Headed home

I can't say that I'm not glad to see this time finally come.  It's been an amazing trip but I'm happy to see it come to an end.  I'm definitely ready to get back to my routine.  I thoroughly miss my amazing wife, the unconditional loves of my three pups, and sleeping in my very own bed.

We're sitting at the Mumbai airport right now.  Immigration and security are pretty easy here.  Security was a bit silly as they're terribly disorganized compared to the US but far less thorough.  This ends up with a search that takes longer but can't possibly be as effective.  Pardon me but I'll go ahead and say that I prefer the US methods.  We should be boarding the plane in about an hour and departing from India another hour thereafter.  I'll be collecting my thoughts on the trip home and will likely take some time to update the blog after I get home and have had a chance to decompress.  I really want to spend some time recapping my favorite moments of the trip and close out the excursion with just the right words here.

Anyway, I'll post more for you guys soon.  Thanks a ton for following me on this adventure.  I think I'll keep writing in this blog somewhat regularly but it will most likely be random musings.  I may try to think of a topic to keep things on track going forward.  Perhaps I'll convert this into a food blog?  Dunno... I'm open to suggestions.

Last dinner in India

We've eaten what I will call our last dinner in India.  As usual, this one was something to remember.  We went out with Dhaval's family (several folks including his awesome uncle Rajesh and his family from Houston... and I'm not just saying this because he's going to read this!) for a meal at a roadside stand.  These are called dhaba and would equate to a food truck in America.  All I can say is WOW!
The cart that we went to served exclusively eggs as the main item.  We had eggs prepared in 6 different ways, I think.  I'm not entirely sure as I'm so stuffed that much of it seems like a blur.  Everything was cooked on little propane burners with a pan that looked somewhat like a wok.  They used oil very liberally.  I really wish they had used some butter or ghee (Indian for clarified butter) as a substitute for some of the oil but that wouldn't exactly be authentic.  The first dish was like french toast just with spicy instead of sweet.  The bread was also something that looked like mini hot dog buns.  The second dish was like a scrambled egg pile seasoned heavily with green garlic and other seasonings.  The third was a sunny side up-style fried egg seasoned heavily with garlic and other seasonings.  The fourth was a three-part dish that took a fried egg, a heavily seasoned fry-up of chunky cut tomatoes, and a fried seasoning component.  The fifth dish was a fry up of seasoned tomatoes and garlic with a bunch of grated hard-boiled eggs.  I think they called this one Indian stir fry.  The sixth and final dish was something they called Australian stir fry.  Not sure why they call it Australian or stir fry as they don't appear to relate at all.  The sixth was similar to the fifth but it incorporated chunky sliced boiled eggs instead of grated eggs.  We washed it all down with one of my favorites, Thumbs Up!  On top of this, we made friends with an Indian guy from Canada (sorry, I didn't catch your name but I certainly hope you read the blog!) who was filming all of the preparations and was discussing the possibility of taking the techniques home and opening up a food truck (I'm all for the idea, by the way!).
All of this was served from this cart:

Additionally, we stopped earlier tonight at another little stand for some fresh roasted corn.  This was absolutely awesome.  They roasted it over fresh coals until it was perfectly cooked then seasoned with lemon and some kind of chili powder mix.  It was freaking awesome!

After we finished eating, we walked next door to another dhaba station.  This one was more like a small open-air kitchen restaurant as it wasn't a cart like the other.  I think it was called King's Corner or something.  They had a nice tandoori oven and were cooking roti.  The guy (his name was Ahmet, I think), who I can only assume owns and/or runs the place, was insistent that we eat more at his restaurant.  Apparently it isn't in Indian culture to take no for an answer.  We repeatedly refused and thanked him for his desire to feed us but we couldn't possibly eat any more.  Despite our insistence, he sent a dosa to the table.  While this was being prepared, he showed us around the kitchen and let us have a look at the oven and such.  He also managed to talk me into taking a bag of some kind of dish which he insisted we bring back.  I'll have to talk to Dhaval to find out what it was but he was insistent that it will be good for three months without spoiling.  Apparently Dhaval is willing to corroborate this so I'm just gonna go with it.  I doubt it'll go that long before I eat it, though.  In all honesty, this is the best that India has to offer.  The quality of the people here is simply outstanding.  I'm not sure if they're trying to impress the best upon us as visitors to their area or what but they certainly have done an amazing job.  This is just one in a long line of stories that I'll tell to my children and grandchildren.

After eating, we said goodbye to several of Dhaval's family members as they are leaving soon and we won't see them again before we're gone as well.  I'm sure that I'll see many, if not all, of these folks again eventually but the warmth and fondness with which we, as outsiders, were embraced here will not be forgotten.  I have made friends that I will undoubtedly remember forever.  These people that make up Dhaval's friends and family just cannot be summed up in words.  There is nothing that I could write to make anyone reading this ever understand.  I always knew he was a special guy but the quality of people that surround him is truly outstanding.  If it's said that the measure of a man is the people with which he surrounds himself then these people are truly an outstanding class.  I'll talk more on this subject later when I return home and can recap this trip but truly I'm out of superlatives.  Put that into perspective.  For those of you that know me, you've heard it here first.  I'm actually speechless.  For those reading this who do not, trust me when I say that it doesn't happen with any regularity.
I do know this.  I'm stuffed to the gills from an amazing meal and it's time for bed.  Tomorrow we begin the trek home.  Plans have changed again and it looks like it'll just be me and my dad being taken to the airport by our favorite driver, Ranjit!  This should be a lot of fun and a fitting way to end our Indian experience.

The wedding... OMFG THE WEDDING!!!

I apologize for my absence.  In preparation for all of the wedding festivities and the massive amount of guests here at Dhaval's house, we were moved to a nearby hotel.  The accomodations were okay but they lacked wi-fi... and hot water.  I wouldn't choose to stay at a place like this but since our host put us up there I would be remiss to complain.

So let's hit the highlights of the last few days and the events...  Bear in mind that there were a LOT of little rituals and events held within the context of the "wedding festivities" that I cannot possibly cover in their entirety.  I HIGHLY encourage you to attend a true Indian wedding yourself and have a local explain it to you as you go along.  I am only going to cover the basics or you will get bored very quickly.

WEDNESDAY - January 18
This officially began the wedding events.  There would be a total of four events, beginning with the puja (or pooja) in the morning.  This was a religious ceremony mixed with a backyard feast.  The mandap (see the shutterfly site for pictures, it's a large tent-like structure with fabric sections strung over it to provide an area for guests to accumulate) was set up in the days prior and guests filled in underneath.  There were a bunch of tables and LOTS of plastic chairs all over the area.  Tables were set up around the perimeter and food was served to all in attendance.  Inside of the grounds at the house, the ritual was performed.  I didn't get to see much of this as I didn't realize that anything was going on.  Dhaval pulled me aside afterwards and told me to make sure that I stick close by during the coming days so that I could experience as much of the wedding rituals as possible.  All in all, it looked like they fed around 300 people, possibly more.  After eating and completion of the religious ceremony, the party broke up and we returned to our hotel.

After a rest and a shower, we changed into our shervanis and were ready for the night of entertainment - the sangeet.  This is the big music and dance night.  Again, this was a large catered event with a wide variety of foods.  This was attended by even more people than in the morning.  I'd venture that there were 500+ here.  This was also the big night for all of the dance performances, including mine.  Typically this event would be performed by professional entertainers but this one was full of performances by friends and family.  Ruchika, all of her sisters/cousins, lots of family members, and several friends on both sides were involved.  This gave the whole event a great personal touch.  There was also an amazing fireworks display during Dhaval and Ruchika's big performance!

Dhaval surprised me enough by including me in the introduction dance for his performance.  On top of that, he told me just one day prior that I would be playing the role of the Hindu Pundit (or Priest?) for the dance routine.  This entailed me walking out on stage (IN FRONT OF ALL THOSE PEOPLE!) and sprinkling Ruchika with rose petals after her dance then ringing an imaginary bell.  Apparently there were a lot of people surprised that the white guy was chosen for this role (I was surprised as well!).  After that, we did our short intro for Dhaval's dance.  It was over in a flash.  I was so nervous but I think we all did pretty well.  Dhaval, on the other hand, KILLED his routine!  I've been watching him practice and this was definitely his best round and it came at just the right time.  This was an amazing experience to see and participate.  I can't tell you how many people went out of their way to tell me how good of a job that I did and I didn't really even do anything.  It was so much fun and I can't thank Dhaval enough for allowing me to be a participant in one of the most meaningful events of his life.

I've always known Dhaval was a very smart and talented kid.  After seeing this, I'm left wondering if there isn't anything that he CAN'T do?!  His work ethic is second to none, he's one of the smartest and most humble people I've ever met, and the dude can sing and dance like a pro!  He is truly an extraordinary man and I'm proud to call him a friend and blessed to have him as a part of my life.  I really do see him as a brother and I always will.  Okay okay... enough of the sob story, there will be more later.  The sangeet wrapped up and we returned to the hotel for a night of rest.

THURSDAY - January 19
 The next day, we awoke to prepare for the wedding ceremony.  We arrived at Dhaval's at around 10AM and saw a professional band (think medium sized marching band) outside of his house.  All of you from New Orleans (or those that have visited during Mardi Gras or a jazz funeral to see this) would feel right at home during this event.  It was basically a big second line!  The significance of this event was huge.  Dhaval emerged from his house dressed to the nines!  Dude looked like a damn prince!  He got into a car that was decorated with flowers and was driven behind the procession.  It was explained to me that the very first song played was that of the coming of the Maharaja.  This is the music played to extoll that the king (essentially, not exactly) is coming through.  We proceeded to walk behind the band, stopping often to have a display of firecrackers and dance.  These people really like to dance.  They repeatedly invited me to join the front of the parade with the dancing group.  Being in a festive mood (and knowing that I would never see many of these people again) I happily obliged.  This was a whole lot of fun.  The story behind this event is that it is supposed to be a procession from the groom's house to the bride's house where the ceremony would be performed.  In older times this was the case.  In modern times, it was too far to parade so we went a few blocks (over the course of an hour) then jumped in cars and moved closer to the hotel where the ceremony was to be held.

When we got to the hotel, we all staged a couple of blocks away.  Here, Dhaval was loaded up onto a horse (yeah, you read that right!) that was fully decorated.  He was escorted in a similar fashion to the parade where the band and dancers led in front of him.  Also, there was someone walking beside him holding a highly decorated umbrella to shield him from the sun.  While parading to the hotel, some of the other guests decided to have some fun.  I was draped with some kind of cloth/scarf thing Dhaval2 (yep, we met another one and he was a pretty awesome guy.  I'm not just saying that because he's going to read this blog either!).  Interesting story behind this and it will be a momento that I keep forever.  Next, one of the other partiers decided to take a parade hat from a band member and put it on me.  They were apparently getting a kick out of the white guy dancing and cutting up with them.  At some point, Dhaval2 and Bhavin (Ruchika's cousin, damn good guy as well and quite the dancer) came up with an idea to pick me up on their shoulders.  I'm not sure if they failed math class, though, as I weight about as much as both of them combined.  Fortunately, Vedant was standing right behind and helped to make sure I didn't get dropped on my head.  All I really remember is Dhaval's (don't get confused with my notation here, this is the original Dhaval) face when he was me lifted up above the crowd.  Yet again, it was a moment that I'll never forget.

After the parading, we arrived at the hotel.  Dhaval made his grand entrance on the horse.  Apparently, as he dismounted, a "ritual" where someone steals his shoe was done.  It was quite funny to see grown men fighting over a shoe and, as it turned out, several of them were on the same team and didn't realize it.  Dhaval2 actually ended up with the shoes!  Inside the hotel, several rituals were performed before Dhaval could enter the hall (this would normally be the bride's home but modern circumstances and such call for alterations to old traditions).  At one point he ended up getting hit in the eye during one ritual (a member of the bridal party was trying to grab his nose)!  Everything went along and the wedding was kicked off.  Dhaval2 did a great job of explaining as many of the rituals as he could while the proceedings moved along.  This was a beautiful ceremony and I was informed that this one in particular was more "over the top" than a typical Indian wedding.  The food was outstanding as well!  I would say that, again, there were 500+ people here.  One peculiar thing, though, was that most of the guests were milling around and eating while the ceremony was taking place.  Apparently this is typical but it was quite different than what I am used to seeing.  The morning ceremony, the official wedding ceremony, wrapped up.  At the end, the shoes that Dhaval2 stole were returned but not before yet another ritual was performed.  Since the bride's sisters would be losing a member of their family (old times the bride would leave her home and move to the groom's house) they would require payment in return.  The shoes were the bargaining chip.  The final price wasn't much, 500 Rs per sister, but it was an amusing exchange and even though there were all speaking a language foreign to me I could feel the excitement and energy in the spirited event.  In the end, Dhaval's mom swooped in and paid all involved, including Dhaval2 who did everything that he could to not accept or pass off the money.

We returned to the hotel, took a nap, and prepared for the evening.  The evening event was a reception and this was probably the most attended event.  It was held on a parage grounds outside of the hotel.  The layout was incredible, the food was beyond delicious (they had a Mexican and an Italian station, I can't tell you how happy I was to not have to eat Indian food again!), and the proceedings were more lavish than I could have expected.  Dhaval and Ruchika were brough up from a hidden platform in a cloud of fog.  As they walked down this stage entrance, there were fireworks, sparklers, and lots of confetti cannons blasting off.  When they got to the end of the stage, a platform was waiting which lifted them high into the air.  During this they were showered with rose petals!  After a few moments they were lowered and got into a cage-looking thing for a procession through the grounds and up to the main stage where they would receive the guests.  I can only imagine their feelings through this whole series of events but it was amazing to watch.  I've probably been ruined on weddings now as this was so beyond amazing that I'm not sure any wedding that I see going forward will ever compare.  We ate our fill and talked to many of the friends that we made throughout the weeks here.  I can't possibly mention all of you but please know that each and every one of you will be remembered as this was an experience that I can't possibly forget.  The kindness, generosity, and caring nature of all of you is something that I will take with me forever.  After eating, we made our way through the receiving line to offer our congrats to the couple and their family.  Amazingly, through all of this, they were more concerned with how we were doing and enjoying the event than anything else.  It was a beautiful experience and I actually teared up talking with them.  I can't say enough kind things about Dhaval's parents and the amazing class of people that they are.  After spending time here, I am far less surprised by Dhaval as I now know exactly how he has become who he is.

FRIDAY - January 20
I was awoken at the hotel by my Indian cell ringing.  Ranjit was calling to let us know that he'd be there at 8 to take us back to Dhaval's house.  It was 7:30 and I couldn't be more excited to get up and pack my bags.  Along the way we stopped for breakfast at a roadside shop.  I ate a little but I'm growing tired of the constantly spicy food and breakfast was no exception.  Regardless, it was a tasty dish.  We arrived at Dhaval's place and immediately fired up the computers to get access to the outside world.  After about an hour of writing, I think I've finally caught up and can give it a rest.  The plan from here is that tomorrow we are to leave in the morning to pick up Vedant (he went back to his village outside of the city with his family) and begin the trip to the airport in Mumbai (aka Bombay).  We depart the airport some time around 3AM IST (3:30PM Central Saturday afternoon) Sunday morning.  We fly from Mumbai to Brussels, have a 3 hour layover, fly from Brussels to Chicago, have a 1.5 hour layover, then fly to New Orleans and arrive (hopefully) around 5:15PM Central!

Partying and Shopping

I missed the chance to post yesterday because we traveled outside of Gujarat to go to a party for the wedding.  Since Dhaval's state is a dry state, his family put on a cocktail party in a city called Daman that is about 1.5-2 hours away.  We left Sunday afternoon and returned on Monday afternoon.  I got to meet one of Dhaval's special friends, Srikanth.  Very interesting character.  We also met with another of their friends named Viraj.  Both were very good guys and we had a goot time at the party.  I met a ton of people at the party so there's no point in listing them all.  Suffice it to say that there was a lot of good conversation and LOTS of dancing.  I'm expecting a check from Youtube soon enough once some of the videos that I starred in hit it big.  The guy with the camera was pretty much playing film the white guy.  There was a lot of booze, a lot of food, a lot of dancing, and a great time.

Today we returned to Dhaval's house, ate lunch, and sat around.  We watched Reservoir Dogs to pass some time.  Once that was finished, we decided to go shopping for clothes to wear for the wedding.  Dhaval has convinced me to wear a traditional Indian outfit for the wedding.  We traveled to a "shopping center" which was basically a huge maze-shaped warehouse with hundreds or thousands of booths about the size of a typical storage unit you would rent.  We were looking for a particular unit - F-11 - inside the maze.  Once we got there, we removed our shoes and went into the shop.  Apparently, though, the front of the store is not where the magic happens.  We went up a TINY staircase in the back of that room to go up to the second floor.  Here there was a TON of boxes and clothes were strewn everywhere.  Apparently the shop works quite efficiently.  They show you different outfits and you pick which color you like.  From there they go find the one you want, you try it on and see what you think.  I've got to double check the name of these things but I think they're called Sherwanis.  You also get a scarf thing to match the outfit and this is called a Dupatta (again, gotta have this QA'd).  In keeping with my culture back at home, I picked out a bright purple sherwani and a gold dupatta.  This way I'll be sporting LSU colors at the wedding.  On top of that, I figure I can wear it out for tailgating in the upcoming football seasons!  Once the shopping was done, we headed downstairs to pay the bill.  Mine was fairly expensive... coming in at 4,245 Rs ($85).  My dad's was about half the price and, to top it off, Dhaval's mom bought it for him as a present since he's having such a great time here in India.

We made our way out of the maze, loaded up in the van, and headed back to the house.  Not long after we returned, they were setting up for dinner.  I have no idea what we ate but it was amazing.  It tasted almost like a veggie chili.  I think this was my favorite meal thus far in India.  After dinner the choreographer came by and we all practiced our dance routines for the wedding.  A few hours of this went by and it's pretty much time to call it a night.

I figured this week would go by quickly.  My time in India is nearing an end.  I have a feeling that time will only speed up as we go through all of the wedding festivities in the coming days.  I definitely miss my wife, my pups, and my bed.  Going home will be nice but this has been one hell of an experience that I am going to be sad when it comes to an end.

Anyway, here's a couple of quick pictures from the shopping trip.  They made me try on this other outfit (can't freaking remember what it's called) to take a picture.  I can say that I definitely had a lot of fun!

Kite Flying Festival = Amazeballs!

Yesterday was the kite flying festival throughout Gujarat (Dhaval's state in India).  Dhaval had been hyping this up like it was really something to see.  I wasn't so sure.  I mean really, how much fun can you have just flying kites?  I can say that you, my friends, have no idea!  Sri, you're really missing out on this one being from south India!

We got up at 8:30 and went to the roof of Dhaval's house.  Dhaval laid out a stack of about 50 kites.  These are just cheap little paper kits with two small sticks for a frame.  They're pretty delicate.  The kite string, however, is not for amateurs!  Dhaval said it is nine pieces of string woven together which are then coated with some kind of colored glass substance.  To combat against injury we wrapped our fingers (thumb and first two on each hand) with that white medical fabric tape.  Apparently unless you're used to doing this you can cut the hell out of yourself.  And Danielle, you prolly shouldn't read this at work or you might get in trouble.  Now that we were taped up, we were ready to fly.

When you look out into the sky there are literally hundreds of kites up when the wind is good.  Kids are everywhere on the ground and just about any rooftop that you can find there will be people flying kites.  Getting these damn things up was harder than it looked.  Dhaval got the kite up pretty easily and was off flying.  Apparently the game just begins with getting the kite up.  I watched Dhaval maneuver his kite near another in the sky.  When he got to just the right spot, he leaned the kite, yanked the string, shot the kite up in the air and immediately screamed LAPEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTT!  Apparently lapet (sounds just like it looks, LA-PET) roughly translates to roll up your string and get out of here.  He had flown his kite near another and used his to cut someone else's string!  And now I see the fun in the Kite Flying Festival!

After a few tries, I got the hang of it and was finally able to fly.  Not to mention these little kids putting up a kite easily were making me look foolish for not being able to do it myself.  And they were on the ground while I was on the 4th story of a house!  So the kite goes up, Dhaval's cousin from the US, Vedant, is holding my roll of string while I'm flying the kite out.  I'm trying to get the feel for flying these things.  It's really not bad.  Wherever the nose is pointing when you pull the string, that's the direction it will dive.  After a few minutes of flying around, I got close enough to another kite.  Some erratic movements and yanking on the string and BAM!  LAPEEEEEEEEEETTTT!!!!  I cut the other kite's string!  Ah, the glory!  The Power!  I ruled the sky!  And then 15 seconds later I hear the battle cry come from the rooftop behind us.  Dhaval's damn neighbor cut down my kite!  Oh well... time for breakfast.

After eating, we had another go at kite flying.  There were decidedly fewer kites up now as the wind was dying down.  We made some fun of cutting down others' kites and having ours cut down.  Rolling in your string after your kite falls really sucks.

The rest of the day was pretty easy paced.  A huge lunch was served.  This was a Gujarati special dish of winter vegetables.  As I've said all along, the food is pretty damn good here.  After lunch we watched a movie in the theater.  Hotel Rwanda.  Pretty good movie and it helped to pass the time.

After the movie we made another go at kite flying/battlingtothedeath.  The wind had changed directions so we now had the advantage over Dhaval's neighbors.  It was relatively low, though, so it was much harder to fly.  The same routine went on for a couple of hours.  Dhaval had family arriving all day so different people were coming to the rooftop to see what we were doing.  Some were intrigued and wanted to fly, others were laughing at our lack of skill.  After a little, as it was getting closer to dusk, I heard a BOOM like a transformer blew across the street.  So they mix fireworks in at the end of the day?  AWESOMESAUCE!  Kites started to diminish as it was getting too dark to see.  Fireworks, on the other hand, were increasing.  Lots of random booms from rooftops around us.  Then the bottle rockets.  Then the big stuff!  Quite a few displays went up from those artillery cannon fireworks where they launch way high up in the air and burst into a big display.  This made for a very relaxing end to probably one of the most simple and fun days I've had in India.

Oh... and since we don't do anything like this in the US, I'm thinking about starting the 1st Annual Kite Flying Festival in Baton Rouge next year.  I'll have to look into the weather/wind conditions this time of the year but I'm thinking it would be perfect for the second Saturday in January.  The Indian festival is always on Jan 14 but ours would have to fall on a weekend to get people involved.  I'm sure I can find the kites and string somewhere nearby like Houston.  Or I can see about getting Dhaval to have some shipped from India.  Regardless, we're totally doing this!

We've returned, triumphiantly, to Surat

The tourist enterprise has been completed.  I'll recap my feelings on the monuments later.  It's too late to fool with that now.

We got picked up from the airport by the family driver after our flight from Delhi to Vadodara this evening.  Everything went swimmingly.  He picked us up in a very nice Skoda too!  The ride back to the house was quite comfortable and I managed to sneak an hour or so of sleep on the way.

When I arrived, the dance choreographer was here at the house working with everyone.  I was informed that the bell now tolled for me.  After a short time watching Dhaval practice, I was brought up to work on my routine with the two other guys performing with me.  It wasn't bad at all.  Despite me being terribly white in the dance department, I was complimented on how quickly I picked up the routine.  I really can't wait to see how this whole thing turns out!

After spending several hours watching SEVERAL iterations of dance routines throughout the night, folks started to leave (several people were here... friends, relatives, etc.).  Dhaval's dad broke out several large bottles of beer and we sat around drinking for a couple of hours.  After all were gone aside from myself, Dhaval, his dad, and his cousin from the US, his dad broke out a bottle of vodka.  Under his dad's guidance, Dhaval mixed up a nice little cocktail and we sat in the theatre room enjoying a bit of dicussion.  Most of it related to work but life lessons were on the table and I enjoyed every bit of the conversation.

Att his point it's almost 3:30AM and I have to be up in about five hours.  I bid you adieu!

Delhi from the eyes of a tourist

Today was the Delhi day.  We began at 8:30AM, as usual.  Breakfast was included with the hotel and was typical of what we've seen at each of the hotels thus far.  Fresh fruit, cereal, toast, some Indian dishes that I can't identify, and some typical western food like pancakes, potatoes, and sausages.

We met with our tour guide for the day even though I was told yesterday that we wouldn't have one and our driver would be our guide.  Oh well.  He explained the difference between New Delhi and old Delhi.  Once you understand it's very easy to spot the transition.  Old Delhi is what you think of when you think India.  Very crowded, shops and people on top of one another, very old construction, and frankly very dirty.  New Delhi was completely different.  Lots of space, LOTS of green space in particular, beautiful buildings that appear to be well maintained, upscale shops and restaurants, etc. 

We first went to Jama Masjid, a very large mosque in Delhi.  I'm not a fan of leaving my shoes outside of places so we opted out of this place.  Not only that but they wanted to charge 200 Rs for every camera that you had, including mobile phones, and I wasn't about to pay for that. Next, we went to India Gate, Parliament House, President House, and the Government Secretariat Building.  This, according to my dad, is a lot like Washington DC.  The layout was beautiful.  As our guide said, unless you come to see this you wouldn't realize that Delhi was the capital of India.  Security was EVERYWHERE but apparently this was due to the upcoming Republic Day festivities on 26 January.  The India Gate is an amazing monument to the fallen soliders of the Indian Army from WWI.  We were treated to a marching/parade display from the troops presently practicing for Republic Day.  The government buildings were all beautiful.  Not much else to say about them, really.

Our next stop was Raj Ghat, the memorial to Mahatma Ghandi (Ghandiji) and the place where his ashes are kept.  This was a beautiful park with very well kept plants and scenery.  There are also trees planted here by each foreign president who has visited with a placard bearing their information.  There were a LOT of these trees!  In keeping with the Ghandiji theme, we went to Birla House, the location of his assassination and also a large grounds with memorial exhibits.  To put it simply, this was a powerful experience.  If you come to India, this is a must see!  The most prominent thing about the exhibit is a set of steps depicting the final steps of Ghandiji.  It is moving to see that the final few minutes of this great man's life are laid out in front of you.  They lead to the Martyr's Column in the garden.  Here we took a few minutes to walk around and take it all in.  After this we went inside the actual exhibit.  They have posters all over the walls describing as much about him as you would like to read.  I suggest that you plan to take your time here.  I could have spent several hours more than the 1 or so that we were there.  This exhibit was one of the most powerful I have ever seen.  On top of that, it was a great way to marry the modern history of India with the context of the very old historical monuments that we have seen here.

We then went to Qutb Minar.  This is an amazing minaret and monument park.  The pictures from this site should be incredible when you get to see them.  This site is another must-visit!  The minaret itself stands 238 feet tall and was built in 1199.  It is incredible to see a monument that has withstood for that long and looks practically brand new!  This place also housed the Iron pillar.  It is literally an iron pillar that was constructed likely some time around 375-413 AD but some, like our tour guide, claim an earlier time of 1000 BC.  Regardless, it is incredible to see a pillar that is aged to this degree that shows very little signs of deterioration.  The damn thing was even fired at by two cannons, yes you can see the dents in it, and still looks amazing.

We were told we were stopping for lunch shortly and for the first time in a week I was actually hungry.  The restaurant was a "global cuisine" restaurant that had nothing but tourists (dropped off by their guides, of course) inside.  Fair enough.  What do I do?  Order a damn fine batch of nachos and BBQ chicken pizza.  In freaking India.  Yeah.

After lunch we went to visit the Lotus Temple.  Lots of bleh here.  It is a very beautful building and the gardens surrounding it are very nice.  The speech that they give you going in is where they lost me.  Apparently it is a Bahai house of worship.  These folks believe that all religions are equal and they allow you inside to pray and worship silently to whichever deity you choose.  It's a bit refreshing considering all of the Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Christian, etc. stuff that we've seen up to this point but I don't really buy this new age stuff.  Make what you will of it but whatever.

Our last stop of the day was, of course, a tourist shop!  By now we've gotten pretty good at navigating through these places.  Yes, you have beautiful scarves and sarees and carvings and jewelery.  Tax free you say?  Wow.  Your prices are the best around by 30 to 40% due to the backing by the Indian government and your fixed pricing structure?  Amazing.  Very pretty, all of it, but I've already bought all of my souvenirs for this trip and can't possibly fit another in my luggage.  You ship?  Damn.  Oh well, thank you for your time!

Now we've returned to the hotel.  I also found out that the damn hotel wifi is complimentary.  Nice of them, especially considering this is our last stop along the way.  At least I don't have to worry about my computer blowing up now!  Tomorrow afternoon we return to Surat to Dhaval's place.  I'm very much looking forward to what the rest of the trip holds as I've viewed this as pretty much the halfway point.  And now that we've got reliable wifi we will try to get some pictures up on the shutterfly site (I know, how many times is he going to say that?  This is likely the second to last time at worst).

We've arrived in New Delhi

We've just arrived at the hotel in New Delhi!  This hotel does have wifi but it is pay-to-use.  I haven't asked about the price yet because I managed to find an unsecured wifi network with access.  Hopefully my computer doesn't blow up as a result of this but I'm only using this connection for non-secure things.

As far as the trip for today, we were in the car for about 5-6 hours. We stopped for lunch along the way from Jaipur to Delhi at a roadside cafe. The meal consisted of a wonderful dish called butter chicken, a couple of diet cokes, and an order of garlic naan. After taxes the meal was 830 Rs.

We'll be hanging out at the hotel for the evening.  Tomorrow we start at 8:30 on our tour of Delhi.  I'm not sure exactly what we're going to see.  I'll make sure to tell y'all about it tomorrow after we're done.  The day after we fly back to Dhaval's place and start all of the stuff for the wedding.

Also, my dad is getting some photos up to the shutterfly site.  Thank you for your patience!!!  They're coming up very slowly and sporadically.  We may not get many posted in the next couple of days but once we return to Dhaval's and have a reliable (and free!!!) connection he will get a lot of them up!

BIG UPDATE, SEVERAL DAYS

WARNING – LONG POST, COVER SEVERAL DAYS

Due to a lack of internet connection, I was unable to update the blog for the last several days.  I did take some time and write out my thoughts each day so that I could keep it all together as best I could.  This posting is VERY long as it encompasses several days.  I hope that you can make it through!  For your reference, I am using a conversion of 50 Rupees to $1.  This is typical right now for a conversion rate.  Here’s what we’ve spent the last several days doing:

Travel to Delhi – January 8

On Sunday morning we awoke early for a 2 hour drive from Surat to the airport in Varodra (or Varodara).  Our driver (Dhaval’s mom’s driver) got us there in short order!  The trip was easy and he handed us over at the airport as he was not allowed inside without a ticket.  Getting through the airport wasn’t any more difficult than in the US at a small local airport.  Security was friendly and easy to work through.  After about an hour wait at the airport, we were able to board the plane.  We were on a large Airbus plane but the airport was tiny.  There were no terminals like we use in America so we departed from the “gate”, walked 25 feet to a bus, the bus drove us about 50 feet to the plane, then we boarded the plane using stairs.  The flight was short to Delhi.

Upon arrival in Delhi it was the same routine as boarding the plane in Varodra.  No gate so we walked down a ramp, onto a waiting bus, then a 50 foot bus ride to the airport terminal.  Upon exiting the airport we were greeted by our driver for the length of the trip Amar (pronounced Ummer).  He loaded us into the Tata Indica (think older style Honda Civic for size) and started on our way to Agra.

Agra Adventures – January 8

The trip to Agra was about 5 hours.  Along the way we stopped for lunch at a roadside restaurant and enjoyed a lovely chicken sizzler (I’m really liking these things!).  Apparently, we arrived in Agra too late to see Taj Mahal but met our Agra tour guide, Gupta, at the hotel as we checked in (stayed at the Sarovar Portico).  This is where the adventure got hairy.  We were taken around Agra and shown Agra fort.  After snapping some photos, Gupta talked to us about the three “arts” of Agra.  The minerals (two stones in particular being Star Ruby and Black Star of India), the carpet making (if he said “best in the world” again I was going to be sick), and the marble inlay (the marble has three beauties: it is translucent, it is non-porous, and something else I can’t remember now).  We were taken to a local jewelry shop where we were shown the stones and a hard sale was put on us (no taxes, can’t find these any cheaper anywhere in India and will be triple the price in the US, etc.).  After making our way out of there, we were taken to a carpet shop off the beaten path.  They showed us a brief description of how the carpet was made.  It didn’t provide nearly as much detail as we would have liked and it turned out to be nothing more than a front for a hard sale in the “finished product” room below.  After spending several minutes insisting that we weren’t interested in buying and carpets (but they pack DHL shipping to America!  ::eye roll::) we made our way out of the shop.  At this point we were both tired and disgusted with our “tour guide” so rather than see what the marble inlay place would try to sell us we opted to go to the hotel.  I called Dhaval to express my frustration with this part of the trip.  He took care of calling the tour operator and the driver to see to it that we were not going to be pushed through this again.

Agra Day 2 – January 9

The next morning we ate breakfast at the hotel.  It was nice to have some international fare to mix into the food rotation.  I have yet to have much of an appetite so I opted for French toast and some fresh watermelon and mango.  We met with Gupta and he explained his reasons for taking us to those shops (blah blah blah).  We got on the road to Taj Mahal.  About this time we began to understand how badly this country tried to nickel and dime tourists.  Due to Taj being a protected area we were unable to be driven up to the gate by our car and driver.  We were required to take an electric vehicle for 100 rupees or Rs (or government bus but they don’t run unless full and that could waste time, Gupta said).  Admission to Taj was 750 Rs per person.  We made our way through security to enter the monument.  This trip was well worth the cost.  The monument itself consists of several buildings and the layout is stunning.  It was very foggy as we went early in the morning but there were not many visitors there yet.  It is difficult to put into words the beauty of Taj, the mosques around it, the grounds and gardens, and everything else there.  The detail work in the marble and jewel inlay is amazing.  The construction of the buildings are impeccable.  The double dome architecture of Taj allows echoes to pass through the chambers.  All I can say is go check out the pictures (once they’re up) to get a feel for what I’m talking about.

We left Taj, returned to the hotel for checkout, tipped Gupta a small amount for his services (300 Rs), and began the drive to Jaipur (the pink city, see pictures and video later).  Along the way we stopped to visit the Fatehpur Sikri monument.  Again with the nickel and diming.  300 Rs for a local tour guide (obviously a tout but it was arranged by Amar), 100 Rs for a rickshaw ride to the monument, and 520 Rs for entrance to the monument.  We were shown the Sikri side of the monument where Akbar built palaces for each of his three wives (Christian lady, Muslim lady, Hindu lady).  These weren’t “palaces” in the traditional sense.  The detail work was again amazing.  The Muslim palace was a one-room building that was entirely hand carved on the walls and ceilings.  That is the one that stuck with me the most.  There was so much to see here.  The winter and summer bedrooms, the pond where one of Akbar’s ministers would sing on a platform in the middle, the courtyard where Akbar would hear cases from the commoners, the stone where Akbar’s favorite elephant was tied and the elephant was used to deliver punishment (elephant would crush the leg of those found guilty), etc.  Again, you’ll have to see the pictures to get a better feel as my words just can’t do it.  We completed our tour of the Sikri side and walked towards the Fatehpur side.  We were told we would have to leave our shoes outside so we opted to not go through this monument.  We were taken around to the front gate to see the amazing structure built.

The amount of poverty, filth, and beggars that we have encountered is amazing.  You will be able to see a lot of what I’m talking about in the pictures.  The small children (and even some adults) pushing things in your face to buy is aggravating but it’s best to sternly say NO or just ignore and walk past them.   Keep in mind that many of these children are also adept pickpockets, from what I’ve been told.  We haven’t encountered any of this yet but we’ve also been very cautious to keep all valuables secured in front pockets and zippered pockets inside of jackets.  It also appears that many of these folks hang out around tourist monuments just to get a chance to make some money.  It’s sad to see but you cannot give them any money as you will start a mob scene.  It also doesn’t help that the car we’re being driven around in has “TOURIST” in big letter written across the top of the windshield. 

Journey to Jaipur – January 9

After the Fatehpur Sikri stop we continued on our journey to Jaipur.  The cities in India get VERY dense and congested.  My dad shot some video footage of the roads in Jaipur and keep in mind that this isn’t even as bad as we’ve seen!  We arrived at the hotel (Park Inn) after a short ride through the city.  Amar offered to take us for an off-itinerary journey to Chokobanni (sp?) for 450 Rs entry.  After traveling all day we were far too tired and not interested in getting sent off to something unknown this late in the day.  We checked into the hotel about an hour before nightfall.  The hotel has wifi access but when I asked the front desk I was informed that it was available at a cost of 110 Rs per hour so we opted to pass on this and instead watched some tv, and called it a night.

Getting onto Indian time for sleeping hasn’t been very difficult but I’m still a bit off at this time.  I find myself going to bed too early in the evenings and end up waking very early in the mornings.  Also, the beds aren’t the most comfortable at these hotels.  I think the additional domestic travel has made it a bit more difficult than if we had stayed at Dhaval’s place.  That was never really an option, though, as I would have not come to India without seeing Taj.  The rest of these monuments have been interesting but I could honestly do without all of the extra local flavor that comes with them.  Fortunately we don’t have much more to see.  Today we are to visit Amber, Hawa Mahal (palace of wind), and see some museums and the Jantar-Mantar observatory.  The next day we will travel from Jaipur to Delhi to finish the trip, spend two nights in Delhi, then return to Surat (by way of domestic flight from Delhi to Varodra).  Truthfully, I’m not having the best time on this portion of the trip.  I’ve become a bit homesick and realize that I can’t exactly go home for quite some time without paying a large amount of money to change tickets around.  I’m sure I’ll get over this, especially once we get back to Surat and I am more comfortable being looked after by Dhaval and his family.  Right now I have a sense of vulnerability that I didn’t have when I was at Dhaval’s place.

Round 2 in Jaipur – January 10

I wasn’t expecting much from today.  The program called for sightseeing in Jaipur.  After the last couple of days, I really wasn’t all that excited.  Boy, I couldn’t have been more wrong!

We were late getting started this morning because we found the LSU game on ESPN at the hotel.  We watched the first half and were disgusted enough to move on with our day.  I didn’t have much hope for LSU and it turns out that I was right.  We proceeded downstairs for breakfast, enjoyed some basic fare of cereal, croissant, and lots of fresh fruit.  I’d love to try the Indian dishes but I’m not willing to do so without it being explained to me or at least know what’s in the dish.  I really don’t want to get food and leave it on the plate.

After breakfast we met our tour guide for the day, Abhishek.  We were given the option to try an elephant ride for 900 Rs which we passed on.  Instead we began our day at the Jantar-Mantar observatory after taking a brief picture stop at Hawa Mahal , the Wind Palace.  This was an absolutely amazing way to start the day!  Admission to the observatory was 200 Rs for both of us.  Our guide has been giving this tour for approximately 7 years and he studied under his uncle and father and assisted with writing astronomy books.  His explanations of all of the observatory tools were impeccable.  It is amazing to see devices that were built out of stone over 280 years ago that can achieve the precision and accuracy as these.  We were first shown a sun dial that could accurately tell the local time within 20 seconds.  Utilizing Jaipur’s location in India and it’s longitudinal relationship to the center of India you can compare this result to actual India Standard Time and I’ll be damned if it wasn’t dead on!  On top of this, the Maharaja who built this facility, Maharaja Savai Jai Singh II, also commissioned a BIGGER sun dial with accuracy within TWO SECONDS!  It is recognized by Guinness as the world’s largest sun dial.  There were also several other devices at the observatory that could be used to determine a whole variety of things.  I highly suggest that you google this location to learn more about it as my explanations are subject at best.

After the observatory we went to Jaipur City Palace where admission was 600 Rs for both of us but this included several other sights for the day.  This is where our guide’s skills were taken to a new level.  It’s one thing to recite lines about the tools but his knowledge and depth of explanation of the rich history and culture of the region and the country as a whole.  The beauty of this palace is amazing.  Apparently the royal family, descendants of Maharajah Savai Jai Singh II, still resides in the palace.  There are some amazing photos depicting the architecture, coloration, and beauty of this place. 

We stopped for lunch at a local outdoor restaurant called Durg.  After perusing the menu we opted for Murg Tikka Lababdaar with garlic naan.  This was easily my favorite dish in India thus far.  It was an amazing tomato based sauce with chunks of boneless chicken and some grilled onion and peppers.  Lunch with two cans of diet coke, an order of garlic naan, and the chicken dish totaled 670 Rs.

After lunch we made our way to Amber fort but there was a surprise along the way.  There is a palace called the Water Palace that was used as a summertime palace by the royal family.  You really have to see the pictures of this one.  It is literally a palace in the middle of a manmade lake that looks like it is just sitting on the water.  After seeing the water palace, we continued on our journey to Amber fort.  This admission was included with the City Palace but we had to spend an extra 100 Rs to be driven up to the monument and bring a camera in.  Amber fort held some amazing sights that will be best captured by photos that you can see on the shutterfly site.  The views were breathtaking at the top of the mountain!  Looking down over the town of Amber we could see Amber palace, the entirety of the town, and the amazing defense wall that surrounds the city.  Construction initially began in 10^th century and was modified in the 17^th century.  Before leaving Amber fort, our guide suddenly asked me for 50 Rs to buy a ticket.  I had no idea what he was buying but several minutes later he walked me over to a guy nearby for a camel ride!  This was very fun and, although only a few minutes long, was well worth the cheap price.

From Amber fort we made our way down the hill to Amber palace where admission was 400 Rs.  This, like many other palaces, was very strategically laid out, held separate palace bedrooms for summer and winter, and separate spaces for each of the ruler’s wives.  The amazing feature of this palace was its water conservation.  This was also part of Amber fort but was taken to a different level at the palace.  From the top of the palace, water could pass through several tunnels and conduits through the bedrooms where it was used for cooling when wind would blow across the water flow.  The water that passed through was used to water the amazing gardens.  From here, the water would pass through several reservoirs and levels of sand underground for natural filtration.  The water at the last reservoir was used in the palace for drinking water.  There was also a bucket and gear drive system in place to transport the water from the bottom reservoir all the way to the top of the palace to repeat the cycle.  This was truly a marvel of engineering for the 1600’s!

This day completely changed my spirits about this trip.  I know I’ve talked before about the problems but today was nothing but excitement from the beginning to the very end.  This is what I was hoping to get from India.  This was the marvel and the beauty of a country that has been in existence for thousands of years.  This was the good and possibly some of the best that India had to offer.  I also cannot say enough good things about our tour guide.  At the end of the day he was dropped off to his motorcycle and we gladly tipped him 1000 Rs for his services for the day.  We returned to the hotel to rest as today was a very tiring day.  I am glad to get to relax now and reflect on a phenomenal day in India!

Delhi Bound – January 11

Today is an easy travel day.  We are to leave the hotel shortly and travel by car for 5 hours to Delhi.  Lunch will be taken along the way.  Upon arrival in Delhi, we will check into the hotel and hang out there for the evening.  Tomorrow we are set to sightsee in Delhi with our driver, Amar.  The next day we are set to fly back to Varodra and travel to Surat by car to return to Dhaval’s in the evening.  Hopefully we have some wifi at the hotel in Delhi!

Plan for the next week and this evening's fun

The next week is our tourist adventure.  The following week will be mostly consumed by shopping and Dhaval's wedding festivities.  Just to keep you guys up to date, we leave tomorrow morning for the airport and fly to Delhi.  From there we meet with our private driver/tour guide and drive straight to Agra (5 hours).  We will visit Taj Mahal and stay in Agra for one night.  The next morning we wake and drive to Jaipur (5 hours).  Apparently Jaipur is known for its palaces and we will spend two nights in Jaipur visiting as much as we can.  From there we are to drive from Jaipur to Delhi where we will spend two days exploring with our guide.  On Friday afternoon (the 13th!  My lucky day!!!  FOR REALS!!!) we fly back from Delhi and return to Dhaval's place in Surat.  I'm not sure what kind of internet access that I'll have while traveling over the next week so if you don't see any new posts that is why.  I'm doing a lot of writing in my head as we travel knowing that I want to provide as much detail as possible to all of you!

As many of you know, I'm a culinary tourist.  I firmly believe that one of the best ways to truly get to know a people and their culture and essence is by eating.  I can tell thus far that Indian people, my hosts in particular, are very generous.  There has been an endless supply of food and drink.  The coffee and tea are amazing!  They've also been making special accomodations for my dad as he is a diabetic (so is Dhaval's dad, coincidentally!).  Dinner tonight was sizzler plates at a chain-style restaurant.  The food was still delicious and it was my first taste of seafood.  We had fish, shrimp, and lobster that were delicious.  The funniest thing to me, though, is that they included french fries in the mix and it was a great surprise to bit into something that unexpectedly turned out to be a french fry covered in gravy!

I also tried Thumbs Up cola today.  It was described to me by Dhaval as "Coke but stronger".  This was a pretty accurate description.  It was definitely a tasty beverage.

It also looks like I've volunteered to try my hand at a choreographed dance at the wedding.  I'm not exactly a good dancer but I think I can give it a shot.  At the very least it should be a lot of fun, a true once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I'll be making a fool of myself in front of very few folks that I'm likely to see again!

That's all for now.  It's time for bed and travel tomorrow!

Planes, automobiles, and amazing abodes

The plane trip wasn't nearly as bad as I expected.  Actually, it was quite enjoyable.  The flight from New Orleans to Houston was short and easy, as usual.  My dad and I decided to indulge in one last treat before leaving the country - bacon double cheeseburger!  Some of you on Instagram already saw this one.  We washed those down with a cold beer!

The flight from Houston to Frankfurt was awesome.  The plane had those fancy touch screen systems in the back of every seat.  I managed to watch Contagion (not the smartest move), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (BEEN wanting to see that one), and Avatar (Yeah, I'm one of three people on the planet who hadn't seen it).  The food was meh but overall this leg was a win.

We landed in Frankfurt but another plane was in our gate so we had to wait for a little while.  Apparently we were cutting things close without realizing it.  We made our way through the airport to check our departure gate, like I always do, and found that they were already boarding the damn flight to Mumbai.  Good thing we weren't screwing around in the airport thinking we still had a 1+ hour layover!

The flight from Frankfurt to Mumbai wasn't nearly as good as the previous.  Apparently it was an older Lufthansa jet so they didn't have the fancy entertainment system.  My dad and I had seats in different areas of the plane but that was fixed quickly as he got the person next to him to swap with me.  This worked out quite well as we had an exit row and nobody in front of us so we could stretch out plenty.  That's a lifesaver on a 7+ hour flight.

Landing in Mumbai was the part that I was always most nervous about.  We got these little cards to fill out for Indian Immigration before we left the plane.  It turned out quite nicely.  Hand the card and your passport over to the officer, they check it over (and ask you to remove your hat), stamp it and send you on your way.  We swapped currency at this point from US Dollars to Indian Rupees.  The exchange rate was WAY better than it was in Houston (51.xx rupees per dollar in India vs 46.xx rupees per dollar in Houston).  Finally, we handed our immigration slip to the guy at the exit and were in the clear!

We walked out of the airport in Mumbai into, quite literally, a whole different world!  Fortunately the friend that I am visiting wasn't joking when he said we would be taken care of.  Sure enough, within 25 feet of the door, was a young man holding a sign reading "Welcome to India JT Migliore, from Dhaval Shah".  At this point, I knew everything was gonna be just fine!  Little did I realize the leg that lie ahead...

Luggage loaded into the car, we take off into the sticky Indian night, my dad and I riding in the back seat of a tiny Tata Indica.  Immediately we realize something is amiss.  There are cars pulling into the very first intersection from ALL directions!  Close your eyes and hope for the best?  Apparently NASCAR is missing out by not scouting for talent over here!  Cars, trucks, buses, cargo haulers, motorcycles, and tuk-tuks were EVERYWHERE... I can honestly say that unless you've seen it with your own two eyes you can't possibly understand.  I thought New Orleans traffic was crazy but it's not even close.  Horns never quit honking, bright lights (aka dippers) are constantly aflash.  We were supposed to sleep on the 6 hour car ride from the airport, right?  Not a freaking chance...

Our very first Indian sun rises around 7:30 Indian Standard Time on the drive from Mumbai to Surat.  I can sincerely say that I was amazed, shocked, dismayed, disturbed, and excited by the array of sights this morning.  The poverty, and I know I haven't even seen much yet, breaks my heart.  It's so depressing.  Truly, we are blessed to be able to live the way we do and I know that this experience will make me think twice about taking my surroundings for granted.  The sights on the drive became so much to take in that I became kind of ill and numb.  Truthfully, I wasn't feeling well when we finally arrived at Dhaval's parents place in Surat.  After about an hour and some amazing hospitality I was back in the groove, though.

Simply put, this house is purely stunning.  There will be plenty of pictures posted by my dad on the Shutterfly link (see earlier post for the link) that you will have to check out.  I've seen pictures of it before and really they do it no justice at all.  Within 20 minutes of arriving I was handed a cell phone to use while here (HUGE thanks to Dhaval for this courtesy and consideration), a hot cup of Indian tea, and some delightful snacks.  About the time we finished a second tea we found out that one of the houseguests was locked in a bathroom and they were performing rescue efforts (See Instagram!).  It was downright hilarious!

So we've finally settled in here and it's time to clean up from traveling.  I'm off to hop in the shower(with CEILING RAIN SHOWERHEAD!) now that I'm finished with this post.  Plenty of more updates to come.  We leave here around 5AM IST tomorrow for our train trip to Jaipur, Delhi, and Agra.  I'll update as frequently as I can, likely in the evenings (mornings for you folks as IST is +11.5 hours on CST and +13.5 on my West Coast friends).

BREAKING NEWS

We've now got a shutterfly site posted up in conjunction with this blog.  My dad will be posting photos whenever he can.  I certainly won't post all of his photos here so for the full feel, go check out...

http://BigIndiaAdventure.shutterfly.com

We're at the airport!!!

Today was a pretty good day.  Woke up early (for real?  on my day off?!) and hopped in the shower.  Got a clean shave since I don't think I'll be touching a razor until I get back...

I managed to get the report for my client complete and delivered on time.  Tried to get my tux fitting done but they didn't open till 10 so headed off to find a haircut place nearby.  Thank God for iPhones (I'm REALLY gonna miss that in India).  Got a fresh and clean cut from a sweet lady named Tainisha (just guessing on the spelling here).

At this point, the romantic in me came out.  My wife woke me up when she was leaving at an ungodly hour and I didn't even come close to giving her a proper goodbye.  I called over to her work and had her meet me out front for a last moment before I leave.  It was WELL worth it.  I love that woman more than anything and I'm glad I got to see her pretty face wide awake before I left.

Back to getting a tux fitting.  The guy who fitted me was entertaining.  Short little fella from Nicaragua.  We were talking about international travel for a little while.  Got that done and headed off to Target to pick up last minute medicines - pepto, immodium, sudafed.  That should do it!

Went home, finished packing and got ready to get on the road.  Last minute preps to put a program on the wife's iPad so she can control my aquarium if needed.  I took a few minutes to hug each of the dogs and give Lola a good pep talk so she behaves!  This is the only time I actually cried a little.  Crazy, I know, but I fucking love my dogs!

Head to NOLA, deal with crazy dad who has calmed down tremendously!  He's finishing packing while I set up Skype accounts for EVERYONE in the family.  No shit... even put one up for Grandpa!  Teach the old folks how to use it and we're all good.  Crack a beer and help the old man finish packing.  Finally we're ready to roll!

Inconsequential ride to the airport.  Check-in was fun.  My dad and I have the same name.  Took a minute for the woman at the check-in to comprehend.  Security was lovely as well.  Got the full fat scanner instead of the simple metal detector.  The old man had to have extra screening and have his overly large medicine bag checked.  Christ...

So now we're sitting at the gate and waiting.  One more hour to go and we'll be on the plane headed for Houston.  Then from Houston to Frankfurt, Germany.  Then to Mumbai and we're supposed to land around 1:30 AM local time (IST).  That's 3:00PM central time on Friday afternoon... about 25 hours from now.  I'll update then.  I hope you folks enjoy the blog and don't be afraid to leave comments.  I'll try to update with pics periodically as well!

Getting ready to go!

So I'm heading out soon.  Today was the last day at the office.  We fly out tomorrow at 3:00 or so.  Excited doesn't even begin to describe it!

Just to catch you up:
My friend and coworker, Dhaval, is getting married so my dad and I are heading to India to catch the wedding and do some sightseeing.  Getting a passport and visa was fun enough (/sarcasm) but it looks like I've got everything I need to go.

Tonight I've got to pack my bags and get ready.  Tomorrow there's still lots to do... get a haircut, get fitted for a tux for Matt's wedding in February, and finish a report for work all before take-off.

That's it for now.  Maybe if I start now I can finish that report tonight instead of having to work on it tomorrow.  Sounds like a plan!