Rising Star Outreach

Sorry we have not posted for a few days, but we have been away from internet access.  We are finally at Rising Star outreach!  Just a very quick update on what we have seen on our way here.

 On our way to Rising star we visited 2 different towns that are World Heritage Sites, and have very different historical Hindu temples.  The first of these was Mamallapuram.   This is located in a little village by the Indian Ocean.  It was damaged by a large Tsunami in 1986, but it is still fantastic.  Some of the temples that were damaged are over a mile from the ocean.

Kanjipurum

This city was very different, and is one of the 7 most sacred cities for the Hindus.  Only a couple of the temple complexes were open to foreigners.  It was really amazing how large this complex was when we got inside.  From the outside it did not seem nearly as big as it was.  This city is also a center for Sari making.  You would see people along side of the road processing raw silk and dying it for use in making fabric.  We went to a small weaving operation and saw how they hand wove the fabric they use in their Sari's.

Our Travels Continued

Riyadh

Actually things started to really break down here, and it got to the point that we just had to start laughing at things.  We were supposed to out of Gate 25, according to the information desk.  You would not know this by the monitors, they showed flight number, departure time destination, but no information about the flight.  Before we boarded I needed to speak with a gate agent and get my seat reassigned so I could sit by the family.  Well finally a gate agent shows up about 70 minutes before the plane was supposed to leave.  I went to arrange things with him, and he not only did not work for Saudi Airlines he said the flight leaving out of gate 25 was going to Lahore Pakistan.  So back back over to the information desk.  Nope, confirmed that we were leaving out of gate 25.  Went back and waited till 50 minutes before departure, they are now boarding for Lahore.  Nobody has any idea what is going on.  But, I have learned from watching that you need to be in line early.  The boarding priority in Riyadh is not by zones, First Class, business class, Medallion status, it is by who can push the hardest.  Well, to make a long story short, everyone lined up for our flight, and 10 minutes before departure one guy walks up to us and says they have changed the gate, and the mad dash for the airplane began.

Landing

The flight was not nearly as pleasant as the one from London, as it was chaotic the entire flight.  The landing best depicts this.  All was going well, we were on final approach, but there were still a few people still standing up!   Then the second the wheels hit the ground, everyone and I mean everyone unbuckled and popped open the overhead bins in a mad rush for their bags.  It is no exaggeration that every single overhead bin was open, and everyone but us was standing in the aisles before the plane left the runway.

Delhi

We came into the international terminal at Delhi, and then had to transfer to the domestic terminal.  This took about an hour.  The mass of people was unbelievable, no place to sit, and just pushing and shoving.  Very different experience for everyone.  The boarding process to Chennai was very similar to Riyadh.  In that they had a gate listed for us everyone lined up for the flight to board at 4:00.  At 4:10 they started to board for Another city at our gate. So we had people trying to board 2 flights stacked up at the same gate.  Finally, one guy quietly said oh....I am going to change your gate.  Even the Indians were pissed!  The Indian guy behind be threatened to kick the gate agents A$$ because he would not announce the gate change over the PA system.  We then boarded busses for the 15 minute ride to the Airplane.  Take a look at the attached picture taken from the door of the airplane.  You can see our shuttle bus, and the terminal where we left from.  A distance of maybe 100 FEET!  Same exact thing happened on landing.

Chennai

Finally we are in Chennai.  Fortunately the drivers from the Courtyard Marriott were there to meet us in 2 nice vans.  The ride in from the airport was very comfortable and enjoyable.  Traffic was insane, glad I chose not to drive here.  When we got to the hotel, it has a guarded gate.  The Hotel van had to stop, and the security guards checked the van for bombs.  Then we pulled up to the front of the hotel, and every bag, and parcel we owned was sent through an Xray machine, then we were personally hand wanted to check for metal.  Umm.... we are not in Kansas any more folks!

Enroute

Riyadh Saudi Arabia

If this seems disjointed, it is because it is 2:00 A.M. and we are sitting in the Riyadh Saudi Arabia airport.  We got in about 12:30 and they parked the airplane way out in the back 40.  We took about a 15 minute bus ride just to get to the terminal.  Then as we were transit passengers we had to stand in a line and go through security again just to get to the departure terminal.  We had to wait in that line about 20 minutes before anyone showed up to actually allow us to go through security.  We all just flew through security except for Cindy.  Every woman had to go back into a special room and have a thorough pat-down.

SkyTeam

Saudi Arabian Airlines who we are flying is a new Delta partner, and it shows.  They have a Skyteam lounge here in Riyadh, and as we have done every where else on our trip went to the lounge to while away our time while waiting 5 hours for our flight.  The man at the desk was APPALLED I was trying to bring other people in with me.  I explained that I do this regularly, and in fact the gate agent for Saudi  Airlines in London made a special point of ensuring we had access to their lounge in London.  He all but threw me out of the lounge making big gestures with his arms and angrily telling me to leave, because I was a LIAR.  Not the most welcoming people here, glad we are not staying!  Other than that the workers at the food stands etc. have been very nice.

The Flight

The actual flight here from London was quite pleasant, and I have nothing but good things to say about the airline, and the service.  Makenzie had a very rude awakening at the end of the flight.  She had been asleep, for a few hours during the latter part of the flight.  After we had landed and we stood up, all of these women who had been just wearing their casual clothes were now in their black burkhas and had their faces covered.  At first Makenzie thought they were Karate Ninjas.  When she noticed it was just women, she was very opinionated as to what she thought of it.  Well only 3 more hours till our flight leaves for Delhi.  Once we reach Delhi, we will have a 4 hour layover then we are on our way to Chennai.  Sorry no pictures from here.

Day 3 London

SICK

This morning Mckay was very very sick.  He just has a bad cold, but was really under the weather.  We decided that I would stay home with him for the day.  Other than taking 2 long showers to clear this throat, he stayed in bed all day long.  Cindy and the Kids took the Tube and went to downtown.

Kings Cross Station

Their first destination was Kings Cross Station!  The goal here was to see where Harry Potter boards the Hogwarts Express.  They were able to get their pictures taken while pushing their trolleys through the brick wall at Kings Cross.

Tower of London

This was a great time for all of the kids.  Of course Makenzie's favorite part was seeing the Crown Jewels.  As much as she always tells us she is not a girly girl and a tomboy, jewelry is her favorite thing in the world.  Makenzie also thought the guards being all serious and marching back and forth was hilarious.

The Rest of the day

After the Tower of London, they kids were hungry and wanted lunch.  They ended up getting Ice Cream and French Fries.  Any of you who know Cindy and her penchant for healthy eating will know that this is a BIG DEAL.  You can see the kids loved it!  Then it was off to see Westminster Cathedral, and more of downtown London.  Went by Big Ben, the Tower Bridge, Trafalga square and many many more places before getting back on teh Tube and coming back to the hotel.  We decided to go out to dinner at an Indian restaurant just across the street.  The kids devoured the food, either they were very hungry or they just love Indian food. Okay, Iam having some difficulty with my pictures, and getting them formatted correctly.  Hopefully I will get it figured out tomorrow.

Our Long Day

So, tomorrow is going to be our longest day.  We are finally on our way to India, and will be traveling for 36 hours.  Pray that we will survive it!  We are first headed to Riyad Saudi Arabia, and have a 10 hour layover there, then on to Delhi india, and a 4 hour layover, then we catch a plane to Chennai where we will finally catch some sleep!!!  It may be a while before you hear from us again.

Love the Pierces

Day 2 London (Updated)

Getting There 

We left New York at 6:30 P.M. last night, and arrived in London at 6:30 A.M. this morning (11:30 P.M. SLC time).  We went directly to the hotel, which was near the airport and checked in.  The hotel is a very nice DoubleTree and we have adjoining rooms which works great.  They were fantastic about getting us into the rooms right when we arrived.  We took the opportunity to take about a 3 hour nap to start the day off right!  Note to self (taking red-eye flights 2 nights in a row is not recommended).

After our nap we left the hotel and took a cab into the downtown.  Today is Boxing Day in the UK, so everyone is on vacation.  Additionally, the Subway workers chose to strike today so we were not able to take the TUBE into downtown.  So...we had the front desk call a cab to take us into downtown.  Because the subway workers had gone on strike the Cab services had to double their prices to make up for it.  Oh well, what do you do?

Trafalgar Square

This was our first destination, and first thing we did was get lunch.  We went to a little pub, and Keaton and I had to get Fish and Chips, and Cindy got Beef pot pie. The other kids were not so adventurous.  McKay did not really eat anything as he is sick and not feeling well at all.

The Red Bus

We took one of the tourist buses around town the remainder of the day.  It basically drives around to anyplace that you would want to see, and you can get on and off at your leisure.  Today we just stayed on the bus without getting off to see anything as McKay was just not up to it.

Tonight we came home to the hotel and nobody felt like going out to eat.  I just ran across the road and got some fried chicken and fruit.  The best Lychees I have ever had, and some mandarin oranges.  Don't have time to download pictures today, but hopefully tomorrow.

Fire!!!

6:00 A.M. the fire alarm went off in the Hotel, and they evacuated everyone.  we were outside in the cold drizzle for about 30 minutes before they allowed us back inside.  We slept for another 3 hours.  Just got done with breakfast and it is pouring rain.  We are deciding what to do today as Mckay is still really sick.  Most likely I will stay here with him while Cindy takes the rest of the kids to the tower of London.

Our Journey Day 1

We left Salt lake last night at 11:50.  Our good friend Michael Porter drove us through snow and bad roads to drop us off at the airport.  We actually left early and arrived in New York this morning at 5:45. We had a delay for a while as we waited for the luggage storage facility to open up, then we were off!

Max Brenners for breakfast!!  

If you have never been this is a Chocolate Restaurant.  Basically they serve chocolate with everything.  They even give you a nice dish of melted chocolate just in case you have not got enough in the regular course of eating.  It was a great meal, but not something I could do very often.  I ordered the Italian Thick Hot Chocolate.  It seemed like they just melted down chocolate bars and served it.

Battery Park

We then took the subway down to Battery Park to get a look at the Statue of Liberty.  There are some really nice pieces of landscape art that Cindy just loved!

Central Park

What would a trip to New York be without going to Central Park.  This is obviously one of Cindys favorite places in the world as it is the birthplace of modern Landscape Architecture.  The kids had a great time playing on the rocks and just running around.  We are now getting ready to get on another overnight flight, here is to hoping I learn how to sleep on airplanes very quickly!!  Otherwise I will be going on 3 days without sleep. I will post more when I get a minute.

Are we really doing this?

Travel

We leave for India one week from today!  The reality of this is finally starting to set-in to me.  Yesterday I was going through our itinerary and decided to add up just how much time we would be traveling.  My calculation was based on both time in the air, and layovers where we are sitting in the airport waiting between legs of our flights, I came up with 86 hours not counting the inevitable delays.  To put it in perspective that is 10.75 WORK DAYS.  This does not count the time getting to the airport and waiting around at the beginning of each leg of our journey.  

Makenzie

Anyone who has met my beautiful daughter Makenzie realizes that this is a BIG problem.  First of all, she us physically unable to stop talking for more than 30 seconds, this will be a big hindrance when trying to sleep on our multiple red-eye flights.  Secondly, she is the most active individual I have ever met!  It is impossible for her to sit still for 5 minutes, no less days on end.  I remember a trip to Hawaii several years ago, we had left Los Angeles about 30 minutes earlier and she declared she was DONE.  Sorry dad I can't take it any more, I am getting off!  I explained to her very kindly that we were over the ocean and there was no place to go.  Even after looking out the window and seeing nothing but water as far as the eye could see, she was still determined to GET OFF of the airplane.  

Packing

One of the things that we are required to take with us is a list of food.  Some of this is for the volunteers who work in the Leper colony, and some of it is for us to eat at lunch time while we are out where the lepers live.  So... one of our large pieces of checked luggage is filled with nothing but food.  The next issue that we ran into is that Indian airlines only allow VERY small carry on bags 21 X 9 inches.  Picture the size bag you could carry on to a Skywest commuter jet.  This really limits what we can carry with us, and not worry about it being lost.  We have just decided that with all of the many many different flights and connections we are going to have, our luggage is sure to get lost.  The other issue we have is that in New York, London and Seoul it is going to be bitter winter weather.  While in southern India we expect it to be in the low 90's during the day.  So, in a 1/2 sized carry on we all need to pack enough clothes for 21 days, and clothing for both summer and winter......umm Piece of cake.

Medications

It is a real concern of mine that somewhere along the way our family is going to be arrested as drug traffickers!  Let me explain, in addition to the shots and pills that we had to take for Typhoid, and the pills that we have to take while we are in India and every day for a month afterward for Malaria the doctor prescribed the following.  A VERY strong Anti Biotic, just in case someone gets REAL sick, prescription Medicine to stop severe diarrhea, Sleeping pills for the red eye flight, 2 Epi pens for Makenzie (she is horrbly allergic to Cashews), and Indians cook with tons of them, Pepto Bismol, Immodium, and I am sure a bunch of other stuff.  So it looks like one suitcase just for drugs.

FUN

Despite all of the hassles getting ready for this adventure, and concerns over getting sick while we are there the excitement is really starting to build.  The kids truly are excited about this adventure, and have accepted without questioning that they are going to be getting NO presents for Christmas.  Frankly the hardest part of this has been convincing the grandparents that really we did NOT want them to give the kids anything for Christmas.  Let's hope and pray this all works out as planned. (Actually I have no worries as Cindy is a great planner and never lets anything slip through the cracks).  Now if I "forget something" things could get ugly:)