This is the local kite seller near our friend Rohan's house. From what I gather, he has been selling kites for years from this corner. As you can see from this photo, the variety of kites available is pretty large. This is a small portion of his overall stock.
I realize this photo is a few weeks late (given my earlier post about kite flying), but it took Rohan some time to get me his photos as he recently got engaged. Congrats Rohan!
From HT: Oberoi Patisserie & Delicatessen.
Have you seen spicy Calabrian salami, San Danielle ham, real farmhouse Cheddar cheese (that is, made in Somerset, not the variety that’s made in Gurgaon!) or Valrhona chocolates on your last trip and wished you could get them in Delhi? Well, now you can. There are other goodies too: real Kalamata olives from Greece, cold-pressed olive oil from Sicily, breads the likes of which we in Delhi have hardly seen.
What impressed me the most was the subtle, gracious manner in which a variety of tastes had been catered for. There was gorgonzola cheese (Rs 100 for 100 grams for all varieties) and goat cheese from Piedmont for the dyed-in-the-wool cheese lover, but there were also Edam, Gouda and Emmanthal for the less adventurous. It is the same with virtually every product - the depth within each range shows you the intensity of research that has gone into the restaurant.
As of today, cabin crews of all domestic airlines will now have to
interact with pilots over the intercom every 30 minutes.
Seems reasonable enough, except that this decision was made after
several incidents of planes flying beyond their destination/ moving
away from flight path after the pilots fell asleep.
Yes, pilots fell asleep aboard one aircraft in Air India's fleet
causing the aircraft to fly past Mumbai, the destination, and on
toward Goa. In addition, one international flight overflew its
destination which is also under investigation.
So, next time you hop on a plane, you may want to say a prayer or two, and consider buying the pilots some coffee.
Well, it's been about a week since Sally and I headed to Ahmedabad for our friends pre-wedding festivities & to witness the kite-flying festival.
We did not arrive in time for the structured & formal International Kite Flying Festival, but rather for the crazy competitive day of flying amongst the locals in Ahmedabad. Thankfully we had a host of local guides to help us make the most of the day.
We flew kites with the thousands of folks on their roofs in the Old City, with the families in the western suburbs, and had a panorama view of the kites flying over the slums on the bank of the river.
On our final day, we took some time out and went on the wonderful heritage walk through the Old City. It departed at 7:30 am, and snaked through a Jain Community, Hindu Community and a Muslim community. We visited several temples/mosque's along the way - and it was here I snapped this photo of Mouth Freshener for sale.
My friend's mother once described one of these mouth fresheners to me as an Indian Tic-Tac. I think that is as good a description as any. They are available in many varieties -but in my experience most taste like Soap, or Black Licorice (I happen to like Black Licorice). However, every once in a while, You will find one you absolutely love.
Do not let my description of this treat discourage your from trying them the next time you are out - in fact, it should encourage you to try them every time you go out. After all - you might love the freshener, you might hate it - but it is the experience of trying the unknown you will enjoy most.
In fact, it is kind of like India.
Or as an Indian might say. We are like that only.
Updated to include proper spelling
I guess a government job just ain't what it used to be.
It is midnight. My flight to Europe departs at 2am. This is the scene on the road to the airport.
It looks like I am in for a very long wait at the airport tonight...
Update: Every other flight was cancelled... except mine! Go SwissAir!
Early Morning Fog in Gurgaon stands in stark contrast to the early morning sunshine captured just two weeks ago in Chicago. Every morning the sun seems to battle with the fog before finally lifting - leaving the sky blue.... ish...
