Steve goes to India For His MCSE

A farewell to India and my friends......

2009-10-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

As I write this I am 3 hours into my train journey to Delhi. I cant help feeling slightly sad today. After saying goodbye to my friends and the admin staff at the training centre I’m left with a hollow feeling indside that I know will be filled when I reach home and my girlfriend and friends. Ofcourse I’m excited to get back home with my memories and new qualifications but I feel I shall always leave a little bit of myself in India.. I will miss the amazingly diverse country and the ingenious make do methods only the Indians can devise. The nothing is too much bother attitude, the yes we have always got room in the vickeram , can do spirit. These I feel are a mix of the great age old British muster and the traditional Indian culture.
As the beautiful lush greenery and farms peppered with brick kilns and buffalo pulling carts pass my cabin window I wonder if I will ever be able to return to India and travel the English occupation trail in search of heritage.
My last day was Wednesday, I wanted to go in to spend one last day there and it felt strange not having to go through books for a particular slice of Microsoft to get my head around for my next exam. I was asked to write a few lines for the Koenig website and register with a forum where people would ask questions about visiting Koenig and studying in India, I gladly did both.
In the morning Papiya the exam centre manager called me in and did the sweetest thing, she said she was at the market last night and wanted to get me a present but she didn’t know what to get me so she decided to get something for my girlfriend, she produced a silver chain with a silver note on it and put it into a small velvet bag. I was so moved by this and it was completely unexpected and took me aback. I thanked her for her generosity and kindness.
I spent the rest of the day with my friends and trainers; it was obviously a relaxed day today. I also spent some time with Nidhi the centre manager as well, she had a bit of a cold and couldn’t make the birthday party last night which was a shame as she is always funny and as she was one of the few females that would drink vodka, we were dying to see her merry and her husband have to drag her home. Nidhi is probably one of the nicest people you could ever meet she runs the centre with kindness and a smile and always has time for anyone. I found out that she is working on setting up her own NGO to bring free education to the poor and provide them with a means to work. She also wants to set up factories and farms to enable these poorer people with a job and sustainable income for their families.
Eventually the time came to go back to the country house, this was the part I had not been looking forward to and still makes me feel sad now. I went round and said my goodbyes and collected email addresses. For the staff this is a normal occurrence to see students leave but for me it was a little more, those people that had done so much for me and had never made me feel like a stranger, only a friend, and that I might not see them again… The driver came and I got in the old beaten up Toyota red pick up with its front indicators held in with celeotape, for my last trip to the country house. All the admin staff came to the front door and didn’t stop waving until we were far out of site.

Andy, Jason, George and I had arranged to meet up at 6 and go try a new restaurant tonight. It was called the Yethi restaurant and it served Chinese, Thai and Indian cuisine with the obligatory “continental” menu. We arrived and it was smaller than we expected from seeing the outside, but we were welcomed in and were seated and handed menus whilst they started the air-con. A fantastic selection of food is on offer here and well recommended by the admin staff at the centre. We placed our order knowing that as always we had probably ordered too much! Whilst waiting for the food my trainer and Jason’s trainer came in and said “surprise”…. They had popped in because we said were going to the Yethi, they gave me gifts, a very nice box of caramels and a T-shirt, again I was taken aback by this really sweet gesture. They didn’t have time to stop for food or a drink; we shook hands and exchanged wishes. This day wasn’t getting any easier.. But the food started coming, and coming and coming soon our large table was covered with a selection of dim-sums and soups. The food was all piping hot and freshly made, a real result. Soon, and I mean soon the main course arrived and by now we had to put all dim-sums that we hadn’t eaten yet into less bowls to make space for the plates and the main course. Again this was very hot and very nice, if you are looking for Chinese or Thai food the Yethi restaurant is the place to be, but they do not serve alcohol. We all tried each other’s food and we were very impressed. Then the bill came. Rs 1340 that’s about £16 for all food and drinks and we had enough food left over for another!
We left the restaurant after spending the meal time trying to explain cricket to our American colonial cousin Jason, we failed. We got a tuk tuk back to the Country house and had one last beer on the veranda. I decided that I needed to go back and start the mission that is going home, we all shook hands and promised to keep in touch. I closed my door and started packing for home….

At 5:30am there was a knock on my door, it was Sanjay “Mr steve the car is here”, I looked at my iphone and saw the time, my train isn’t until 7:20 and its barely 30 minutes to the station. “Just a minute” I got up washed dressed and assembled in minutes. Sanjay was still at the door waiting to carry my bags to the car. In the car even at 5:45 people were still going to work, cows were heading into the busy parts of roads for their daily obstructiveness, monkeys were raiding the bins for breakfast and everything seemed normal in India when a family of 4 and a baby on the handlebars passed by with a few beeps on a 50cc moped. There was even what we call a kamikaze moped on the roads at this time (a 50cc moped with 2 huge propane cylinders strapped to it and a driver trying to hold on and ride it). The station was still the same hustle and bustle with the porters in red carrying peoples baggage. My electronic ticket I was given didn’t seem to have my carriage or seat number on it, this caused endless amount of fun at 6:15 in the morning, not a train official to be seen and if there was one I doubt he could help. The only thing that remained to do was check the reservation paper lists that had been wallpapered to the sides of each carriage. After 25 minutes I found my name on one of these lists and signaled to my driver, we got the bags onboard. There might have been a mix up or perhaps they didn’t have any executive cars on today. I had a sleeper cabin with a well dressed balding Indian with one of those old comedy ‘it aint half hot mum’ mustaches that’s nothing but a thin grey pencil line above his upper lip. He was friendly and he said he was also expecting a chair carriage. Now imagine watching en episode of Sherlock Holmes when he and Dr Watson are riding n a train carriage. Yup that’s the one, when we entered it had been arranged like 2 sets of bunk beds but in a few lifts and catches it was now 2 bench seats and really looked the part. Unfortunately its now 12pm and I’m ravenous, all I can think of is that dimly lit pub in Delhi with those fantastic sheek kebabs!!!! Oh wait I’ve got some biscuits here somewhere…….
I decided to get to know my traveling companion a little, so I broke the ice with some good day butter biscuits. Apparently he is a professor at the Indian Institute for Science. We spoke about Indian culture and more about the British legacy. We spoke for hours and the journey soon passed.
Eventually we arrived at Delhi and as soon as I stepped out of my nice quaint air-conditioned cabin the heat hit me, it was like a warm humid blanket that smelled of dust and 2-stoke fuel. My driver was waiting right outside my carriage door and immediately tried to struggle with my now full of books cases! I eventually prized one out of his hands and we took one each up the stairs, and down the stairs and across the car park! I had now realised how sedate the Dehradun way of driving was compared to Delhi in rush hour, I can see now exactly how those cars get all those dents! We were driving done a dual carriage way with a raised kerbed section dividing the east and west traffic, our direction was nose to tail side by side and anywhere there was any space left would be 2 scooters. When I say we were close, I mean to say it’s now impossible for anyone to open a door or leave a car, I’ve been in London rush hour but this is something else. A tuk-tuk in front decided he would mount the raised section between the flow of traffic with his front wheel, he then got out and lifted the rear wheels onto the section, got back in drove along the raise section then off into the oncoming traffic, with a few toots of his horn to let people know he was there. As soon as this had been seen by others that was it, after 5 minutes all you could see were cars traveling away from us in both directions!!!!! Just madness.
We arrived at the Koenig inn and I was greeted by the manager who asked me how my stay was in Dehradun, he had arranged for me to have the same room as last time and I was delighted. I turned the air-con on full set the ceiling fans to warp 7 and went to sleep on the bed…..
I awoke at 6:30 and decided to head into town to find my favorite bar and sheek kebabs… After braving the incredibly hot Delhi evening I found my goal. As soon as the door man opened the door the cool fresh air-con covered me over like a cool autumn evening. I headed up the stairs and found a table. I ordered a Kingfisher strong and my much coveted prize the sheek kebab. As this was my first and only meal of the day I decided to have another look at the menu (not easy in the dim light). They specialised in Chinese food so I ordered hot sour chicken soup and a wonderful looking dish (as my neighbor had it) chilli-chicken. Oh and another ice cold beer with an ice cold glass…. God I love this place! The food was piping hot and as good as anything I had eaten in a very long time. At 8:30 and feeling very happy and content I left, oh the bill was RS 650 (about £8). Back to the room AC on full whack and relax with a film and an early night!!!

The 5 exam week........... Now with qualifications..

2009-09-29T21:15:00.000-07:00

I know I have been uber-slack with my blog the past week or so but to be honest you havent missed a great deal, mostly studying for exams taking exams and passing ALL !!!!
I will write something with lots of pictures soon as soon as I can get some more images from Andy.
But this hard work has all paid off and Im just waiting for my confirmation email from Microsoft but I now have......

MCP (XP)
MCDST (XP)
MCSA (2003)
MCSE (2003)
MCTS (Vista)
MCITP (2008 Enterprise)

12 exams done completed, passed, gone forever!!!!!

Now, Air India has decided to strike, this may cause fun and games with my journey home.
One of the lovely staff here managed to track down a customer number that wasnt disconnected and it seems that my flight is still going to run (I bet I wont have extra seats this time!).
So the plan is for me to get the train from Dehradun to Delhi on thursday morning and arrive approx lunchtime. Then stay in Delhi for the day and fly out on the 2nd at 13:55.

More news to follow !!!!!!
Things to mention in my next blog, cocktails on sat with the guys and the double birthday party at Koenig....

Sunday the day of rest and religion, oh and a trip to a fine resurant

2009-09-20T03:55:00.000-07:00

SUNDAY IS HERE!!!!!

I awoke at 9am and rolled over and slept til about 11:30. :-) Some people might think this a waste of half a day but the batteries enjoyed the recharge time!
Jason and i had arranged to go for a walk to see the local monastery, (there are a few here in Dehradun due to the number of Tibetan monks, or is that why there are so monks? Chicken and egg anyone?)
We set off after lunch and enjoyed the walk.

The now obligatory road cow shot.

The Hindi temple.

The Hindi temple again, notice the mirrors and sinks on the right.

We did notice a lot of activity at the Hindi temple and lots of flip-flops outside, had it not been so busy we might have had a look inside. Now, being a Westerner Jason and I had no idea about religious protocol, apart from the fact shoes were a no-no. I'm not sure on the washing before or after visiting a religious area so Ill save this visit until I bring a native...

Sunday seems to bring everyone out.

Another road cow just going for a walk.

Sundays are very important here in India as for most its the only day off, celebration, shopping and religion.

Not far down the road was our closest Buddhist temple. This seemed a lot quieter and we decided to investigate.

Quite majestic for a smaller temple we got closer.

Opened by the Dalai Lama no less!!!!

Now, I really fancied having a look inside, but those long white stairs might have lead to a huge group deep in prayer and I wasn't sure what would happen. Like two school boys daring each other we got closer. Then I thought sod it I'm going to have a look. I climbed the stairs followed by Jason and was greeted by a monk outside the temble. It was nearly empty so I thought it might be nice to enter, I walked closer and the monk pointed at my feet and I nodded respectfully and removed my shoes, I then entered trying to walk as religiously and respectfully as I could In a Buddhist Temple, not being of any religion this probably wasn't very convincing. I was a little discrete with taking pictures as I didn't want to find out that this was a huge desecration of there worship and end up being stoned or something. The inside was spectacular and the pictures can not convey the grandness of it all.

The altar surrounded with bronze/gold statues.

There are statues everywhere, it gives you an incredible feeling of being somewhere of huge historical and religious significance.

The work and time spent in creating this temble is just beyond belief, everything is in perfect and prestene order and the quality and craftsmanship is staggering.

Right the way up the the walls to the ceiling statues everywhere.

Some repairs? Painting? or just more shelves for statues?

Having had a look around and being as discrete with the camera as possible I headed out.
We decided to go for a walk as it was a nice day.

The true work-mans wagon.

A funky looking lorry, there are quite a few of these about, and they like to decorate them.

Someone having an extension to there already large and wealthy house.

Another funky lorry.

The monkeys were out in force today.

As soon as you get the camera out the head off.....

Luckily this camera has zoom!

Before we had realised it we had walked a fair few miles downhill, Jason wanted some snacks from our emporium so we decided to hail a Vickeram and ride to the shops. I also had my camera so I thought id take some snaps to show you.

We managed 11 people in this Vickeram....

Now this is our "local shop" there are many alongside the road but this is our preferred choice!

An army official getting supplies.

How colourful is that, notice Jason selecting some fine green tea.

Its just amazing what this guy actually has......

After getting more essential supplies we headed back to get ready to go for dinner, tonight it was the hotel President.
A 15 minute ride in a crowded Vickerham and we were in town, the President is just next to the Black Pepper.

Some Indian Gent, George, Andy and Jason.

Only in India........

Enjoying a haywards 5000 at the President hotel.(Andy, me George and Jason)

My fave! Sheek kebab and the best way to spend a £1.

A mixed selection of Indian, Chinese and continental foods.
The President was cheap, starters being about £1 and main courses averaging £2.
The service was good but the timings of the starters and main courses were a bit random, the Black pepper has better food and first class service!

We poured out of the President and hired a private tuk tuk to take us back home!

Saturday, getting warm..

2009-09-20T03:33:00.000-07:00

Right it seems that the purchase of my fine English brolly ended the Monsoon season. This means two main things, Less mosquitos, but more heat.

It tends to get to 30+degrees during the day and not a lot less at night time, that would be OK but its very humid here so a few showers a day and a couple changes of clothes needed to remain human. Another exam today and this will mostly consist of DNS, Subnetting and security with a liberal sprinkling of GPO. Want to know what all that means? then speak to Microsoft or pay me a good consultancy fee and ill explain (that's what us MCPs do).

The drive to the centre was its normal fun filled trip and the morning coffee club guys seem to wave before I do now! Before I leave I'm going to get up early and have a coffee with them!

More road cows trying to obstruct the rush hour traffic.

Shops getting ready for the day ahead.

People walking to work...

The day was mostly spent going over stuff for my next exam at 2:30, this was probably my least favourite exam so far...
As a treat I ordered McDonalds for Lunch and 9 cold nuggets and fries were waiting for me at 1pm. A quick nuke from the microwave and I could just imagine being back home in Bournemouth in a nice clean McDonalds :-)

Exam at 2:30 came in no time at all and I was finger-printed, passport I'd and processed before the gas chamber. I finished the exam in an hour and was very pleased to have passed it and got it out of the way. Six down and 6 or 7 left to do.
I said that it was getting a little warmer....

Coco seeking some shade and a nap.

Coco and Dad seeking shade under a car.

Coco's dad taking a secret beak from his overly playful son.

Exam passed and due to the fact I don't have another exam until Tuesday or Wednesday I think a few beers will be partaken of tonight! A Lazy Sunday also awaits !!!!!!!!

Tuesday to Saturday... Yes Im still alive!

2009-09-20T03:16:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the obvious deficit of Blogging media.

I have now decided to add another course to my study here, this will be the upgrade from MCSE to MCITP Enterprise Administrator, yes it maybe madness but I'm here so I may as well get as much out of it as I can. This does mean going from my original 7 exams to now 13 including another course I have already completed.... I think I might as well just give up sleep and Turing into an exam taking and learning machine. After doing subnetting and translating IP to Binary I now genuinely feel like a robot. So far my certifications include, MCP, MCDST, MCSA, MCTS, MCTS Vista.
Im still to add MCSE and MCITP Enterprise Administrator.... maybe another.. ;-)

As promised here are some pictures of the Training centre.

The reception desk, Nidia the Centre managers office is to the right.

The corridor to the right of the reception desk.

The corridor to the right of the reception desk, my lab is the 3rd on the left.

Ahhhh lab 9 home to Steve for a month.

The prometric office and the gas chamber to the right!

Monday..

2009-09-15T09:27:00.001-07:00

I have noticed I'm falling behind a little with my blog, today being Wednesday and this being Mondays blog.... Also see Sundays blog underneath, its NEW

Monday was exam day, I had 2 extra exams for another course I thought would be fun, (you know when you have been here too long when you consider 2 visits to the gas chamber in one day fun!).
I had an exam at 9:30 and another at 2:30, most of Monday was spent cramming for exams and starting a new book for my main course. This is a mad way to do things...... I passed my exam at 9:30 did some study for my main course until lunch then crammed for another exam at 2:30, passed that and continued until 5pm with my main course.

The 2 exams I added and passed were quite basic XP desktop support exams for the Microsoft course, MCDST (Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician). I just wanted to add more letters and acronyms to my CV to confuse people! Well so far I am now an MCP and an MCDST!
I intend to work my course in a particular order so that I qualify for the MCSA (Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator) and again another Microsoft qualification and acronym!

After the day I went home and finished the book I had started that day, Just needing to do the labs and exercises tomorrow.

Then sleep! Sorry today is dull to read, but here's a picture of a cow... ok its a Bull. Also a few more random images Ive taken.

A view of the not so developed part of the IT park.

The comparison of ultra rich modern and well we might finish it sometime!

A Bull reminding us that its his road and hes not mooooving.

Sunday a day of study and a Curry house!

2009-09-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

The warm feeling of sun and the head of India woke me up at about 10:30, I looked at my Iphone, saw the time, smiled and rolled over for more sleep. A knock at the door around11:30 woke me up and it was the manager of the accommodation asking if i wanted to order pizza for lunch, I ordered a peperoni pizza from Pizza hut and decided that my lay-in was over. Jason was outside with a selection of fine Cuban cigars, he was contemplating which to enjoy on his Sunday afternoon. We chatted about guy stuff and the course.

My lay-in being cut short I showered and got ready for lunch. I have 2 exams on Monday so I must make a little time for revision (easy MCDST so not that much). Pizza arrived and was enjoyed! As we sat down for lunch Andy, Jason and I decided that we would celebrate our day off in style. At 5pm we would meet and get a vikeram into Dehredun and go to the Black pepper a local famous curry house. Until then I was to be buried in books and revising for exams. Eventually 5pm came around and we gathered for the trip. Now public transport in India is a story within its self, you have as expected various levels of transportation:

The end of the world Prison buses with bars not windows, these barely stop to pick you up and dont stop to drop you off.
Vickerams, these are blue 3 wheeled motor scooters with a 2 benches and a roof, these cost about 8Rs per person and they will happily try to carry 12 even though they seat 4/5, it has been known for these to get so overloaded people have to get out to go up hill.
Tuk Tuks, think of a posh Vickeram that you hire rather than squat in, these are black and yellow, cost about 80Rs to town (but worth the £1).

Scooters, these are used by everyone, not sure about the legality of a helmet, insurance or even a driving licence for that matter. I have seen a 50cc scooter carry a man with a child on his lap, 2 children behind him and his wife on the back holding them all on... Only in India!

Cars, these vary but they tend to favour Suzuki swifts or expensive Hondas! Ill get a selection of cars on the road in my next blog. No matter what car all card have their wind mirrors folded in or removed, those extra few inches mean you can squeeze passed another car.

We hailed a Vickeram and there were only 2 people in it, we thought "great an easy ride into town".

Jason, Andy and myself in a Vickeram, cosy and this with just 3!

Well it was too good to be true and eventually lots of bony bummed Indians jockied for a few square inches of seats. We managed 9 people, and the driver was still soliciting for more business!
Well we managed to stop next to Black pepper and felt like a beer was in order!

The majestic Black pepper.

We ordered 3 Haywwods 5000, the waiter left, a few minutes later "sorry we don't have any Haywoods, would you like fosters strong?" "yes that would be fine". A few minutes later "sorry we don't have any Fosters strong would you like Kingfisher strong?". "yes that would be fine". Eventually the beer came and was ice cold and very much enjoyed. We all received menus and to us Brits this was a real slice of home with only slight changes to the menus we would choose from on a weekend night in England. Jason being the token American had no idea what was what so we ordered. We started with Poppadoms and chutney, Lamb boti kebabs, Chicken taka tak, Chicken Karai, Keema nan, Garlic nan, Butter nan and a mild mutton curry for Jason. All washed down with another Kingfisher. The service in Black Pepper is second to none and they just couldn't do enough for us, the restaurant started to fill up a little about 8:45.

The 3 Amigos Andy, Myself and Jason.

The feast went on until about 9:30 having enjoyed over 4 hours of food and beer we waddled outside to get a lift home. After a brief discussion we decided that in out bloated seat we would shell out the 100Rs for a ride home in near comfort, and hailed a Tuk Tuk.

Rested relaxed and contented I spent an hour or so studying for my exams in the morning.

Saturday 12/09/09 Shopping!

2009-09-15T06:14:00.000-07:00

I woke up to a warm sunny morning and prepared for breakfast. Breakfast now consists of a regular helping of 2 slices of brown toast with butter cheese slices then 2 fried eggs with Indian spices on them, all washed down with a few glasses of bottled orange juice. Then a coffee before the drive to the centre. The drive was its normal eventful self and I think the people have got used to me wishing them a good morning and waving whenever we slow down for corners. On one roundabout is a shack where all the locals and police have coffee, these are now referred to as "the morning coffee club", whenever we pass they now wave and smile back, Anglo-Indian relations still improving. After a few cows and the normal horn blowing we arrived at the centre. I have decided that 8 exams and one course are just simply not enough... So I booked 2 separate exams for Monday, this will be for a Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician. This is normally a 7-9 day course but as Id just come off the back of a more complex MP exam and I have a good deal of experience in XP I thought id give these 2 exams a go. I'm one book and some prep away from my next MCSE exam so this is going to be a tight few days (hence the late blogs). Study went well, one thing I have noticed is that I'm drinking an inordinate amount of coffee mind you the cups are espresso size, but in the UK I only normally have coffee after dinner. I'm going to come back with a huge coffee habit!!!!! But it helps keep u sharp and awake during not so exciting sections of printer drivers and printer spooling!!!

At about 10:30 (more coffee) I went for a walk outside to get fresh air and see "Coco".

Coco is a puppy. He and his dad have adopted the training centre. I know India has Rabies, Monkeys and Mad (sacred) Cows, but it also has Coco.

Coco... aweee how can you not think hes cute!
Cocos Mum and Dad went there separate ways, or Mum found her way in to a curry... Cocos Dad tends to drop him off at the Centre and go away for a bit of peace and quiet, Coco is playful and when Daddy is there is allover him play fighting. Coco especially likes milk and Samosas and its the centre of attention whenever possible.

Ok just one more picture.... He promises he doesn't have rabies.. But still I don't want fleas!

I left the centre at 5pm and Andy myself and Jason decided to go up the hill to look for shops and get out for a bit.

A view down the hill of the shops....

I was after an umbrella as when it rains boy does it rain. As we were walking along the row of shops a few seemed to sell brollys, I found a shop that had a good selection and engaged the vendor, he was immediately helpful and before I knew it I was surrounded with hundreds of open Umbrellas, it must have looked like the umbrella scene from Madame Butterfly. After I had managed to get him to put them away again I decided on a classic black self opening umbrella with a a curved handle and a silver lining, very dapper and quite appropriate for an English man in India. This was much to the amusement of my American friend Jason who insisted that we look for a bowler hat to match. The cost 0f this fine purchase was 190Rs (£1.80). We then set of in search of snacks, chocolate and crisps in particular. After a short walk from my Umbrella vendor we found a shop with a small opening but it had crisps outside so we ventured in. WELL, this was a real gold mine, a cornucopia of goods in one little stall. It also had a cold box with Mars bars Cadburys chocolate, including fruit and nut... I piled his counter high with biscuits, chocolate, crisps, fizzy drinks, and more chocolate. I asked for air freshener he then offered me about 5 different types of shampoo, I then had to explain and mime what "Air freshener was and after I had been offered insect spray, deodorant and insect repellent he got the message. "Electric or non electric?", "erm, electric please". A glade 60 day plugin!!!!!!! would you believe it? then I asked for candles (the room suffers from a little damp and I want to mask the smell), scented candles it was. I kid you not this shop has it all from snickers to Indian cookware and clothing this is the place to be! Happily he packed all the shopping away and totaled the cost, it was about 580Rs (£6 and worth every penny), I sad to keep the change but he was quite adamant and made me take it from him... After a few more visits to shops and looking around the taylors we headed back....

On the way we were scouted buy a monkey and expected a raiding party to follow and try to relieve us of our treasures, I pushed him away with my trusty Umbrella and he decided to go elsewhere.. These monkeys are fast critters and after seeing one disappear the other day with a jar of olives (obviously having a martini evening with the other primates), you have to keep an eye on them.

The opportunist thief? or scouting party?

A fine selection of goods!

Sat, Sun, Monday

2009-09-14T08:30:00.003-07:00

Ok been a bit busy.... Promise I will fill these days in soon, Lots of info and pics to come...

Steve

Friday 11/09/09 less rain...

2009-09-11T09:26:00.000-07:00

Woke up at the normal time carried out abolusions and went to breakfast. Driver came early as usual and we set off. I took my camera in the hopes of seeing some road cows.....

The two worried looking guys at the side of the road have good reason to be nervious, the cows will not move for man nor over-laiden lorry. This is the main and busy road from Dehradun and trafic would rather swerve and hit them than bump into a cow!

We arrived at our training centre and the was spent wading through Active Directory domain, objects, NTFS, group policy and permissions, excersises and labs done book nearly finished. I will be ready for my next exam after the next book so Im looking at Tues/Weds for my next visit to the gas chamber.
Not a lot to cover today as there has been lots of extra study and I want to get these modules finsihed ontime as they are quite large.

On the way home the driver took us a scenic way home and showed another side to the comparitively rich Dehradun area.

The poorer areas of Dehradun hidden away in a valley away form the main drag. This area mostly holds the Tibbetten monks. There are a few asian looking people around and they stem from migrents from Tibett. They tend not to mix with the Indians so much.

The Tibetten Monistary, Ill have to make some time to visit and have a look around!

Monks coming back from a hard days enlightnment at the Monistary, On my visit Im going to see if I can get a set of red funky Pijamas too!

Lastly before more study here is a Royal Enfield Bullet, to Motor bike enthusiasts this is a vintage bike, but not here, they still make them exactly as they were made during the British occupation in 1950

Thursday 10/09/09 First Exam..

2009-09-11T07:41:00.000-07:00

Today I awoke to what was real monsoon weather. The rain was coming down so hard that it looked like a solid blanket in front of you.

Our normal drive to the training centre, in the wet.

I'm going to take this opportunity to show some of the conflicts that India has. Take our IT park for example.

The latest in technological advancement next to a lean to shop at the side of the road.

Next what was probably a western design of a science park. The plan is very grand but as you will see the money isn't there to complete it so it kind of feels like one of those post apocalypse films where half the buildings have been bombed, there is radiation everywhere but people are still trying to survive.

Notice the immaculate and very western glass Call centre building, this is where you are diverted to when you want to pay your mobile phone bill!!

An Indian call center (sorry about the poor quality due to rain, will get a better pic when dry).

Half built abandoned skeletons of buildings line the complex awaiting more funds and symbolise the widrawl of money from Europe etc due to the recession and drop in economy.

This picture is our training centre, when built they allowed another story for expansion, looks a little under developed from the outside but is fully functional inside (Inside pics to follow).

Koenig solutions Dehradun.

Right, back to the course. After spending 3 days on the first book "Installing, configuring and administrating Microsoft Windows XP professional" exam 070-270 it was time to go for the Exam. I booked my exam yesterday as you have to give 24 hours notice. My exam was sheduled for 10:30 and there was an hour for some last minute revision. I skimmed through the book and went over areas I thought I wasn't so strong in. 10:30 cam and it was time to take the long walk down the corridor (well about 6M but its been years since I sat any type of exam, so a little apprehensive). I entered the office next to the gas chamber.... well prometric exam center. Microsoft takes its exams seriously and there is no way that any one else can sit your exams for you. When I entered the office I had to give 2 forms of picture ID (Passport and driving licence), then I had to give a finger print of my left thumb (yes a blue inky thumb all day!). Then you have to put any thing that's in your pockets into a locker, then you are ready to go in. The exam booths are behind a glass partition from the office and above every workstation is a webcam! This exam was 50 questions and 90 minutes to answer. It was multiple choice based and you were given a scenario and a question, one you have deciphered the question and what information they want you have to select from 1 to 5 possible answers, some questions required 3 correct selections. This all seemed daunting until you got part way through and it actually seemed fun (probably because Ive been using XP since beta and kinda know it). After the exam you can complete a digital survey and then your score is displayed with a pass or fail remark. I PASSED!! ;-).
Upon leaving the gas chamber the admin person has already got your results printed for you. Now these guys must see thousands pass but from the admin lady to all the trainers and management staff everyone was congratulatory and would shake your hand and it seemed like a really special occasion. (well I guess only a few million have passed :P) It felt really nice and made you feel like you had accomplished something, either that or they thought Id never pass!

As a special treat My trainer managed to secure some of the most amazing Samosas and we had a little party, when ever Samosas turn up everyone comes out!

Well back to the next book "Managing a Microsoft Windows server 2003 environment". We have 3 days set aside for this book then another 2 for the next book and my second exam 070-291. This is mostly dealing with Domain permissions, Objects, Groups and Group Policy, this is the fun bit that I enjoy and later more Active Directory. Our driver game at 5pm and we left.

Andy passed the same exam and we celebrated with a few beers ;-)

Andy best mate on course, we are contemplating the formation of our new society "the Haywards 5000 club". I must thank Andy, I don't know how I would have coped without him, hes a real mate! Oh and the beer helps!

Wednesday 09/09/09 With added monkeys!

2009-09-09T08:34:00.000-07:00

Today was an awesome day......

Woke up early and the weather was dry and warm. Headed over to breakfast and was the first there. I was hoping to finish the first book of my course today and sign up for the exam tomorrow, my trainer is very thorough and doesn't like skipping exercises or chapters.. no matter how many times I've TCP/IPed the world lol. Our driver turned up and we had the big 4x4 to take us to the centre (the last car was tiny and its comedy to fit 4 largish blokes in it). We always like to rotate so Jason got shotgun, me and Andy got back seats and Peter was in the seated boot area. as we set off we caught some monkeys having breakfast.

The monkeys enjoying "bin-cuisine"

Animals dining out

As is true of everything in India the pecking order from "bin-cuisine" has its class levels and hierarchy. In the morning the monkeys are first to dine, then mid morning/afternoon the dogs followed by the cows head out to the bins. The next bit you have to see to believe, a dog jumps in the bin and starts moving stuff about, things he tastes but dosent like he throws out, the cows that followed the dogs then eat the food that's been discarded from the bins. Then the cows like to sleep off lunch in the middle of the road and cause as much nuisance as possible. Each day without a big steak or beefburger bring me and the guys closer to committing religious sacrilege ;-)

Our driver saw someone who worked at the center by the side of the road and stopped to pick him up, he jumped in the back along with Pete, the back now looked pretty cramped., Andy and I grinned... We continued, again the driver toots and pulls over to pick someone else up, he also immediately opens the tail gate and joins Pete and his new friend, Andy and I now start laughing as when we set off Pete was smug about the amount of room he had in the back. We departed again and yes the driver tooted and stoped for another pickup, Pete said " well guys move over as hes coming in with you", the new traveler then proceeded to open the tailgate and cram himself in, Andy and I were in stitches....
I packed a camera today on the trip to take a picture of a cow in the road, but always when you try to capture a moment with wildlfe there were none.

Andy, Jason and I arrived at the centre relaxed and ready to study, Pete emerged shortly after unloading his new found close friends ;-)

The day went well and I finished the book I was on, at 12:30 I was called to a room, one of the trainers had just finished his Masters degree and had bough in Samosas for everyone! After a week of rice and meat? I was in need of some stodge and boy these were just the ticket. The Samosas were the best I have ever tasted and I finished 2 of them off quite quickly! My trainer said that they were made in a local shop.... tomorrow I think we need to place an order for delivery!!!!!
1pm was here and lunch was served, I decided on an order for McDonalds, I thought it wise to be safe and I just ordered nuggets and a large fries, The maccy D's was a very familiar taste, if not just a little cold..
The rest of the afternoon went well and I booked my exam for 10:30 tomorrow. Spent until 5PM sitting mock exams and revising. Our diver turned up and took us back Country house, along the way we bribed him to stop off at "the English wine shop" for a box of beer. you should have seen the smile on the shop/stall keepers face when he saw Andy and me again.... "Another box of beer sir?". we loaded the 4X4 and got back to the country house, we gave the driver 40Rs for his help (50p). He wouldn't take it but we made him. But then he wouldn't let us carry the box of beer and got out and insisted to open the gate and carry it as far as we wanted.... having had to previously carry a box back from up the hill taking turns with Andy to carry, we though this was a sterling investment of 50p and hoped it wouldn't upset the Indian economy. Andy and I shared a cold one while chatting over today's study and going on about the amazing Samosas more that two grown guys should!
Dinner was at 7, after the previous days food at the Country house I wasn't that excited about what we might be getting, I did speak with the course manager today as we ate Samosas and remarked that this was better than the food they cook for us. wasn't. But wow tonight the food was first class (for India) the rice was fried and was hot, we had chicken in breadcrumbs it too was hot and 99% white meat (haven't seen any chickens around here at all?). It transpired that the cook had been replaced and we had a new guy cooking from now on, bonus. We celebrated with a beer.

Well that's it for today, some more revising and a good nights sleep is in order.....

First day at school ;-)

2009-09-07T11:08:00.000-07:00

I awoke at 7:30, hit the snooze button then remembered I had to turn on the geaser for hot water and a nice hot shower, did that and went back to bed. Alarm went off again and I decided I had to get up, emptied all the stuff from my back pack, packed the laptop and anyhting I thought I might need that day. Had a nice hot shower (not a power shower by any means). my co student friend Andy knocked on my door and we went to breakfast.

The dining roon is located in the garden next to bananna trees and lime trees. We were told on the information pack to look out for "snakes and scorpio" when in the garden and walking into town, I must ask my fellow students here (Andy, Jason and Peter) what their star signs are....

I seem to have fed some mosquitos last night and I hope they enjoyed the deet 50/50 flavoured white meat...
Breakfast was a choice of cereals with hot milk?, toast, eggs, butter, cheese and jams.
The transport for the training centre arrived at 8:30 (they always seem to be early) it was 15 mins ahead of time. but luckily we had finished and we headed out for the centre. It was nice and cool at 8am compared to Delhi. I definately made the right choice in choosing Dehradun rather than Delhi.
We arrived at the training centre after swerving past a few cows that just like to lie in the middle of the road. The training centre looks half built, well thats because it kind of is.... But the parts that are fully constructes are serviceable and there is aircon throughout. There is a gym in the basement (not a brand new techno gym but would do), the kitchen and dining rooms and the Yoga room. On the ground floor are the classrooms and corridoors. The one to one room are smaller and have 3 workstations, the normal classrooms are bigger. Now its interesting to point out that one to one training is obviously better but also costs more, Andy started the course on the same day as I did and he paid for one to one training. I was also the only person to start the MCSE 2003 this week so I will also recieve one to one training for the duration of my course (thanks Andy, Ill buy you a beer mate). Jobs at Konig are very sought after, recently they advertised for an IT trainer, they had over 5000 applicants and some people had 8 interviews. You might think that this means its a cushy job, but far from it they work these people to the bone. The accomadation manager at the Guest house works 6 days a week and is onside 24/7 he gest one day off a month! My trainer who for the life of me I cant rememebr ore pronounce her name was told to come to Dehradun from Shimila yesterday at mid day, this trip for her involved traveling on 4 street class busses (like the prison train but over the very rural road surfaces), and a traveling a total time of 14 hours, she arrived at the training centre at 4am the day she was to start to train me. This she says is a very good job and she is used to the travel. She was undistanably tired and was in agony from the poor bus seating and road conditions, I gave her some of my industial supply of drugs..... I recieved my first two books today dealing with XP, we spend the day going through half of the first book, only stopping for lunch. Lunch was decided in the morning and the home made pizza looked the safe bet until I saw what else there was, looks like pizza again tomorrow ;-). My trainer was very thourough and she could andswer any questions I had. the course today was covering RIS installations of XP, drives, images and the basics, pretty straight forward stuff, but things needed to cover to get the "Microsoft terminology to pass the exams".
The taxi cam to pick us up at 5pm and we headed back to the Guest house avoiding lazy cows as we went.
Now andy and I had noticed 2 of our co-students partaking of a beer and enquired where we might purchase said beer. 15 minutes later and a walk up a mountain path past lots of Indian universities being built we found "the English wine shop" RESULT!! they had all kinds of vodkas including smirnoff and absolute and a few scotches, we though lets take it easy so decided to buy a box of Indian super strong beer. This shop was tiny but we loved it. (pics coming next time we go as i didnt take a camera, also saw more monkeys). The beer bottles were just over a pint abd cost less then a pound each. Walking bacl down the hill past the military accadamy with the armed guards (who all smiled and waved) we notice that we were getting lots of attention, it seemed like they have never seen two white Englishmen carrying a case of beer down the hill?
At one point 2 young lads on a bike passed us and said "yo dude", we smiled and kept going, on the second pass they "hi-fived us" and carried on. We couldnt remember which turning on the right our dirt track was but I seemed to remember it was right at the cow in the middlw of the road..... After carrying the beer down the hill in the heat we decided to chill out in my room with aircon and fans on full sampling our goods from the trip. We also went over course work and did some study. It was now time for dinner, the "western choice" was chicken tika masala so we all had that. Chicken seend very scarce here and we have never seen any around, lots of cows that we cant eat though! And as such it seemed that all our group can find are chicken legs LOL. served in a really tasty sauce with chapaties. Too much bone and not enough meat, but hey this is as the locals eat... now wheres that pizza hut menu? Another beer some study and another beer lead me and Andy watching Bruno on my laptop, I think the combination of Indian 8% beer and Bruno had us in stiches and ive never laughed so much in ages. After the film we decided it best to get some sleep and not empty the fridge of our beer ;-)
Im now taking this opportunity to finish up some bloggs... Hope you enjoyed it and I promise to try take some pictures of the training centre, the Country house and the gardens tomorrow.....

2009-09-06T03:21:00.000-07:00

The train....Sunday

OK I wasn’t relishing the idea of a 6 hour train ride from Delhi to Dehradun , and especially the wakeup call at 5am.
Last night I passed out rather than slept and woke surprisingly rested, the room was lovely and cool due to the aircon.
Carried out normal ablutions and packed ready for my lift at 5:45. What I didn’t expect was the heat at 5am, it’s a little cooler than the mid day sun but at 5am still a shock.
I still can’t get used to being called sir by everyone and not being allowed to carry my own bags…. The ride to the station was short and the AC in the car worked well.
Approaching the rail station was an experience, people laid out on the floor sleeping in blankets and then my worst fears came to life, a train pulled up with no glass in the windows just bars, it was absolutely packed, it looked like a prison car.

This train was long, I mean long, it was over a minute before it stopped passing us and I recon was about halfway along the run of carriages.

I then noticed glass windows in some carriages but these were also rammed but not quite as bad as the “prison train”. Then at the top of the train were the lovely words “executive car” it was next to the “Pantry car” quite quintessential English I thought.

Left side of the platform.

Right side of the platform.. prettly big huh?

Huge seats, laptop power points and soft Indian traditional music. It felt like it had a little aircon but also had turbine fans above the seats (these things are speedy and work well).

My driver insisted again on carrying my bags and seemed a little hurt when I offered to help. He showed me to my seat, loaded the baggage above me and gave me a bottle of water; he wished me well and headed off. The carriage had a trickle of people all very well dresses and looked to be the elite of India.
Allocated seating is important and is strictly adhered to. Despite the empty seats a well dressed gentleman sat next to me (after asking if it was ok for him to do so). He was very polite and we sat and waited for the train to depart. After the train had departed the aircon kicked in and I had to turn my turbine fan off as it was too cold.

The turbine fans....

A member of staff with a tray of picked, de-thorned and individually wraped roses appeared. He offered me a rose before anyone else, I thought this might be a pub weekend “rose for the mrs mate” scam and had I accepted he would be holding out a hand out for money. I declined the rose, he then gave them away to every passenger of the carriage for no cost, I thought this was a nice gesture. 15 mins after the train had left the station a member of staff bought round a catering trolley. I was in a carriage surrounded by locals but I was again served first, this did make me feel slightly uncomfortable and I was expecting disapproving looks from the locals, but they were all genuinely friendly. Morning tea consisted of a “tea kit” in a paper envelope, powdered milk and some biscuits. So far so good. The gentleman next to me in very good English asked where I was from, I explained and we soon started to chat, it turns out he was a senior military government official on his way to some highbrow UN and India meeting. He was very well educated in politics and Indian and Anglo-Indian culture, we spent hours chatting about the multi-tiered economic and cultural difficulties that face India and I began to get a real understanding about this county. India still has a very obvious tie to its heritage of British occupation, there are 20+ dialects in India and the one language that joins them all is English. Next came the newspapers, one was in Hindi and 4 were in English, I chose the daily mail (Indian paper in English) and the Hindustani times (Indian broad sheet newspaper in English) it struck me that India still has the legacy of the broad sheet times where we now have a comic book Times. The papers were in perfect of not a little Victorian English.
My co-traveler explained cultural legacies that still remain from the days of occupation and along the way showed me English built buildings and structures still in place. Now some history; interesting, but might be boring if you came here for a quick read.

How India was taken over by the British for 1 pound.

In the 1500s India had become rich by the sales of spices and herbs to Europe, then in 1592 India decided to put the price up of its spices by 1 pound a pound. This back in the day represented an enormous hike in costs for the English spice fans. So the monarchy of the day decided to send someone over and see if we could transport our own spices to England . Hence the east India trading company came into existence. Meerton is the centre of the produce rich areas of India and became the first British occupation are. To safe guard the valuable spices, cotton and monies involved in trading we sent over troops. Soon we sent more to different camp areas, then soon we recruited from the local Indian population then the occupation was in full swing. Well in a nut shell that’s the conquest discussed. My other interesting face was previously referred to in an earlier post, Gin & Tonic the national drink of England… English troops in India were required to take one quinine tablet a day to help combat malaria sometimes they forgot, so the mess came up with an ingenious solution. When the soldiers were getting there one shot of gin a day they would often take it with water. The mess started serving water with the malaria tablet already added. So the solider if he had forgotten that day to take his malaria tablet could do so at the mess. As the water with the malaria tablet was seen as a medicine it was referred to as tonic so he was offered Gin and water or Gin and Tonic… Today tonic water still contains quinine to aid flavor but in very little quantities to be of medical effect, interesting eh?
Next came breakfast, which not surprisingly was corn flakes, served dry with a sachet of sugar and a cup. Milk was soon followed but was served piping hot. After that more tea followed…and you thought the English drank a lot of tea.
An hour later and more tea, another hour and fresh fruit, an hour later and freshly squeezed juice. I can’t believe how well looked after you are on the “executive car”. I chatted with my co-traveler further about India and politics etc… I found this fascinating and makes me want to re-visit India and spend some more time seeing this remarkable county. Not one to normally be interested in politics but India has to cater for people who live in shacks and make less than a dollar a day to millionaires that drive the poor streets in spanking new mercs.. It’s a very fine balance between tolerance and “controlled chaos”, any European government could just not deal with the diversity that is India. This diversity is what makes it such an interesting country. I am especially interested in the cultural legacies that the British occupation has left and in reading my Hindustani Times it makes me feel a little warm inside.
It’s now 10:30am and just another 2 hours of the journey left, I have definitely noticed the countryside getting greener and the sheer number of mango plantations.
I’ve not started my IT course yet but feel I have had a real eye opener to this very misunderstood country; I feel that this is no longer a classroom 15 hours away from home. I’d definitely like to share this experience with my girlfriend Lou x Everyone has been very polite and welcoming, on one hand it’s like a museum and a step back to the good old days of Blighty and occupation but on another it’s a developing country that struggles with its extremes, culturally and economically, but ha great support from its loyal people. India is a very determined country with pride and a forward thinking tolerant government.

With the train ride over and a short drive in the car they sent for me I was taken to the "County house" this was going to be my accomodation for a month. The bedroom was large and very clean and tidy, the bathroom was again large and clean and tidy, there was and airconditioning unit and a celing fan... result!

Bedroom.

Bathroom.

The room had a balcony outside and gave antastic views of the foothills of the Himalayas.

View to the left of the balcony.

View from the centre of the balcony.

View to the right of the balcony.

I also saw my first wild monkey but when i went to get the camera the critter disapeared..
I was going to walk up the road to investigate with a co-student friend of mine, we had both just arrived so decided to freshen up first..... After 30 minutes the heavens opened and rain came down like ive not seen before. I think its was a good idea to put off the walk ;-) Instead we got the center manager to call pizza hut and get them to deliver (what a descovery) pizza hut in India is a little different, as you might expect. They have a massive offering of vegaetable pizzas and a few chicken pizzas, but wait they also had pepperoni.. well that was a must!! we ordered 2 large pizzas 2 portions of garlic bread one with chillies, olives and curry flavour, 2 600ml pepsi and 2 7up. The cost of this was about £8 so not a bad meal for 2 and lunch the next day!

After the Pizza I decided to chill out a bit and see if I could get any sleep back.... I spoke briefly to my lovely girlfriend who I miss loads at home and then went to bed, ready for my first day at the training centre......

PS. I know im like a day behind but time flies here......

set off, flight ,arival and Dehli all in one (technically 2 days)

2009-09-05T05:51:00.000-07:00

Ok malaria tabs arrived in time, collected other meds from post office as the first time I leave the house for 15 minutes they try to deliver..........

Set off from Bournemouth at 4pm. Arrived at Heathrow terminal 3 at 6:25 with time to spare. I called my friend (Alipuck Dreamlan staff member and good friend) and he met me at T3 for a few beers and a chat before I had to leave for boarding.....

My last over priced UK T3 beer...

Take note, the clerk at the check in desk says that the gate opens at 8pm but you will be ok as long as you get there before 8:45.

After my beer I decided to get a little snack, I found a nice and reasonably priced bagel joint and enjoyed a hot bacon and cream cheese bagel. I left for the gate at 8:29 giving myself 16 minutes to walk across T3 to my gate. As I proceeded I noticed a sign saying gate 31 (my gate) closing.. Oh dear I thought as I then ran across the line of gates and travelators. In the end I don't know what the fuss was about, I turned up, they closed the gate and then someone said something into a walkie talkie and people started to board the aircraft.... Now I had been warned about the economy class of Air India being compared to cattle class on an animal transporter. I was a little worried that my 8 hours in cattle class might not be much fun.

On check in I chose an isle seat on the window side, this is a picture of the fully laiden plane.

The aircraft wasnt even a third full.. This gave me the opportunity to lay across 2 seats and enjoy my flight.... After an hour we were treated to complementary drinks, which consisted of 2 very large non measured scotches and a can of ginger ;-), Then part way into a film came dinner.

Chicken curry, rice, salad, rice pudding and coffee. The food was surprisingly good and much better that the BA stuff I have had...

Then the rest of a film followed by few hours sleep. I was awoken to breakfast.. Although nice, it was a slightly odd fare to be offered for Breakfast. It was a cheese sandwich with a processed cheese slice and cream cheese with chives, the packet said with tomato but I guess that was substituted for the sachet of Heinz tomato ketchup. this was accompanied with a kit-kat and tea or coffee. I gladly ate it all.

Water and coffee/Tea was available thought the duration.

We landed and disembarked, the heat imediately hit you as you left the plain, the weather was hazey but dry and sunny with 30 degree heat!

After an hour waiting for the baggage to arrive I headed on out of the terminal and met a nice chap in a smart uniform carrying a sign with my name on it. He imediately took all my bags and carried them to a car waiting outside. The driver gave e an envelope with a greeting letter, train tickets for tomorrows trip, a student guide and 1000Rs. We then braved the Dehli road system, well I say system now but that does seem a bit too grand a name for it.

Driving in Dehli. Ok where there are 2 lanes you can easily squeeze 2 cars a bus and a few scooters, and this is the general rule. Mirrors are never used and the car in front relies solely on the passing car behing honking, in fact its writtem on vehicles "please honk horn" in English. Depth perception is something the Dehli drivers have an uncanny ability to judge, quite frequently when an "auto-rickshaw was over taking a car that was over takinga bus a scooter cam beeping in between one or more of the maovering vehicles. Bravery is a word, also damn right fool hardyness seems to spring to mind.

Yes there are only 2 lanes here!!!

I also noticed a variaty of vehicles on the roads...

This is the most modern form of frieght transport.

This is not!

You will see a lot of builing or reparing of buildings that has fallen down, here are a few Dehli building tips:

Safety first, always use quality scafolding!

Dont worry about expensive ladders, make 2 from bamboo and get 3 of your most dis-interested mates to hold it together for you!

During my Dehli day I also found a pub, yes very dimly lit and females arnt allowed in, well thats what my Indian friend said, either that or I went to an Indian gaybar.... But they served extra strong kingfisher larger and the best sheek kebab in the world!

See assorted random pics of Dehli soon, its 9:24 pm here and the last time I slept propperly was 10am yesterday!

I have to be up at 5am to get the 6 hour train to Derhadun.... next chapter tomorrow...

Steve ps CBA to correct any errors tonight.... zzzzzz

The day before the day before arrival.....

2009-09-03T03:26:00.000-07:00

OK so today is Thursday and this is my first practice blog, well I need to get the hang of it before I enter the new exciting adventure.. Looking at the weather forecast my Iphone shows thunder and lighting over Dehradun, this is to be expected I guess as its monsoon season. During my nightmare full on run around London for the entry Visa I was reassured by an older Indian gentleman that the weather will be monsoon and rainy until the 15th of September. Well I hope that's true as I have packed (well Louise has packed) shorts and T-shirts, if this old codger was wrong Ill spend months hunting him down in London. Having said that I have done research and have been nearly convinced that clothing is so cheap in India I don't need to pack any. But nearly convinced means I'll only pack 25KG of clothing :P.
I'm leaving home tomorrow at 4pm(Friday) and in true Steve style I have not yet received my anti-malaria meds or my other meds I have ordered from the Internet. But all is not lost as I have discovered that Gin & Tonic was invented by us clever Brits during the occupation of India. The quinine in the tonic water was actually the earliest ant-malaria medication, so if I don't get my meds in time there is a fix!! Mind you the shear quantity of Gin & Tonic needed is quite substantial so the course might take a bit of a slurred hit.
Well that's all for now, more packing and last minute stuff to get on with. Ill try to keep this up to date and post pictures (I intend to take lots of pics).

Steve