It's official - my Indian adventure is coming to a premature end. I knew our trip to Nagpur last week was in vain when the client's main man didn't turn up to the meeting, despite an earlier assurance he'd be there. We tried to explain the meaning of "Bullshit" and "Lying Bastard" to his minions - all they wanted to do was take us for lunch. But as they say naan bread doesn't pay the bills, and when they told us the project was going to be delayed a further 12 months we knew it was time to find the bar, listen to some shankar, and plan our exit from the country.
A couple of quick words on Nagpur. Less pollution than Kolkata or Delhi, and the streets even seemed a bit wider and less crowded. Quite cool this time of year. The hotel was shite, but the Kingfisher was a reasonable price and the plane left on time, so can't complain too much. Some photos below.
The last 6 months have been 3 very different experiences. My first few months were characterised by culture shock, high heat and humidity & plenty of partying at the ITC. The next 3 months with Jacki was the absolute highlight, as we got past the shock (Jacki in a record time of about 7 hours) and experienced everything Kolkata had to offer, as well as the huge achievement of moving into a house. The last phase has been surreal - a desperate attempt to keep the business intact, followed by begrudging acceptance of a situation beyond our control, and now the de-mob which will have it's own challenges.
We weren't fully told of these project risks before we signed up here, and while I'm a tad pissed off at that, I have no regrets. I didn't get to the Taj Mahal, but every tourist gets to do that. Not every tourist gets to drive in an armed convoy through Maoist territory in Jharkhand.
So where to now? A large project in Brisbane appears to have won the auction for my services - according to my boss - but I'll wait until I see the fibre of their fabric before making any commitment. In the meantime we have a wedding this weekend - we are planning a 2 day "farewell India" road trip to get there and back - should be good for some photos!
Health check. More weights at the gym this morning, and have already noticeably improved strength as I have had to increase the weight on most exercises to ensure the last few reps are a struggle. Weighed 97kg which is a bit frustrating, but I'm hoping it's a case of muscle being heavier than fat. Or it could be because I went to Schnappsy's house last night to watch the NFL with half the American consulate and got stuck into the kung-pow chicken.
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