Two days have passed and I'm settling into the job. They finally got me sorted out so I could read my email but only via the web page. There were nearly 400 discussion group messages to wade through to find the dozen other messages.

I've continued going to the gym at 7am, doing 30 minutes on the crosstrainer and now 10 on the treadmill. Don't seem to be losing weight, must be all that eating. Still my fitness should be maintained.

Yesterday I left work a bit earlier and was back at the hotel before 6. Unfortunately, Lotte didn't get back from her job till late so in the end I went to the mall on my own. The hotel provides a driver, who takes you there, waits and then brings you back. Not cheap for the 1 hour I had left before closing. Again the traffic was terrible so it took 15 or so minutes to go the 5 kms from the hotel. I did get another pair of light cotton pants but I am having no luck with shorts, shirts or even caps for the hockey team. The malls seem to be stocked with "brand name" items - Addidas, Reebok, Nike etc whereas I'm really looking for unbranded stuff. Maybe I need to venture into the back alleys.

I saw my first elephant today, travelling along the main road while I was working out. Also an overflowing bus, the cliche of public transport here. Last night I also saw my first beggars, not nearly such a good thing.

Some general observations: People - there are just so many of them. Every door or gate has at least 1 guard, drivers sit around all day waiting to drive somebody somewhere, an over supply of waiters, bar staff etc in the hotel compared to back in Australia. You tend to feel, on the one hand, that you are exploiting them by having so many "servants", even if only on a temporary basis but on the other hand, you know your exorbitant room rates and their low wages come together to provide all those jobs.

Traffic: this is horrific but suprisingly, there are few accidents, or at least none that I've seen. Cars, bikes, trishaws, buses, trucks and pedestrians all push themselves forward into any available space. I'm not sure who actually has right of way but it seems the one who dares wins. Lane markings are completely ignore and no-one seems to worry about driving the wrong way on the side of the road. Bikes especially, but I saw a couple of 4WDs doing it this morning. People turn left from the middle of roundabouts, do U turns into on coming traffic to force people to let them through and intersections seem to be Russian roulette. Most of the main roads have very definite median strips, with fences or concrete walls to prevent U turns except at specific places.

Roads: These seem to be laid out on a tree pattern rather than a grid. Reminds me of Surrey where we lived in England, in as much as there was usually only one way to get from place A to place B. In Perth and other Australian cities, you can usually choose several alternative paths. The main roads have side roads leading into Estates but these are not connected to each other and seem to have only 1 entrance. Of course I've only seen a small part of the city so it may be atypical. This just means if the road you are on is busy, you're stuck there because there's no other way to go. It's about 8km from hotel to office but usually takes 15 minutes or more.

Food: The hotel has a buffet every meal and the work canteen also has a buffet. There are 8 or so choices for lunch and more at the hotel. They also seem to change everyday. From what I know of Indian cooking, more from the hearing than doing, to do it properly takes a lot of ingredients and time. I guess this is another reflection of the cheap labour costs. I'm trying most things and rather like Indian food. I expect the cravings for meat and 2 veg might kick in before the fortnight's up.

Weather: It has been hot and muggy ever since I've been here. Nearly 40 deg yesterday with 67% humudity. The monsoons are predicted to arrive in a couple of days and we had some rain for a short spell this afternoon. Not quite the torrential downpour that we are seeing on the TV in Mumbai. Supposedly this will cause a big temperature drop.

Power: There are dozens of blackouts every day. Mostly they last less than 5 seconds and then everything comes back on again. So far I haven't been in the lift during one but was in the gym and all the workout machines went off. In the office they must have UPS's since the computers stay on, even though the lights go off.

There was a birthday celebration a short time ago - pastries and softdrink for the office. Time to head home.