We all were late to bed last night so I had to wake everyone at 7.30 a.m to get ready to go to Immigration to register ourselves in India. You need to go to the Foreign Office within two weeks of being in India in order to get a Residence Permit. It is normally a long day with lots of queuing and lots of waiting around. We weren't looking forward to it but it had to be done.
We left home at 8.30 and drove to the FRRO in Delhi. We arrived at 9 a.m and Penri went to wait in the already long queue that was there (the office doesn't open till 9.30 but people get there early because of all the queuing and waiting). The first queue was outside and Penri was number 32. I had to go with the kids to get some photocopying done as we didn't have all the paperwork that we needed copied (each page had to be copied four times each (or it's not accepted). Tyagi found a photocopy shop very close by and we were back at the FRRO by 9.15. I gave all the paperwork to Penri and then took the children to the side of the queue to begin waiting. Even being outside was cooler than sitting in the car. Dylan was wearing sandals and he got all sand in them so was very upset. He started taking his shoes off and everyone in the queue was watching him and laughing. I told him to put his shoes back on and cleaned his feet with wet wipes and then put them back on him. Within minutes, he'd taken them off again. After the third time, I told Pen I was going to go and find a chair to sit on.
Right at the front of the queue there was a desk with two chairs so I sat there holding Abi and watching Dylan running in and out of the building (through the x-ray machine thing you have to walk through). When the guy came to start taking peoples details and sending them inside, he looked at me and asked for my passports. I went back down the queue and got the papers off Penri and then gave them to the man. We ended up being numbers 13 and 14. This all sounds great but then we got inside and had to join the second queue.
It was whilst in this queue that Penri asked if I photocopied the passport pages when at the copy shop. Oops! No I hadn't. I told Pen we may as well leave and go get it done, but we were next to the desk so he said we should wait and see. When he got to the front, it turned out they were being really picky about the date on Penri's job offer letter because it wasn't within the last couple of days. So, we were sent away. The good news is, we were told that there is a FRRO in Gurgaon which meant we didn't have to go back to Delhi again.
When we got home, I showered and changed both children and then was feeding Abi to put her down for her nap. While I was feeding her the telephone rang. The phone is down the hall in the living room. DJ went running down the corridor past my room. Next thing I heard was Dylan talking on the phone. This is what I heard …
“Hiya Dada”
“Dada”
“Mama eeding Abba”
“Ok Dada”
“Bye bye Dada”
Then he put the phone down. I was laughing so much! A few minutes later, the phone rang again and Dylan went and answered it again. It was Pen again ringing to ask DJ to get Mummy to the phone; he didn't do that, he just said “Bye bye Dada” and hung up. It was so funny!
Managed to get the kids to bed at a reasonable time and then I followed; I was exhausted.
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Showing posts with label Delhi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Delhi. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Arriving in Delhi
We arrived at Delhi airport at 6.20 a.m on Sunday 13th June and were met by an entourage of people. Very kindly, Penri's company had arranged for a car to collect us and the people who came to meet us were really kind and helpful. Also, luckily there were 3 cars as we had so much stuff with us. We had to put all our cases into one big car (we had 6 large suitcases, 1 small suitcase, 2 hand luggage and a pushchair), we went in another car and then a few of the people who had met us went in the third car. It didn't take too long to get to the apartment; it's probably about 15/20 minutes drive from the airport. By the time we got here I was so relieved and happy to have finished our journey and ready to start the next chapter of our lives.
Our journey was actually pretty good. On the flight to Delhi we were able to get four seats next to each other so Dylan was able to lay down and sleep in the two middle seats which helped loads. Also, Kingfisher Airlines who we flew with, were really efficient and it was really as pleasant as it could be. The flight was very comfortable and the food was actually pretty decent. I also managed to get some sleep, which is nice.
Arriving at Delhi airport and travelling in the car brought back so many memories of our life in Chennai. It is so similar – the driving, the little shops, the auto rickshaws and taxis, the noise, the smells … I could go on and on, however once you are in the apartment because it is so nice, you could be anywhere in the world.
Our apartment is lovely! The only thing I don't like about it is it's on the 7th floor, but I knew that before we got here. Seeing the balconies and the drop down from the windows just turns my stomach! I can't get too close to the edge because it makes me queasy so I just admire the nice views of the city from a distance. When we got in from the airport, we had a good look around and then I showered and dressed both children so that they could feel refreshed and have a little nap. As it turned out Dylan didn't sleep at all; he just spent the entire time running between the rooms naming what all the different rooms were. He learnt which room was his bedroom very quickly and kept saying 'DJ bedroom' and climbing into the big double bed! I think he is quite happy to have a double bed to himself! Plus, he has his own en suite bathroom. Quite nice for a two year old lol.
Our apartment has three bedrooms all with en suite bathrooms and there's a living room, dining room, kitchen and then a servants quarters with its own bathroom (which we are going to use as storage). There are three balconies; all of which are going to be locked at all times!! Can't risk the little man getting out there without supervision. One of the balconies is off our bedroom and overlooks the swimming pool, the second and main one is off Abi's bedroom and also off the living room; this one overlooks the city. Then the third balcony is a small one and leads to the servants quarters. They all have half walls around them and then a rail above but I can't bear the thought of getting close to the edge so I don't see myself going out there at all. The swimming pool looks very inviting and I'm looking forward to getting settled and taking the children outside swimming.
Our compound also has a children's playground, tennis courts, squash courts, a gymnasium and a community centre (not sure what is there yet; will have to have a walk over there over the next few days). I also just found out that there is a little supermarket on the compound. It's about 2 minutes walk from the apartment … how convenient is that?! I was so happy to see that even though the shop itself is tiny, they have everything you could need – drinks and snacks, cereal, milk, bread, toiletries such as shampoo, conditioner, toilet rolls, soap and Pampers! Brilliant! On the walk back from the shop I noticed a little stall next to one of the apartment blocks. They sell fresh fruit and vegetables and I found out, the stall is there every day from 7 a.m till 7 p.m. I ended up buying a few bits and then only had to walk 100 metres to our house! Some things (such as fruit and vegetables) are very cheap. I bought – two tomatoes, two lemons, a handful of green beans, two onions, two carrots and a small cauliflower and it cost me 50 pence! It put a smile on my face :) We have noticed that some food products are more expensive than the UK, but it's mostly imported stuff like Marmite, American juice drinks and squash and jams and things like that. I suppose they're more luxury items here. A lot of things are priced very similar to UK, such as Pampers, cheddar cheese, milk etc.
Anyway, going back to what I was saying before I went off on a tangent ... when we got to the apartment (from the airport), one of the guys had bought us some bread, butter, biscuits, cans of diet coke and bottles of drinking water, plus some cleaning products and toiletries. It was really sweet. Really lovely and we were so grateful, especially to be able to have a drink each as soon as we got in. All the people left our apartment at 3 p.m and then Penri had a quick nap (as did the children) and I started unpacking all our cases and putting stuff away. At 5 p.m a couple of guys came back and took Penri to get some shopping. I gave him a list of a few items of food and drinks that I needed but the main reason for him going out was to buy a fridge, a washing machine and some bedding for us. By 10 p.m we were all absolutely shattered and got into bed to go to sleep.
Our journey was actually pretty good. On the flight to Delhi we were able to get four seats next to each other so Dylan was able to lay down and sleep in the two middle seats which helped loads. Also, Kingfisher Airlines who we flew with, were really efficient and it was really as pleasant as it could be. The flight was very comfortable and the food was actually pretty decent. I also managed to get some sleep, which is nice.
Arriving at Delhi airport and travelling in the car brought back so many memories of our life in Chennai. It is so similar – the driving, the little shops, the auto rickshaws and taxis, the noise, the smells … I could go on and on, however once you are in the apartment because it is so nice, you could be anywhere in the world.
Our apartment is lovely! The only thing I don't like about it is it's on the 7th floor, but I knew that before we got here. Seeing the balconies and the drop down from the windows just turns my stomach! I can't get too close to the edge because it makes me queasy so I just admire the nice views of the city from a distance. When we got in from the airport, we had a good look around and then I showered and dressed both children so that they could feel refreshed and have a little nap. As it turned out Dylan didn't sleep at all; he just spent the entire time running between the rooms naming what all the different rooms were. He learnt which room was his bedroom very quickly and kept saying 'DJ bedroom' and climbing into the big double bed! I think he is quite happy to have a double bed to himself! Plus, he has his own en suite bathroom. Quite nice for a two year old lol.
Our apartment has three bedrooms all with en suite bathrooms and there's a living room, dining room, kitchen and then a servants quarters with its own bathroom (which we are going to use as storage). There are three balconies; all of which are going to be locked at all times!! Can't risk the little man getting out there without supervision. One of the balconies is off our bedroom and overlooks the swimming pool, the second and main one is off Abi's bedroom and also off the living room; this one overlooks the city. Then the third balcony is a small one and leads to the servants quarters. They all have half walls around them and then a rail above but I can't bear the thought of getting close to the edge so I don't see myself going out there at all. The swimming pool looks very inviting and I'm looking forward to getting settled and taking the children outside swimming.
Our compound also has a children's playground, tennis courts, squash courts, a gymnasium and a community centre (not sure what is there yet; will have to have a walk over there over the next few days). I also just found out that there is a little supermarket on the compound. It's about 2 minutes walk from the apartment … how convenient is that?! I was so happy to see that even though the shop itself is tiny, they have everything you could need – drinks and snacks, cereal, milk, bread, toiletries such as shampoo, conditioner, toilet rolls, soap and Pampers! Brilliant! On the walk back from the shop I noticed a little stall next to one of the apartment blocks. They sell fresh fruit and vegetables and I found out, the stall is there every day from 7 a.m till 7 p.m. I ended up buying a few bits and then only had to walk 100 metres to our house! Some things (such as fruit and vegetables) are very cheap. I bought – two tomatoes, two lemons, a handful of green beans, two onions, two carrots and a small cauliflower and it cost me 50 pence! It put a smile on my face :) We have noticed that some food products are more expensive than the UK, but it's mostly imported stuff like Marmite, American juice drinks and squash and jams and things like that. I suppose they're more luxury items here. A lot of things are priced very similar to UK, such as Pampers, cheddar cheese, milk etc.
Anyway, going back to what I was saying before I went off on a tangent ... when we got to the apartment (from the airport), one of the guys had bought us some bread, butter, biscuits, cans of diet coke and bottles of drinking water, plus some cleaning products and toiletries. It was really sweet. Really lovely and we were so grateful, especially to be able to have a drink each as soon as we got in. All the people left our apartment at 3 p.m and then Penri had a quick nap (as did the children) and I started unpacking all our cases and putting stuff away. At 5 p.m a couple of guys came back and took Penri to get some shopping. I gave him a list of a few items of food and drinks that I needed but the main reason for him going out was to buy a fridge, a washing machine and some bedding for us. By 10 p.m we were all absolutely shattered and got into bed to go to sleep.
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