slo mo.

the clip says it all. This is my new favourite. It makes me feel reflective, at peace, happy, inspired all at the same time.

Heaven (Fully Flared Intro Video Remix)
Uploaded by UNKLE_UK

For my Dziadek

Dziadek is my grandad...also known as 'Jacket' when i was little as i couldn't pronounce the polish version. These beautiful wood carvings made me think of him. I haven't seen him or my Babcia for way too long. Maybe 3 years, which makes me sad and i'm vowing to go and see them this christmas no matter what.

Dziadek is an amazing wood carver and i remember being about 7 or 8 years old sitting down in the basement of their home watching him carve. Me chatting about all sorts of stuff, drinking his special tea and eating sour plums that he got off the tree earlier that day. Grandads are great aren't they?


It will take him 6months of solid work to complete this table. Someone in Turkey has commisioned this piece to be used in their entertaining area.
Half finished wall piece...
little bit sexy? non?

Old fashioned love

The Taj Mahal. What an incredibly beautiful, awe inspiring memorial. As you walk through the main gate you are semi confronted semi presented to this magical monument. Sitting at the end of perfectly manicured and classic gardens, its size and proportions - it is as wide as high, attribute to it's perfectness. I love the Persian scriptures and perfectly handcrafted symmetrical detailing on it too. Built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan to remember his favourite second wife by when she died during childbirth to their 14th child. Obviously not an impotent ruler like a large majority of the other emperors in Indian history! In almost all cases it was never acknowledged, even when they had up to 500 concubines and wives and not a single baby was born. is that a man thing or what?!

My camera died about 10 shots in so unfortunately i don't have the full array of garden, tomb and sunset shots. I'll be back there again soon though...hopefully with the rest of the fam too :-)

Barbers and Bollywood

I'm feeling a bit forted and Palaced out. Like you do when you spend 3 weeks in Europe looking at churches....We have the red fort and the Taj Mahal coming up and i'm definitely hanging for them both but apart from that i'm not going to anymore.
We're now in Jaipur. I had a hectic last day in Udiapur and stupidly thought that i'd be able to get perfumes here. I can't. I'm gutted. Thats one more reason why i need to go back to Udiapur. I don't really like it here. Known as the pink city because the old town was painted all pink as a sign of hospitality in the 1800's when king Edward the IV visited. (i don't know my roman numerals so not sure if that is correct) The shopping is pretty average and the city's just bigger so not as easy to wander around. It just feels like more of a shit fight and my tolerance level is pretty low today so i'm going to go to the museum and art gallery instead. Its just so much more affordable buying art overseas esp cos you can barter them right down. I pretty much get them down to 50% of their asking price and if they don't accept you just walk away and come back later. I wish we could do it at home!

Travis just got his hair cut at a very local barber down the road. It was his best yet and all for 30rupees, so about $10. They guy even gave him a 5min head massage afterwards. It looked seriously good, so much so that I wouldn't mind going back for a trim this afternoon. Or maybe not...
love the chair

hard at work...

Went to a Bollywood film last night. The cinema called the Raj Mandia was big, old and beautiful and right out of the 70's. The film was a new release. An action/love story. It was all good until he proposed, pulled out a sax and did this really cheesy love song....i couldn't help but cringe...no wonder a lot of Indians are so cheesy to westerners....they think that sort of behaviour is normal!