PaulnKari

Hello! OK OK I suck (about writing travelblogs when I say I’m going to). We are now in lovely Ongole, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, on the southeastern coast of India. Things are substantially more difficult for us here, which is the reason that I haven’t written anything for awhile. I’ll get the hard stuff out of the way first: Paul has typhoid! Yikes. We were vaccinated, but I guess it is not 100% coverage, right? Don’t worry - he will be OK. I was concerned for a few days, but his fever is under control and the doctor here says he should be OK within a few days. Virtually nobody speaks English here. They speak Telugu, a language that appears to have very little in common with Hindi. We definitely don’t speak Telugu. Exciting, ... read more

Whew! It's been a packed 3 weeks - sorry for the lousy non-updates! We are now in the very far south of India, in the state of Kerala, enjoying our "luxury" portion of our trip - recharging our batteries, one could say. Kerala is beyond beautiful. It's worth googling "Kerala backwaters" to get an idea of what I mean. It's as if God himself took a step here and his footprint filled up with a calm, even sheet of clear water. The water is flat as can be, for miles and miles. We are staying in the backwaters and it's so interesting to see the way of life here. Homes sit in narrow strips of land between canals and water-logged rice paddies. Men in long, narrow, dark-wood canoes slowly drift by, propelled by long bamboo sticks. ... read more

We have been here almost 3 weeks, just now getting used to Ahmedabadi life, and now we're getting ready to move on! It will be hard to leave the family that has now become so familiar. We have, over the weeks, continued to spend time with them and occassionally undertake tourist activities. Yesterday was very significant for me - we went back in time, to my dad's youth. We spent a few hours at his old engineering college at Gujarat University and then went to the crazy downtown for a tour of the flat where he grew up. It was unbelievable for me. Despite all that I've seen around the world, I have never seen anything like this - to me, it looked like a movie set! I simply can't describe it - I'll post pics ... read more

Hi, friends! Paul and I are in India! We are having a fabulous time. My experience so far has been rich and my senses are near saturation with all the newness. The first thing I notice is the smells. Immediately when our plane landed in Mumbai, I smelt the air and said "This is what India smells like - I remember!" I don't know how to describe it. It's just that there are so many flowers and spices in the air - even in the city - and maybe because the weather is different - I don't know, but it smells thick and rich, with a hint of sandalwood and occassionally spices and veggies mingling in the air.... We are now in Ahmedabad, a pretty large city (in the top 10 of India), where my family ... read more