DAY 289

Lots of old temples and ruins in Hampi, including this huge one. It was once a major town but was sacked by the Mughals about 500 years ago. Guest photographer: Ed.

DAY 288

One of my favourite photos so far on the blog. We've hired mopeds and are checking out the rocks and rice paddies. Not as hairy as it sounds, don't worry.

DAY 287

After a very early start, a seven hour train journey and a mad auto rickshaw ride, we arrived in Hampi. Ed was here 18 years ago but the rest of us have never been here before. It's a treat.

DAY 286

The beach we were staying on in Goa is a fifteen minute walk from another lovely beach: Patnem. The beach isn't quite as nice as Palolem but there are some great restaurants. 

DAY 285

Other than dolphin watching and kayaking and catching up with some friends from Frome on the next door beach, we haven't been doing very much ... so it's a bit hard to find photos to post that aren't just ones of sand and sea. I've gone for honesty and chosen this photo over another one which makes it look like we're on a deserted paradise island. It's busy, but it's beautiful.

DAY 284

... and kayaking up a little tidal river on Boxing Day. We saw three kingfishers and sea eagles. No crocodiles though.

DAY 283

We went dolphin watching on Christmas Day just off Palolem beach where we are staying. We saw loads and loads of them - really amazing. 

DAY 282

Christmas Eve and dinner on the beach ... we're having a much nicer time than Josie and Oslo suggest.

DAY 281

DAY 280

It was quite  a long day on Sunday with two flights and a long taxi journey but we made it to the beach!

DAY 279

Cheating as I didn't take this photo until Sunday when we were in Mumbai airport on our way to Goa ... I love it though.

DAY 278

It's Chinese gooseberry season ... well, I thought that was what they are called but I just googled it to check and turns out Chinese gooseberry is the old name for a kiwi fruit. Who knew? So I have no idea what these are called - they come with a beautiful papery casing around them and I have a feeling that one name for them begins with p... they're quite sour. Any ideas?

DAY 277

Look who's here! Great excitement at our house.

DAY 276

And continuing with the cold theme, here are the boys in one of their oddly favourite places to sit, drinking hot chocolate.

DAY 275

And here's the fog. Or smog. Fog smog. The air quality in Delhi is horrendous at the moment. The school stops the kids from playing outside when the particle count is too high. We've had several days like this in the last few weeks. Trying not to think about it too much. 

DAY 274

...and just to prove that it is in fact very cold here in Delhi, here is a typical auto rickshaw wallah on a typical morning, with very typical fog. More on this in the next photo...

DAY 273

Despite the weather, kulfi (ice cream) is still high on the list of bribes for going shopping at the market. They're eating it on a cycle rickshaw on the way home - this is the before picture. By the time we got there Oslo was covered in it. As usual.

DAY 272

We had Oslo's birthday party in Lodhi Gardens today - rounders/baseball, archery (sort of) and pass the parcel ... and a tower of brownies in place of a cake because I didn't have time to make one :-( Despite Oslo's expression in this photo, we all had a lovely time.

DAY 271

On Thursday evening we ended up at Leopold's Cafe, which those of you who have read Shantaram will be familiar with ... it was also one of the places that was caught up in the Mumbai attacks in 2008. You can see the bullet holes in the walls.

DAY 270

I was in Mumbai this week for a two day meeting. What a fantastic city! I'd only ever been very briefly before for work, but this time we went out in the evening and I had a little look around. One of the best things about Mumbai is these Fiat Padmini taxis - they are to Mumbai what the Ambassador taxis are to Delhi. Sadly they're being slowly taken off the road and replaced with newer cars ... it won't be the same without them. Notice here the special flap thing that the driver has on his door, to rest his arm on as he drives along. It's specially made and attaches to the door handle to keep it in place. Definitely going back to Mumbai for a long weekend as soon as possible.

DAY 269

DAY 268

"I took this picture too of the new cover on our new chair." (Louie) (see Day 248)

DAY 267

Guest photographer today: Louie (not bad right?!). He's going to write about it too: "Our plants are finally growing.We're very excited about having them in our dinner."  

DAY 266

Another day, another auto rickshaw. I know I'm way behind. I will catch up this week ...

DAY 265

Guess what we did for Oslo's birthday today ...?

DAY 264

More auto rickshaw details ...

DAY 263

Breaking the rules - another photo from our trip to the Shekawati region of Rajasthan. Love the blue blue sky. 

DAY 262

It was the Delhi elections today (Wednesday). All electronic voting at polling stations, and your fingernail gets stained to show you have cast your vote - as modelled by my lovely colleague (who incidentally also wore a sari to mark the occasion). Results on Sunday.

DAY 261

A guest photographer today ... my Dad! These parakeets fly around all over Delhi, sometimes in great flocks overhead. My parents are here with us for ten days. So lovely to have them here.

DAY 260

DAY 259

The drive home through the Rajasthani countryside was really beautiful, although the roads weren't exactly marvellous. Our car did well, as did its driver (except for a narrowly avoided incident with a large truck). 

DAY 258

We went on a beautiful camel cart ride today to a town with another lovely haveli. Louie fell asleep.

DAY 257

... and today we did a workshop on traditional tie dye - 'bandhini'. It's quite fiddly so the kids didn't get that into it but Ed and I had fun. We made four of these scarves and bought four more. I'll post a picture later of what we plan to do with them.

DAY 256

And now to the Shekawati region, famous for its countless old painted havelis. Havelis are houses based around a courtyard, which often belonged to wealthy merchants. Many of them have fallen into disrepair, but there are lots of projects to revive them. This is inside a haveli in Nawalgarh that has been restored and made into a museum. 

DAY 255

The boys are at the American School so we're having a long weekend away in Rajasthan for Thanksgiving. First stop: Neemrana. A 15th century fort that has been developed into a hotel with lots more added. We've been here several times and this time we were put in the same room as the one we had last time we were here when Louie was a year old. 

DAY 254

One of many juice stalls ... oranges are in season, as you can probably tell.

DAY 253

I've been meaning to take a photo of one of these water trollies for ages. Ed took this one today. It won't be long before they disappear for the winter. Not quite sure where the water inside them comes from... 

DAY 252

A South Indian lunch today with Louie. Aloo bonda - so delicious. Potato and spices with spinach, dipped in gram flour batter and fried, with coconut chutney and sambar. Mmmmm.

DAY 251

Today Ed and I celebrate 15 years together. 

DAY 250

It doesn't look like it, but technically this is bike shop #7. This man works as a cobbler and rides around the residential colonies with his box on the back, calling out his services so people can stop him if they need any shoes mending.

DAY 249

Check out this crazy bug that Ed took a photo of. It looks like a character from the film Epic ...

DAY 248

We have a new chair. I've always wanted one like this. Now we just need to decide on the colour for the cover ...

DAY 247

These little creatures are all over Delhi ... all over India I think. We call them chipmunks but I think they are just stripy squirrels. 

DAY 246

I was in Chennai again this week on Monday and Tuesday. I drive past this mural every time I'm there and finally managed to get a photo. This is the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (or ex Chief Minister maybe) and his son ... both prominent political figures. I love this style of painting - it's all over Chennai. Mostly political figures but also some famous actors. I'll try and take some more next time I'm there.

DAY 245

 Promised long ago - here are Ed and Louie in their scouts uniforms. On Sunday they helped out at a school mela (fair), selling drinks to raise funds for their 'pack'.

DAY 244

Two more lovely boys.

DAY 243

We met these lovely boys when we went for a walk near the fort we stayed in a couple of weeks ago. They showed Louie a new game that involves hitting a small stick up into the air and whacking it with a longer stick so it goes for miles ... hard to explain but we'd never seen it before and Louie loved it.

DAY 242

This is outside Safdarjung's Tomb. There's a picture of inside the walls on Day 220.

DAY 241

Check out the beautiful chalk decorations ... hopefully the elephant likes them too.

DAY 240

I've been in Punjab again this week but with no time to take photos. This is at the fort we stayed at a couple of weekends ago. These earthenware pots are quite common, filled with cool water for the hot summer days. They're always accompanied by a scoop or cup for people to help themselves, but crucially without touching it with their mouths. People in India seem to have an incredible ability to drink from a bottle, a glass, a cup or any other receptacle without it touching their lips and without spilling a drop.