Hi :)
You can now email me your India-Canadian related questions, doubts and comments to:
chutney2maplesyrup@gmail.com
Hope to hear from you!
Thanks,
Nal
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Still vacationing in India
We just visited the South Indian hill station, Kodaikanal. I always loved Kodi...the chill air and the wonderful aroma of Eucalyptus trees.
Take a look at the pictures I just uploaded. The mountains, lake, interesting bugs and insects we saw and the resort where we stayed.
Have to tell you that...two months in India and we have gotten completely spoiled with maids, cooks and drivers and even a guy to iron our clothes for us. In two weeks we leave for Canada, and I'm thinking...oh no, I will have to go back to doing all those things by ourselves.
I have been doing some shopping while we've been here......things like books, branded shoes and clothes are much cheaper in India, especially during the sales. The kids last winter, got bored staying in the house all day. When we went to pick up some board games from the stores in Canada, we found the prices to be almost double what we would have paid for the same games in India. So I've picked up board games for the coming winter too.
Other things that are much cheaper and easily available are medicines, eye check ups and getting glasses or contacts, dental and health check ups. So if you are in Canada and are planning on coming to India for your holidays, plan on getting health and dental check ups for the family here. Also, the health check ups in India cover a lot more tests (the package at Apollo hosptials for Ladies, called the Well woman check, costs Rs.2800/- and covers x-ray, dental, abdominal scan, blood tests to check cholesterol, blood type, etc, general physician check, gyno tests and urine and stools) than the Canadian ones. Also, the waiting times are less. All Doctors speak in English.
Yes, we will miss India a lot...but are now waiting to get back to our home in Canada. The kids will be starting fourth and seventh grade. Will keep you posted on that. My son is in the school band this year, and will be playing the snare drum. So we are all excited about the new school year and the new things that they will be learning.
Thanks to all of you who have been posting comments and wrote to me with questions. Makes my day!
Take a look at the pictures I just uploaded. The mountains, lake, interesting bugs and insects we saw and the resort where we stayed.
Have to tell you that...two months in India and we have gotten completely spoiled with maids, cooks and drivers and even a guy to iron our clothes for us. In two weeks we leave for Canada, and I'm thinking...oh no, I will have to go back to doing all those things by ourselves.
I have been doing some shopping while we've been here......things like books, branded shoes and clothes are much cheaper in India, especially during the sales. The kids last winter, got bored staying in the house all day. When we went to pick up some board games from the stores in Canada, we found the prices to be almost double what we would have paid for the same games in India. So I've picked up board games for the coming winter too.
Other things that are much cheaper and easily available are medicines, eye check ups and getting glasses or contacts, dental and health check ups. So if you are in Canada and are planning on coming to India for your holidays, plan on getting health and dental check ups for the family here. Also, the health check ups in India cover a lot more tests (the package at Apollo hosptials for Ladies, called the Well woman check, costs Rs.2800/- and covers x-ray, dental, abdominal scan, blood tests to check cholesterol, blood type, etc, general physician check, gyno tests and urine and stools) than the Canadian ones. Also, the waiting times are less. All Doctors speak in English.
Yes, we will miss India a lot...but are now waiting to get back to our home in Canada. The kids will be starting fourth and seventh grade. Will keep you posted on that. My son is in the school band this year, and will be playing the snare drum. So we are all excited about the new school year and the new things that they will be learning.
Thanks to all of you who have been posting comments and wrote to me with questions. Makes my day!
Terry Fox run in India!!!
We were pleasantly surprised to see the Terry Fox run from Canada,
was being organised here in India too!!
Log cabin at the resort
The resort (Coakers Villa) had these nice little cabins with a
stunning view of the mountains and plains.
View of the Lake from Viewing Point
Another tourist spot in Kodai, is the 'viewing point' where you can see
the entire lake and the surrounding areas.
Kodaikanal Lake
This lake is about 6km all the way around and you can find
plenty to do here. Horse riding, boat riding (row boats, paddle boats
and Shikara's), cycles and bikes for rent and of course, lots of little
stores and eating joints.
Baby monkey
My kids loved watching the monkeys, instead of the famous
Pillar Rock that we drove up to see. Pillar Rock unfortunately was
covered by clouds that day.
Wild monkeys
In Kodaikanal (and Ooty too) you see a lof of wild monkeys.
Tourists feed them, making them gather in droves around
tourist spots like this one....Pillar Rock.
Club Mahindra - Zest property in Kodai
In India, you can pick up a time share in Club Mahindra,
and enjoy holidays in different destinations like Kodaikanal.
This is a list of the days activities at the resort.
Clouds coming in
Kodaikanal is a hill station in the South Indian state of Tamilnadu.
It takes about three hours to get there from Madurai airport by car.
It is a nice place to visit for a very relaxing three or four day trip.
In the month of August, the temperature is between 10 to 20 C.
The old and the new
This is a picture of the old Indian Airlines on the left, and the new one on the right.
Air India, India's international carrier, and Indian airlines, India's domestic carrier,
have merged into Air India. The new aircraft colors and design are the one on the
right.
What do you think of the change?
Monday, August 10, 2009
Peacock in the forest...foot hills of the Blue Mountains, Tamil Nadu
The Peacock is almost hidden in the green foliage. We waited hoping to see if the Peacock would open out it's tail...but no luck. Maybe next time!Shades of India
Still in India....below are some pictures I took in Chennai and our trip to Ooty.
One thing you notice here is the noise around you - People blowing their horns from every kind of vehicle, people yelling to sell something, cattle, songs from loud speakers and the occasional screech of tires.......Canada is pretty quiet compared to the sounds you hear here.
One thing you notice here is the noise around you - People blowing their horns from every kind of vehicle, people yelling to sell something, cattle, songs from loud speakers and the occasional screech of tires.......Canada is pretty quiet compared to the sounds you hear here.
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