The Two Quarries

Bhandgaon Quarry, IJM Pune-Solapur Project

OK, here’re some photos of our Project’s quarries. We have 2 quarries in our Project, one at Bhandgaon (km47) and one at Girim (km69). Both are bloody troublesome quarries, surrounded by blood, ...or more like money-thirsty neighbours, all out for a share of the ‘profits’. No wonder we are losing money...


Aggregate stockpile, Bhandgaon Quarry


Aggregates in a field of wheat, Bhandgaon


Security outpost, top of aggregate stockpile, Bhandgaon – easy way to commit suicide, just jump onto the high tension cables


Eagles at Bhandgaon – wildlife is a common thing in India, eagles are so common in the cities of India that they’re like crows in Malaysia. You can see them soaring overhead in Pune, Kolkata, all over India, except in the North East I think. There, people eat everything, including eagles if they can get their hands on 'em. The only thing that soars in the North East are moths!


Concrete batching plant, Bhandgaon


View from the road to Girim – I’ve seen wild deers, hares and a porcupine on this road at night.


IJM’s Workshop, Girim


Girim Crusher, IJM Pune-Solapur Project

Back to Reality

Pune-Solapur Highway Project - paving at km69

Sigh... I’m back in this hellhole called the Pune-Solapur Project. It is especially difficult after a trip back home to Malaysia, especially if it’s only a short friggin 8 day trip.

Didn’t have time for so many things that I wanted to do, didn’t have time to savour so many of the local food which I missed after such a long stay in ‘hellhole’, didn’t have time for the long planned trip to the east coast with the family... didn’t have time for a relaxing stay at home with the wife and the little monster, didn’t watch one friggin movie in Malaysia, (something we always thought of doing, ...passing the little critter to his granddad, and I and the wife running to the cinema to watch a movie, decently), didn’t meet so many friends and relatives...

That’s life, unfortunately. Still plodding on in Daund, thought this Project will end much earlier than what we’ve achieved now, ...only about 60%, ...when will we reach 100%, 2014???!!?

Anyway, since I’m over with my cave-themed posts, here’re some pictures of our ‘beloved’ hellhole Project...


The garden of our 'beautiful' blue office in Kurkumbh, ...this is about the nicest part of our office, don't ask about the parts...


Daybreak at our Kurkumbh Base Camp


Maharaja Hotel, km70, the most decent hotel in our office area, ...about 1.5 stars, I’d say. Comes with good food (until the entire management team, plus the chef, quit and joined another hotel about a few months back), air con (the constantly buzzing variety), hot water (in a bucket, when summoned)...


Kkanchan Restaurant, km41, the finest in our Project stretch, only vegetarian food, or ‘pure veg’ as the locals term it, makes one wonder whether there’s such a thing called ‘impure veg’? Anu had food there once, and swore not to return (she’s not really a fan of Indian ‘pure veg’ food), but this is our clients’ and consultants’ favourite stopover in our Project




Rock, or having to cut through rock, is one of the main features of our Project – chiselling our way through, km68-69, Pune-Solapur Highway


Part of our fleet of rock breakers


Blasting the blasted rocks with explosives, km53


The deep canal at km79 - we have to build the road on top of this existing canal by extending the tunnel-like culvert


Another view of the deep canal, km79 Pune-Solapur Highway


Public well, Yavat, the nicest well in our Project, one of the many wells in the Project corridor that we have to close up to make way for the highway


Construction here involves a lot of praying and a lot of gods - praying to the ‘God of Girders’ before the start of the launch of our bridge girders, with my colleague, CL Chong looking on


Praying to the ‘Holy Toolboxes of the Divine Mechanics’, on the occasion of Vishwakarma Puja, held sometime every September, and dedicated to Vishwakarma, the Hindu God of craftsmen and architects

Floating over Cappadocia

Goreme, Cappadocia, Turkey with the Uchisar rock citadel at the back

Nothing beats a hot air balloon ride over Cappadocia. It’s just magical, but it’ll set your budget back by about the cost of one friggin cross-country flight! If I’m not mistaken, it cost me ...750 friggin RM! For 1 person!


Firing up the balloon


Taking off


Up, up and away


A view from the top




Cappadocia, by hot air balloon




A view of the natural terrain




High over Cappadocia


Yours truly, in a basket filled with Spanish tourists


Landing in a farm

Pottery in a Cave

More from the caves of Cappadocia – pots and ceramics!


Avanos in Cappadocia is famous for its ceramic trade since ancient times. The tourist guide, ...or rather the pottery owner, explained that the clay from the what’s-its-name river flowing through Avanos is exceptionally good for pottery. The wares are all of high quality, and so are the costs!


Justin’s not too impressed, as you can see


More exhibits of Avanos’s wares


Throwing in a picture of a wine cellar... just for the sake of it, what the heck! The winery’s not even near Avanos, but it is in Cappadocia, ...but near Urgup actually

Land of the Fairy Chimneys

Cappadocia (Kapadokya), Turkey

Fairy Chimneys is the name the local Turkish tourist guides use for the natural minaret-like formations of Cappadocia. I dunno who came up with such a creative name, but simpler people (meaning the men, ...like yours truly) would probably have just called this place Land of the Giant Dicks – see for yourself!


The Goreme Open Air Museum (pronounced ge-ray-may), filled with caves churches, used to be a community of Christian monasteries in Roman times

This is a whole new world with caves – cave churches, cave houses, cave hotels complete with cave bathrooms and cave toilets (how do they fit in the sanitary piping and the shit tanks??), cave shops, cave cafeterias... yeah, just name it! We stayed in a cave hotel during our trip, bloody cold (and it was May). Anu didn’t like it much, but what the heck, have to give everything a try huh? Anyway, it’ll all be fine with a few pegs of raki (the local aniseed flavoured liquor)


Another view at Goreme


Guards at Goreme


Hiding in a cave guardhouse – where else could you find a convenient place for the mom to breastfeed the kid? Really nice of the guards to offer tea. Turkey must be one of the most baby-friendly countries in the world... The people there go nuts when they see tiny toddlers!


Cavusin Village (pronounced cha-vu-shin), an abandoned Greek cave village


A souvenir shops amidst the ruins, Cavusin


Fairy Chimneys ‘R’ Us, Cavusin Village


Anu at the ruins, Cavusin


A family photo (with Justin asleep), above the ruins of Cavusin, and after that our camera ran out of batteries... luckily for us, we could charge it in the semi-cave restaurant we stopped for lunch


Pasabag (pronounced pa-sha-ba), means General’s (pasha) Vineyard (ba), as explained by our trusty tourist guide (as far as I remember... this was 2 years ago, ok?)


A hermit’s church in Pasabag


The Rock Citadel of Uchisar


Fairy Chimneys on the road to Urgup, with a snow-capped peak in the background


A poppy field in Cappadocia