Home in the USA

I made it home last night around 6:30pm and boy is it good to be back home. Here is a picture of me in Germany once we landed.

Here is a picture of the kids with their souvenirs that I brought them. It was sure good to see everyone!

Dinner @ Rohan's and The Beach

Sunday night Rohan invited me over to his home for dinner. It was a two hour drive to get there and he only lives about 12-15 miles away from the hotel. Traffic is indescribably busy and bumper to bumper is an understatement.

It was great being with his family and meeting his wife Merlyn, and his daughter Christina. We brought little Christina a baby doll and she loved it.

Christina is such a cutie, here are some other photos of the dinner. It was an honor to be invited to Rohan's home and eat dinner with this family. India is only 2% Christian, and Rohan and his family are Catholic. Rohan's wife offered the prayer over the food and expressed her thanks for me being in their home and prayed for April and the kids. It was touching and very kind. Here are some additional pictures from dinner.

They set the table with a fork, knife, spoon just for me. Indians eat with their hands (right hand only) and never use utensils. They asked me if they had set the table correctly and they had. It was incredibly thoughtful of them to do this for me.

Here is a picture with me and the entire Menezes family.

Today I went out to Juhu Beach just outside of the hotel property. The water is polluted so we did not get in.

Here is a picture of the hotel from the beach.

Only two days left before I get on a plane.....but only three days until I see my family.

Love you guys!

Dad

Taj Mahal

Yesterday morning we left our hotel rooms in New Delhi early and hired a driver to take us down to the Taj Mahal. You may have heard of the 7 Wonders of the World, of which the Taj is one of those.

The Taj Mahal sits in the city called Agra about 4 hours drive to the south of New Delhi. The drive down was mostly country mixed in with a town or two along the way. I still cannot get over the driving here in India! There basically are no rules and everyone honks at everyone. On the way down at one of the check points we saw a snake charmer with a live cobra snake. It was something out a Walt Disney movie for sure.

We arrived at the Taj Mahal around 11am. A young Muslim boy names Zeshon (pronounced Zee - Shawn) offered to be our tour guide for 20 rupies (.60 U.S. cents). The Taj Mahal is amazing and these pictures do not do it justice.

Here is a picture split three ways of the Taj, our tour guide (middle), and my work associate with the tour guide.

King Shahjahan hired 20,000 workers to build the Taj Mahal which took 22 years to complete. It is made of marble from Pakistan brought on the backs of elephants. The laborers etched the marble by hand then layed in precious stones. Even by today's standards it is amazing craftsmanship.

There are four pillars one each of the corners of the Taj. King Shahjahan ordered that these pillars be built slightly outward so that if a earthquake came they would fall outward and not on his wife's body inside the Taj.

When the Taj was completed King Shahjahan ordered the arms of the laborers be cut off so they could never produce a building so magnificent again. Muslims do not believe this occured and will deny its truthfulness. Zeeshawn, our tour guide, denied it and kind of began to be upset when we asked him about it.

Taj Mahal means Palace Crown or Crown Palace. It was started in1631 and completed 22 years later. Kings Shahjahan's body as well as his wife's are in the basement of the building. You cannot go to the basement, however, he had built a replica of their caskets on the main floor. They asked that we not take pictures inside, so I cannot show that to you. It is considered a holy place by Muslims and we had take off our shoes prior to going in. Here are a few more pictures.

When we bought our tickets to go inside, there were two prices. One for citizens of India (Indians) and one for foreigners. Indians cost 20 rupees (.60 U.S. cents) while foreigners cost 750 rupees ($15.00 U.S. dollars). I thought it was funny how they have such a variance in costs depending upon one's nationality. I definitely don't think you cold do this in the U.S.

Only 4 days left and I will be home with my family. Love you all!

Ryan

Mumbai to New Delhi

Here are few more photos of traffic in Mumbai (Bombay). It is a crazy city that seems to go on for ever and ever and driving really has no rules. Cars do not stay in their lanes, if there are lanes at all, and obeying light signals stops after 8pm at night. It is definitely a place where offensive driving is key or you will not make it.

I also took some photos of a typical apartment building. This would be considered a place where someone who was upper middle class lives. These building go on and on in Mumbai.

Yesterday afternoon we flew from Mumbai to New Delhi to visit our site in that part of the country. The flight took about 1.5 hours here are a couple of pictures. The first is at the airport in Mumbai.

In New Delhi I have seen a lot more animals in the street although I prefer the open spaces that exist up here as compared to Mumbai. Here is a picture of pigs in eating trash in the middle of the city. Also, here is a picture of a mode of transport on a bicycle.

We are staying at the Trident Hotel in Gurgaon here are a few pictures from the outside, it is absolutely beautiful.



As you can see the hotels that I am staying at are not like their surroundings. Well, we are off to the office today to observe some processes then we are headed down to Agra, India. I'll keep everyone updated.

I miss and love you,

Dad

In the Office

Went into the office this morning at 4:30am. Spent time visiting with each employee at the site thanking them and handing out a BAC pen. They loved receiving the pen and appreciated visiting with Rohan and I as we walked around. Here is a picture of Rohan, Miguel, and I.

The women dressed in their beautiful traditional Indian dress called 'sura'. They are so colorful and beautiful, I thought April would like to see them.

The people here are so genuine, courteous, and polite. Their humble attitude is one of constant appreciation for what little they have and what they are given. Today was one of the most rewarding days I have had professionally in my career.

We are going back a bit later tonight so visit with the night crew and talk to the U.S. on some conference calls. Here are some pictures I took while on the drive back to the hotel.....I will bring the video home so you can get a feel for the driving, it is crazy!

Payton the little car below is called a rickshaw, they are like mini taxi's that take you from place to place...they are everywhere. They hold two passengers + one driver.

Love you all!

Dad

Resting in Marriott & Dinner

I didn't do much today, just stayed in the room, watched movies, and went down to the hotel restaurant and ate dinner. I thought I would post some pictures before I head off to bed.

Here is the hotel...this is for April, I am sure she wants to see where I am living.

Here is the entire group I am traveling with at dinner in the hotels restaurant. The three on the right have been here two weeks already and will leave with us we head back to the U.S.

Good night everyone!

Ryan

East Bay - Bombay (Mumbai)

This afternoon we went down to the East Bay Co. docks where the ships would dock and trade their goods. Here is a picture of what is known as the 'Gateway to India'.


This is located at the tip of the Mumbai peninsula as shown here on the map:

Gateway to India

Across the square is one of the most expensive hotels in the country, I forget it's name.
We went to eat and visit on the second floor at a restaurant overlooking the bay...here are those pictures.

Kids, here are the gentlemen that get our car doors, help us with our luggage and hold the doors open in front of our hotel. I thought they looked cool, so I asked if I could get a picture with them and they were excited to do it.As we were leaving this area to head back to the hotel we drove by their horse carriages that were shiny silver and people were taking rides in them. In the backdrop is the the Gateway to India. Abby and Ashlyn you both would have loved this and would have definitely wanted to ride in it.

There are a lot of celebrations here because of their holiday Diwali (is the the equivalent to our Christmas -- gifts are given, time off work is taken, huge celebrations). The streets are very crowded and everyone is setting off fireworks (called fire crackers) in the streets. The celebration ends tonight, but even as I sit in my hotel room I can hear the booms of the fire crackers. Payton, you would have loved seeing this....the fire crackers are so close to the car that it feels like they might hit us.

All is well...it is 11:32pm here so I am getting tired and will head to bed.

Goodnight!

In India Safe

I arrived in India last night and all is well now that I have finally gotten some sleep. Here is the picture of our plan in Frankfurt, Germany when we got off.

Kip, Adam I had no idea that Germany had you get off the plane on the tarmac!

These other pictures are from outside my hotel window. The ocean is Juhu Beach overlooking the Indian Ocean. I believe these are homes that are just below the hotel, but not sure. It is hot and muggy. We are going out later today and I will get some more pictures.

Ryan