t afford it either

30th September Monday

Well only 3 more sleeps until we come. Had enough now and ready to leave.
The conference is very slow with lots of deliberating over wording to the constitution and such like.
The. Voting for the World President has been done and Ruth Shanks one of our own is now World President. Ruth come from Dubbo and has been President of the South Pacific Region for the last six years. She should do OK.

Yesterday we had an Interfaith Church Service the more conference and finished off at night witha night of IndiN Culture which was nice. A long day tho.
Day off today to go and visit all the Nun’s initiatives which Andrea and I decided not to do and when on a tour of Chennai with the Romanian Ladies I met on Face Book. We had ancient day visiting all the churches. There seem to be a lot of catholic churches here in India. We went to St. Thomas the apostle church where he is buried but we couldn’t take photos inside. His toe is on a separate place in the church and it is all very holy. It is situated on a hill with great views over Chennai. I will try to post photos. There was a loo her which I just had to use and unfortunately it doesn’t bear thinking about. As I was tipping toeing in a young girl say oh there is no water. I said of we don’t use the hose. Lucky I had tissues because there was none of that either.
Went/drove by the longest beach in India. Didn’t want to get out it was so hot.

Of to the National Park to visit snakes and crocs that would have made very nice shoes. As it is school holidays there were lots of children around so we all had photos. College wanted their photo taken with us

We did try for a Hindu temple it is some sort of festival today but we made a mistake and went in with shoes on not realising it was actually the temple we were in and got chased out. Apparently you have to leave your shoes with a man around the corner and walk back over foul ground barefooted. We decided not to.
There were stalls everywhere sell gaudy plaster statues like little ornaments not sure what you do with them but I did notice that there were sets of cricket teams players. Maybe they pray to them. Buggered if I know really. They were about the size of something you might put on a cake.
We dropped the girls back at their hotel came home had a beer and a plate of pasta and now in bed.
We have just decided we don’t really have our hearts in this Conference. Tomorrow doesn’t finish until 9pm when the Aust contingent are meant to get up and sing home among the Gum Trees and Skippy the bush Kangaroo. We were meant to go and practice tonight but said we were too tired. We just decided to leave about 3pm tomorrow as there isn’t anything for us to do between then and 5.30. Could you imaging anything worse. SKIPPY!!!
For Gods Sake!!!
I guess you can tell it is time for me to come home now.

Wednesday is a half day when we come and get ready for the Gala Dinner. I. Am wearing my Sari. It is probably the only time I will although I intend to wear it to the next CWA meeting next week.

3rd October Thursday St Theresa Feast Day. Dads Birthday

Well it has all come to an end. Leaving tonight for home.
It was the closing ceremony yesterday with lots of noise and colour. I must say the nuns have done a wonderful job even if I didn’t eat any of their food although they did make a nice plain cake each day to go with the tea.
I think a lot of worthwhile resolutions were passed from violence against women to stop female genital mutilations just a couple from quite a few.
Our Ruth Shanks from Dubbo is now the World President of the ACWW. She has been President of the South Pacific Region for the last few years. One has to be fairly rich to hold these posts as they need to travel all over the place

The DMI had a trading stall each day and sold a whole heap of stuff from Saris to tee shirts tablecloths and jewels. My bag is going to be. Very heavy indeed. It was all so cheap so bought yet another sari for the kids to play in and jewels to go with them and a tablecloth come bedspread.
I was watching one of the little lady making the Jewellry and she was sitting on the floor in a dark corner with rusty old tools and decided then and there that she has to have some decent tools so put it to our CWA branch that we purchase her a new set and send them to her via the nuns. I felt almost like crying watching here, they work so hard for not much return.
A lot of this trip has been teary making.
There was a lady doing henna tattoos so I decided to get my hand done for 100 rupees. She was feed a tiny baby when I approached her and she immediately handed the 4 month old over to the 7 year old who was tiny herself. I suggested that I nurse they baby while she did my hand and so it was put in my lap. Oh no! No nappy and the poor little thing had no nappy on just pants. I handed him back to the big sister ASAP. A nun finally came and looked after him. I did notice later in the day that someone had produced a nappy for it. Poor people here don’t have nappies.

Took off early after the Conference to go shopping with Susan from Terrigal CWA and took a tuk tuk for a very scary ride. The kids would have lived it as it was a bit like a ride from Luna Park it was so rough and scary. It was a public holiday to celebrate Gandhi’s birthday and the traffic was horrendous. These little vehicle are tiny and weave in and out of the traffic and if you are mad enough you can just put your hand out and touch whatever car, bike or bus is beside you. Of course there seem to be no road rules obeyed and mother to go up the wrong side of the road if it is quicker. It cost us 600 rupees each for him to wait for us while we shopped and we had him for about 3 hours all up. Probably about $20.
Andrea and I took a tuk tuk the day before and the driver was so excited to know we came from Australia. Immediately went into the good day thing and his cousin lives in NSW 2083 or something to that effect as tho NSW was a suburb and apparently he was into yoga and painting in nsw 2083
We looked it up and he apparently lives in Lightening Ridge. So the painting thing might be correct
I hope I don’t lose my Internet connection before I finish this.
Oh bugger I appears that I can’t post now as Word press says this server is not legal whatever this means. I just hope all of this is here still when I get home to post it so I don’t think anyone will see this last post till I get back.

The Gala Dinner was fortunately held in our Hotel. I decided I had better wear my lovely sari as I will probably never wear it anywhere again unless I wear it to the next CWA meeting.
It wasn’t easy to get on and I had two other Ladies helping wrap me in it. When I got down stairs one of the nuns looked at me and said come back to you room and I will dress you. Very funny. She used 8 pins to pin me in. I asked her how many she has in her lovely peach sari and she says oh no need, none. The nuns came prepared for this as they had a big bag of pins with them.
We did take a big bag of stuff down to the nuns. It contained all the stuff from the hotel. Soap, shampoo,combs, razors etc along with left over medication.I had a lot of Panadol left over so they got that as well A packet of unopened ginger nut biscuits I had bought along with a Lindt choc. I will also wear my shalwar kameeze to the next few meetings as well. Andrea and I lasted about half an hour. No booze as it is the birthday of Ghandi We trotted up to the fish restaurant called Kayala which is a little pricey but it is our last night so why not?
We joined the the Elder sisters who were travelling with their mother who attended the meeting. Dawn the mother is in her 80’s and a real live wire. She was telling me she was mustering just before she came away and the girls aren’t happy she doesn’t wear helmet on the bike, too hot she says.
This was the third time we have eaten here and they waiter and chef are great. They remember what you like to eat. And what you ate last time. I did have sole again and the other had lobster Andrea has salmon. It all looked great. We had to drink Penfolds Sav Blanc out of tea cups. We just kept asking for another cup of tea please and the took the tea cup away for a refill. I seem to remember a film where they were drinking out of tea cups or maybe it was a tv show.
All to full to eat sweets when up come the waiter and chef with a big cake with candles alight on it which surprised us all thinking it was someone’s birthday. But no it had written on top Bon Voyage. And so we all blew the candle out and then all helped to cut it and the chef then duly served it up to us. It was a delicious strawberry sponge cake. Isn’t that wonderful of them they were so lovely?
The sari was bloody hot and not particularly comfy and I was dying to get it off. A bit
Ike having a corset on.

One of our ladies, Miriam, is in hospital. Lucky it is just right next door to hotel. She bumped her leg while she was still in Aust. She had to get a bus from the country town into ,Melbourne to get to the airport and did it on one of those buses. Of course it is infected so she has been there for three days but they will transported by ambulance to the airport tonight for the flight home and an ambulance will meet her in Sydney. Apparently the nuns have made sure she is looked after and there is a nurse at the conference from her CWA branch who is keeping an eye on things. We did had two other working nurses with us all the way as well.
One of the other older biddies who is very nearly blind and can’t see a bloody thing is I’ll as we’ll but I am not sure what she is up to. She was waiting for the doctor to come yesterday ,morning. She should have never been allowed to come but apparently her doctor signed her off as fit. Her poor room mate Lorna who is in her 80’s has been looking after her. She had been a real drag for her and anyone else who happens to be around her when she need help. And eat! My god she has three enormous meals a day nearly made me ill watching her and as she is blind she piles everything on to her plate and it is a real mish mash of foods together.
Apparently yesterday the selfish old bugger had just thrown up and then says to Lorna, go down and get me some porridge and fruit will you? Amazing!!

And so it’s goodbye from the Meriden/Marigold Hotel.
Andrea was up and about at three thirty this morning with the bloody lights on that wouldn’t turn off so we had to ring for someone to come and then he wanted a tip. All he did was shake the light console thing. We has no hand towels earlier in the evening. Because they weren’t left in the room when the cleaning was done. He too wanted a bloody tip. If they can’t do their work properly they don’t deserve any extra tips. We have been leaving one or two hundred rupees under the pillow for the, of a morning for the cleaners so that should be enough. Then all the waiters who are shockers. Where they get them from I can’t imagine. I have ad to ask five times for tea at brekky and stil it didn’t come. Had to take my cup over to the tea station and ask the, to put hot water in it for me. No one can do anything automously. They always have to ask some else who then asks someone else and so it goes on. From dry days to no flush days, lights hanging precariously, power points that don’t work, fold up bed, washing coming back unironed, waiting for over an hour for the pasta to arrive it is all here at this hotel. If you come here to Chennai try the Tridents they are better.
Oops there is water pouring in under the door to the balcony as I type. They are hosing/come washing all the bird poop off the building. Just called management for someone to come.

We left Sydney on Tuesday 10th September for our great adventure. India is the very last country I expected to ever visit but ACWW Conference is in Chennai so I thought why not.
We had a good trip to Singapore where we had a five hour layover but as there were by then lots of ladies around the time passed fairly quickly and we reboarded at 3am for the flight to India.
My back was feeling a little bit better and I kept the Panasonic going so was able to get an hours sleep but was feeling fairly exhausted by the time we got there.
Bus trip to the hotel was uneventful and we were able to watch the scenery as we went along.
The area didn’t look too dirty and it is lush and green and very hot.
Andrea and I spent pretty much Theresa of the day at the hotel to stay awake. We had brekky on arrival and early check in.
Strolled around the rather lovely gardens took a few pics and then had lunch in the hotel not wanting to go out elsewhere. A Nanna nap followed after drinking a refreshing beer. (yep I now like beer) and down to dinner with the group. It was a get to know you dinner. Andrea knows a lot of the ladies having been a member for 32 years.
Up to bed and a early night although late for me 9.30. Took a normison and feel a lot better today.

Thursday 12th