About Me

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Here I would love to share with you our travels and adventures as international mushroom consultants. MEMOIRS about husband Pieter Vedder, who was a SCIENTIFIC PIONEER in Mushroom Cultivation Education. His practical handbook is in 9 languages and is called the MUSHROOM BIBLE: https://mariettesbacktobasics.blogspot.com/2020/08/modern-mushroom-growing-2020-harvesting.html
Showing posts with label India. Show all posts
Showing posts with label India. Show all posts

Monday, January 4, 2021

New Delhi Sight Seeing and Bahai Lotus Temple

 Bonus of sight seeing, courtesy of Pond's India Ltd...


On our final day in Delhi, we had a meeting with the General Manager of Pond's India at the Taj Palace Hotel, on August 9, 1994. Then we got picked up by the wife of one of their staff members, whom we met several times over the years. She was pleased for finally meeting us in person, as her husband always had brought home the little gifts we gave him upon meeting with us. 
Very pleasant to chat with her!
Pieter shows on the video, the lobby of the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi, also outside with the Indian man in official dress. 
Next we walk onto the compound towards the Bahai Lotus Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
If viewing this short video on YouTube and on your PC, you can follow the clickable markings below the video.
Musician with Cobra we captured.
Next we walk towards India Gate, another UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The weather was not clear, a heavily pregnant sky and almost fog did not let us capture the President's Palace with left and right the Parliament buildings.
~
By 20:30 we got dropped off at the airport and we were supposed to fly back via Amsterdam to Atlanta shortly after midnight. But we had some engine problems with one out of four... So that meant parking on an apron and it took that long that they started serving the hot meal. 
Around 8:00 in the morning, next day! we had to go back to the terminal and all business class passengers had to step aside. We were lucky for having gotten an upgrade on our KLM Royal Dutch Airlines' Royal Wing card, so we were chosen.
That meant we were being carried by Air Canada to London, from there to Amsterdam, one night at the Barbizon Palace Hotel and next day to Atlanta, Georgia/USA...
Travel at times can be fun!


Related link to previous post by me:

My 5th Consulting Trip to India & Visit of Taj Mahal | More info about this trip

Taj Mahal short Video

Red Fort of Agra short Video

Lalitha Mahal and Maharaja Palace Mysore  2 minute video

Sister Diny's Rabbit LOVED my Saddlebag from The Bridge Italy 

Saturday, January 2, 2021

Taj Mahal short Video

 Bonus after working as a consultant for Pond's India Ltd...

After lunch at the Sheraton Hotel in Agra, we now went to the Taj Mahal
So very impressive to see this UNESCO World Heritage Site with your own eyes.
Photo making was prohibited, we bought a book instead.
And this short video we got.
Pond's India had arranged a private tour guide, you will hear him in-between explaining things.
Very educative and we enjoyed it tremendously.
When viewed on YouTube, on your PC you find again the clickable markings written below the video.
Again, with my beloved The Bridge Saddlebag...
More info with some photos in my earlier post: My 5th Consulting Trip to India & Visit of Taj Mahal...

Related link to previous post by me:

My 5th Consulting Trip to India & Visit of Taj Mahal

Red Fort of Agra short Video

Lalitha Mahal and Maharaja Palace Mysore  2 minute video

Sister Diny's Rabbit LOVED my Saddlebag from The Bridge Italy 

Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Red Fort of Agra short Video

 Upon completing our consulting period for Pond's India Ltd...


Red Fort of Agra UNESCO World Heritage Site
If you click through to viewing on YouTube and on your PC, you see information below with clickable points.
We started our day at 5:30 on August 8, 1994 with our journey from Delhi, to Agra.
That was some 225 km to the south east over a divided highway, with concrete division.
We never had seen an elephant as a means of transport, or the huge black camels...
So many animals on the road and so much noise.
We kept the windows of our Ambassador closed due to the air conditioning, which was a blessing for the noise and also for keeping some of the stench of animal manure, away from our nostrils.
Wearing my The Bridge saddlebag, from Australia that my sister Diny's rabbit tasted after we had gone back to The Netherlands in September of 1994...


Related link to previous post by me:

My 5th Consulting Trip to India & Visit of Taj Mahal

Lalitha Mahal and Maharaja Palace Mysore  2 minute video

Sister Diny's Rabbit LOVED my Saddlebag from The Bridge Italy 

Sunday, December 27, 2020

Lalitha Mahal and Maharaja Palace Mysore 2 minute video

After completing our consulting period for Pond's India Ltd, we joined one of their staffers...

Just showing you the magnificent architecture you find in India.
A 2-minute video of Lalitha Mahal and Maharaja Palace in Mysore, Karnataka
We have toured the palace twice, also on March 3, 1990.
Wearing my The Bridge saddle bag from Australia...


Related link to previous posts by me:

My 5th Consulting Trip to India & Visit of Taj Mahal

Lalitha Mahal and Maharaja Palace Mysore

Chamundeshwari Temple and Chamundi Hills in Mysore India

Sister Diny's Rabbit LOVED my Saddlebag from The Bridge Italy 

Monday, September 14, 2020

Adventure in Madras India, now Chennai

Yes, we had now worked, high in the mountains of South India, for Pond's India in their mushroom plant. This was during our four weeks off, after living/working two months in Indonesia.
Our first day, February 21 of 1992, driving up to the plant, we had a driver that had to hold the door shut with one hand, while driving in the mountains. So we swapped taxis!
Pieter had fallen on February 24, with one foot inside the goody pit... the entire day being smelly from those anaerobic bacteria. We stayed in a guest bungalow and washed his jeans, socks and hightop shoes, and dried it in front of an electric stove.
On February 25, we bought our leather jackets, from their Leather Garment Factory.
On February 28, we go one final time to the mushroom farm and received a silk chain stitch embroidered wall hanging, each of us the very same. 
They also proceeded to make a professional video about my Techniques for Harvesting Quality Mushrooms. Today, September 15, just received the converted version on a memory stick and will post it some time later...
Both of us had left our hightop shoes at the Pond's mushroom farm, for those poor workers that have to work in the hot (50-70°C) compost with bare feet. That was far easier than having to clean them up for packing inside our luggage. 
We drive back to Coimbatore, and from there we board a night train to Madras (Chennai).
We have a 1st class sleeping coupe with air-conditioning. 
This time, I slept in the top bed...
February 29, after a ten hour shocking and rattling ride, we arrive in Madras and we slept well.
We got told that we should keep the sliding door of our cabin closed, but having to wash up in the bathroom early morning, of course we opened it.
How in the world could we know that before arriving at the Madras station, a giant of a guy had jumped on the riding train and entered it!!!
He stood there, and grabbed our two suitcases and placed them on his head... Those are mine!
Two people from Pond's met us at the railroad station, and after a fierce dispute with the giant, he ignored them and only hollered: 'I have to feed a family of seven!' He then was so brazen to carry our suitcases on his head, at a rapid pace down the stairs. We had a hard time to keep up with him!
Finally the two people from Pond's located their car and the giant put them down, he got paid and left.
What a zoo...
That guy would be the perfect player in David and Goliath!
This Image from Chennai Central, formerely Madras Central, was created by User:PlaneMad.
We both were wide awake now
~
They bring us to Hotel Chola Sheraton at Cathedral Road.
Now it is called the Welcomhotel Chennai.
After a fresh shower and breakfast, we got picked up by 10:30 AM for a meeting with the manager from Pond's India in Madras.
We visited their Leather Garments Factory and found a better size for our leather jackets, so we swapped them.
On March 1, we wake up at 4:00 AM and depart from this 5 Star Hotel for the airport and our flight to Singapore.
We place our suitcases in a locker and go by taxi to the our Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre
We walk to Centrepoint for some shopping.
March 2, we are early, and by taxi we go to the Alberts Centre for reparation of our Rado watches. 
From there we went to the airport and picked up our suitcases from the locker.
As usual, we shop around at the airport and always did stock up on reading material.
My eyes turned BIG however when I found the Malay version of Times magazine and our boss was mentioned on the cover... Not looking good financially!

To be continued...

Related link:
{Our DEEPER Reach In Bedroom Closet} | previous post showing the silk chain stitch twin embroidery


Friday, January 18, 2019

My 7th Consulting Trip to India with Husband Pieter

On Tuesday, September 15, 1998 we both traveled again to India for consulting service to a new mushroom company in Pune, 
A business man from Connecticut had begged us to go there and help them out. They even paid us up front and booked our flights in business class.
So we caved in and went another time to India... On KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to Amsterdam in seats 15 A+B.
On Wednesday, September 16, we landed ahead of schedule at 6:50 in Amsterdam. With our telephone card we did call Mom, Dad seldom came to the phone. 
Pieter called with his brother Thé and around 10:45 we continued with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to Mumbai. The time difference with The Netherlands is 3.5 hours and the flight takes some 8 hours.
We were one of the first passengers to be outside at 23:20 (again only carry on!) but after some 20 minutes there still was nobody!
With my sharp hearing, I just picked up the name "Vedder" and walked towards the person and said: "I back your pardon, did you mention the name Vedder?". It was our person, without name shield and his driver stood behind the masses of people. They just got there too late, due to a party...
We got dropped off at the Iskcon Ashram temple where his family was a life patron and thus had access to two rooms...
ISKCON Temple in Mumbai famous for its HARE KRISHNA
There was in 1998 in our room, NO SHOWER and it did not smell clean either.
Thursday, September 17, by 1:00 we each were in the rather short twin beds, with our feet sticking out. Our own goose down travel pillow helped for having some more comfort!
By 4:00 they started waking up everyone for prayers... by means of an instrument that sounded like elephants trumpeting. NOT pleasant to wake up to after only 3 hours on the mattress!
The monks started chanting...
By 6:00 we went with our person to the Rail Road Station. 
Train ride to Pune got cancelled due to heavy rain and tracks being under water...
Our person started calling for 3 airline tickets instead and suddenly realized that he had sent his driver off...
So by taxi we went to the airport and had a kind of breakfast there before take off at 11:00.
Again we got dropped off at a hotel and now Pieter was quick to jump into the shower, while I started to unpack.
Soon, Pieter yelled at me from the shower, that I had to repack everything: "We're NOT staying here he said firmly, after he'd shrunk from ICE COLD WATER!"
After lunch at the mushroom farm owner's home, we went to his farm for a first observation.
Afterwards we got dropped off at the Taj Blue Diamond Hotel in Pune, very good! It is in the same group as the Savoy in Ooty.
Hotel Taj Blue Diamond Pune just click link.
Pieter did attend right away a Rotary meeting in the hotel. Again, a meeting without any food, like before in Ketti Valley, Tamil Nadu/India.
We ate some cookies with fruit in our room.
We continued with our work and got up at 6:00 for having first breakfast before the driver of the owner came to pick us up.
On Sunday, Pieter did video tape while on the road due to less traffic that day.
We slept very well due to this hotel being a good distance off the main road and thus quiet.
Some of the staff members we knew already for many years as they'd worked for Pond's India at the time we consulted there.
On Saturday, September 26, we packed up and checked out after one more delicious Indian breakfast.
We went to the mushroom farm and together with the harvest manager Shubhada Sandeep Cruz, some photos got made when she handed me fresh flowers... We have them on our video tape!
Never seen those photos.
We did receive a very special gift, a beautiful stag, entirely made out of leather.
Did post about this gift in a previous post: {History of the Poinsettia} in 2011.
We got dropped off at the Train Station by 17:35 and our carry on luggage got placed for us in the overhead rack.
Pune to Mumbai
Dadar written on the back so we knew where to get off.
Just in case Amjad our driver would not be there...
By 20:45 we reached Dadar Station and the same driver from September 16, Amjad, recognized us and he dropped us off at the airport.
Checked in and we had time for relaxing in the Taj lounge before take off by 0:50 on Sunday, September 27. This stretch was flown by Northwest Airlines and the service was by far not as courteous as from KLM!
We landed in Amsterdam, called my Parents and flew on to Atlanta at 13:05 and got home by 19:15.

End of our Indian travels for work! That means 10 x for husband Pieter and for myself 7 x.
It is never easy such a long journey with time changes and lay overs etc.
But we always did it with love, for educating those that needed it MOST.

Thanks for your visit and comment!


Related links:
My 6th Consulting Trip to India with Husband Pieter | previous post by me
My 5th Consulting Trip to India & Visit of Taj Mahal | previous post by me
Pieter Hands Check to Rotary Club Ketti Valley, India | previous post by me
My 4th Consulting Trip to India after HUGE Landslide | previous post by me
Husband Pieter's DANGEROUS Trip back from India | previous post by me
My 3rd trip to India - Consulting Together with Husband Pieter | previous post by me
Consulting for Pond's (India) Limited Mushroom Project | previous post by me
My 2nd trip to India - Consulting Together with Husband Pieter | previous post by me
Brindavan Gardens Mysore with Luxury Heritage Hotel | previous post by me

Monday, January 14, 2019

My 6th Consulting Trip to India with Husband Pieter

On November 01, 1995 we boarded for Amsterdam, from Atlanta.
Again, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines gave us a Royal Wing upgrade to business class and we slept the entire night.
We went to hotel Ibis for some rest and a shower.
Friday, November 3, we left after a delicious Dutch breakfast (the bread we miss so much...) we went back to the airport and departed at 10:40 to Bombay (Mumbai).
Again we got an upgrade to business class! We landed at 23:30 and because we only had carry-on luggage we were quick outside and met with our person.
Saturday, November 4, around 12:00 our JetAir plane brought us to Coimbatore and we met with our Pond's man and by 18:00 we arrived at the Holiday Inn in Ooty.
November 5, As usual we started working on Sunday, and quick we both were back into that routine.
On Friday, November 10, we both were married 12 years and my youngest sister Gerd remarried that day. We had a nice dinner at the Savoy hotel in Ooty with the Pond's staff.
Both of us LOVE Indian food!
And we LOVE each other - a Blissful Relationship.
To the right is another colleague from the USA...
This truly was a candle light dinner!
Such a lovely Friday evening...
On Saturday, November 11, it was our final day at the mushroom farm.
Time moved so fast and things are headed into the right direction!
We both got a beautiful wood inlay with horse and a large brass plate with a peacock.
Treasures that are forever with us inside our home - fond memories!
On Sunday, November 12, we went via the mushroom farm to Coimbatore and flew to Bombay (Mumbai) and on to Delhi to our hotel.
Monday, November 13, we flew around 1:00 with KLM to Amsterdam and arrived on Tuesday, November 14, at 6:00 and we still enjoyed an upgrade into business class, which yielded us 6 Delft blue houses.
We did call my Parents, took a shower and after some shopping we departed for Atlanta and arrived around 13:00 back in the USA.

Thanks for your visit and comment!


Related links:
My 5th Consulting Trip to India & Visit of Taj Mahal | previous post by me
Pieter Hands Check to Rotary Club Ketti Valley, India | previous post by me
My 4th Consulting Trip to India after HUGE Landslide | previous post by me
Husband Pieter's DANGEROUS Trip back from India | previous post by me
My 3rd trip to India - Consulting Together with Husband Pieter | previous post by me
Consulting for Pond's (India) Limited Mushroom Project | previous post by me
My 2nd trip to India - Consulting Together with Husband Pieter | previous post by me
Brindavan Gardens Mysore with Luxury Heritage Hotel | previous post by me

Thursday, January 10, 2019

My 5th Consulting Trip to India & Visit of Taj Mahal

On Wednesday, July 27, of 1994 we both flew again to India for consulting service together. This was Pieter's 8th trip to India meanwhile.
On KLM Royal Dutch Airlines we sat in preferred seating, the old business class.
We landed in Amsterdam on Thursday, July 28, at 8:00 and went to hotel Ibis.
On Friday, July 29, we did rise early at 5:30 and rode the Ibis bus to the airport.
Our Royal Wing card did yield us again a business seat on our way to Bombay (Mumbai).
On Saturday night, July 30, we were at our The Leela Hotel, Mumbai by 1:00 and went to bed.
By 11:00 we went back to the airport for our flight to Coimbatore. From there the usual climb up into the mountains, by car and it was beautiful and green.
We reached our guest house in Ooty by 17:30, it was rainy and windy!
This time we came prepared with a piece of thick plastic in our suitcase to cover those metal slats to keep the cold wind out.
It sure made it a lot more pleasant!
On Sunday, July 31, we went to the mushroom farm by 8:00 and were back home by 19:00. 
It was such inclement weather and here we were with compost hands, eating our sandwich near the electric heater!
On Monday, August 1, we again went together to the farm. This time I asked a favor for stitching my black leather jacket that had come loose when carrying the heavy square box with glass and sculpture gift from Pond's, inside my Samsonite bag. It would be sent to Madras (Chennai) to the leather garment factory where Pieter had purchased a lambs leather jacket for him and for my brother Martin plus a suede leather for me.
We had dinner at the home of one of the staff members.
We continued working every day and on Thursday, August 4, a special courier from Madras did bring back my meticulously stitched leather jacket! What a joy.
Friday, August 5, was our final day at work and we got again honored with a farewell ceremony in which we, as usual received each a gift. A twin gift since we both worked for them. This time it were solid silver Diyas in which the Hindus pour fragrant oil and use 5 cotton wicks to light it.
On Saturday, August 6, we did drive by car early morning with a staff member to Mysore and visited the Palace, where we have been before. Then we traveled to Bangalore and stayed at the Sheraton hotel in Bangalore.
On Sunday, August 7, we flew to Delhi, and stayed at hotel Kanishka (Ashok), sounds almost Russian...
Strange enough, there were lots of Russians staying!
We had a relaxing day.
Monday, August 8, at 4:15 I shampooed my hair, nearly cold water... By 5:30 we left with 2 beautiful sisters as our guides. They were the daughters of some of Pond's employees and we were going to Agra, some 225 km south of Delhi.

There still was no 6-lane Yamuna Expressway at the time and on the road we saw elephants with  HUGE balloons of fabric, that got filled with fresh harvested cotton. Large black camels pulling a cart and with the shaves pointed up.
Black camels are larger than the Arab camels and in the dessert state of Rajasthan, there are a lot of them.
In an article of the Daily Mail: From Delhi to Jaipur and back in a VW Polo? You'll need a blindfold for that! I did find some similar chaos to show you how that looked like.
The writer also mentions: Everyone points their vehicle/camel/elephant in the direction they wish to go, keeps a hand on the horn, and advances as fast as they can, avoiding the pedestrians, chickens, monkeys, goats and cows, who persistently cross the road kamikaze-style, despite the roaring traffic.
~
Yes, we saw goats, stray dogs that were either pregnant or nursing pups. The ever present holy cows and buffalos, adding horses and donkeys used by people as load animal.
You just did weave with your car all the way through. Those cows know that wonderfully well, they usually dream or lie in the median, a raised area between the lanes. The average speed was not high with all the roaming cattle! Occasionally on an open stretch you reached one hundred km/hr. It was pleasant to keep the windows closed and the air conditioning on in the car, thus keeping the odor of manure from all those beasts at bay. Oh yes, there were also roaming pigs, kind of wild boars, at least they looked a lot like that. Plenty of manure and to top it off,  the necessary mud from the wet monsoon! Unseen, you can not imagine what a mess and chaos there was!!!
Taj Mahal a UNESCO World Heritage site click on pink hyperlink to read more.
BUT we made it to Agra and we enjoyed the marvel of the Taj Mahal.
It is entirely built in white Indian marble, which is a lot harder than the Italian marble.
As a matter of fact it is the mausoleum of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan who had it built for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal.
She was a Persian Princess who died when giving birth to their 14th child.
View our: Taj Mahal short Video ←click link.

It is indeed one of World's Wonders!
Beautifully situated on the banks of the Yamuna River lies the Taj Mahal←click it. Watch→: Taj Mahal (UNESCO/NHK) video with lots of info. At the time we were there, it was prohibited to make any photos! You even had to pay for having your camera placed inside a locker...

We did purchase the book from Taj Mahal & The Glory of Mughal Agra by J.S. Lall,
also some video we have from it, as seen from the Agra Red Fort, across the river.
On Amazon there is the same book available with different cover photo: Taj Mahal and the Glory of Mughal Agra
From the White Indian marble we purchased the above picture frame at the Taj Mahal.
Agra Red Fort see more photos via link.
This is an enormous complex of palaces.
We enjoyed our private English guide and learned a lot! Great architecture from the early 17th Century.
The road back in our Ambassador car was again an adventure. One should not be surprised to see suddenly we were moving as a ghost rider, on the wrong side of the road, because it seemed temporarily less congested there. It was a newly opened 4 lane highway divided by a concrete median. At certain spots the concrete quality seemed rather poor, so openings appeared and drivers were  too eager for switching over to drive against the traffic...
Our Guardian Angels had again a very busy day!!!
Lunch we ate at the Sheraton Hotel in Agra.
We were home before it got quite dark as we did not trust the mini lights of the Ambassador car and others and many without any lights!
On Tuesday August 9, we had a quiet morning till 11:00 when the wife of our usual Delhi guide who for 5 years always picked us up, came to take us shopping. At 14:00 we had a meeting with the General Manager from Madras, who just happened to be in Delhi. We had a good conversation with him and it helped that both of us worked for the same company.
Again we went with the same wife as guide into New Delhi, to the Lotus Temple which we this time could video tape. Also the estate from the president; Rashtrapati Bhawan (built in 1931) and the government buildings and India Gate.
We just could run to the car before a downpour!
We let her drop us off at the airport by 20:30 so nobody needed to look after us anymore...
We were early and after checkin with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines we observed something we'd never ever seen.
Russians with huge burlap bales, on which they walked and laid down...
When we asked our KLM agent, she said this was a daily drama with Ukraine Air to Kiev.
They can not even take it all home... they buy huge amounts of fabric rolls, let the Indians sew for a dollar a piece children- and teenage clothing and they stash that all in these burlap bags. In Russia they have a shortage and due to the lower wages in India they purchase it there.
How we would have loved to capture that but at Delhi airport photography or filming was prohibited.
We found in one of the stores, beautiful boxes, cut out in a kind of lacework, made from camel bone!
Never seen them before. They came from the dessert state of Rajasthan. What are those people artists!
Wednesday, August 10, we started boarding at 0:15... but when we were on the runway at 0:50 the captain stopped! The temperature indicator of one of four engines did not work.
They had to replace that and it would take 1.5 hour. We parked on an apron and the captain announced that the food had to be served meanwhile.
We had an upgrade on our Royal Wing card and got seated in the upper deck in business class.
By 8:00 the captain said we had to return to the gate... they couldn't find the problem.
We disembarked and went to the waiting room.
First they called all business class passengers + all passengers traveling to the UK.
So we were lucky since we had our upgrades!
We had to turn in our boarding passes for new ones on Air Canada for flying with them to London.
Then we had to walk to where the plane parked, for identifying our luggage on the pavement, so they could load it into the Air Canada plane.
We flew to London in 8 hours and 45 minutes, departure at 8:30 instead of 0:50...
We had left a note in Delhi for contacting our friends who would pick us up, as we parked our car with them. They got informed!
In London we got awaited by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and after we retrieved our luggage they brought us by bus to the other terminal of Heathrow Airport.
Then we had to run for passport check and straight into the KLM plane that was waiting for us.
To Amsterdam with 106 stranded passengers from Delhi.
By 17:15 we were in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
KLM did bring us to the Golden Tulip, Barbizon hotel (now Barbizon Palace) in Amsterdam.
Also a voucher for dinner and breakfast included.
Thursday, August 11, we went by shuttle back to the airport in Amsterdam and we flew with Delta to Atlanta, USA.
Plane was full and lots of smokers, so bad that the captain had to request to refrain from smoking for at least 15 minutes to refresh the air. How blessed we are now with non-smoking flights!

End of another India adventure...

Thanks for your visit and comment!


Related links:
Pieter Hands Check to Rotary Club Ketti Valley, India | previous post by me
My 4th Consulting Trip to India after HUGE Landslide | previous post by me
Husband Pieter's DANGEROUS Trip back from India | previous post by me
My 3rd trip to India - Consulting Together with Husband Pieter | previous post by me
Consulting for Pond's (India) Limited Mushroom Project | previous post by me
My 2nd trip to India - Consulting Together with Husband Pieter | previous post by me
Brindavan Gardens Mysore with Luxury Heritage Hotel | previous post by me

Sunday, January 6, 2019

Pieter Hands Check to Rotary Club Ketti Valley, India

During my 4th Consulting Trip to India, together with husband Pieter, he did also visit the Ketti Valley Rotary Club for handing them a US $ 500.00 check from our own Rotary Club of Dublin, Georgia.
Here husband Pieter hands the US $ 500.00 check to the Ketti Valley Rotary President in India.
The check from our own Dublin, Georgia USA Rotary Club
Sorry, my photos are NOT good but it is what it is!
Rotary Club of Ketti Valley District 3200
They just had a meeting without any food or drinks being served.
Husband Pieter tells something about the Dublin, Georgia Rotary Club
There were chairs lined up and this is the room we met in.
Mingling and talking
President standing under Club's banner...
Me to the right talking with one of the Lady Rotary members...
Wearing my Hermès silk shawl, a gift from a mushroom friend in Switzerland.

In combination with Rotary International and The Innerwheel Club of Ketti Valley they also did FREE CLINIC by LADY DOCTORS
Such a Lady Doctor at work...
And again here, the same Lady Doctor
The US $ 500.00 check from our local Dublin, Georgia Rotary Club would get used for teaching the poorest women English...
And also teaching them to sew or to knit on machines which they later on would get to take home so they could start making their own living.

There is so much to do in countries like India...

Thanks for your visit and comment!

Related links:
My 4th Consulting Trip to India after HUGE Landslide | previous post by me
Husband Pieter's DANGEROUS Trip back from India | previous post by me
My 3rd trip to India - Consulting Together with Husband Pieter | previous post by me
Consulting for Pond's (India) Limited Mushroom Project | previous post by me
My 2nd trip to India - Consulting Together with Husband Pieter | previous post by me
Brindavan Gardens Mysore with Luxury Heritage Hotel | previous post by me

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

My 4th Consulting Trip to India after HUGE Landslide

On Wednesday, January 5, 1994, we start our consulting trip to India aboard KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and with our Royal Wing Card, we both enjoyed once again an upgrade into Business Class.
Around noon on Thursday, we landed in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and after calling my Parents, we headed to hotel Ibis for some rest and a shower. 
We departed for Bombay (Mumbai) India on Friday, around 10:30 and arrived on Saturday, January 8, by 1:00 at hotel Centaur Airport, the very same hotel Pieter stayed at during his DANGEROUS solo trip (see link below post).
We did rise early as we had a flight at 8:00 to Coimbatore.
From Coimbatore, the road by car up into the mountains and instead of the usual 2.5 hours it would take us today 3.5 hours because of a detour.
On September 30, 1993, the deadliest earthquake in Maharashtra, Mumbai, presumably caused an underground long tear, so the mountains shifted.
From a distance we got to see this bare mountain side, it makes one skip a breath... 
Mother Nature's POWER.
There was another 'cloud burst' on 11th November 1993 in the upper reach of Marappalam of Coonoor Taluk, about 18 huts situated below the road and washing away Coonoor MTP ghat Road for about 1.5 km. The road traffic was suspended for more than a fort night. Twelve persons lost their live and 15 persons missing. It is said that 21 passengers were washed away with two buses. An important highway, sheared stretched of rail road for about 300m.
To the right, the landslide damage is still visible...
We both have seen the rail road, the one that we traveled once to work that stretch, was sticking up  in the air like matches! See below post about My 1st Trip to India...
Like a giant hand had stripped the entire mountain side bare, removing everything in its path...

~

We did arrive finally at our guest house in Ooty, Pieter was as carsick as one can get from the longer road up into the mountains.
That was on Saturday, January 09.
This guest house's shower was a rather puritan experience!
No window, but a hole in the wall, that was only provided with metal slats, which did not close...
We had a small electric heater, to turn in any case not completely blue from cold, from shower to bedroom.
This also helped us with getting into our clothes fast; just like a couple of drilled soldiers!
Keep in mind - this is HIGH IN THE MOUNTAINS!
Lovely mountains... but rather cold and windy during the night!
On Sunday, January 10, we did drive through the mountains to the mushroom farm to start our work period together as consultants.
We always enjoyed our beautiful surroundings in the Queen of Hills
Mother nature can be rough at times but when the sun shines down, it looks awesome...
People in the mountains for sure are not wealthy...
This is how they live close to that mushroom farm.
Two donkeys on the side of the road...
Yes, India is a vast country and one of many contrasts!
Looking down on the mushroom farm, visible through the trees.
And here the mushroom farm is in full view...
Of course it is hard to capture it in one shot!
We did work intensely for one week and on Friday, January 14, we left from the farm, after a meeting with the entire staff, on our way to Coimbatore.
This time we could travel via the normal route as of 14:00 o'clock that day, they had opened a Bailey Bridge, put in place by the military, to be used for light vehicles.
There was a sign: One Vehicle at a Time but we saw another vehicle coming our way!
It looked terribly scary! In Indonesia we saw more often a land slide but never such a devastation as here!
The two of us are never afraid, but we both know for certain that there is really such a thing as a Guardian Angel!!!
A miracle often, that we once again got out unscathed.
Also good to see up close such destruction from a natural disaster!
This teaches us once more very clearly, that there is still someone who is many times more powerful than we, small measly ants on this little globe.

We arrived in Coimbatore and traveled again, like the previous consulting trip together, by train to Madras (Chennai). This stretch of some 600 km we managed in 10 hours, in a first class sleeping compartment. Two rows of bunk beds for 4 people. Both of us slept at the top.
One staff member was with us and another unknown businessman.

We arrived around 5:00 and were being dropped off at a chic Sheraton Hotel (far more luxurious in India than here in the USA!).
After a shower and change of clothes, we had our usual wrap-up meeting with the general manager from Pond's India, at their main office in Chennai.
It took quite some effort and even courage for always being straight forward, but still righteous, to give our opinion about things and people. This was required of our job, being consultants...
We always felt relieved, when starting the return journey.
With our luggage packed up again, we left around 14:30 to the airport of Madras.
Flying to Delhi, first class; thus they found us worthy of that!
We met again with our contact person whom we had not seen in two years, because of our non-stop direct flight to Bombay (Mumbai) but on Saturday, there was no Bombay/Amsterdam flight.
In completing the Royal Treatment, they brought us for one night to the Taj Palace Inter Continental Hotel...
Again, such a stark contrast with so many poor people in that country, such luxury for only two people!
We got up at 4:30 on Sunday, January 16 and started our flight back on Royal Dutch Airlines.
Again we got an upgrade to Business Class, due to our Royal Wing card and flew to Amsterdam, The Netherlands and on to Detroit, MI before going to Atlanta, GA.
Back in the USA...

Thanks for your visit and comment!


Related links:
Husband Pieter's DANGEROUS Trip back from India | previous post by me
My 3rd trip to India - Consulting Together with Husband Pieter | previous post by me
Consulting for Pond's (India) Limited Mushroom Project | previous post by me
My 2nd trip to India - Consulting Together with Husband Pieter | previous post by me
Brindavan Gardens Mysore with Luxury Heritage Hotel | previous post by me

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