Madh Village

On Saturday, June 23 we made a visit to our local village. Just a short walk from the apartment is Madh village. It is a very impoverished fishing village right on the inlet in the Arabian Sea. Because of the impending monsoon, the fishing boats have been beached and the unused baskets held down with rocks to prevent them from blowing out to sea in the heavy winds. Our walk through the village was certainly the excitement of the day for many - Madh village is very much off the beaten track and not many tourists (any?) make their way through the town. We were followed through the town by quite a few of the local village children and Luke managed to find a few little puppies along the way and made a few friends.

Watching the Rain

After what was possibly the longest work week in Luke's career (at least here in India), we decided to stay home this Friday night. It turned out to be an absolutely beautiful night to sit and watch the monsoon rains pour from the skies from our apartment balcony. So, we popped open a bottle of Veuve Clicquot and sipped champagne while listening to the rumbling thunder storms and watching the lightening storm light up the Arabian sea. I tried to snap a few photos with a slow shutter speed, so our pics are a bit blurry and the night sky appears a bit brighter than it really was, but hopefully you can see the force of the rain and the beauty of the sky!

Shooting in Mumbai

Today I went out to HyperCity to get some stuff for the flat. As Philip (the driver) and I were driving back into the Madh Island area from Malad, I started to notice just how many signs there were along the side of the road advertising shooting facilities. I turned to Philip and asked him what exactly were people shooting out here? He replied, "bollywood movies and tv soap operas". That made me smile.

Airport Baksheesh

My entry into India was not a smooth experience. In London duty free I had purchased two bottles of wine and two bottles of champagne. Little did I know you can only bring two bottles of any alcohol into the country. My bags were scanned as I was leaving Mumbai airport and the bottles discovered. Again, still unaware I was doing anything wrong, I was surprised when I was pulled aside and brought over to the customs police. I was then brought up to speed on the rules and regulations of duty free allowances and told I had to pay a customs charge on the bottles of wine. For wine that was valued at £21.00 for both bottles (and I told them it was worth £12) they wanted to charge me £50 (that is about one month's wages for the average Indian). My Egyptian experience served me well and after a bit of bartering and back room conversations, I walked out paying £15.00 in duty on my two bottles of wine. Welcome to India!