Hit the road Jack

Ash waited out the flood waters as long as he could but he decided to leave the safety of the Mumbai Resort that is our sanctuary and make his way, somehow, back to South Bombay before dark. Love the thongs mate... Shaz wants them back...

The waters had dropped about 2 inches over the last few hours with the easing rain, so it's now or never..
The scene outside is a weird one, the waterlogged streets are filled with what can only be described as zombies all going somewhere.. The water is too deep to lift your feet and if you try, you're sure to lose a thong, so you drag your legs through the water slowly making progress. I was one of them this morning on my petrol mission

As the rain stops more cars seem to be on the streets creating havoc for the zombies as the wash from the car sends them off balance for a moment.
Sharon has just heard that much of the central part of the city where we are is under water, with the airport closed for many hours, people stranded and the people in the slums choking the banks of the rising Methi River having to be relocated. We are lucky so far with power on today in our apartment, but what of the people living in the slums and those even worse off. I'm sure we will find out more in days to come.

They got out just in time......

I write with sadness at the departure of Shagga, who settled into Mumbai life, living & breathing the glorious frustrations of this crazy town.

And for my little brother, who, only 2 weeks after our arrival landed on our doorstep, and has been coming and going ever since. He heads back home after 7 months on the move.

They left in the nick of time. A day later, they would have had to row to the airport, if the planes actually take off at all in this weather.


Rain has pelted the city over night, and continues in full force today. Even without the dreaded litter and with good drainage, I think flooding would occur with so much consistent rain.

Mark went out earlier to try and start Noddy, our new Ambassador as it kind of ran out of petrol (or so we think) as we arrived in our street 2 days ago. He bravely walked to the service station to fill a jerry can, wading knee deep and walking in the middle of the road in order to avoid the open drains. Still Noddy won't start - although it makes a better sound than before. (whatever that means). He lived undercover in his old life - now he's out in the rain, and could just float away.


It's a true mixture of excitement and disappointment, we were headed to the Taj Lands End to watch the Bledisloe Cup today, but not only is it dangerous to head out on the roads, we could get stuck half way, or at the Taj. So I sit wearing the Aussie colours, in the lounge room, it's actually pretty nice to be stuck inside (at the Mumbai Resort), if only our cable would work. Ash stayed the night, after a night out this side of town, for Kavita's birthday and had planned to head to the footy with us this morning. He lives in Sth Bombay, and rather than endure the commute in awful traffic, it's easier to stay this side. He's now trapped. Megan called before and asked if we stocked up on food! Jason rang also from the Marriott making plans to gather beds for a 100 or so staff who, if the rain persists, will have to stay over night as they won't be able to get home.



Our streets have turned literally into rivers. Our little compound is now full of water and every time a bus, fire truck, 4 wheel drive or even a little car braves the road, it makes huge waves. I just saw a poor dog nearly drown, swimming for his dear life after a fire truck went by. People are wading through and the Paan wallah (beetle nut seller) has packed up shop, moved to our compound with his wares to wait out this incessant rain.


More photo’s to come.



It's fun!

Rusty n Markus European Vacation

Nameste from hot and steamy, currently bucketing down Mumbai, well it’s time to blog on about the last few weeks before the beers from last night start to attack the grey matter.

Mr and Mrs Harvey, wow that looks weird to write it… Shaz and I finally took off on our honeymoon/holiday to Greece like we’d planned to do 12 months earlier.
Thanks to the wonders of technology we were able to bring back more than 700 photos and movies crammed with great memories.
Our trip took us to London, Riga, the capital of Latvia and a few weeks in Greece…
The tan is fading fast and but I can’t get out of my boardshorts, it makes me feel like I’m still ready for the beaches and beautiful waters of Greece..

Our first stop, London… where we were greeted at the Chalk Farm tube station by Bear who had moved to the UK with Mary last year. Bear and Mary and their flatmates Nat and Will were gracious hosts and welcomed us with the very best, home cooked Sunday lamb roast dinner you could imagine.
The brochure said blue skies in London but true to form, the next day in London was chilly with rain. All part of the charm, so we.. (Bear and Mary who came down with a severe case of Mondayitus and Mel G who arrived from Israel at midnight) headed off to the Camden Markets to find coats for the next leg of the adventure to Riga. The day took shape very nicely with welcome drinks ordered at The World’s End pub, which turned into an afternoon I had been really looking forward too. Sitting in a pub with friends indulging in a pint or two… no pubs on street corners in our part of the world…

Jackie and Logan also from Bris Vegas moved to the UK last year and joined us for a beer and the odd tequila shot.. nasty... The night finished off with a bit of gaming, full action Wii Golf in the lounge back at Chalk Farm. Unfortunately heading to the 19th hole before that game saw me miss a put or five, setting a new course record at 28 over.. Much to Sharon’s frustration.



I was lucky enough to spend the next day on the couch with a dodgy belly which we're calling food poisoning, seriously you’d reckon eating the food here would’ve toughened me up..
Shaz and Mel hit the streets of London for the day and had a ball retracing their steps in the city from a few years prior.


As luck would have it we arrived in London the week of the first mate against mate, state against state of origin. Brilliant! football and another pub!! Bear was up early revving the troops and making sure we were at the Walkabout pub at opening to get the best seat in the house to watch the Queenslanders bring it home at Lang Park!!

Shaz, Mel and I went on out own walking tour of London for the afternoon and later that evening Shaz and I hit the West End and took in a performance of Chicago, and all that jazz...

Riga - Latvia

So long London hello (sveiki) Latvia. Bear and Mary had sent out a call across their blog for friends in the area to join them in Latvia in May. The timing was great for us and for a mob of 9 others who all discovered Riga. We landed and were ferried to the hostel for welcome drinks and dorm room with our 10 bunk beds.. This was our holiday part of the honeymoon, which was perfectly timed for the first anniversary of Bear and Mary, which we were so very pleased to be a part of. To those unaware, Bear's the bloke who did a great job of getting our wedding on video.

Riga is a port town with a beautiful old town, curved cobblestone streets, some beautiiful architecture, parks and large public squares, which are full of cafes to enjoy the short summer. We were amazed at the weather, no need for the coats from London as each day was mostly very warm with blue skies. Perfect for walking the streets, seeing the sights in the morning and catching up for beers in the afternoon. The beer was cold and the food was hardy, with lots of meat on the menu.



Although things would have been much different from 1940 to 1991 when Latvia was under soviet occupation.

Unfortunately since opening to the tourist market, Riga is getting known for more than its history, with teams of stag parties from the UK heading there each weekend to try their luck with the stunning local girls. We asked some local blokes what they thought of the visitors to the city. They told us quite frankly that they weren’t too happy. Once we explained we were Australian and Kiwi and that we brought our own beautiful girls they were a little happier...


The louts have a go but love rules in Riga with the tradition of engraving a Love Padlock and attaching to a bridge in the park...

We all had one day out of the city to a local beach, which felt like a school excursion, and the teachers were on a break. The hungover rabble had a late brunch and after much deliberation, indecision and coin tossing the beach and not the park was our destination for the afternoon. Right now how to get there..? The train station yeah... where’s that? OK where do we get off, is it far to the beach? Can we walk? Will there be beer? Two by two the kiddies jumped on the train and ventured to Majori a very quaint village by the sea to see the local beach culture. We were amazed and a little shocked by the beach fashion, ladies in full evening ware walking past a big bloke in a pair of budgie smugglers..

In all, we had a ball and have way too many stories for the blog. Nat, Will, Greg and Luke great to meet you, no more monument surfing hey Will. Paul who has been living in Moscow these past two years, Isa who unfortunately had to leave husband Col behind to finish work in Ireland and Mel Gibbo great fun all round! Massive thanks to Mary and Bear for getting it out there.
And yes we missed it, we left a day early with Paul, Bear hacked off all but two of his dreds!




An unfortunate reminder to all who stay in hostels, watch your stuff!!
Mel, Bear and Mary all had cameras stolen from their room with Mary also left without her purse and phone.. Karma is out there and will find the mongrel.