My 6th Consulting Trip to India with Husband Pieter

On November 01, 1995 we boarded for Amsterdam, from Atlanta.

Again, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines gave us a Royal Wing upgrade to business class and we slept the entire night.

We went to hotel Ibis for some rest and a shower.

Friday, November 3, we left after a delicious Dutch breakfast (the bread we miss so much...) we went back to the airport and departed at 10:40 to Bombay (Mumbai).

Again we got an upgrade to business class! We landed at 23:30 and because we only had carry-on luggage we were quick outside and met with our person.

Saturday, November 4, around 12:00 our JetAir plane brought us to Coimbatore and we met with our Pond's man and by 18:00 we arrived at the Holiday Inn in Ooty.

November 5, As usual we started working on Sunday, and quick we both were back into that routine.

On Friday, November 10, we both were married 12 years and my youngest sister Gerd remarried that day. We had a nice dinner at the Savoy hotel in Ooty with the Pond's staff.

Both of us LOVE Indian food!
And we LOVE each other - a Blissful Relationship.

To the right is another colleague from the USA...

This truly was a candle light dinner!

Such a lovely Friday evening...
On Saturday, November 11, it was our final day at the mushroom farm.
Time moved so fast and things are headed into the right direction!

We both got a beautiful wood inlay with horse and a large brass plate with a peacock.

Treasures that are forever with us inside our home - fond memories!
On Sunday, November 12, we went via the mushroom farm to Coimbatore and flew to Bombay (Mumbai) and on to Delhi to our hotel.
Monday, November 13, we flew around 1:00 with KLM to Amsterdam and arrived on Tuesday, November 14, at 6:00 and we still enjoyed an upgrade into business class, which yielded us 6 Delft blue houses.
We did call my Parents, took a shower and after some shopping we departed for Atlanta and arrived around 13:00 back in the USA.

Thanks for your visit and comment!

Related links:
My 5th Consulting Trip to India & Visit of Taj Mahal | previous post by me
Pieter Hands Check to Rotary Club Ketti Valley, India | previous post by me
My 4th Consulting Trip to India after HUGE Landslide | previous post by me

Husband Pieter's DANGEROUS Trip back from India | previous post by me
My 3rd trip to India - Consulting Together with Husband Pieter | previous post by me
Consulting for Pond's (India) Limited Mushroom Project | previous post by me
My 2nd trip to India - Consulting Together with Husband Pieter | previous post by me
Brindavan Gardens Mysore with Luxury Heritage Hotel | previous post by me

Lalitha Mahal and Maharaja Palace Mysore | previous post by me
Chamundeshwari Temple and Chamundi Hills in Mysuru India | previous post by me
Trip from Ooty to Mysuru through Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary | previous post by me
Wearing a Saree for ONE Day and Lending my Jeans | previous post by me
Pond's (India) Limited Mushroom Project | previous post by me
My 1st Trip to India - Consulting Together with Husband Pieter | previous post by me
Husband Pieter's ADVENTUROUS 2nd Trip to India | previous post by me showing the Qutb Minar

My 5th Consulting Trip to India & Visit of Taj Mahal

On Wednesday, July 27, of 1994 we both flew again to India for consulting service together. This was Pieter's 8th trip to India meanwhile.

On KLM Royal Dutch Airlines we sat in preferred seating, the old business class.
We landed in Amsterdam on Thursday, July 28, at 8:00 and went to hotel Ibis.

On Friday, July 29, we did rise early at 5:30 and rode the Ibis bus to the airport.
Our Royal Wing card did yield us again a business seat on our way to Bombay (Mumbai).

On Saturday night, July 30, we were at our The Leela Hotel, Mumbai by 1:00 and went to bed.

By 11:00 we went back to the airport for our flight to Coimbatore. From there the usual climb up into the mountains, by car and it was beautiful and green.

We reached our guest house in Ooty by 17:30, it was rainy and windy!

This time we came prepared with a piece of thick plastic in our suitcase to cover those metal slats to keep the cold wind out.

It sure made it a lot more pleasant!

On Sunday, July 31, we went to the mushroom farm by 8:00 and were back home by 19:00. 

It was such inclement weather and here we were with compost hands, eating our sandwich near the electric heater!

On Monday, August 1, we again went together to the farm. This time I asked a favor for stitching my black leather jacket that had come loose when carrying the heavy square box with glass and sculpture gift from Pond's, inside my Samsonite bag. It would be sent to Madras (Chennai) to the leather garment factory where Pieter had purchased a lambs leather jacket for him and for my brother Martin plus a suede leather for me.

We had dinner at the home of one of the staff members.
We continued working every day and on Thursday, August 4, a special courier from Madras did bring back my meticulously stitched leather jacket! What a joy.
Friday, August 5, was our final day at work and we got again honored with a farewell ceremony in which we, as usual received each a gift. A twin gift since we both worked for them. This time it were solid silver Diyas in which the Hindus pour fragrant oil and use 5 cotton wicks to light it.
On Saturday, August 6, we did drive by car early morning with a staff member to Mysore and visited the Palace, where we have been before. Then we traveled to Bangalore and stayed at the Sheraton hotel in Bangalore.
On Sunday, August 7, we flew to Delhi, and stayed at hotel Kanishka (Ashok), sounds almost Russian...
Strange enough, there were lots of Russians staying!
We had a relaxing day.
Monday, August 8, at 4:15 I shampooed my hair, nearly cold water... By 5:30 we left with 2 beautiful sisters as our guides. They were the daughters of some of Pond's employees and we were going to Agra, some 225 km south of Delhi.

There still was no 6-lane Yamuna Expressway at the time and on the road we saw elephants with  HUGE balloons of fabric, that got filled with fresh harvested cotton. Large black camels pulling a cart and with the shaves pointed up.
Black camels are larger than the Arab camels and in the dessert state of Rajasthan, there are a lot of them.

In an article of the Daily Mail: From Delhi to Jaipur and back in a VW Polo? You'll need a blindfold for that! I did find some similar chaos to show you how that looked like.
The writer also mentions: Everyone points their vehicle/camel/elephant in the direction they wish to go, keeps a hand on the horn, and advances as fast as they can, avoiding the pedestrians, chickens, monkeys, goats and cows, who persistently cross the road kamikaze-style, despite the roaring traffic.
~
Yes, we saw goats, stray dogs that were either pregnant or nursing pups. The ever present holy cows and buffalos, adding horses and donkeys used by people as load animal.
You just did weave with your car all the way through. Those cows know that wonderfully well, they usually dream or lie in the median, a raised area between the lanes. The average speed was not high with all the roaming cattle! Occasionally on an open stretch you reached one hundred km/hr. It was pleasant to keep the windows closed and the air conditioning on in the car, thus keeping the odor of manure from all those beasts at bay. Oh yes, there were also roaming pigs, kind of wild boars, at least they looked a lot like that. Plenty of manure and to top it off,  the necessary mud from the wet monsoon! Unseen, you can not imagine what a mess and chaos there was!!!

Taj Mahal a UNESCO World Heritage site click on pink hyperlink to read more.
BUT we made it to Agra and we enjoyed the marvel of the Taj Mahal.
It is entirely built in white Indian marble, which is a lot harder than the Italian marble.
As a matter of fact it is the mausoleum of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan who had it built for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal.
She was a Persian Princess who died when giving birth to their 14th child.

It is indeed one of World's Wonders!
Beautifully situated on the banks of the Yamuna River lies the Taj Mahal.
Taj Mahal (UNESCO/NHK) video with lots of info. At the time we were there, it was prohibited to make any photos! You even had to pay for having your camera placed inside a locker...

We did purchase the book from Taj Mahal & The Glory of Mughal Agra Lall, John (Text by)
also some video we have from it, as seen from the Agra Red Fort, across the river.
On Amazon there is the same book available with different cover photo: Taj Mahal and the Glory of Mughal Agra

From the White Indian marble we purchased the above picture frame at the Taj Mahal.

Agra Red Fort see more photos via link.
This is an enormous complex of palaces.
We enjoyed our private English guide and learned a lot! Great architecture from the early 17th Century.
The road back in our Ambassador car was again an adventure. One should not be surprised to see suddenly we were moving as a ghost rider, on the wrong side of the road, because it seemed temporarily less congested there. It was a newly opened 4 lane highway divided by a concrete median. At certain spots the concrete quality seemed rather poor, so openings appeared and drivers were  too eager for switching over to drive against the traffic...
Our Guardian Angels had again a very busy day!!!
Lunch we ate at the Sheraton Hotel in Agra.
We were home before it got quite dark as we did not trust the mini lights of the Ambassador car and others and many without any lights!
On Tuesday August 9, we had a quiet morning till 11:00 when the wife of our usual Delhi guide who for 5 years always picked us up, came to take us shopping. At 14:00 we had a meeting with the General Manager from Madras, who just happened to be in Delhi. We had a good conversation with him and it helped that both of us worked for the same company.
Again we went with the same wife as guide into New Delhi, to the Lotus Temple which we this time could video tape. Also the estate from the president; Rashtrapati Bhawan (built in 1931) and the government buildings and India Gate.
We just could run to the car before a downpour!
We let her drop us off at the airport by 20:30 so nobody needed to look after us anymore...
We were early and after checkin with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines we observed something we'd never ever seen.
Russians with huge burlap bales, on which they walked and laid down...
When we asked our KLM agent, she said this was a daily drama with Ukraine Air to Kiev.
They can not even take it all home... they buy huge amounts of fabric rolls, let the Indians sew for a dollar a piece children- and teenage clothing and they stash that all in these burlap bags. In Russia they have a shortage and due to the lower wages in India they purchase it there.
How we would have loved to capture that but at Delhi airport photography or filming was prohibited.

We found in one of the stores, beautiful boxes, cut out in a kind of lacework, made from camel bone!

Never seen them before. They came from the dessert state of Rajasthan. What are those people artists!
Wednesday, August 10, we started boarding at 0:15... but when we were on the runway at 0:50 the captain stopped! The temperature indicator of one of four engines did not work.
They had to replace that and it would take 1.5 hour. We parked on an apron and the captain announced that the food had to be served meanwhile.
We had an upgrade on our Royal Wing card and got seated in the upper deck in business class.
By 8:00 the captain said we had to return to the gate... they couldn't find the problem.
We disembarked and went to the waiting room.
First they called all business class passengers + all passengers traveling to the UK.
So we were lucky since we had our upgrades!
We had to turn in our boarding passes for new ones on Air Canada for flying with them to London.
Then we had to walk to where the plane parked, for identifying our luggage on the pavement, so they could load it into the Air Canada plane.
We flew to London in 8 hours and 45 minutes, departure at 8:30 instead of 0:50...
We had left a note in Delhi for contacting our friends who would pick us up, as we parked our car with them. They got informed!
In London we got awaited by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and after we retrieved our luggage they brought us by bus to the other terminal of Heathrow Airport.
Then we had to run for passport check and straight into the KLM plane that was waiting for us.
To Amsterdam with 106 stranded passengers from Delhi.
By 17:15 we were in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
KLM did bring us to the Golden Tulip, Barbizon hotel (now Barbizon Palace) in Amsterdam.
Also a voucher for dinner and breakfast included.
Thursday, August 11, we went by shuttle back to the airport in Amsterdam and we flew with Delta to Atlanta, USA.
Plane was full and lots of smokers, so bad that the captain had to request to refrain from smoking for at least 15 minutes to refresh the air. How blessed we are now with non-smoking flights!

End of another India adventure...

Thanks for your visit and comment!

Related links:
Pieter Hands Check to Rotary Club Ketti Valley, India | previous post by me
My 4th Consulting Trip to India after HUGE Landslide | previous post by me

Husband Pieter's DANGEROUS Trip back from India | previous post by me
My 3rd trip to India - Consulting Together with Husband Pieter | previous post by me
Consulting for Pond's (India) Limited Mushroom Project | previous post by me
My 2nd trip to India - Consulting Together with Husband Pieter | previous post by me
Brindavan Gardens Mysore with Luxury Heritage Hotel | previous post by me

Lalitha Mahal and Maharaja Palace Mysore | previous post by me
Chamundeshwari Temple and Chamundi Hills in Mysuru India | previous post by me
Trip from Ooty to Mysuru through Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary | previous post by me
Wearing a Saree for ONE Day and Lending my Jeans | previous post by me
Pond's (India) Limited Mushroom Project | previous post by me
My 1st Trip to India - Consulting Together with Husband Pieter | previous post by me
Husband Pieter's ADVENTUROUS 2nd Trip to India | previous post by me showing the Qutb Minar

My 4th Consulting Trip to India after HUGE Landslide

On Wednesday, January 5, 1994, we start our consulting trip to India aboard KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and with our Royal Wing Card, we both enjoyed once again an upgrade into Business Class.
Around noon on Thursday, we landed in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and after calling my Parents, we headed to hotel Ibis for some rest and a shower. 
We departed for Bombay (Mumbai) India on Friday, around 10:30 and arrived on Saturday, January 8, by 1:00 at hotel Centaur Airport, the very same hotel Pieter stayed at during his DANGEROUS solo trip (see link below post).
We did rise early as we had a flight at 8:00 to Coimbatore.
From Coimbatore, the road by car up into the mountains and instead of the usual 2.5 hours it would take us today 3.5 hours because of a detour.
On September 30, 1993, the deadliest earthquake in Maharashtra, Mumbai, presumably caused an underground long tear, so the mountains shifted.

The Hindu Re-crowning the Queen of Hills click link for above image

From a distance we got to see this bare mountain side, it makes one skip a breath... 
Mother Nature's POWER.

Read more: Landslide Hazard Mitigation in the Nilgiris District, India

There was another 'cloud burst' on 11th November 1993 in the upper reach of Marappalam of Coonoor Taluk, about 18 huts situated below the road and washing away Coonoor MTP ghat Road for about 1.5 km. The road traffic was suspended for more than a fort night. Twelve persons lost their live and 15 persons missing. It is said that 21 passengers were washed away with two buses. An important highway, sheared stretched of rail road for about 300m.

To the right, the landslide damage is still visible...
We both have seen the rail road, the one that we traveled once to work that stretch, was sticking up  in the air like matches! See below post about My 1st Trip to India...
Like a giant hand had stripped the entire mountain side bare, removing everything in its path...

~

We did arrive finally at our guest house in Ooty, Pieter was as carsick as one can get from the longer road up into the mountains.
That was on Saturday, January 09.
This guest house's shower was a rather puritan experience!
No window, but a hole in the wall, that was only provided with metal slats, which did not close...
We had a small electric heater, to turn in any case not completely blue from cold, from shower to bedroom.
This also helped us with getting into our clothes fast; just like a couple of drilled soldiers!
Keep in mind - this is HIGH IN THE MOUNTAINS!

Lovely mountains... but rather cold and windy during the night!
On Sunday, January 10, we did drive through the mountains to the mushroom farm to start our work period together as consultants.

We always enjoyed our beautiful surroundings in the Queen of Hills

Mother nature can be rough at times but when the sun shines down, it looks awesome...

People in the mountains for sure are not wealthy...
This is how they live close to that mushroom farm.

Two donkeys on the side of the road...
Yes, India is a vast country and one of many contrasts!

Looking down on the mushroom farm, visible through the trees.

And here the mushroom farm is in full view...

Of course it is hard to capture it in one shot!
We did work intensely for one week and on Friday, January 14, we left from the farm, after a meeting with the entire staff, on our way to Coimbatore.
This time we could travel via the normal route as of 14:00 o'clock that day, they had opened a Bailey Bridge, put in place by the military, to be used for light vehicles.
There was a sign: One Vehicle at a Time but we saw another vehicle coming our way!
It looked terribly scary! In Indonesia we saw more often a land slide but never such a devastation as here!
The two of us are never afraid, but we both know for certain that there is really such a thing as a Guardian Angel!!!
A miracle often, that we once again got out unscathed.
Also good to see up close such destruction from a natural disaster!
This teaches us once more very clearly, that there is still someone who is many times more powerful than we, small measly ants on this little globe.

We arrived in Coimbatore and traveled again, like the previous consulting trip together, by train to Madras (Chennai). This stretch of some 600 km we managed in 10 hours, in a first class sleeping compartment. Two rows of bunk beds for 4 people. Both of us slept at the top.
One staff member was with us and another unknown businessman.

We arrived around 5:00 and were being dropped off at a chic Sheraton Hotel (far more luxurious in India than here in the USA!).
After a shower and change of clothes, we had our usual wrap-up meeting with the general manager from Pond's India, at their main office in Chennai.
It took quite some effort and even courage for always being straight forward, but still righteous, to give our opinion about things and people. This was required of our job, being consultants...
We always felt relieved, when starting the return journey.
With our luggage packed up again, we left around 14:30 to the airport of Madras.
Flying to Delhi, first class; thus they found us worthy of that!
We met again with our contact person whom we had not seen in two years, because of our non-stop direct flight to Bombay (Mumbai) but on Saturday, there was no Bombay/Amsterdam flight.

In completing the Royal Treatment, they brought us for one night to the Taj Palace Inter Continental Hotel...
Again, such a stark contrast with so many poor people in that country, such luxury for only two people!
We got up at 4:30 on Sunday, January 16 and started our flight back on Royal Dutch Airlines.
Again we got an upgrade to Business Class, due to our Royal Wing card and flew to Amsterdam, The Netherlands and on to Detroit, MI before going to Atlanta, GA.
Back in the USA...

Thanks for your visit and comment!

Related links:

Husband Pieter's DANGEROUS Trip back from India | previous post by me
My 3rd trip to India - Consulting Together with Husband Pieter | previous post by me
Consulting for Pond's (India) Limited Mushroom Project | previous post by me
My 2nd trip to India - Consulting Together with Husband Pieter | previous post by me
Brindavan Gardens Mysore with Luxury Heritage Hotel | previous post by me

Lalitha Mahal and Maharaja Palace Mysore | previous post by me
Chamundeshwari Temple and Chamundi Hills in Mysuru India | previous post by me
Trip from Ooty to Mysuru through Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary | previous post by me
Wearing a Saree for ONE Day and Lending my Jeans | previous post by me
Pond's (India) Limited Mushroom Project | previous post by me
My 1st Trip to India - Consulting Together with Husband Pieter | previous post by me
Husband Pieter's ADVENTUROUS 2nd Trip to India | previous post by me showing the Qutb Minar

Husband Pieter's DANGEROUS Trip back from India

Well, DANGEROUS it would be, even more than that...

On Monday, November 30 of 1992, I did drop Pieter off at the Atlanta airport for his solo flight to India, due to specific problems in which I could not consult.
So he flew on KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to Amsterdam, The Netherlands and on Tuesday he stayed at the Ibis hotel.
On Wednesday, December 01, Pieter flew non-stop to Bombay, now Mumbai, on this new flight.
He was seated in seat 9B, just behind Royal Class - our Courtesy Card always yielded good seats and often an upgrade!
Pieter also had booked the flight for Dad in March, with 10% senior discount for fl 1,074.00.
He arrived around 23:30 in Bombay and had to wait rather long before his red-white-blue banded suitcase appeared on the luggage carousel.
They did drop him off at the luxury hotel Centaur, Airport in Bombay, India.

Formerly known as Centaur Airport Hotel it is now renamed Hotel Sahara Star Mumbai, India click link.

What a luxury!
But on the way from International Airport to the hotel, Pieter did for the 1st time see Asia's most densely populated slum area...
India has such STARK CONTRASTS!

INDIA, the SLUMS of MUMBAI (BOMBAY) seen around the AIRPORT and after take-off, incredible views! Just click the link for a video...
At the time it were 2,000,000 people living in shanties on 1.5 square mile.
We all cannot realize enough how fortunate we  are for enjoying such preferential treatment in this world!
You can see more photos: Mumbai Airport Slum.
It has changed our lives forever... and we both have great difficulty each year when the Holiday Shopping Frenzy starts... All about $$$ and WANT!
And click here: Death-trap toilets: the hidden dangers of Mumbai's poorest slums.
On December 2, Pieter woke up early due to time difference and he did travel that day by plane to Coimbatore and than on by car into the mountains to Ooty.
With such a direct, non-stop flight to Mumbai, travel was a lot more relaxed!
That was Thursday...
Sunday, December 6, Pieter went very peaceful to a Catholic Church in Ooty.
But in the north of India this would turn into a Barbaric Sunday... with the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.

  Rioting also had spread to Bombay, as published in our Dutch/US bi-weekly paper The Windmill

By Thursday, December 10, the Indian Government halted ALL traffic! 

Plants and offices had to close...
They were trying to calm the whole nation down! So far hundreds of dead from the clashes between Hindus and Muslims.

Pieter got instructed to remain inside the hotel, people from Pond's India staff, came to him, walking for still getting some work done and problems solved.
It was a scary situation!

Pieter was unable to call with the USA... So he was forced to try via The Netherlands to leave a message for me with my Parents.
The female switchboard operator tried time and time again, finally she got through! Only to hear my Dad hang up on her, as he thought it was a wrong connection.
She tried again and Pieter could take over, so Dad recognized his voice and Pieter than explained him about the dangerous situation he was in.
Dad in turn called me in Dublin, Georgia/USA with the message that Pieter was stuck in the South of India and couldn't travel and that it looked rather dangerous...
Finally, Pieter managed to get through with a call to the USA and informed me that on Friday morning by 5:00 A.M. (which would be still Thursday evening here in the USA, 18:30 the staff would try to move him out to Coimbatore, even though driving a car was still prohibited! 
But he desperately needed to leave the country!
The airlines in India were all on strike and also the trains...

The evening of December 10, 1992, I had to go to a Ladies Night from Pieter's Rotary Club.

I'd handed the Rotary Club's President a note, requesting prayers for Pieter, who would be on the road at that time, trying to get out of India, somehow!

Pieter was in danger... and they sure did pray for him!

When I came home that night, I had a hard time to go to bed.

Next day on Friday, December 11, for keeping my sanity, I did drive all the way to the Atlanta Antique Show... and then I stayed up.  Read all the magazines I had to still read, writing letters and stayed up with burning eyes till 2:30 on Saturday...

Calling once again with my Parents, but they had not heard anything yet... so I went to bed exhausted.

Then Mom called at 4:15 on Saturday, December 12, to tell me that Pieter had arrived at the railway station in Horst/Sevenum, The Netherlands and Dad was on his way to pick him up.

Pieter made it out of India SAFE!

By 5:15 Pieter called me and told me his incredible story.

~

Pieter had gotten the instruction to NOT talk at all, while they were driving the 2.5 hours down to the city of Coimbatore.
The driver, a courageous staffer from Pond's, would handle all the talking!

They got stopped by military a dozen times but each time they let them go on...

Also they passed through a rather dangerous area, where quite some turmoil was going on.

So they reached Coimbatore  airport, but of course no flights and no trains either.

In such a situation it proves valuable for working under the umbrella of a big and good company such as Pond's, a subsidiary of Unilever. They have power in such a case!

Via the grape vine they learned that a high ranking military guy had to fly from Coimbatore to Bombay in a usual 2.5 hour lasting flight.

It took a lot of money for getting Pieter, together with some more stranded business people working for Unilever (from Great Britain and the US) on the same flight with that military guy!

It was a small plane and they'd bribed a pilote for flying from the military airport to Bombay.

But all was not clear yet, due to the domestic airport being completely shut down, they now needed approval for landing at the international airport!

With numerous phone calls, that got cleared as well.

When Pieter landed in Bombay, it made him instantly feel almost home because soon he would be under the wings of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and he would really be leaving!

Instead of the usual combi-jumbo for half freight/half passengers, used for this stretch, KLM had sent a full passenger plane because so many people got stranded in India during these riots.

What a grateful feeling for getting out SAFE!

The death toll had risen to 1,400...

On December 14, I could finally pick up my flying Dutchman at the Atlanta Airport!

END of a dangerous journey...

My 3rd trip to India - Consulting Together with Husband Pieter

On Saturday, February 15, 1992 we did start our 3rd trip together to India for consulting.

We did have an entire row of chairs in the plane, so we would be able to stretch out during the night flight. BUT it did not work...
 The plane was defect and we ended up up in the Sheraton hotel, after a couple of hours waiting...

On Sunday, we had the evening flight from Atlanta to Amsterdam, and we had an upgrade into business class.

On Monday we got dropped off at the Hilton hotel for the day and night...

On Tuesday February 18, we continued to Delhi and again an upgrade into business class in row 71, in the upper deck of a big Jumbo 747.

Wednesday we arrived in Delhi, and a person from Pond's India met us and brought us to the Taj Palace Hotel for a couple of hours as we both wanted to continue on to Madras with another flight with one stop in Hyderabad.

There again, we got met by people from Pond's India and they brought us to a hotel for a couple of hours till our final flight to Coimbatore with a stop in Bangalore...

We were greeted by familiar faces from the mushroom farm and after eating something at a restaurant we started our trip into the mountains and reached the hotel by 21:00, Southern Star (Quality Inn) in Ooty, Tamil Nadu State.

On Thursday, February 20, we finally arrive at the mushroom farm!

A beautiful view high in the Nilgiri Mountains!

View from above where you see the compost ricks to the left in front of the pasteurization rooms.
Sorry for the photo quality, but we had to have our photos and slides developed in Indonesia, where we lived and worked at that time...

Pieter did climb even higher for taking this one...

From above, compost ricks on the left and sheds to the right...

To the left, bottom, you can see the rail road track.

Climbing more down, a nice over view.
Yep, physical climbing we both have done a LOT while living and working in the mountains!

While Pieter descended, he could capture this nice view of all the excavation and reinforcement done at this site.

That's me, on my feet reaching the sheds for doing training.
The shoes I was wearing here, I left behind at the end of this work trip.
Pieter did the same with his shoes...
No need for cleaning them up in order to carry in the suitcase on the plane.
We saw so many people work bare footed!
BUT what we didn't know yet, was that our villa in Indonesia had been robbed and ALL my shoes were gone... I only had left what I had on my feet.
Everything else in the villa got robbed as well!

Walking and climbing...

Here Pieter gives a great view of the pre-wetting of the straw and the mixing in of more ingredients.

Women adding chicken litter to the straw... To the right you see one of the chutes.

Women with dry chicken litter...

Dry chicken litter, ready for mixing in.

Pre-wetting and mixing in ingredients...

Forming the ricks...
Then the process can start for making selective nutrients for growing mushrooms!

And this is the end result!

A very nice first break is growing here, ready for harvesting and then two more breaks will continue to grow before it is all being emptied out and started over...

Detail of the bamboo racks, their local product.

Hope you enjoyed seeing a bit more of the actual process for growing mushrooms.
Thanks for your visit and comment!

Related links:
Consulting for Pond's (India) Limited Mushroom Project | previous post by me
My 2nd trip to India - Consulting Together with Husband Pieter | previous post by me
Brindavan Gardens Mysore with Luxury Heritage Hotel | previous post by me

Lalitha Mahal and Maharaja Palace Mysore | previous post by me
Chamundeshwari Temple and Chamundi Hills in Mysuru India | previous post by me
Trip from Ooty to Mysuru through Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary | previous post by me
Wearing a Saree for ONE Day and Lending my Jeans | previous post by me
Pond's (India) Limited Mushroom Project | previous post by me
My 1st Trip to India - Consulting Together with Husband Pieter | previous post by me
Husband Pieter's ADVENTUROUS 2nd Trip to India | previous post by me showing the Qutb Minar