India update!!

While this does not pertain to many of you you still might find the following interesting. It is an email from my parents who are in India. I hope all you family and friends reading will enjoy this!
It was very nice to have Jennifer safe for her week long visit to Delhi, despite the financial havoc, infra-structure bedlam, and complete downward spiral domino impact of the US crisis on the world and Asian money markets.
Saturday (10/04) we had a very fruitful day as Jen did very well with the significant time zone differentials and got a relatively good evening sleep on this side of the world. Our driver Zile, took us around central and south Delhi to show general residential areas, landmarks, embassy row…et al. Zile served as the driver for the company and for my predecessor and his family for 10 years. He is an extremely skilled driver in what is everyday quasi-organized mayhem of Delhi traffic – Automobiles, tri wheel open air taxis, traditional taxis, motor scooters, motorcycles, bikes, pedestrians, and Asian water buffalos…etc. Saturday - we toured the family home of Indira Ghandi, the site where she was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguard during her morning garden stroll in September 1984. At the time of her death, she was still serving as Indian Prime Minister. The home was also residence to her son Rajiv, later a Prime Minister, and also assassinated by a suicide bomb in 1994, when he was out-of-office. We also looked at some residential areas, populated heavily with business ex-patriots, and embassy personnel. It is amazing in an urban sprawl of 17 million inhabitants, the vastness and lushness of the green space, forest-type reserves, and extremely well maintained parks - Absolutely beautiful parks. We later visited the Imperial Hotel in Delhi (literally around the corner from our hotel the Shangri La). The hotel can be summed up simply as The History of the British Raj. One aspect that is clearly evident in Delhi and I suspect in other locales in India as well – The tremendous wealth and opulence represented by the British in colonial times so despised by the Indian, are now carried forward in the same manner by today’s wealthy class structure. This was most evident in looking around the Imperial Hotel, and observing Indian nationals in this same environment. We finally visited some market areas. This is an entire separate note in which we can go into more detail. However, the situation which exists in India today despite their rapidly growing economy and burgeoning middle class residual wealth, is their complete lack of distribution infra-structure. As a result, their retail structure as we would know in as Americans is probably 50-60 years ago in the United States. This is especially true in the area of food retail and distribution. One would guess this will also improve significantly over time, but, the progress is expected to be slow and tedious.
Sunday (yesterday 10/05) we attended service at the Anglican Cathedral. A beautiful structure. The servicing pastor was a Brit with over 57 years of service in India. After the Anglican service, we visited an evangelical church, and the Catholic Sacred Heart Cathedral. It was interesting, all the services we attended, or looked in upon, we completely full, and completely full with Indian nationals. Pope John the Second visited Delhi and the Sacred Heart Cathedral in 1986.
Today (Monday 10/06) we looked at three (3) flats. Jennifer liked the second apartment visit, so we concluded our search shortly thereafter. I had also previously viewed this particular flat, a site under complete and total renovation. Despite the construction site environment, the flat is very nice, and will be completed in 4 -6 weeks, which will coincide well with our forecast shipment/delivery schedule for our household goods from Minnesota. The flat is located in a residential area called Jor Bagh, which is filled with older homes which have been sub-divided into 2,3, and 4 individual floor residences (as is our potential apartment). We are going to attend dinner at the hotel shortly, but, await the opening of the Dow/market. It does not look very positive if the Asian overnight markets are going to be indicative of the US domestic today.