Fingers of Love

On our way back to Holland Martijn and I decided to try to catch an earlier ferry to France. Unfortunately, to take the one we wanted we had to pay a bit too much so we took the following one that was free. We thus had some time to kill in Dover and drove up the White Cliffs for some beautiful views.

English family reunion

As my mother is an only child our English family is not that extensive. This year we spent an evening with some of them. Quite a few I hadn't seen for a very, very long time! It was also a chance for Nana to see her cousin Pam again as well as her children.

Boxing Day

As on Boxing Days past we spent the afternoon and evening at family friends. A real English Christmas for us would not be the same without it! Besides the food, wine and some more presents this year saw the introduction of the Nintendo WII and the family engaging in some heated virtual tennis matches!

Traditional Christmas

For most of our lives we have celebrated Christmas in Bristol with our Nana. This year was the first time in many years that the whole family was back together for the traditional English Yuletide celebrations with delicious turkey & cranberry, roast potatoes and stuffing. Of course the crackers and paper crowns could not be left out either! Above my Nana, sister Melissa and her son Luca.

The White Cliffs of Dover

Since the opening of the Chunnel we have used it to get from France to England. This time, however, it turned out cheaper to go by ferry. It's just a 90 minute boat ride to the White Cliffs. Whilst waiting for the departure we had plenty of time to make touristic photos of our resident Chilean, my brother-in-law Cristian.

Back to Blighty

Today the long journey to England begins. First an eight hour flight to Amsterdam, a quick dash home for a shower and then by car to Bristol. I'll be travelling with my sister Daisy and my two brothers-in-law Martijn and Cristian. A traditional road trip!

No Trini weekend

My friend Cati from Trinidad, who I haven't seen in three years, planned to come to Paramaribo this weekend. It had taken some doing to get the weekend off work (she works for an engineering company and does a lot of work on offshore platforms), but the idea was to arrive tonight and go back on Sunday night. Unfortunately Cati arrived back on land later than expected and consequently arrived at the airport a bit later, albeit on time to check in.....Or so she thought. Despite being at Piarco Airport an hour before take-off, she was not allowed to board eventhough she only had hand luggage.

Aruban delegation in India

The visit of the Aruban Prime Minister that we helped initiate is taking place in Delhi and Bombay. The first articles have appeared in the Indian media. Newspapers such as Economic Times, the largest business newspaper in India, and the web based news sites have carried stories about the visit and what Aruba has to offer Indian businesses.

Aruba offers Indian cos easier access to US, EU

(PTI 10/12/2007) NEW DELHI - Aruba, an island in the Caribbean sea with access to the European Union and US markets, today said it could act as a logistics centre for Indian companies looking to tap those regions.

"We want to make Aruba a logistics centre for the Indian companies. We have the necessary infrastructure and an agreement for duty free movement of goods to the US and the EU markets," Aruba's Prime Minister Nelson Oduber told reporters here.

Citing an example, he said Aruba imports sugar and ethanol from Brazil, adds value to the products and moves them duty free to the US and the EU.

"We are in contact with many Indian companies from the sectors of infrastructure, energy, pharmaceutical, information technology and aviation," he revealed but refused to divulge their names.

Oduber said he would meet businessmen from the aviation industry tomorrow in Mumbai.

The Prime Minister invited corporate India to set up shop in the country's upcoming Free Zone. "If you register in the Free Zone, you would be liable to pay only two per cent tax on profits and zero import duty," he said.

Also, the country is expected to float an open tender next year for exploring its natural resources such as oil and gas, in which it is expecting the Indian industry to participate.

Swimming competition

Today Satish's daughters (Kiran, Sajni and Shivani) had a swimming match. Held in one of Paramaribo's country clubs, Oase, all the swimming clubs came together to compete against each other. Supported by mums and dads, and the odd Anglo-Dutchman, the kids took to the water. It was a long event though. it started at 16.00 and ended after 21.00! Unfortunately the three ladies did not win any of their heats and did not return home with a medal. Their times, however, were above average so there were smiles all round on the way home.

Telco war

The mobile telecom war has started in Suriname. The incumbent Telesur, operating under the brand name TeleG, has been confronted by the marketing might of Digicel, the Caribbean's largest and fastest growing mobile provider. The general public has a love-hate relationship with the former monopolist with many complaining about the bad service and high prices. Now that Digicel has entered the market, Surinamis are flocking to the shops to get new sim cards and phone. With entry level pre-paid packages including a phone starting at SRD 70 ($25) who can be surprised. Telesur is trying to improve their image by playing the nationalistic card and claiming they are number 1, but that is not catching on, despite the lower per minute prices they offer. People are so fed up with Telesur that they do not compare prices. Later this month the war will intensify when the third provider, Uniqa, launches. They have been advertising that they will offer more minutes for the same money. Uniqa will probably also offer cheaper calling rates to Holland and the Antilles, which for many will be an interesting proposition.

Sinterklaas in Suriname

Sinterklaas, the Dutch version of Santa, has had a turbulent history in the former colony. When Desi Bouterse ruled the country during the military dictatorship in the early eighties, the celebration was practically outlawed as being a colonialist festival. Nonetheless, Sinterklaas and his Black Peters still come to Suriname to bring children presents albeit that December 5 is not an official holiday. Not everybody is happy with the festival though. A white Sinterklaas with black Peters is viewed by some as racist. The kids, however, don't seem to mind and just look forward to their presents and sweets.

Rainy season

The rainy season seems to have started, although not with the usual gusto of years past. Whereas it was generally the case that it rains all day, causing flash floods and general traffic disorder, rain now appears to come in measured doses. The sky does remain cloudy though, giving me that Dutch autumn and winter feeling when I look out of the window in a heavily air conditioned room!