Picture of the Day

Goats on the beach

Picture of the Day

Updates.........

I've got some kind of food posioning again and been in bed for the two last days. Not the worst food posioning I've had during my time in India but enough to make my energy go away. Today I feel better and will hopefully be back on track tomorrow.

It was probably the sunday brunch at Fishermans Cove; some of the meat kind of looked suspiciously red but what the hell...........what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger and gives you diarrhoea

Over and out!

Weekend

Went down to Mahablipuram which is small town south of Chennai. The town itself isn't much to see except for the old temples, the 'butterball' and other ancient stone stuff. The level of excitement of taking pictures of old stone temples are not that high either; it's made of stone, it's been there for thousands of years and will probably stand their for another thousand year.

Luckily there was A LOT of school children this day and they are always very keen on posing in front of the camera. Got some good picture which are shown below:

Proud

'Sir, sir, please take picture!!'

Big smiles!

Shy and curious

Picture of the Day

Onion boy at Mysore Vegetable and Fruit market

Weekend

In two hours I'm leaving work and then it's weekend once again. Since my modem is not up and running their will be no updates during the Saturday/Sunday unless a miracle happens. Miracle in the sence that Airtel somehow shows up at the apartement with a new modem but that will probably not happen. Been there done that so too say..........

Friday night plans: Maybe dinner at the mongolian barbeque at Rain Tree hotel if some other swedes are up for it. Otherwise I'll have some indian food at home with a couple of beers, just downloaded the new episodes of Lost and 24. I've also started watching a new show called 'True Blood'; a redneck vampire show, looks promising but I have only seen one episode so far. I want 'Californication' season 3 too start again, one of my top five favourite serie; competing against 'The Office', '24', 'Lost', Seinfeld' and 'Sopranos'

Saturday plans: Either visit crocodile bank or go down to Mahablipuram for some photos. After that go to Pleasant Days and hang out at the beach/swimming pool, gotta work that tan for beach 2009. No plans for the evening.

Sunday plans: Maybe go to the 'The Park' and eat their fantastic buffet of seafood, beef, sushi, pizzas, desserts etc etc. Most important; unlimited sparkling wine, beer and red/white vine.

Picture of the Day

Playing around with brightness, saturation and colours in a photo editing program

Before

After

Stroll around the neighborhood

I got home a little bit earlier yesterday so I decided to take a walk around the neighborhood along with the camera. If I remember correctly this is the third time in one and a half year that I’m walking in Chennai. I did it two times in the beginning then I started to use the auto (alias tuk tuk) for doing small errands but for the past three months I have driven myself. WHAT? Are you driving yourself? You wanna get killed you stupid moron?

Well, it’s not as difficult as people think; all you need to know is that anything can happen at any time. Basic driving in India is the following; keep one foot on top of the brake, one foot on the gas and keep one hand at the horn and then gas/break/horn, gas/break/horn; you repeat this X number of times and then you’re driving in India, simple!

Anyway got some picture of my hood which is shown below.

Afternoon traffic rush is starting

Man trying to cross the street in his eye catching shirt

Symmetry in the chaos of traffic

Guardian monster at Adyar Bridge

Local bus station

Street dog is relaxing in a pile of sand

Picture of the Day

Relaxing on the beach

Weekend in Dehli

I'm sitting here and planning a weekend in Dehli or more correct; fly early Friday morning from Chennai to Dehli and fly back late Saturday evening. Two things on the agenda:

I'm planning to visit the Swedish embassy to renew my passport since the photo page basically fell out the last time I opened my passport. It was probably that bitch in the reception at the Taj Hotel in Verkalla who broke it. Her smile went from one ear to the other when she gave my passport back. Should have figure out that something was wrong! It's one of these first fancy European passport which has some fault by default so to say. Anyway, they will give a new passport for free which is good but I need to be there in person to take photos etc etc, boring yes, but a man gotta do what a man gotta do.

Early Saturday morning I will go and see the Taj Mahal so that I can remove one point from my '100 places to see before I die'-list. I heard it's pretty awesome but at the same time; a lot of foreigners, a lot of disturbing street vendors that wants to sell nick-nacks and shit. Since I'm getting used to this; I use my evil stone face and give them the 'What tha fakk' r u looki' at lad'-look and that works pretty good.

BTW; my modem broke down yesterday, fakkin' 'ell! What am I going to do now during the evenings? Maybe I can watch one of the hundred Tamil/Hindi movie channels which are provided on the satellite network..........or not.

Over and Out!

Picture of the Day

Fisherman waiting under the train bridge in Varkalla

Picture of the Day

Three different shapes of the popular elephant god Ganesha

Indian Michael Jackson

Don't you just wanna get dressed in a red jump suit and move your feet like you been on a three day acid trip when you see this video?

Indian habits

Since my time in India is coming to its end; three and half month to go, count down in progress. I somehow want to summarize my time over here in the land of holy cows and hot and humid climate. I start with ‘Indian habits I don’t want to use in Sweden’

- Burping after indulging your breakfast/lunch/dinner. The more you burp after a meal, the better food you had! The more sound it makes, the better food you had!
- Farting. Ending the burp with a fart that leaves a brown skid mark in the pants is a sign that the food was really tasty and spicy!
- Spitting in the corners of the staircase. If no elevator is provided in the building you’re visiting you have the full right to spit your excessive saliva in the nearest corner. Extra point if your mouth is full of chewed red pawn which leaves a big red stain on the wall which is impossible to remove.
- Peeing in crouching position. What the hell is this, women sits down and pee, men stand up and pee, that’s it, no further question your honour! If God wanted men to sit down and pee he would have given us a mangina.
- Pooping in public. Since 80% of the population doesn’t have access to a functional toilet I understand that you need to release the pressure once in a while but please move more than 1 meter from the road. Maybe the beach is not the best choice either…..
- Crouch scratching. It’s not the normal Al Bundy hand down the pants when watching TV at home; it’s more scratching outside the pants with the whole hand when you don’t think anyone is seeing it.
- Queuing. If you leave more than 20 centimeter to the person in front of you in a queue you’re officially not in the queue in India. This means that you have the full right to just squeeze in and get a head of that person.
- Personal space. There’s no such thing as personal space in India!
- Shaking the head. No matter what the answer is too your question, you get a head shake which is a combination of a western ‘yes’ and ‘no’ head shake. The head shake can both mean ‘Yes’, ‘No’, ‘Maybe’, ‘Shut up you white boy and just give me the money’ or ‘I will do it but it will take time’. The worst part about the head shakes; I find myself doing it on a regular basis……

Hepp, some spaghetti with Barilla Olive sauce and a glass of water, yummie!

Over and out!

Picture of the Day

The three monkey boys performing at Chamundeswari Hill

Monday morning

The prodigy from the west coast in Sweden Mr. Basshunter.

'Basshunter - Now you're gone' now playing on Chennai 104.8, crank up the volume and rock this office!

UNTZ, UNTZ, UNTZ...........

Saturday roadtrip

Made a day trip down the coast line of Tamil Nadu to visit some places I have been recommended to see before I leave India.

Started 6 AM from Chennai and reached Pondicherry in two hours. Ate two omelets with onion and green chili just before Pondicherry and had to find a toilet pretty quick after that. Luckily I've been in Pondicherry before and could easily locate a toilet at HiDesign Hotel down by the beach. There's one thing you learn pretty quick in India; always keep track of the closest western hotel in case of emergency.

Freedom fighters below the statue of Gandhi at Pondicherry beach walk

Continued down the coast to Pichavaram were you can find a backwater area which is protected by the government. Took a motor boat for a 40 minute ride but didn't see much of interest. Got some good picture though but it wasn't really worth the 1.5 hour drive from Pondicherry.

Skinny fisherman in his boat

Like mushrooms the trees emerges from the murky water

Falcon hiding in the tree.

Left Pichavaram pretty quick after the boat ride and went to town nearby called Chidambaram. They have a well maintained temple devoted to Shiva called Nataraja Temple. The temple is most famous for its impressive gopurams (gateway towers) which you can see in the picture below. I wasn't allowed too take picture inside the actual temple, you normally aren't allowed, but they had one roof which was coated with gold; reflecting the burning sun into the temple poja room.

I did the mistake of taking of both my shoes and socks this time (no shoes inside any temple) which was a BIG mistake. The stones outside on the temple court yard was burning hot at 12 PM and I had criss cross the yard to find the a suitable area for my poor feet. BTW, mosquito bites are gone.

Close up of one of the gopurams. Figures displayed on the gopurams tells a hindu myth which is impossible to understand without someone explaining it for you

Woman sitting below the might walls of the gopuram.

Went back to Pondicherry and headed for Auroville and the matrimandir which is displayed in the 'Picture of the Day' in the post below. I got a Goa feeling when entering the outskirts of Auroville. A lot of hippie influenced western people riding two wheelers on the small roads trying to dodge the speeding Mahindras and Tatas with Indian drivers behind the wheel.

Overall a good day but everytime you want to go somewhere in India it requires a lot of time for travelling in between the sites. Luckily I had Srinivasan (my driver) along with my who knows Tamil Nadu inside and outside. Came home at 09 PM and feel a sleep pretty quick.

Picture of the Day

Matrimandir at Auroville outside Pondicherry (Puducherry). Matrimandir is an edifice of spiritual significance for practitioners of Integral Yoga. It's placed in the middle of the town Auroville and sometimes called soul of the city.

New and Old India

The land of contrasts; the farmer and his bullock cart is transporting hay on Bangalore Higway outside Sriperumbudur (tongue twister). Sharing the two lane road space with buses, trucks, autos and cars.

Visitors

I had a couple of friends over for a drinking party last night.

Time: 02:00 AM to 05:00 AM

Place: My left and right foot

Served beverages: AB blood

Lesson learned: Never sleep with your feet outside the bed sheet!

Picture of the Day

Varkalla coast line

Dinner discussion

Conversation with Mani (the guy who cooks food for me) reg. todays dinner.

- Today I don't want Indian food. I want french fries.
- Uhhh.......frunch fry?
- Yes, you now the potato sticks you made a couple of months ago?
- Yes, no.....hmmmm.....?
- You chopped them up in sticks and then you fried them; I also had some chicken nuggets.
- Aaaah, I remember, franch fry you mean!
- Correct, can you make that?
- No problem John!

10 minutes passes by. I'm in the bed reading a book.

- John, you want Masala spices on the potatoes?
- NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Over and out!

How to cross the road in India

Picture of the Day

The sun is rising from the Bay of Bengal. View from my balcony at 06:20 AM this morning.

Nothing...

No luck today of taking the picture, try again tomorrow.

Transgender people again

BTW, when going out from my living area I’m passing by a bus stop were a lot of college kids are waiting for their bus. One day I saw one young guy, 20-25 years old, with a curly wig on the head and dressed in a churidar (a long sleeve shirt which goes down to the knees and tight pants underneath the shirt). I thought maybe it was because of some school project or costume party, what do I know, I have seen some strange shit here in Chennai.

Anyway, today I saw the same guy dressed in another colorful churidar and then I started thinking; can it be a coincident that I see the same guy two times in a churidar or is he the new generation of transgender people?

Hmm, tomorrow I only have one mission in the morning, try to snap a picture of this person, if he’s there again? Result will be published on the blog of course.

Sooo cute

To be continued………

You know you are Swedish when…

We follow up the 'You know you are Indian when.....'-list with the 'You know you are Swedish when.....'-list. I would say most items on the list are very distinguished for Swedish people; especially when you have spent some time outside Sweden.

1. You go seriously sentimental when entering an IKEA store, outside the borders of Sweden.
2. Whenever discussing international problems you always, without exception state that “why don’t you do it like we do it in Sweden?”
3. You get guilty conscience from throwing things in the dustbin that could have been recycled.
4. You take your shoes off when entering a house.
5. You find the ads for Coca Cola during Christmas completely useless since no one would consider drinking any other soft drink than “julmust” during Christmas anyway.
6. You find it normal to have to go to a special store that is owned by the government, that’s only open during daytime to buy a bottle of wine, or other alcoholic beverages.
7. You split the check by the exact penny after eating at a restaurant.
8. You consider Sweden the best place on earth and that Swedes are the most intelligent and beautiful people in the world.
9. You have been accused of being from Switzerland. Repeatedly.
10. You just love singing “snapsvisor” while drinking any kind of alcohol.
11. You generally consider the pre-party better than the night out in a club that follows.
12. You look forward all year for August when you get to gather your friends, put on stupid paper hats, drink vodka, sing and eat crayfish.
13. It’s raining and you hear yourself say your grandmother’s wise words, “There is no bad weather, just bad clothes”
14. You constantly have to point out that not EVERYONE in Sweden is blonde; in fact you add that most people are not.
15. IKEA is home away from home.
16. You find it OBVIOUS that a mile is 10 kilometers.
17. You go to the downtown during a Sunday and don’t expect to meet a single soul during a 30-minute walk.
18. You know almost every other country in the world as well as most capital cities, or have at least studied this for a Geography test.
19. Every time you see a Swedish brand/actor/company/phone/car/furniture store you feel compelled to point that out to your friends (with badly hidden pride in your voice).
20. People say your name in fifty different ways, but no one can get it right.
21. You instinctively spot ‘Swedes’ from a distance just based on looks and what they’re wearing.
22. You think going to the pub for a drink is a waste of time if you’re not going to get drunk.
23. You brag about the free healthcare and the free school system to every non-Swede that you have a political conversation with.
24. You have absolutely no idea what is meant by” Swedish massage” that keeps being advertised as a hot item in spas all over the world.
25. You feel bad if you’re not outside on a sunny day.

Point no. 19 is very on spot for me; whenever I hear a Swedish song on the radio in the car I feel compelled to tell this to my driver. Funny thing is that last two weeks a lot of Basshunter songs has been played on the radio, but I feelt no need to tell the driver that this is Swedish artist...........Hmmm, wonder why

Picture of the Day

The top of a small temple building at Varkalla, Keralla.

News Article of the Week

Indian newspapers are one of a kind; in the sense that it's quite different from a Swedish newspaper. I have a subscription of two news paper which are delivered to the door each morning around 6:50 AM to 7:10 AM. I would say I'm extremely surprised that the newspapers are showing up in time when so much else is late, late and late in this country. Anyway, most of the articles are related to the following subjects:

- Infrastructure (why it's delayed, who delayed, etc etc)

- Death. How many died in traffic, how got robbed and stabbed to death, a 23 year old woman falls down in a hole in the bus and gets under the bus and dies!

- Politicians shaking hand, telling what great job they actually could have done if the opposite party wouldn't interfere in their job.

- Collywood movie stars partying in their 80's outfits at some new trendy expensive pub

But what did I find in yesterdays paper; an article about the third gender, the transvestits in Chennai. What is quite unknown to people outside India is that India has a lot of transgender people; which basically is men in saris. Anyway, they are mostly begging and selling sex to earn money but some smart corporation people has now found out that they CAN actually work! The world welcomes India to 2009, daaahhh!

One of the jobs they will do in future is to assemble spare parts for companies like Nokia, Motorola and Foxconn; the mobile phone industry. My first thought was; why aren't my dear friends at Sony Ericsson offering their help to the transgender people?

Tom, Daniel, Per, Peter, Mats, Fredrik. Maria! I have some people who wants internship at your office, when can they come?

Over and out.

You Know You're Indian When....

You Know You're Indian When....
1. Your dad is some sort of engineer or doctor.
2. You know what's going to happen in every Hindi movie before it happens
3. You're father and grandfathers have hair on their ears
4. Your relatives' houses smell like incense, mothballs or both
5. You buy corn oil by the gallon.
6. You arrive one or two hours late to a party and think it's normal.
7. You are standing next to the two largest suitcases at the Airport.
8. Your parents don't realize phone connections to foreign countries have improved in the last two decades, and still scream at the top of their lungs when making long distance calls.
9. There is a sale on any item, you buy 100 of them.
10. Your mother does everything for you if you are male.
11. You do all the housework and cooking if you are female.
12. Your relatives alone could populate a small city.
13. You went to a university as far away from home as possible.
14. You still came back home to live with your parents after you had finished.
15. Your best friend got married at the age of 16.
16. You use chilli sauce instead of tomato ketchup.
17. You say you hate Indian films but secretly watch them with your parents.
18. You order Indian food in your own language to impress the people you're with but the waiters don't understand you.
19. You secure your baggage with a rope.
20. You're walking out of customs with your trolley at the airport and you see all twenty-five members of your family who have come to pick you up.
21. You're parents would freak out if your sister wore a crop top baring her midriff...but wearing a sari is perfectly acceptable
22. Your parent are panicking if you aren't married when you turn 25
23. Your mother measures wealth in gold and diamonds
24. A horoscope must decide your wedding date
25. Your parents drink 6 cups of tea a day
26. You are sick and tired of answering questions about "the dot"
27. You could not explain your religion to someone if you tried
28. No one ever seems to call ahead of time to say they are coming over for a visit.

Hepp, lunch time; Chicken Spring Rolls with Garlic Sauce and Cut Fruits. Same as last three months, why change if something is good?

Urban Animal of the Week

So, today I will present Urban Animal of the Week and hopefully present a new animal each Wednesday with picture and some text. Today we start with the car speed breaker number one: Water Buffalo

Location: Roaming along the highway and relaxing in a puddle of mud which formed during the monsoun season
Habitat: Creating chaos on the highway by going bananas in the middle of the road
Favorite food: Garbage leftovers and some times grass

Next Week: Monkey

Don't worry, be happy

School kids playing downstream of the big dam Krishna Raja Sagarar

Picture of the Day

Sun set view from the hotel balcony in Varkalla, Keralla. Beautiful place with relaxed atmosphere.

Pursuit of Happiness

Zipping some bubbles at FisherMans Cove on a Sunday makes you this happy!

Got the blues

Sometimes it feels like your family and friends are very far away........

Crazy night traffic!

The endless snake of head lights passing through the narrow streets of Chennai during night time.

Watch out or the snake will bite you!