Gokarna

Mahabaleshwar Temple (Maha: great, bal: strength) in Gokarna, a famous pilgrimage destination, has a special temple for foreigners. We had a lovely Pooja there, no waiting in line and our two very own priests attending.

On the 11 hr drive back to B'lore, a tire blew and so we got to watch how tires are fixed in India. You can fix anything here for little money and they know their trade!

Coffee Plantation

Along the Western Ghats are Karnataka's coffee plantations. Just as green and lush, giving you that out-of-this-world feeling, like Central America's coffee mountains. As a guiltless coffee addict I am happy my favorite drink grows in such serene surroundings.

These fotos are from a visit with our driver Vijay. Note the stone edged pool and imagine spending a hot summer weekend there!

Camilla's birthday party in Bangalore

This was a blast from the past - 17 kids running around and having FUN. We had a Jumping House, games, pizza, open the gifts session and take-away goodie bags. Mats manned the Jumping and scored a huge debt from mom, which he will probably cash in for his 1500 text messages last month. November 2nd is wedged between Moonson season and eastern cyclones, we were blessed by a dry afternoon in our tropical garden. In her usual fashion, Camilla had just celebrated Halloween with mutliple parties but needed her very own birthday event - go girl, 9 years already!

Samantha has arrived

Samantha, our 7 yr old Border Beagle, had to stay back in Los Gatos because we did not know about the special import permit to fly a pet into Bangalore. After getting quotes from pet transport people for $8,000 I finally found Rishya from Fuzzy Wuzzy kennels in Bangalore who flies around the world to attend dog shows. She offered to bring Samantha for a reasonable amount the following weekend. This started a mad dash to update the paperwork - SandiK, my Los Gatos friend and veterinarian had to re-issue all documents while away at her mountain retreat, send flowers to the lady at USDA in Sacramento for getting it all back to Keleigh in time. Last day before leaving for SFO, Sami escaped from the fenced yard until Keleigh found the whole in the fence she had dug so even after 6 years with us, she is still an escape artist. Off the plane and delivered to our door at 2am we all were so happy to see her. Luckily this all took place a week before the Volcano closed down European airspace so we were double happy to Sami with us.

Life in Bangalore is tough for a dog - the heat only allows for long walks early mornings and after dark, she has to be on a leash to avoid fights with the wild dogs and getting into the garbage which is everywhere and potentially poisonous. On the upside, there is a great pet store in town, at Paws we got her outfitted with all we could think of for $40. Sometimes we go to the Stables and there Sami can be a happy dog including rolling in manure (followed by a bath which she actually enjoyed as it was cooling her off) and chasing after the pet sheep. In her new yard, she can roam around in the safety of a walled compound - and to all of you who have listened to her incessant barking over the years on Blackberry Hill, she has not barked once!

Food

In the serviced apartment we have a wonderful cook. Jeeth does not touch beef but all else he tackles fearlessly and serves up amazing dinners. I had to convince him to use spices without the hot ingredients, Mats' favorite is the fried chicken which is a bit like Tempura. Needless to say, Samantha has found a new best friend with all the scraps that fly on the floor when the choping is going strong.

Any kind of food, ranging from 50c to 20$ for a course is available in Bangalore. Local restaurants, like Woody's on Commercial Street - where on Saturday's only the fearless will push thru the crowds and be rewarded with tasty Somozas. Or swanky hotels like the Oberoi Szechuan Court serves an amazing DimSum pre-fix for $16 in the most beautiful setting. Of course, a glass of Indian wine will cost another $10.

Shopping for food can take up your life it you enjoy going to local shops that look like the grocer of your childhood, like the Big Market, a favorite with expats and always something new to be found in the crammed shelves. Beef is sold at a few outposts for foreigners at very reasonable prices but it takes a ride across town which can be a 2 hr return trip. For those who prefer easy shopping Metro is the local Costco and all can be had there with much less fun.

Saturday at the Bangalore Club

Mats at the Bangalore Club, the most formal club
in town established by the British. Note his formal
outfit, no admittance without that - it's actually his
Stonehill school uniform which he will wear Monday
thru Friday. To his left, you see into the bar which
is gents only and sure enough, I was immediately
asked to leave when peeking in.

We had a great day doing nothing and eating well
thanks to Preeti and Pankaj who hosted us.

1st week in Bangalore

Our 1st week in Bangalore - lots of parties to attend, exploring the city driven around comfortably by Chandru, finding the best places to buy food, books and art supplies. We are living in a furnished apartment on the 15th floor, have a great cook/ house servant and the non-working members of our family pretend we are on vacation.

Mats got tested for school and passed for 8th grade, he got to meet his fellow classmates briefly and surprisingly, chose to continue with French for this year. Another week of Easter vacation and then we will have to be ready for the school bus at 7am... until then, swimming and playing and pestering your favorite sibling is all the kids do.

Life here means counting cows on the streets - 20 so far; daily power outages and hence no internet; waiting for the pool at the apartment to get filled but until then swimming at the posh Lalit Ashok hotel; teaching our cook Jeeth to serve non spicy food, he serves us great meals several times a day;

Today we went to the police station to get our residency papers processed, housed in a British style building there was an eclectic mix of papers and electronics, such as digitial cameras we got scanned with. In and out in one hour, thanks to arrangements by Wido's amazing assistant Nithya who not only manages 2 CEOs but also their families!

And what would be a blog without discussing the weather - yesterday we had heavy rains and thunder storms and for the rest of the day it was as cool as a spring day in California. Camilla got her wish to "wear a sweater again" and some people even turned on the heater in their car.

Mats is having fun - last few days before moving

Lounging in the Hotel Los Gatos.
Malibu Racecars with the guys.

Camilla's last days in California

Watching seals at Ano Nuevo and being cold! Camilla's last day at Van Meter school.

Saying goodbye to California

Our last week was fun and crazy, trying to get ready and see our friends. We moved into the swanky Hotel Los Gatos, which was fun for everyone. Mats could walk home from school and wander into town with his friends, Camilla swam in the pool and hottub with her friends, Sami the dog got to pee on the lush lawns of Los Gatos High, and I became a regular at the bar at Dio Deka.

The movers swiftly cleaned out the house and while they were careful and curteous, some things went in the wrong pile. I discovered the suitcase with Camilla's summer clothes gone with the sea shipment so an emergency shopping trip was in order.

While it was all fun and in good spirit, I would not have survived the week without my friend Keleigh. She was my personal assistant trailing me everywhere with her clip board, walking my horse every morning, re-designing the garden and getting bids from contractors. All she needs now is to learn Spanish!