Aug. 27 - NOTE: So, the reason I haven't posted this all month is that travelblog.org has been rejecting my photo uploads... it now has a few of the images I selected, but not all of them have uploaded. Hopefully they will materialize shortly, but until then happy reading and I will update again shortly :) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After many months of anticipation Yotam and I finally departed for our cross-country trail to Nelson, BC on August 2. The passing of my grandmother required my presence in Rochester for a few days, and I was fortunate enough to have been in attendance for what was a lovely celebration of her life, and a last opportunity to see my entire family before leaving. The next morning we were off, east from Hamilton and north towards cottage country with ... read more

Excited to be moving on to our next destination, my travel companions, now consisting of Abi, Sangeev, Chitra and Mahaish (sorry for butcherous spelling!), and I boarded our sleeper car train at Chennai Station. The novelty of a train with beds on it had me in high spirits, and I was also looking forward to visiting yet another of the south Indian states. Getting on the train is always a dramatic little adventure unto itself, especially in the larger stations (like in Chennai). One must first determine what platform the train is to arrive on and then find the most effective means of navigating to that place. Once the platform has been found, one must calculate where, approximately, the right car will arrive on said platform. This involves some intricate speculation, asking around and luck. When ... read more

After an extremely fitfull afternoon and evening of sleep, I awoke early at 6am and started a routine with the hopes of improving my stay here in India. While there have been enjoyable outings and warm company, I have been decidedly ill-at-ease since falling sick and must make a conscious decision from here on in to do everything in my power to be happy and have a good time. I think that if I am able to give my body what it needs, hopefully my mind, and heart, will follow suit. This decided, I began a yoga and stretching regiment and felt much better and more present as a result. Today, being the last day before the wedding festivities begin, we went to Style Queen Uma's Ladies Beauty Clinic for Abi to have a test-run for ... read more

So much happens on any given day here that I feel like if I miss a day of writing, many savory details will be lost and remain in the moment they happend. On the other hand, I can't very well spend my whole trip journaling so I'll just have to find a happy medium. On August 21 we had a very nice day indeed. It started with me having breakfast with the boys at a cafateria-type place. I got curious stares from the waitstaff (who are strangely - to me - all men at all restaurants) as I suppose it is rather novel to have a white woman, so obviously foreign, especially when escorted by 3 Tamil men. We got the same reaction, although less benign, and more condemning when checking into our current hotel, The ... read more

After an exhausting trip of roughly two days (I think, this whole time difference thing makes absolutely NO sense to me) we finally arrived in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, INDIA! The end of the flight was a rocky one and on descent we hit some pretty major turbulence and at one point I was actually lifted from my seat for a few moments of free fall. Not going to lie; I definitely screamed. My ears, fine on the flirst flight, gave me some problems in the second descent, but were manageable. Upon arriving at Ana International Airport in Chennai (Madras), the humidity was immediately perceptible and warmly welcomed after our frigid 10 hour flight from Paris. We were hustled by the throngs of passengers through immigration and customs, where surly men officiated over our passports and baggage ... read more