Staying connected

Mobile phone technology has transformed India. Enterprise thrives thanks to it. Ollie's down in the south of Kerala this week, following a group of fishermen whose business has improved by using mobile phones to help them get better prices at the markets. (He has just texted me from Cape Comorin, the southern tip of India, where the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal meet.)

Mobiles have also impacted the serenity of the backwaters - the lady in the orange sari above was chatting away on her phone. (Actually, although when we were further into the backwaters we could just hear birds singing and local kids splashing in the water, for for the first 45 mins the Muslim Call to Prayer from the local mosque and then Hindi music from a temple festival were blarring out on loudspeakers! Photos of India hide the sounds and smells, some of which are good, many of which are not).

My author love

Seven years ago today I married Oliver Balch. We're not together today (Ollie just flew from Bombay to Bangalore) but don't read an itch into that.

I haven't found India an easy experience, but I don't regret being here for one second. I love that Ollie takes me on these adventures, and for all the difficult days in Cochin we're having a very special family time which we'll remember fondly, always.

Seth's photos of Ol and me are mostly smudgy from his finger prints on the lens or just capture our tummies, both of which have gone a bit flabby and certainly won't be featured on this blog. So here's one from Ollie's Viva South America! event at The Travel Bookshop in January, which was our last date (and that was with about 30 other people). Aaah, for Argentina and babysitting on tap.