Today my friend Andree and I went to visit another expat friend,Gareth. Our mission was not only for a friendly chat with this wonderful man, who I know right now is going to be a great expat buddy....but also to severely 'pick his brains' for information on survival techniques in India!
We talked for hours and acquired some very useful info even down to what milk to buy.
After we left Gareth, Andree and I had lunch at a local cafe and then caught an Auto Rickshaw to a shopping mall where we wandered the aisles looking at products and groceries on offer for when we move into our homes. I think we'll need to be a little resourceful at times, some products we are use to buying don't seem to exist whilst others exist but cost the earth as they are not commonly used in India. An example of this is dishwasher tablets.....1600 Rupee for a box of 20 Finish tablets..that's about AU$35.50. Think we'll be washing up by hand until we get our maid somehow.
We saw both men and women working on building sites. WHS is definitely not an issue here....No scaffolding and balancing precariously on the edge of a 5 storey apartment building laying bricks to the outer rim unbothered by the risk of falling. One woman carried a dish of something heavy on her head down numerous flights of stairs with a child in her arms. They all work on the building sites....men, women and children alike....and they work so hard like machines not stopping for breaks. Makes us look so soft in the Western world. Concreting with bare feet and hands, carting rocks...it's all here.
We saw little boys flying their kites, getting into the spirit for tomorrow's kite festivities.
Overall....I had a massively fun day!
The Milk!
Concreting bare foot style!
Street scene Vadodara!
Precariously balancing on the 5 storey rooftop laying bricks!
Saris for sale.
Little boys flying kites
Hoping for just a breath of wind to fly their kites.