Part 2 of ???
So where’d I leave off? Oh right…the Diwali celebrations.
After that, we spent a lot of time just going around to the different shops, buying a number of really pretty Indian dresses. We visited his sister, brother-in-law, and niece in Bangalore – did a great deal of shopping there, then drove about 3 hours (it should have been about a 5 hour drive but our driver was something of a maniac!) to visit my aunts and uncles in Neyveli. It was nice to see all of them again, and they were very excited to see us again as well.
We left India the night of November 15 – our flight was actually very early the morning of November 16th – and headed off for Taiwan. Let me tell you, it was SO nice to be home again. Like, back in Taiwan home. I forgot how laid-back everything there is. I feel bad because we didn’t take my husband out and about as much as we should have, but I think he still enjoyed it. We visited a couple Buddhist temples, and I showed him around the local street markets. It was really neat to look at everything through his eyes – he’d ask me questions about it that I hadn’t really thought of because I’d just taken it all for granted.
It’s amazing how much things have changed since I’ve been there, though. I think being away from it for two years kind of helped me notice that. Both in India as well as in Taiwan. Even despite all the traffic and pollution issues I described in my earlier entry, there’s been a lot of technological advances, lots of industrial areas with companies, business, etc. that have expanded in India, for instance. And lots of retail. People in India are willing to spend, more than ever now. Especially young people. We went to Spencer’s Plaza, a huge 3 section (they call them “phases”) shopping mall in Chennai. So many shops, and such a huge crowd there! The weather outside was crummy – rainy, soggy, all that – yet inside it was packed. Especially the food court. You could barely find a place to sit, there were even people standing up and eating their lunches – pizza, smoothies, pastries, all kinds of eateries. And down on the ground floor near FoodWorld, a sort of supermarket, there was a pizza stand – you could barely get to FoodWorld because the crowd at the pizza stand was so thick! But yeah – lots of development. And everyone has a cell phone. I mean, everyone. We were standing on the balcony of his house one afternoon and saw a guy delivering water on a bicycle rickshaw. He was clad in just a T-shirt and dhoti, no shoes, but his cell phone was tucked snugly between his ear and his shoulder and he was chatting away as he pedaled around the corner. It was almost surreal. What’s even more surreal is when you realize that despite all of these technological advances, you can still see the traditional way of life when you drive out of the main cities. There are still people that live in thatched roof huts, barefoot, bathing in whatever river is nearby, with little or no electricity, living the lives of simple workers – whether they be farmers or other laborers.
Taiwan, I already knew what to expect. Technology there has always been rather advanced, cell phones were popular even when I left. What amazed me was the traffic and the roads and the buildings. So many shops came and went in my absence. The Industrial Park across from the complex where my house is has been (or is pretty close to being) completed. It’s huge, too! They’ve widened the road in front of our complex, and put a divider and extra traffic lights here and there. Roads all around seem to have improved greatly. Smoother (for the most part). Traffic is still dense in some areas, but since it’s a small island, it’s to be expected. But there was one overpass in particular that had sat untouched for at least 4 years. They’ve FINALLY completed it. My parents said it had just been tangled up in government red tape with no one really wanting to deal with it until recently. So that’s nice that that was finally taken care of. The night markets were as I remember – the sights, smells, sounds, unique offerings. It was really neat.
So that was about it for our trip. This is a long entry (sorry for yakking your ear off). But hey, at least I’m keeping up the writing, right?
Til next time, kiddies!
After that, we spent a lot of time just going around to the different shops, buying a number of really pretty Indian dresses. We visited his sister, brother-in-law, and niece in Bangalore – did a great deal of shopping there, then drove about 3 hours (it should have been about a 5 hour drive but our driver was something of a maniac!) to visit my aunts and uncles in Neyveli. It was nice to see all of them again, and they were very excited to see us again as well.
We left India the night of November 15 – our flight was actually very early the morning of November 16th – and headed off for Taiwan. Let me tell you, it was SO nice to be home again. Like, back in Taiwan home. I forgot how laid-back everything there is. I feel bad because we didn’t take my husband out and about as much as we should have, but I think he still enjoyed it. We visited a couple Buddhist temples, and I showed him around the local street markets. It was really neat to look at everything through his eyes – he’d ask me questions about it that I hadn’t really thought of because I’d just taken it all for granted.
It’s amazing how much things have changed since I’ve been there, though. I think being away from it for two years kind of helped me notice that. Both in India as well as in Taiwan. Even despite all the traffic and pollution issues I described in my earlier entry, there’s been a lot of technological advances, lots of industrial areas with companies, business, etc. that have expanded in India, for instance. And lots of retail. People in India are willing to spend, more than ever now. Especially young people. We went to Spencer’s Plaza, a huge 3 section (they call them “phases”) shopping mall in Chennai. So many shops, and such a huge crowd there! The weather outside was crummy – rainy, soggy, all that – yet inside it was packed. Especially the food court. You could barely find a place to sit, there were even people standing up and eating their lunches – pizza, smoothies, pastries, all kinds of eateries. And down on the ground floor near FoodWorld, a sort of supermarket, there was a pizza stand – you could barely get to FoodWorld because the crowd at the pizza stand was so thick! But yeah – lots of development. And everyone has a cell phone. I mean, everyone. We were standing on the balcony of his house one afternoon and saw a guy delivering water on a bicycle rickshaw. He was clad in just a T-shirt and dhoti, no shoes, but his cell phone was tucked snugly between his ear and his shoulder and he was chatting away as he pedaled around the corner. It was almost surreal. What’s even more surreal is when you realize that despite all of these technological advances, you can still see the traditional way of life when you drive out of the main cities. There are still people that live in thatched roof huts, barefoot, bathing in whatever river is nearby, with little or no electricity, living the lives of simple workers – whether they be farmers or other laborers.
Taiwan, I already knew what to expect. Technology there has always been rather advanced, cell phones were popular even when I left. What amazed me was the traffic and the roads and the buildings. So many shops came and went in my absence. The Industrial Park across from the complex where my house is has been (or is pretty close to being) completed. It’s huge, too! They’ve widened the road in front of our complex, and put a divider and extra traffic lights here and there. Roads all around seem to have improved greatly. Smoother (for the most part). Traffic is still dense in some areas, but since it’s a small island, it’s to be expected. But there was one overpass in particular that had sat untouched for at least 4 years. They’ve FINALLY completed it. My parents said it had just been tangled up in government red tape with no one really wanting to deal with it until recently. So that’s nice that that was finally taken care of. The night markets were as I remember – the sights, smells, sounds, unique offerings. It was really neat.
So that was about it for our trip. This is a long entry (sorry for yakking your ear off). But hey, at least I’m keeping up the writing, right?
Til next time, kiddies!
posted by lavender | 2:56 PM
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