Reblogged | The Diarist Wanders

Reblogged is a series of blog posts on my life in India coming from the weblogs I set-up. It’s an attempt to put the stories all in one place! The post Weekend in the Village (Part 1 – A Day in the Life…) was originally posted on May 9, 2013 via the Project365: Volunteers for Change weblog I set-up with my VSO volunteer batch. I spent a weekend with the family of my colleague and friend Charu at her mother’s hometown in Taloshi, Mahad, Maharashtra. This is a two-part story for the events and scenes from May 4-8.

Many volunteers here in India are based in rural areas, if not in State capitals that would seem laid back if compared to the fast-paced life in mega cities. I am among the few who are based in mega cities like Delhi and, in my case, Mumbai. Well, technically, I am based in Navi Mumbai, more or less 30 minutes outside Mumbai. In any case, what I am driving at is I live in the city where everything is available–running hot and cold water, air conditioner, cold filtered water, English-style T&B (a necessity for most volunteers), internet, cable TV, restaurants, supermarkets, cinemas, etc. In short, one may say that I have no right to complain about my placement in terms of location. Continue reading Reblogged: Weekend in the Village (Part 1 – A day in the Life) →

Reblogged is a series of blog posts on my life in India coming from the weblogs I set-up. It’s an attempt to put the stories all in one place! The post Holiday Vacay Round-up: New Year in New Delhi was originally posted on January 12, 2013. I spent the New Year celebrations in Delhi with VSO co-volunteers, the welcoming family of Tito Ben and Tita Agnes, and friends. This was part of my south-to-north holiday vacation from December 23, 2012 to January 7, 2013.

This is a part of the Holiday Vacay Round-up Series. For Goa, the Christmas destination, click here.

After spending Christmas in Goa with co-vols Sue and Rosie, and her twin Penny and Pen’s BF Tom, and my friend Leah and fellow CouchSurfer Sumin (who were both hosted by my former CS host Warren), I proceeded to New Delhi, where I’ll celebrate the coming of 2013 with fellow Filipinos and VSO volunteers! Plus the wedding of Minrose and Shishir (which provided an opportunity for us to wear sarees!) and Rajie and Pras’ housewarming party!

But before that, I had to take a 43-hour train ride first from Madgaon in south Goa to H Nizamuddin in New Delhi! It was supposedly just a 38-hour journey but due to the fog in the capital of India, we were delayed for 5 hours! This train ride with Goa Express is the longest I have taken, beating the 36-hour journey from Bhubaneswar to Mumbai last October!