The Pool and Pondy's

We thought it would be a bit of fun to get a small pool for the boys to put on our rooftop patio. When he was here last time, Alex saw several plastic pools at a place called Pondy's Bazaar so we decided to check it out over the weekend.

Pondy's Bazaar is a bargainer's dream. It's set up similar to a flea marked except that it's lining a very busy street (congested, not fast). Between cars, people and booths, you can barely walk through. I loved it! Is was such a fun experience. Not only can you buy virtually anything there, you can totally immerse yourself in the culture and people.

We started out in a popular woman's clothing store. I bought my first sari, but I have yet to wear it since I can't remember how to drape the thing around myself and I don't think Alex will be much help. We actually didn't spend that much time there, though I think it seemed like an eternity to Alex who was in charge of the boys. I had no fewer than four people wrapping me up in various saris and leading me around the store at any given moment. I'm don't think everyone gets that kind of treatment, I'm guessing it had something to do with us being the only westerners around. The sales girls were very helpful and gave me several suggestions to help me, all the while pinching the boys cheeks whenever they let their guard down. This didn't make Alex's job any easier I'm sure.

By the time we left the sari store, Alex was already at the end of his rope and would have been quite content to just go home. But we still had a pool to find. Did I mention besides the wall to wall people it was a cool 95 degree's in the shade? Needless to say, we were a bit hot. After every few shops, which, incidentally would take about 5 minutes to weave our way through, we would walk into an enclosed store under the pretense of looking around but really stay just long enough to cool off. This was also the only way to get rid of the "drum guy" that was following us everywhere we went. He was trying to get our attention, (especially the boys) so he trailed us through all of the crowds tapping away on one of the 10 drums he was carrying. When our pretending not to hear the drum didn't work, we had to take more drastic measures, and since he couldn't follow us into an actual store, it was the perfect solution! Air conditioning and no drum salesman - heaven on earth.

We finally found a small pool, but we were still in search of a bargain so we decided to wait for the next place. However, 20 minutes later when we were still looking for another place we weren't quite so sure. Just as we were all getting extremely frustrated, we found what we were searching for! And it was less expensive than the last one. That along with the frustration level aided us in our decision not to bargain for a better price. Though we probably could have gotten it for half of the cost, the time and effort it would have taken wasn't worth it (considering it was only 350 rupees--about $7.00 to begin with).

Our next adventure....filling the pool. Sounds simple right?

The Trip: Day 3

We had only been asleep for a few hours when the doorbell rang.

It's a loud doorbell, and we've grown to loathe it over the past few weeks. With the marble floors and complete lack of wall coverings the sound has nowhere to go but around in circles. It just hangs in the air. I'll go out on a limb and say that every time the doorbell rings we're secretly clinging to the hope that it's either our maid or our driver. We like both very much, and everyone else that comes to the apartment seems to offer little more than some new sort of inconvenience. The first morning was no exception

I got up, pulled on jeans and a shirt, and answered the door. It was the help, in the form of the two guys (teenagers) that came with the apartment to do "whatever". We exchanged a few words that neither of us understood, and they walked into the the apartment and around the corner to the dining room. I followed them in and we stared at each other for a good 30 seconds. Obviously we were all confused not just about what was going on, but what was supposed to be going on. They decided to clarify things by pulling some blankets and pillows out of a closet and laying down on the ground.

I figured that was about as good a resolution I was going to get at that point, walked back into the bedroom, locked the door, and went back to sleep with the rest of the family.

There was a lot of activity out there over the next couple of hours. Doorbells ringing, people coming and going, phones ringing, and conversations in hushed tones. Of course by this time we were all awake, huddled under our mosquito net and watching Indian soap operas with the worst quality cable TV picture I've ever seen (I later found out there was a loose connection). I had also charged up my local cellphone by now, and was using it to try and contact any one of the five people I knew in India. I desperately wanted to know how to say "Get Out" in Tamil, and also figure out if we we're going to have a communal living experience for the next three months. I couldn't get in touch with anyone.

When things died down outside I decided to take another peek to see if we were alone or not. We were. I looked out the peep hole on the front door and found that the party had moved outside to the landing by the elevator. Better, but still not great.

We started sorting through our suitcases and getting things organized as best we could. Every 20 minutes or so the help would knock on our door and ask "coffee tea?". We kept saying "no" since we really didn't want to open the door to another stranger-party in our house. Eventually they left the landing and started calling by phone instead.

A couple of hours later we called the agent that we had rented the apartment through. He put us in touch with the management team, one of who lived directly beneath us. She came upstairs and we had a chat.

She speaks English pretty well, and we managed to get the help situation straightened out along with setting up times for the maid to come and clean. We stressed that we were more interested in privacy than in having someone wait on us 24 hours a day, although we've since found that a little 'waiting' isn't too bad.

We asked her where the closest grocery store was, and she gave us simple directions. Left from the apartment building, left on the first street, right on the first street after that. And to find an ATM? Easy. Two rights from the apartment building. Uh huh.

We loaded the boys up in their stroller and set out get get some food and money. We quickly found that the neighborhood we're living in is in no way conducive to strollers, or even walking for that matter. It would be more accurate to say that it's downright hostile towards strollers and walking. What sidewalks they do have are either covered with parked motorcycles and scooters or undergoing repair, and in the rare case it was usable, the 12" curbs made it somewhat challenging to get the stroller on and off. So we walked in traffic with everyone else.

We did find an ATM (nowhere near where it was supposed to be), but we finally gave up looking for the grocery store. The boys were both sleeping and we were worn out and sweating like race horses from the heat, so we went home and took a nap instead.

Things We Buy

We took a trip to Citi Centre (that's how it's spelled) last week Saturday. It's about three years old I believe, and was built in the "western style" that we're all used to. It had a two large department stores as the anchors, and a lot of smaller shops in between. There was a food court and a play area for kids as well. Nice place, but the air conditioning didn't work very well so it was very, very warm and humid inside. As you can see it is a multi-story mall with two courtyard-type areas that are surrounded by stores on all levels. It made us feel right at home (almost).

The first thing we did when we got there was go up to the 3rd floor where the food court is located, which is really the 2nd floor but in India they call the ground floor the 1st floor. It seems simple, but gets annoying when you constantly have to figure out if people are doing the conversion for you or not. I can't count the number of times I've asked "Indian or American 3rd floor".

Much to our delight, there was a KFC waiting for us in the food court. Much to our dismay, they had no mashed potatoes and gravy - instead serving rice with every meal. Things got a little blurry after that realization, but I do know that Luanne had to order for me since I couldn't see the menu while blinking back tears.

As it happens, the chicken was really good. They seem to sprinkle it with some sort of spicy seasoning before the battering and frying, so it had a bit of a different taste than what we're used to. We enjoyed it though. The boys really enjoyed it, and really enjoyed their western apple juices as well. We've found that sometimes when your order apple juice you get a warm glass of apple puree. Not bad, but not as refreshing. All said and done, it was a positive dining experience.

The next stop was a Food World right next door to the KFC. We never miss a chance to check out a grovery store, because you never quite know what you're going to find. Might be good, might be bad, but that's all part of the fun. This was a really nice store and we stocked up on a few things that we've either ran out of or have been looking for.

What did we buy? Check it out:

"Flavor Enchancer" - aka MSG. We like to add a pinch of it to every meal, and I sprinkle it on my cornflakes in the morning. Just kidding, we didn't buy any, even though there's actually no scientific basis for shunning it. Just media hype to get ratings, as usual.


Low Calorie Cookware. A genuine roti tawa (bread griddle) that we use for cooking eggs rather than making bread. It was 389Rs, or about $8.


In anticipation of getting an inflatable pool for the kids, we wanted to get some liquid bleach to mix with the water and kill all the nasties. We couldn't find the liquid variety so we bought powder instead. More on that experiment later..


These are little meals that you heat up in the stove and to some cooked rice. We like them a lot and make them pretty frequently for lunch/dinner. Depending on where you shop, you can get them for around a dollar each, and rice costs next to nothing here, so we can put together a couple of different rice dishes for about a $2 meal for the four of us. That must still be on the expensive side here since I can get an entire (BIG) plate of food in the cafeteria at the office for 40RS, which is about $0.80. And man, is it good.


Aloo Mash - also known as mashed potatoes in a box. Easy to make and the kids love them. If I can just find some gravy I can bring my own mashed potatoes and gravy to KFC next time around. That'll show 'em.


These are little single-serving popcorn packets. They come complete with oil and salt so all you need to add is a pot and some heat. On sunday afternoons back home Noahd and I make popcorn and then watch football (or a movie) while Micah and Luanne takes naps. He's been pretty insistant that we have popcorn here too, so we're glad we found this. The salt was for the popcorn before we realized it was pre-salted. Never hurts to have extra.


Oh baby. This is the real deal, and nothing cheers up a grumpy kiddo faster than chocolate milk. Definately money well spent.

Our First Saturday in Chennai

We'll catch up on the trip backlog little by little as we keep up with current events.

We decided to get out and do a few things today - kind of test the waters and see what the big world of Chennai had to offer. On the list was:

• Visit another apartment complex
• Go to Anna Nagar Park so the kids can ride bikes
• Check out Spencer Plaza mall
• Grocery shopping on the way home

We didn't get get out of the house until about 12:30pm even though we were awake 3:45am. We got on Skype and had a few video chats with people back home, made some coffee, sat on the roof and watched the sun come up and the city get going, Luanne gave me a haircut, and of course the maid came and gave them place a good scrubbing.

While we were sitting on the roof enjoying the sunrise, the boys had a great time being outside. They spent most of the time picking up and playing with centipedes. It took Noah a little while to realize that all of the centipedes he was collecting in flower pots, Micah was actually "trying" to let go. Micah would pick the centipedes back up out of the pots and squish them between his giant baby fingers all the while making his lovey grunting noises. I think he would have been devastated to realize he was actually killing them. Noah thankfully never caught on to the squishing part.

I called our driver and he came to pick us up, loaded the bikes in the trunk, and we took off for the park. Unfortunately, we found that the park doesn't open until 4:00pm so we were a few hours too early. We decided to tackle that adventure tomorrow instead.

Our driver didn't know exactly how to get to the apartment complex that we wanted to look at, which doesn't seem to be uncommon. An address here seems to be about as useful to the drivers as it is to me, and they're more interested in a phone number to call so someone can talk them through it. In this case, we weren't able to get a hold of anyone at the complex so the driver took us to the general area and started asking people where it was. It only took him a few stops to find it.

The apartment complex was nice, but didn't have any of the 'other' things we're looking for that would make it worth moving (pool, courtyard/common area to ride bikes in, & etc..) so I don't think we'll be pursuing it. The other undesirable thing it had was some large structure behind it that had huge blowers running on the roof. They were very loud in a low-frequency, background noise kind of way that would have gotten old quick. Real quick.

The apartment itself was nice as well, with nicer furniture but worse and fewer TVs than we have now. For me, that immediately excluded it. One of the 6 or 7 "American" channels that we have just happens to be the Disney Channel, and anyone with kids knows how important that channel is to properly raising your children. 'Nuff said.

As a side note, the kids were both sleeping in the car by then, so I had the back-and-forth with the front desk and took a look at the place while Luanne stayed in the car. It was nice enough that I wanted her to have a look, so we ditched the sleeping kids in the car with our driver for about 5 minutes and had a joint inspection of the "suite". We're not quite ready to have them baby sit while we have a night on the town, but all the "help" here are very fond of the kids and interact with them very well while we're around.

The mall is called Spencer Plaza, and is really three big buildings that seem to have been built separately and attached together with various halls and tunnels. It was gigantic and I was surprised by the number of clothing stores. Everything from a Levi store to silk/fabric to traditional Indian clothing, suits, and childrens' clothes. We by no means explored the whole mall, but we found very few electronics stores and never managed to get our hands on an alarm clock either (which is one of the things on our short list). Next time we go we'll take some pictures.

On the way home, Luanne caused a minor scene at the grocery store when she bought a half gallon of ice cream for the boys at a whopping 500 rupees ($10). The checkout girl and the three friends she called over were chattering away and laughing, but Luanne could only pick out the word "Americans" in all the ruckus. Considering a liter of milk costs 38 rupees (50 rupees ~ $1) the ice cream is definitely a luxury item, but it made the boys happy so it all worked out.

We had an enjoyable day overall and the kids did pretty good, all things considered. We saw a LOT of people today both driving around town and wandering around the mall, and only ran into five westerners (i.e. non-Indians) the entire time, all of them at the mall. Based on the crowd density and size of the mall, I would guess that's about a 10,000:1 ratio.

In the future, we'll take more pictures while we're out.