The move to the house with the 1000 doors!

It's final...we found an appartment in Malcha Marg, app. 3 minutes from the embassy, and the plan is that we will move in the first week of march! It doesn't really have 1000 doors (that's only T's perception) but is is a weird house with many (yes...) doors, windows, little rooms, corners, niches, hallways and stairs. But it also has a fireplace, lovely private roofterrace, tiny kitchen with a door that opens 2 ways (and a little window so you don't slam into someone's nose when you push it open) and a very good feel wich is after all the most important thing!

For the cats it will be difficult that they cannot go outdoors anymore (although currently Friend is glued to the heater, so maybe he'll adjust quite easily...as long as his heater and little pillow come along), the chickens can live with new collegues who will soon move into a farmhouse, and Bishnu is coming with us. She will have to find her own place to live though because apart from the fact that our servant quarters will be way too small for them (especially for Bishnu's daughter Bumeka who is now a lively two-year old), they are also next to our future bedroom...and as we move to get some peace, quiet and privacy at last having our cook and her two year old living literally on top of us does not seem like a very good idea. In fact we have decided that this time, we want NO disturbance of personnel whatsoever...the past 1,5 years were a nightmare in that respect and frankly I have really had it with staff...the fewer the better!
(The Jewish curse IS true!!!)

Yesterday the movers brought 100 boxes so the coming weeks I'll be packing, sorting and driving back and forth to measure curtains (luckily I still have some extra 100 meters of curtain or so...), move fragile stuff and paintings and clean the place. And then...it will be bye bye to Pushpanjali, its noisy partyhouses, increasing traffic, noisy train and nightly honkikg, stealing personnel and greedy landlord! To name but a few reasons for us wanting to live somewhere else....

Holiday in Thailand!
We have just been to Klong Muang Beach in Krabi, Thailand, to visit our good friend Marcus Häberli and his lovely wife Supranee, who run a little restaurant called Balini. Marcus entertains the guests while Su cooks the most fantastic meals...needless to say that we didn't loose any weight over the holidays!
Klong Muang is still unspoilt territory; no highrise buildings full of tourists but little resorts and guesthouses, little local restaurants and for the rest beaches, peace and quiet and the occasional Mullah calling for prayer (and I must admit, it sounded quite nice actually). We stayed in Krabi Sands, another one of those treasures...little bungalows, fantastic pool and breakfast on the beach! We rented a scooter and spent many hours on it trying to find the Tiger cave, which is apparantly on top of a hill. Hiking up will take you across 1200 stairs...we didn't find it and I am suspecting T did that on purpose! We found waterfalls instead, and rubbertrees, strange hillsides and lovely little eateries. The Thai are wonderful gentle people whith great food and terrible english...and in Thailand there is, as we both wrote (independently of one another) on our postcards...no honking, no begging, no dirt. What a difference with India! We spent the first four days sleeping, sleeping and sleeping, as if all the energy we ever had was completely drained. I guess to a certain extent it was; India is terribly intens and very intruding, wether you want it or not.
The last days we spent in Bangkok, riding the skytrain to the river, taking a longtail boat from there and for the rest we did a LOT of walking. It took us past the amulet market, the flower market, the river, the Wat Pho (the temple with the golden recling Buddha) and the Palace, which we couldn't enter as mourners were praying for the deceased sister of the King. The King is God for the Thai and his picture is everywhere (I mean everywhere...even in our hotelroom!); one is not allowed to lick a stamp for the protrait of the King is on it and one doesn't lick a king...I think I missed a golden opportunity to find out what a king tastes like!
Anyway, it was lovely and far too short! And we have taken the decision to not take vacations longer than 3-4 days in India anymore as in india one never finds any rest. There are things I want to see but I'll do it in short trips; holidays we will plan from now on in the neighbourhood countries...