can i whinge

Can I have a whinge?
Just a little one.
Please.

OK, so it's Friday night and instead of being at this cool pool party over looking this beautiful city I am sitting in front of the computer.

As I sigh and wish I wasn't sitting here I get a text message from my lovely Tiina. My travel partner.
Who has been on adventures without me.
In Sri Lanka (one of my favorite countries in the world).

Tiina writes: Hey Sweetie! Thanks for the Sri Lanka tips! I enjoyed a nice slice of cheesecake at Paradise Road Cafe today. I really love this country and need to go back to do some more touring around.

So now I'm even more annoyed over sitting in front of this computer.

The foreign babe answers Tiina: Oh I've been thinking of you so much, wondering how you were. Glad you enjoyed Paradise Road. So wish I could have been there with you. But instead I was sick all last week, and this week I had my boss in town and also had 2 new staff starting. Been busy busy and am in fact still working although it's Friday night and time is 11.33pm. Boo.

Then I think of my friend Marta who this very second is boarding a plane to go home to beautiful Sweden for 3 weeks.
Very jealous!
I haven't had a long holiday in years.
A week is what I usually manage to get off work over here. And during the week off, I'm usually working every day anyway... (Just like I did in India...)

Then I think of all my friends and colleagues in Sweden that have proper Summer holidays - because that is how we do it at home.
But it's not the way we do it in HK.
Here we work.
All the time.
This summer has just flown past so far and all I have done is worked.
Approximately 12 hours or more per day...

I need a break.
Really can't wait for next Friday - as it then will be me sitting on a plane on my way to Sweden.
One week of holidays coming up!
Yes I will still need to work during my holiday, but I will try to do as little work as possible.

Now I will stop complaining and let you have a nice weekend.
I only need to work for an hour or so tomorrow and a few hours on Sunday, so I will enjoy my weekend as much as I can as well.

Ciao.

counting down

I am counting down until touch down in Sweden!
Can't wait.
11 days to go!

not easy

Swedish is not easy to learn I have understood.
At least not for some...
After months of practice.
The line that was one of the first he learnt to say.
Then he tried to spell it in a text message the other night: Sur gött.
My response: What?
He: Yeah isn't that the way you spell sleep tight in Swedish?
Me: Nope. Sov gott, would have been correct.
Not even close.
Unless he has created new language...

chilling in India

My favourite shots from our trip - enjoy!

goa

After a few intense days it was chill out time in Goa for 2 days.
Very good timing as well since Ant managed to get a Delhi belly and needed to stay close to a toilet...
While Ant was doing what he was doing, I read a book by the pool and walked along the beach.


That was it, our holiday was over, but before I close the chapter India I will give you one more post on the subject chilling in India.
I would also like to say - now that we have had a taste of India we will go back for more!

the wedding

Day one - the bride's reception. A night filled with singing and dancing plus a bit of rave before dinner(a bit bizarre but g r e a t).




Day two - the wedding. Many traditional ceremonies. There was drums and dancing in the street, beautiful clothes and hats, chanting and offerings around a fire plus much much more.











Day three - the grooms reception, we unfortunately missed out on but for a good reason though, we flew to Goa.

mumbai

The main reason for the whole India trip was a wedding.
A wedding in Mumbai.
But we managed to squeeze in a little bit of sight seeing whilst in this Bollywood city.
We saw the Gate of India.

We visited the famous out door laundry.



And then the car broke down...

Once it was up and running again - after Ant had been running behind it pushing for a while - we hurried back to the hotel to get ready for the first day of wedding celebrations.

taj mahal

Just as stunning as I had imagined.
The Taj Mahal - Deservedly described as one of the wonders of the world.

The old ruler Jahangir promised his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal before she died that he would build for her a memorial that would surpass the grandeur of any monument the world had ever known. A claim unchallenged to this day. A Persian architect, Ustad Isha with a team of 20,000 workmen took 17 years to build this great monument of love. The beautiful white marble edifice with its dome gracefully swelling out from ta high hexagonal base is so well proportioned that it looks smaller that it really is. Only when one is close to it does one realise its huge size.

bye delhi hello mumbai

A few hours ago I had to say bye bye Delhi.
We've had a fantastic time, couldn't have asked for a better start to our India trip.

Beautiful sights, good food and sleeping with an open door awakining to bird twitters.



Now I'm saying hello Mumbai.
I am looking forward to seeing what you have in store for us.

i spy

Picture Sweden an early Monday morning.
It is summer and you are heading out on a little road trip at 5a.m.
You might very well then keep count on the deers you see on the fields you pass.
Or if you don't see any deers, you might just count red cars, just to keep you occupied...

Picture India an early Monday morning.
It is summer and you are heading out on a little road trip to Taj Mahal at 5a.m.
You don't see any deers on the fields.
You see squatting men.
Men that are having a poo.
By 6 o'clock you have already seen 20 men having a shit by the side of the road, so you stop counting.

I spy with my little eye something beginning with p...

india

I am in India!!
I am so happy.
I have done my first few hours of sight seeing and it has been beautiful.
I am so fortunate to be able to do a trip like this!






First pictures of Delhi. More to come.
Ant and I have had a great first day and it is not over yet :)
It is sunny and w a r m, colourful and interesting.
Talk soon again.
xx