India - we have arrived!

Dear Reader,

The Travelling Goddesses arrived in Mumbai at 1.45am after an uneventful flight from Sydney via Singapore. After the usual confusion of arrival procedures at the airport we were met by our driver & travelled through the pre dawn streets of Mumbai, experiencing the sights & sounds of drivers sounding their horns on nearly deserted streets; construction workers (yes - in the middle of the night!); homeless sleeping; people & dogs roaming the streets. We welcomed our arrival at the very comfortable Marine Plaza Hotel http://www.hotelmarineplaza.com/. After a few hours rest we've been for a promenade along Marine Drive which seems to be the place for young lovers & other locals enjoying a leisurely walk- weather is hot with a very pleasant sea breeze.

Back at the hotel we enjoyed an unexpected pleasure when afternoon tea of sweet delights & fruit was delivered to our room by the hotel staff - see above photo.

The TG's are eagerly anticipating the new years eve celebrations to the held at the hotel which promise many delights including "American Impressions.........the Carnival of Brazil..................5 themed party zones with matching cuisine & foot-stomping music". The concierge assured us as much food & drink as we can enjoy! So it looks like its party time in Mumbai for the TG's!!!

Stay posted for the next installment........

Happy new year 2011.

Nameste, Kate

India - here we come!

Dear Reader,

The Travelling Goddesesses are about to embark on their next grand adventure in India. TG's Kate, Barbara & Robyn depart Sydney at 4.55pm today on a big shining Qantas plane - first stop Mumbai, followed by Ahmedabad, Agra & Jaipur. Jaipur is the location of our great creative adventure at the Wonderful Workshops. http://www.wonderfulworkshops.org/

I must say that even though this is my third time at the Wonderful Workshops, I'm still eagerly anticipating the creative adventure. Barbara & Robyn are attending for the first time.

2010 has been a momentous year for all TG's, for one thing I have retired & am looking forward to the new & exciting period in my life - the next of lifes great adventures!

But before the adventures can begin the dreaded packing must be completed - so must away...........

May 2011 bring all readers much joy & happiness. Stay posted for further updates.

Nameste........... Katexx

PS: Attached photo is a wonderful jacaranda in full bloom in our recent Sydney spring - this was the delightful view from my balcony.....................

A final namaste

A final namaste dear reader, we arrived safely in Sydney after
an !ncredible !ndia Experience

Homeward Bound - maybe - desperate and dateless in Singapore

Surprise dear reader, the big Indian bird in the sky was late arriving to Singapore and the Aussie bound bird in the sky did not wait for the Goddesses. Has the world gone mad, are the planets still spinning? But wait, hush, a beautiful green rainforest (as only singapore can do fake) awaited the Goddesses at Singapore Airport. Yes a rainforest refuge (why not just call it a Lounge for the forsaken, delayed, demented traveller?) with beds, showers, beauty parlour, food and off course the most important feature - the internet. So praise the planets we are able to keep in touch with our flock of devoted readers. We truely are !ndestructible AND supposedly wait-listed on the next Qantas flight to Sydney.... Let's hope we get the date with the great bird in the sky.

Since we last wrote we toured Jaipur, honked, braked and prayed (well the driver's daughters did the praying) our way to Delhi, did a final tour and brief Delhi shop and flew out. There was the small issue of stamping luggage labels at Delhi airport............but let's not go there.

It's been a great experience - the goddess will publish a final set of photos if she ever sees Sydney again.

What's next? Sadly, TG Bernadette has decided to retire from her brief wondorous life as a cook (apologies Junot Diaz) "Oh No!" I hear the readers shouting - BUT dear reader BE HAPPY there are plans afoot to attend the Literature Festival next year - MUCH more interesting I hear you say. Out with the cooking in with the booking.

TG Kate sits beside me on the internet ogling the Selvedge magazine - we know what happened last time she ogled Selvedge magazine at Singapore airport..anything could happen from this point forward. Watch this space.

TG Sue is creatively planning what she will do to make her new home in Newcastle worthy of a goddess. Silver, scarves, elephants, indigo dyed fabrics are just the beginning.

That's it dear reader - I need to check out the mash potato machine, cocktails and fake flowers in the rainforest lounge right now. Another one of those "you kinda had to be there moments."

Namaste until the next adventure. May the gods and the big birds in the sky be with us (and you)

The !ndestructible, !ncredible Travelling Goddesses

The Great Exhibition!

Hello dear readers from TG's Kate & Sue. The Workshops are nearly over & we are full to brim with creative energy, ideas for other projects & dreams of future workshops. We are busy putting the finishing touches to our projects in time for the exhibition of all the creative arts & crafts from the 5 workshops held this. There is a flurry of activity & much creative tension as the works of satin, silk, silver, precious stones, glass, fabric & various braids & embellishments are prepared for display with loving care.

We must say that the cooks (TG Bernadette & co) have cleary enjoyed a wonderful week however it has to said that not a lot of true commitment has been demonstrated just a lot of drinking, laughing & many stories being told... Unlike TG's Kate & Sue who have spent many hours sewing & soldering by candle light late into the night (not)!!!!!! All our projects have been a collaborative venutre between ourselves & our wonderful indian helpers - who are very patient & sharing of their wonderful craft talents. They are wonderul teachers & we have much to learn from their culture in all areas of our lives - especially their expression "shanti shanti" which means chill out or take it easy.

We must away & make final preparations for the exhibition & the Gala Dinner & Concert which marks the end of the Wonderful Workshops.........

Nameste from TG's Sue & Kate

Tapestry Travelling

Now I know dear reader what Carole King meant by"my life is a tapestry of rich and varied hues" - she must have been travelling in India. The TGs are weaving a virtual tapestry of food, fabric, jewellery, sights, smells and sounds.

The Kite Flying festival was a rich festival of colour and fun - viewed from the top of a restored haveli. The TGs and other workshops comrades celebrated the launch of spring with dinner at the Samode haveli in Japiur. Fabulous restored restaurant frescoes. A bit terribly, terribly posh until a cat walked across the buffet and stole a chicken bone.....you kinda had to be there to appreciate the moment.

Wonderful workshops finish tomorrow and the pressure is on for stitcher and silver maker to have their masterpieces ready for public display. Can they do it? Will the silver maker's local helper be there in spite of the partial local eclipse? (locals don't eat, drink, travel or pray during an eclipse) If not, how will she and the group be finished in time? The responsible stitcher did homework on the day off to ensure she is ready. There is a vicious rumour circulating (started by TG Kate) that TG Kate has a pucker in her masterpiece. Yes dear reader A PUCKER. You see it's all because of the "loose weave" of the fabrics. There have been very intense international discussions about whether to do long stitch or back stitch on is Indian loose weave - it's all of a bit of a bugger really. Can she unpucker the pucker?

Meanwhile there are the cooks...who by now are shanti shanti on valium after a wonderful day at the Diggi farm. What a tapestry of fruit trees, vegetables patches, birds, blue skies and general bliss. The lesson was to cook pakoras using all the farm vegetables and of course eat them. Many pakoras later (cauliflower, onion, potato, paneer, red carrot etc) we went for an excursion around the local farming community.

Arriving back at the farm, after viewing the partial solar eclipse through an old x-ray film, it was time to cook lunch over open fires in the way of travelling tribesman. We thought the pakora were lunch. The team rose to the occasion and watched, tasted and ate a wonderful array of wood baked delights.

Finally dear reader if you are searching for that perfect PhD topic. May I suggest creative, warm women of a certain age, let loose in India, and their capacity to shop.
1) Their magical ability to justify the purchase of the 6th or was it the 7th wrap 30 different ways, and for their friends as well as somebody they met 2 minutes ago to give them another 10 reasons why it was a truly magnificent purchase
2) A general constant surprise that one needs to go to the ATM AGAIN e.g. "Why is my wallet empty, it was full just this morning?"
3) Pride at their strength to resist buying that "special" too cheap to leave jacket, and then after intense dinner discussion and overnight consideration nip out in a tuk tuk to buy the jacket.
4) To strut out in and share their shopping with such passion, attitude and general pizzaz - what magnificence and generosity. They are all in the goddess realm.
It's definitely a rich and wonderful tapestry for a PhD and the subjects always up for a tea, wine chat and dying to share their purchases. It would be the most engaging PhD field work of all time.

The next installment dear reader will be after the great exhibition (did I mention we cooks don't need to exhibit :)- don't miss it.

The !ndestructible, !ncredible Travelling Goddesses

Go Fly a Kite

What a sensual experience the workshops and "Late Nights at the Diggi" offer dear reader, it's quite a shame mere mortal technology does not allow the Goddesses to load photos. Words really are inadequate. Colours, tastes, sights, sounds and textures abound!

On the cooking front today we visited the markets - spices, fruits, vegetables and sweets - were a kaleidoscope to the senses! TG Sue is working in precious metals and jewels - all are weighed and packed with great care. TG Kate is on track with her stitching and purchased a range of cottons of every shade....she will be stitching and stitching and stitching....

Late Nights at Diggi are a series of concerts presented by some of Rajasthan's finest voices, dancers and musicians. Such technique.

TG Bernadette fitted in a polo match after cooking yesterday. Again such technique.

Tomorrow is a day of rest from the workshops for the annual Kite Festival which marks the start of Spring. So we'll be off flying kites - why not try it yourself?

In the meantime I am off to a 5pm cooking class......

Namaste and don't forget to "Go Fly a Kite"

The !ndestructible, !ncredible Travelling Goddesses

The workshops have begun!

Hello dear reader, TheDiggi Palace is a flurry of creativity and artistic tension right now. The days of leisure and aimless wanderings are over - the workshops have begun IN ERNEST. TGs Kate and Sue are designing their stitching and jewellery masterpieces and nervously shopping for those "just right" materials and planning their homework nights. You can't imagine how much serious conversation occurs around the long stitch vs the running stitch. Then of course there is the decision to have beads or other embellishment or not . Then there is the other MAJOR decision whether to make a simple piece to finish here or attempt something more ambitious that can't be finished here that will be taken home to finish. I tell you dear reader this is serious business with no creative question or comment too small to be given thorough international consideration on the Diggi lawn.

Fortunately, on the other hand TG Bernadette is in the cooking workshop. Now the cooking workshop is a very shanti shanti (chilled) affair. No homework in sight, no shopping required, lots of talking, looking and tasting with a few ginger tea breaks and apparently not much actual cooking. TG B may get to wave around a knife or two and today she did hand make pappadoms. In short it's the non-cook's cooking workshop.PERFECT. However, the cultural insight gained through the historical and current uses of dishes, spices etc is fascinating.

As mentioned in a previous dispatch internet connection is very slow at the wonderful Diggi and the keyboard is an adventure. So I will sign off dear reader to allow fellow Diggians to use the PC.

Namaste until the next blog.
The !ndestructible !ncredible Travelling Goddesses

Behold the Diggi

Well dear reader yesterday we arrived safely at the Diggi Palace from Agra via Fatephur Shkri. Before I go any further I need to say this blog is being created on a very dodgy key board. There may be some surprises on the way...let's just say Indian magic. There also seems to be a memory problem and as for loading photos - well that may not be possible!!!! On the subject of photos - the planets were not aligned yesterday and the heavens parted when TG Bernadette realised she had lost all her photos to date on the trip...um....but then she looked out the window and saw the local people getting on with life and thought this is not such a big deal particularly when TG Sue has been on the photo taking wagon.

As I was saying we are here at the mighty Diggi in sunny but very cold weather. Lots of shawls being thrown around. It's hard to describe what an oasis is the Diggi. TG Bernadette joined the shopping expedition this morning - had fun for one shop ( TG Sue commented that TG Bernadette was holding up well in the shopping stakes - now that is SOME complement. It was about then that TG Bernadette came to the conclusion that it was time to shanti shanti (chill) at the Diggi. Afterall I had purchased two items

We have met many of the other participants (Mostly Diggi workshop groupies) and everybody is really excited about the pending workshops. Cooking has been given a big rap!! I think it is the non cooking persons cooking workshop...yippee. TG Sue and TG Kate have been discussing the minutiae of this craft and that craft with the regulars...a joy to behold.

I could go on - but the key board is seriously unwell. Perhaps it doesn't like the cold.

I am going to TRY to upload some photos of the hard working, living hard, beautiful local people - but if no photos appear you know !ncredible !ndia has exercised her will.

Plans a being made to see a polo match tomorrow (Sunday) and maybe even the Ridhi Sidhi markets where local people make smaller items from recycled sari - now that is a sensible move and slightly more sensible shopping.

We are all well and "It's all good"

The !ndescructible !ncredible Travelling Goddesses

Sometimes you just need to get on with life

Hello dear reader, The Gods have been smiling on the TGs and have presented TG Sue with a new son and all the TG's with a driver - the beloved Sanjay. The fog has developed a strong relationship and follows the TGs wherever we go. We took off east from Delhi and did the road trip to Agra. Slow start through the confusion of tuk tuk's, camel carts, bullocks, rickshaws, cows the rest of Noah's menagerie, bikes, motorbikes and now you are bored so I will stop. Arrived at Agra, sustained by naan bread and samosas, around 3 pm. Quick lunch and then off to the mesmerising Taj. Sadly the TGs have been upstaged by some Commonwealth dignitaries (including the Australian Govt speaker - nice to see out taxes at work) and the Taj was actually closed today. The two more experienced TGs (ie those who had already seen the Taj) were amazed how many people had found it in the last 30 years. The other TG was impressed at the scale and the detail. Ain't love grand.

Today our trusty driver and guide took us to Itmad-Ud-Daulah, the prototype for the Taj, some shops (where some purchases were made - you need to wait until our return) and the Agra Fort.

!ncredible !ndia continues - it's not really about what you see, or the monuments, it's the real life happening in front of you and real people getting on with their lives in often the most creative and simple ways that makes it amazing. May be we have some thing to learn.

The !ndestructible, !ncredible, Travelling Goddesses.

Sometimes all you can do is shake your head

In my last blog I promised to update you on our sightseeing tour of Old and New Delhi. TG Kate had a mild case of Delhi Belly so gave it a miss. TGs Bernadette and Sue took up the rickshaw through Old Delhi and a more sedate car to see New Delhi. Shoes off at the Jama Masjid (The Friday Mosque), then off to Qutub Minar - amazingly built in 1193, Humayan - the inspiration for the Taj, India Gate and the Parliament area and of course a few rug and other shops.

The background is of course traffic and people chaos in the midst of preparation for the Commonwealth Games in October.....It will take
an it !ncredible India effort to pull it off - Go Delhi.

Good news TG Kate is up and about, shopping, giving opinions, up for a brandy and thinking about eating again one day soon ....

Today we tackled Delhi with no real forward planning - interesting - but not the smartest move - it's just not that sort of town! Sometimes all you can do is shake your head...

Off to Agra tomorrow.....

The Incredible Travelling Goddesses

Delhi or bust

Namaste dear reader.The Travelling Goddesses now understand
what !ncredible !ndia REALLY means. We met Delhi fog. Instead of landing in Delhi at 2 am on Saturday we arrived at 6 pm Saturday after a diversion to Jaipur, a sit on Jaipur tarmac for 8 hours or was it 10? A coleslaw sandwich on white airy bread. An attempted bus getaway from Jaipur to Delhi. A bus turnaround to a plane at Jaipur international or was that the domestic airport? Joy of joy an upgrade to business for a 35 min flight to Delhi (with a glass of orange juice). You sorta had to be there....BUT we did finally arrive safely. Nothing stops the Travelling Goddesses!

Sunday was a day of wondering if all that really happened. A helpful tuk tuk driver, shopping and sightseeing, some unseasonally cold and wet weather. But a general vote over a G&T by the Goddesses "It's all been good"

Today Monday was very interesting tour of Old and New Delhi - complete with rickshaw ride and all the sights. I won't go into detail right now of all the sights, sounds and smells. "It's all been good."


The !ncredible Travelling Goddesses xxx