homey living in hyderabad :)

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well our time in hyderabad has come to an end- and i had a really pleasant stay :) kellie was the most gracious host and a weath of information about india and it's history as well as about many other things! she really is very knowledgable and has a passion for knowing which shines through when she talks about anything. i am not a history buff- despite being a cancer (the crab is supposed to LOVE history)- but i loved to hear it all from kellie. so not only did i get to relax in an area resembling western civilization but i also go to brush up on my india history ;) all in all a nice week :)

so what exactly did we do in our time here? relaxed, ate some great food (courtesy of kellie's cook), went shopping, read a lot, and just enjoyed life :) on friday and saturday night we went out on the town! friday night we went to two lounges- liquids and touch. liquids was a bar at the top of a building that kind of reminded me of skybar in l.a. then we went to touch a really cool lounge with great trance and pop music and danced the night away. if i hadn't known i was in india i would have though i was in miami or new york based on the looks of the club. it was too funny! then saturday night we went out for a nice chinese food dinner- the first time i have eaten out and not had indian food (save the few tibetan dishes in mcleod ganj) and it was really good :) there was a table of locals nearby celebrating a birthday and they sent over 3 glasses of champagne to our table which was nice as well. i told keith that he was lucky to be sitting with two women ;) for dinner kellie and i dressed up in saris- the traditional clothing of india which is beautifully draped and pinned onto the body. you need someone to help you put it on- as it is kind of complicated. but once you are all pinned and tucked in- the look is really classy. i loved it!

on the last day we were here we went to visit the qutub shahi tombs and the giant historical fort of golconda. this fort was built in the 13th century and has ramparts of 7kn in cirumference. the city within it's walls was world-renowned for it;s diamond trade and was the home of such gems as the world famous kohinoor (a giant diamond). at the fort we got to see a light and sound show which pretty much consisted of light (colors being projected onto the fort) and sound (music and narration about the history of the fort and hyderabad). it was a lay back and relax kind of show except for the mass of mosquitos that were swarming above our heads. thank god for mosquito cream!

as i said- this visit was a visit of western comforts and relaxation. so both keith and i did all our laundry which was MUCH NEEDED. not that i haven't washed clothes since i have been india- but you can only do so much with a bucket of water and soap. a washing machine does a lot more thourough of a job. there's nothing like good clean clothes ;) i also got to do quite a bit of reading- as kellie and her husband have an eclectic little library full of great books on history, spirituality, and health. the one i read and loved most was 'conversations with god'. a long time ago i had picked up that book and read the first few pages and it just didn't click. but just like the saying 'when the student is ready the teacher will come'- so too when the reader is ready the book will come. i was ready for this book- and kellie highly recommended it- so i read it. wow. great book. if you haven't read it i say give it a try and see if it is right for you right now as well.

all in all we had a nice time staying here with kellie and her three dogs :) i am so glad i got to spend time with kellie. we only spoke for a matter of minutes in san francisco but it was divine intervention by god to introduce us to one another. she is a wonderful person with many admirable qualities- and i not only enjoyed spending time with her but i also learned a lot about who i am and who i want to be :) so thank you kellie :)

so tonight we depart on the overnight train to bangalore- and from there we head to tamil nadu. my next blog will be from the spiritual town of tiruvannamalai- a place that many have said i will absolutely love. i have a feeling i will :)

until then...

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