28 & 29th February 2012

Two lazy days resting in the mornings, then lunch followed by another rest during the heat of the day and then out in early evening to shop, email and eat before retiring after a hard day. Bought a set of Tabla drums and arranged for these to be shipped back to UK along with pappar (poppodoms) spices, beans, nuts, dried fruit, etc,etc. Geoff bought a new pair of sandals, as the sole split and came away. After buying the shoes he told the keeper that he didn't want the old ones, and could be thrown away. At this just picked the old shoes and left them outside the shop for someone else to have! There is incredible re-cycling here: everything that can be reused is, and anything edible does not stay long on the street, as the cows amble along, gobbling away. The plastic bags are a danger, and although people do reuse them again and again, there is no doubt that they are an invention that should not have been made, or made so commercially cheap.


Went for lunch at one the neighbour's houses. He is a doctor who works in the local hospital; his hours are from 19:30 till 07:30 six nights a week, and in between he sees people who just call on him during the day as well!! We had an Interesting discussion about how the Indian medical services have had a tremendous boost from the increasing work from individuals, private medical companies and even the NHS sending patients for anything from heart to knee replacements to dental work. Savi has seen a incredible improvement in the medical facilities and services here, and has made her reflect on the work she did with the NHS the last 6 years of her working life. The evenings are balmy and pleasant after the intense heat of the day. We treated ourselves to a dhoda ( rice pancakes stuffed with mixed veg smothered in tangy dal sauce with fresh coconut chutney) sitting outside one of the restaurants near the complex, even though we were still full from our big lunch. That's the problem here: there is so much choice of freshly prepared delicious food that seem so cheap to us, that it's hard to resist. Early night, with the ceiling fan whirring away. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Navsari