Hotel Priyadarshini Hospet

... and retailers say, enjoying record sales as their appeal has grown on the back of the recession. Further, results posted by major brewers in the last quarter show the global beer market is riding out the tail-end of the financial crisis well with global beer consumption set to rise by 3.5% by 2015.

While the traditional premium markets such as Europe and the US continue to be stable, volume sales are increasing in developing ...

... after school and they even went to Golf with him.

They had a great day and I am proud of all of the kids – of Niko and Sonia for taking them under their wings and sharing their school and friends with them and of Sejal and Rahul for going outside of their comfort zone, trying something new, and being brave to do it and do it with a smile.

While the kids were in school, we ran ...

The first thing you notice about Bangalore is how green it is. As we were landing, it was lush with open spaces and you did not feel crowded in like we did in Mumbai and Hyderabad. The next thing you notice is the weather – it is mild and reminds me of Portland. We did not need the AC every second and the evenings had a nice breeze.

Today, Nita arranged for us to go to Family ...

... is 7 months younger than Sejal, and Sonia is 6. They get along great together, and we saw them this summer when Nita and the kids visited us in Portland.

In the evening, the kids stayed back with the cook and the 4 of us went out. We went to downtown Bangalore to a place called Aqua for drinks and dinner. Got home around 1:45am. Vijay’s friends from college joined us. It is cool that he has friends from school that he grew up with that he still is close to.

... br>While no one was killed, the airlines has initiated an inquiry and suspended both pilots pending it's outcome.

I thought to myself, I hope the inquiry takes over three weeks as I have two flights scheduled on Jet coming up. I hope the check pilot is still suspended when we fly that airline later this month.

We landed Bangalore, switched planes, and flew on to in one Hot and Humid Cochin later that afternoon. Next post is from there.

... ghats and pavilions! It was like a scene from Olympus and quite, quite unique.

I arrived into this really tiny little village centre of Hampi Bazaar, with one narrow street and some tiny local shops alongside. There were no garish tourist areas and with it being out of season, was very laid back and quiet. At one end of the street stood the commanding Virupaksha Temple, standing with an incredibly high gopuram, and a few other shops, guesthouses and stalls. Very ...

... explained the usual practices that take place on set for extras. We were taken to Goregaton (part of the Film City area of Mumbai), to Future Studios. We were taken thro’ a very posh Dallas-style home set, with winding staircases, elaborate lounge, big office, huge modern kitchen, grand dining room, upstairs hallway and bedroom. Although they were obviously sets, it was all set out like a proper home and all the embellishments were quite real and good quality items. The ...

... plopped down in the middle of it all. Fort Cochin, like all of Cochin, is heavily influenced by the Portuguese who ruled the area for several hundred years. The architecture is nothing like the rest of India and it's great to just walk around and check out the different buildings. The food is also quite different since they use a lot of coconut and bananas in their meals, yum! Overall Cochin is an adorable place to just take it easy and walk around. One of the ...

... to a people who looted and destroyed its former glory. Many of the ruins date back to the 13th century.  The architecture is a combination of Islamic, Jain, Hindu showing that artisans traveled around to ply their talents freely at that time.  Travelers from Europe in the early 1500s stated that it was a city greater than Paris, Rome or any other in Europe.  The ruins are spectacular even today.  BUT the setting is what really makes this place truly amazing.  Set in a ...

... We started to put our shoes on about 4.30am - made an early morning dash to the toilet - which due to my blocked nose I couldn't smell, but Kaye said smelled just as bad as all the others. We then pulled our suitcases from under the bed and got ready. We decided to go to the door to wait and just as we got up to move the suitcases to the end of the carriage - the train stopped at a station. There was a made scramble down to the end of the ...