Mumbai to Bangkok to Yangon to Boston

We loved India, but Steve has had enough curry and wants to change up his workout routine. So, we've left India and are in Bangkok awaiting our flight to Yangon, Myanmar where there will be biking, boating, touring and NO spicy curries! (Steve hopes!!)

But who knows what Myanmar food is really like? Maybe curry is not so bad after all!?

You'll have to wait to find out. Our cell phones will not work in Myanmar and blogging is a government no-no, so we will be off the grid until back in Boston January 29th. Then we'll share the best of Burma! Until then .......

The Logistics of Moms Feeding Millions

Problem - MILLIONS of school children and commuting office workers crave Mom's home cooking and want to save on eating out. We've got a "wallah" for that!

Dabbawalah means "one who carries the box". White capped walahs go to homes collecting stacked metal tiffins of hot food. Marked with symbols, not names, these are brought to centralized locations and resorted by destination. Trains, bicycles and carts are utilized to deliver tiffins on cue and return the containers home by days end.

This is a much respected, officially organized hierarchal group of workers who have branched out into catering and also delivering sports gear to thousands of after school cricket players.

Imagine - error free 2-way FedEx happening in less than 12-hours!

Dhobi Ghat - Worlds Largest Outdoor Laundry

Water and space in Mumbai are both at a premium, so how do things get washed? The rare washer also serves as your drier, resulting in damp sheets with nowhere to hang them. DHOBI to the rescue.

Dhobi Ghat in Hindi literally means "wash man at the river". Washing centers are found throughout India, but none compares in size to Mumbai's Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat. Dating back to British rule, these 700 washing platforms employ about 200 families and between 5,000 to 8,000 people.

Dhobis by the hundreds collect thousands of items daily to be washed from homes, hotels, restaurants and businesses. Items are marked by household, bundled and brought to the ghat by hand or cart, to be returned washed, pressed and folded. More delicate items are washed elsewhere or dry cleaned if silk.

Simply need ironing? A "press-walah" picks up your damp clothes, which are then ironed with a coal filled iron.

All done without receipts or tags stapled to ones clothes and we're told errors never occur. It's Six Sigma personified!

$1B home in Mumbai? Which one is it?

Real estate and neighborhoods are as
diverse as the people that live here.

The most expensive single family home in the world is right here in Mumbai. Antila cost $1B to build. This 27 story home was built by Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries. He is the 2nd richest man in Asia. The house is fully decorated, has gardens and 3 helipads, but has never been moved into, presumably for not adhering to Vastu Shastru - the Hindu version of Feng Shui. (This is what happens when you don't supervise the general contractor!)

We think Mr. Ambani and family, simply prefer to live in their current 14 story house along with his mother and brother's family in "our" neighborhood, Colaba. Great Arabian Sea views. Not very crowded. 2-kilometers into the city center. What's not to like?

Of course, if you don't have that kind of change laying about, there are lots more options. We've pictures a few here. You choose. But choose fast! Mumbai real estate has gone up 138% since 2005.

Want to read more? Here's a link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/19/business/global/this-luxurious-house-is-not-a-home.html

Mumbai - Bombay - Bollywood. You choose.

Call this crazy peninsula city of 12 million and 7 merged island whatever you want, but you certainly won't call it bucolic. The 4th largest city in the world and India's richest, rarely sleeps. There are people and TRAFFIC; sounds and HORNS; shops and stands of every type at every turn. No, we are certainly NOT in Delhi anymore.

Let a horse tonga take you for a tour, touch the top of the Taj Hotel's first property, join 7million rail commuters or relax in a taxi, listening to the rhythm of the horn symphony. It's all here at your disposal.

Children you will never forget

The children of Delhi are as diverse as the families they come from. What you never forget are their smiles and shy yet determined friendliness. We met hundreds. LITERALLY hundreds. Karen was swamped by a class of school girls. All in white salvar and navy sweaters, each insisted on shaking her hand, and telling her their name.

Other children simply walk up with a smile or dare each other to be the one to say hello to the "ferangi." We LOVE it!

Markets and Bazars of Delhi

Ok. Compared to our visits to Delhi over 10 years ago, the city is significantly less crowded.

Now you can actually walk through Chandni Chowk, the oldest shopping market where each block represents a different industry or product. Then there are the "small" bazars of Meena and Cahndri, still requiring police to help people and animals navigate each other. However to give a sense of "people density", these photos are of a local neighborhood market just behind the 2nd gate of the Jara Masjid. Need shoes, electronics, sweaters or a bite to eat? Out with your honey on the way home? It's all here.

With 16-million people, crowded is a relative term!

Jama Masjid and the Rock Stars

Although the historical sites in this country's capital are numerous, the one that touched us most was the Jama Masjid. To reach this principal mosque of Old Delhi, one leaves the Red Fort, passes by a Jain temple, a Hindu temple honoring Shiva and through a crowded market. Rising atop a small hill stands white domes and rich red stone.

Shah Hahan, the fifth Mogul emperor, was an architecturally attuned sort of guy. He commissioned Agra's Taj Mahal, Delhi's Red Fort and this mosque, which was completed in 1658. The beauty of its design, decorated with Arabic, Jain and Hindu inscriptions, is memorable.

Even more memorable was the warm welcome we and the numerous Hindu visitors received as we left our shoes behind and joined Muslims touring the site just hours before the call to prayer and arrival of 5,000 faithful. In India we are constantly reminded of what nonjudgmental coexistence can feel like.

Surprisingly, WE were the other big draw. Schoolchildren, teenage boys and families took cell-phone pictures with us. Even if they couldn't take a photo, they asked Karen to take their picture. ROCK STARS. Who knew?

DELHI - Changed or the same?

Land at Delhi's airport and, if has been more than 2 years since your last visit, panic sets in as you're sure somehow they've allowed you to board the wrong plane. Where did this sleek modern wonder come from? As you drive into the city and wander the streets, the change these last ten years is riveting. There is a metro, new overhead roadways ease congestion of ever increasing traffic and large buildings change the skyline. TV channels and western dress abound and poverty seems less extreme. But the city's unique character smiling faces, colorful dress and helpful hands remain. Oh to be back in DELHI!

What do you guys do on that island? 

SPK croquet tourney winner.

Returning from a little bounty hunting.  Arrgh!!