Last year my mom, sister, brother and his fiancée decided to visit us for an Indian Christmas.

As they only visited for 11 days, our options to show them a bit more of India were limited, but we did have some memorable moments. For a true Indian experience, Theo asked Raju to organise two auto-rickshaws to Shilparamam, a handicraft village in Hyderabad and true paradise for shoppers and negotiators. The baby-to-be and I deemed it more comfortable (and safer) to take the less bumpy option with Sajid in our Innova.

Sajid, by then also our self-appointed tour guide (and a good one!), showed them some of the famous sights in Hyderabad. He took them to Charminar where they braved the steep staircase to have a magnificent view of the old city of Hyderabad, and also showed them Mecca Masjid, a big Muslim mosque with seven graves. At Charminar the locals like to ask for photos of them with foreigners, and the family did numerous poses with strangers.

We also treated them to a truly Indian restaurant. Although we all thoroughly enjoyed the experience, which included lots of laughter, a few tears were also shed – for instance when my dear brother mistook the green chilli on his plate for a bean …

For the weekend before Christmas Theo and I worked out a short tour to Bangalore and Mysore. In Bangalore we opted for the beautiful Taj West End hotel with its 20 acres of tropical gardens again, and showed the fam some of the sites we’ve visited before, such as the grand Bangalore Palace and the Shiva Temple.

Then we did an experiment by taking our first train trip to Mysore. Not knowing the trains in our new country yet, we decided not to take chances and Theo booked the Shatabdi Express, the only train with a “first class with AC” option. The trip was indeed first class, with good food, large, comfortable chairs and ample leg space.

Because our beloved Taj group doesn’t have a hotel in Mysore, we were a little in the dark as to which hotel to book. We decided o take a chance on the Ramanashree Hotel, located in the middle of the city. I think we were the only foreigners staying at the hotel, but we found it to be quite neat, with everything you need and very central for sightseeing. The one thing we had to block out was the constant hooting and 24-hour traffic in the busy streets surrounding the hotel (especially when one tries to sleep)!

We visited the city’s rather famous vegetable market – a festival of colours and variety. Apart from a vast variety of veggies, there were also craftsmen who make and sell their own perfume and incense, which smelt really good. At one of the incense stalls we were surprised to discover a fellow South African, who was traveling with her British husband and very glad to hear Afrikaans.

The Mysore Palace is worth a visit. Its extravagant décor is almost unreal and the gardens are also beautiful. The exterior of the palace is decorated with 96 000 lights, which were lit on the Sunday evening.

Theo and Petro, and Paul and Rae also jumped at the opportunity for an elephant ride around the palace …

On the outskirts of the city is the Brindhavan Gardens – lush, green gardens with impressive fountains and water features. After a late afternoon stroll through this little paradise, we made our way to the music fountain for the evening’s show, where the water literally danced to music and coloured lights.

Before our journey back to Hyderabad, we visited the Lalitha Mahal for lunch, which used to be king of Mysore’s guest house, but was converted into a hotel. A grand place, but the gardens surrounding it were surprisingly dry and rather neglected.

Back in Hyderabad we prepared for a quiet but interesting Christmas. Raju ordered us to be home at 16:00 on the 24th, because he and his three daughters had planned something special for us. We obeyed, and he and his three beautiful children, all dressed in new, shiny dresses, treated us with flowers around our necks, tea and special Indian snacks. They also gave us a beautiful Christmas card. I made sure to have something under the tree for each of the children and the staff, and our Indian Christmas turned out to be rather magical.

Shortly after Christmas it was time for the family to leave, with us following them to SA two days later.

The weather in SA has been great so far, and I must say, with my extra sensitive senses these days, I can’t get enough of the fresh air, familiar food, space and “quiet”, “clean” roads (i.e. no random hooting and cars actually driving in their designated lanes). The only sad thing is the Theo already had to leave for India again, and I’ll stay here to work at our Bellville offices until we hopefully see each other in March.

In the meantime the baby-to-be seems to thrive in SA. Apart from the kicks and waves these days, which make my belly look disturbingly alive, The Stomach has also outgrown almost all of my clothes in the mere 12 days since our arrival!

Warm South African greetings until next time!