A walk in the forest outside of Damdama village

today I went for a drive towards the Aravali hills

just outside of Damdama village I stopped by this "lake" surrounded by forest

and had a walk about

a little donkey was in my path leading to

the really green lake that was

filled with buffaloes from three families

an amazing tree

dense forest filled with peacocks running scared when I walked around

some go for a walk in Sandskogen or bokskogen 

 I go for a forestwalk outside Damdama village

same same but very different

Lazy Sunday in and by the pool

one of the advantages of living in the sun

is that we can still enjoy a lazy Sunday by or in the pool

weather has been perfect lately

blue skies and around 36 degrees celsius

I needed to check my GoPro camera for an upcoming trip

so in I went 

water drops here and there

it's been quite a while since I used it so I checked all the functions on this tiny little camera

our building from below the surface

me and my siamese twin under water

haha it was fun to test the camera

I was going to share a clip with me swimming

but it seems I need to learn how to convert GoPro mp4 movies into ?

anyone who knows how to ?

hope you also had a lazy day in the sun or on the couch or wherever you have your lazy spot

my mission - Talkatora swimming complex

or Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Swimming Pool in the heart of Delhi

is the pool complex built for the 

Commonwealth Games in 2010

huge complex that can hold more than  3000 spectators

two olympic pools, one 25 pool, diving, water polo, gyms 

unfortunately the pool was for some reason closed after the games 

( sad to say that some of the stadiums after the games where closed and have stayed so ever since ! )

  year ? this complex reopened and now holds the national swimming academy 

an academy with swimmers working out towards the Olympics

kind of like  Swedish NEC,  the national elite centre in Stockholm

same same but a lot different

 I have been on a mission ever since I moved here, to get in through the huge gates that surrounds this stadium

well, really not just to get inside the gates

I have had a mission of getting into one of the pools also

it's been a long journey

with many ups and downs

major obstacle with this whole mission has been the first couple of guards that I've met 

I  have been laughed at, ignored, yelled at, etc etc

so I've given up a couple of times 

(yes I've had my driver try to speak hindi with them but they have just ignored him)

but you who know me also know that I'm quite stubborn so....

two weeks ago I set out for a new expedition 

how do I find a way around those first guards so that I can get in to the next couple of guards !!

what to do ?

I mailed the director that we actually met some time ago and got the right kind of application forms 

(3 pages of info regarding everything from me to my dead father)

after that I booked an appointment with  a doctor since I needed a Medical Fitness certificate

I also needed passport copies

passport pictures

proof of residence copies

and then I should be all set to go and apply for a membership 

so off I went

to my surprise, or not,
those first guards did not let me through even though I was standing there with all my papers

NJET NJET

so I picked up the phone and called the director to let me in to the next set of guards who

surprise surprise said 

NO no no

and again I called the director who talked to someone and asked me to join her assistance in his room

so I did but after an hour I was told that there's no possibility to do any trials today

trials ????

yes you have to show a coach that you can swim and then it's decided if you can join the pool or not

"you will have to come back for trials tomorrow between 10-11"

and we will talk to the guards so they let you through !!

back I went today and you get one guess dear reader

do you think the first guards let me through without a hassle ?

of course not

somehow I got through and somehow I managed to get pass the next not so smiling guard 

and ended up in some kind of office 

paid my 100 rupees only fee for the trials

then I was followed by guards to the locker room

finally I was actually at the pool

and a "coach" told me to get in and swim 200 meters but told me

"Mam, if you get very tired you can stop after a 100 meters"

when I stopped one of the coaches told me that I can swim !!

to tell you the truth

I already knew that

I got to sign up for an hour a day at a specific time to come and swim

you see there's a law regarding how many swimmers there can be in one lane at the same time

namely 10 people in one lane (50m pool) !

then this mission took another turn

I was invited into the directors office and found myself in a discussion about swimming

and coaching 

tomorrow morning I'll be at the poolside to have a look at their practise

that is if the guards let me pass
but still mission accomplished

have a cozy Friday everyone

I'm filling up on chicken burgers with sweet potato wedges

Scenes from traffic - bicycle transports !

the things I see in traffic still amazes me

even after all this time

ever day I see guys struggling with huge, heavy loads

I have not yet seen any woman doing it !

garbage 

goods 

deliveries 

to the dry cleaners...

pick ups.....

really heavy ...sometimes I'm surprised that the bikes holds up.....

extremely long transports...imagine what happens when they ride the bike around the corner or out into the crossing and stops !!

extremely high ones...it did hit the trees and I thought it was going to fall...

it was a close encounter I tell you

jee ! that was a lot ghee(ghi) ......tons of empty tins......

ghee is clarified butter used for cooking, traditional medicine and religious rituals

I see so many of these every day....

best thing about the bicycles in traffic ?

they can't honk !!

Scenes from Rajokri village

to get to one of the colourful temples I have to go through Rajokri village

and since I always find village life interesting I made some stops the other day

TV is a must....

doesn't matter how simple the housing is...they all have a dish outside...or as in this case

many !!

colourful as always

lovely ladies welcoming me in for some paani...water or tea...

in the midst of the greenery almost out in nowhere I suddenly met this man

a garbage collector

it's amazing how they can fill the bags with so much and then be able to ride the bike

Rajokri is a big Yadav village

Yadav is a jati....caste that nowadays consists of many traditional castes, I was told

this was yet another fun filled morning with interesting encounters.

Mehrauli archaeological park with it's baolis

today I showed Mr M the Mehrauli park 

he hasn't been around as much as me so today I was the guide

first stop was Gandhak ki baoli...

gandhak means sulphur

they named it after the smell of the water

this is the largest stepwell ever built in Delhi....you can't see because of the water but there's a couple of storages below the waterline...so it's deep..

  built around the year 1230

just outside this man was working...sewing...

all smiles

then we walked inside the park and climbed up on one of the tombs 

it kind of gives you the jungle book feeling with the ruins and the forest

did see the minar of a masjid too.....

 the Rajon ki baoli was next.....

more water in it today than last time I was here

too bad  there where a group of loud young indian males around

there usually is though now that I think about it so I don't recommend any ladies to come here alone

next to the well is this mosque 

I'm sad to say that nothing has happened regarding all the waste that is dumped all over the park

on our way out I met this little guy

he made my day with his green horns

hope you're enjoying your weekend dear reader

we sure are

This morning was filled with colourful interactions

I started out my day at one of the temples here in Gurgaon

this sadhu greeted me with " we've met before, you took my picture then"

wow ! I have been living here for a while

 he sure has a lot of hair 

 great way to start the day with a little colour

great morning