We set off early yesterday morning. Our goal was to go to Bangalore to pick up a puppy, a golden Lab for Daughter no.1. There was great excitement. So, all went well on the way up to Bangalore. We stopped off at a McDonalds as there is nothing like that in Kollegal and everyone had a chicken burger... no beef here remember. I must say that I have never been a huge Mcdees fan but I am now enjoying a spice free burger when I can. It is a nice change for the taste buds.
We arrived in Bangalore to R and L place and they had lunch ready for us all. I ate far too much and am still regretting it now. When pregnant, the gut just lets the food sit and sit and repeat and repeat on you. Anyway..... after lunch we headed off to get this puppy. It was hot and we were all sweating and the car that we have been lent to drive is in somewhat of an antique status but we are so glad to have some transport. We took one wrong turn which wasn't too bad considering we are in a huge city with no street names and you travel by land marks.
We had also bought an Austrian girl and German lady up with us from Kollegal and the Austrian girl was going to be staying on in Bangalore for a while and going to help out at a place called Home of hope I have been inspired by this video and would love to go and visit some time. This is real mercy in action. The reason I am telling this now is that where we picked up the puppy from was on the same street as Home of Hope. It was great to see where it is. It is a home for the destitute and those that no one wants, just amazing. So after traveling on past there we came to a place called accept. This is where we were picking up the puppy. It turns out that it is a hospice and hospital and home for people with HIV. Oh man, these are all things I would love to help with. Again, love in action.
We were then taken to see the puppies, so so cute. D1 picked her one and we went to pay. It turns out that the payment goes as a donation to the Home. So it's nice to be getting something that is wanted and being able to give to a great cause. So after much Ooooing and Ahhhing, we set off with one puppy in tow, back to pick up our German lady again and make a couple more stops so that we will be on the road back to Kollegal by about 4pm. But.... David started to notice a problem with the clutch and it got worse and worse until it was hard to get out of gear and with not so good brakes this is not a great look. By the time we got back to R & L it was not doing well at all. We had a mechanic come and look and of course it worked perfectly for him and he said there was nothing wrong and that maybe it had just over heated. So we headed off for another 10km but the clutch was getting really bad again. We stopped at B & V place and had a drink and it was about 6pm by now. Then we decided that if we could get out of the city then at least we would not need to change gears so much and maybe we could get home. This was not meant to be. We all piled in the car only to find it would not engage into gear at all now. So out we get again, back to B & V and call another mechanic who came and started to get to work on the car. It looked like we would need to spend the night in Bangalore with B & V. This meant all of us (8) plus our German lady and a puppy with it's first night away from it's mum and B & V in a two bedroom flat. I was feeling quite sick at this stage from the heat, travel and eating too much so I started making visits to the loo to vomit. David went out with B to get some dinner for everyone and managed to have an wee accident on the way but they were ok. B had had an accident in the morning as well in his brothers car, it was not looking like a good automobile day.
By about 9:15pm the guys arrived back with dinner. I can't say I ate anything though. Then by 9:45pm the car was fixed and it was time to head off. Poor DC, he had traveled all day in this very hard to drive car, in the heat and now we were heading off for another 3.5hr trip in the dark. At least now the clutch was in good order. A few of the the kids were crying at this stage due to tiredness and trying to find space to lie down but the puppy was fantastic the whole trip.
It's amazing how much traffic there can be at 10pm in Bangalore and it took us a while to get out and on the open road but once we did id was better..... for a while. Then we saw the lightening and the wind came up and then the rain. There were two issues with this. 1. The wiper blades looked like they were made for a toy car and 2. We were missing a back window that had fallen in on our last journey :)
It made for an interesting trip back but we made it and I was pleased to be back home again, kids in bed, puppy to sleep and us to bed. I am still feeling bit sick this morning. I think travel and pregnancy don't mix well with me.
So all I can say is thanks God for getting us back in one piece and please.... a car would be nice :)
We arrived in Bangalore to R and L place and they had lunch ready for us all. I ate far too much and am still regretting it now. When pregnant, the gut just lets the food sit and sit and repeat and repeat on you. Anyway..... after lunch we headed off to get this puppy. It was hot and we were all sweating and the car that we have been lent to drive is in somewhat of an antique status but we are so glad to have some transport. We took one wrong turn which wasn't too bad considering we are in a huge city with no street names and you travel by land marks.
We had also bought an Austrian girl and German lady up with us from Kollegal and the Austrian girl was going to be staying on in Bangalore for a while and going to help out at a place called Home of hope I have been inspired by this video and would love to go and visit some time. This is real mercy in action. The reason I am telling this now is that where we picked up the puppy from was on the same street as Home of Hope. It was great to see where it is. It is a home for the destitute and those that no one wants, just amazing. So after traveling on past there we came to a place called accept. This is where we were picking up the puppy. It turns out that it is a hospice and hospital and home for people with HIV. Oh man, these are all things I would love to help with. Again, love in action.
We were then taken to see the puppies, so so cute. D1 picked her one and we went to pay. It turns out that the payment goes as a donation to the Home. So it's nice to be getting something that is wanted and being able to give to a great cause. So after much Ooooing and Ahhhing, we set off with one puppy in tow, back to pick up our German lady again and make a couple more stops so that we will be on the road back to Kollegal by about 4pm. But.... David started to notice a problem with the clutch and it got worse and worse until it was hard to get out of gear and with not so good brakes this is not a great look. By the time we got back to R & L it was not doing well at all. We had a mechanic come and look and of course it worked perfectly for him and he said there was nothing wrong and that maybe it had just over heated. So we headed off for another 10km but the clutch was getting really bad again. We stopped at B & V place and had a drink and it was about 6pm by now. Then we decided that if we could get out of the city then at least we would not need to change gears so much and maybe we could get home. This was not meant to be. We all piled in the car only to find it would not engage into gear at all now. So out we get again, back to B & V and call another mechanic who came and started to get to work on the car. It looked like we would need to spend the night in Bangalore with B & V. This meant all of us (8) plus our German lady and a puppy with it's first night away from it's mum and B & V in a two bedroom flat. I was feeling quite sick at this stage from the heat, travel and eating too much so I started making visits to the loo to vomit. David went out with B to get some dinner for everyone and managed to have an wee accident on the way but they were ok. B had had an accident in the morning as well in his brothers car, it was not looking like a good automobile day.
By about 9:15pm the guys arrived back with dinner. I can't say I ate anything though. Then by 9:45pm the car was fixed and it was time to head off. Poor DC, he had traveled all day in this very hard to drive car, in the heat and now we were heading off for another 3.5hr trip in the dark. At least now the clutch was in good order. A few of the the kids were crying at this stage due to tiredness and trying to find space to lie down but the puppy was fantastic the whole trip.
It's amazing how much traffic there can be at 10pm in Bangalore and it took us a while to get out and on the open road but once we did id was better..... for a while. Then we saw the lightening and the wind came up and then the rain. There were two issues with this. 1. The wiper blades looked like they were made for a toy car and 2. We were missing a back window that had fallen in on our last journey :)
It made for an interesting trip back but we made it and I was pleased to be back home again, kids in bed, puppy to sleep and us to bed. I am still feeling bit sick this morning. I think travel and pregnancy don't mix well with me.
So all I can say is thanks God for getting us back in one piece and please.... a car would be nice :)
Flip Jodi. What. A. Day.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get a really good rest to recover.
Well, it was a tad tiresome, but think of the benefits: you can toot your horn as often and as long as you like! No seat belts! No boredom with a long lonely drive. A lightning display. It's not all negative is it. Dad.
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