Bet on it!

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Nope, this has nothing to do with gambling. If you leave someone to do your work for you in India, you can almost expect something to go wrong, or different than you had planned (usually from a communication error), and yesterday we had our first "big" one. We booked our taxi, Kerala backwater tour, and flight up to Goa yesterday, and the travel agent guy said it would likely take him a half hour on the phone before everything was secured, so to come back later that evening or today. It was plain as day that we wanted to leave on the 4th from Kovalam, which would put our tour on the same day and our flight the next morning. John was a little upset that the timing of everything would have us leaving Kovalam in the morning probably about a half hour before the Super Bowl would be over, and while my Seahawks aren't playing in the game, I agreed that it would kinda suck to miss the end of the game if it was close (keep in mind he's from New England and is of course a Pats fan, so the game is more important to him). Well, John need not worry anymore... when we went to pick up our tickets this morning everything had been booked on us leaving Kovalam on the 3rd, instead of the 4th. This means we hopefully get to watch the game somewhere in Cochin, and we'll have plenty of time to get to the airport to make our flight. The flipside is that we give up 800 rupees, or about $20, that was prepaid for our last night at our hotel, and the "damage" is of course split three ways... so really, not a big deal, especially considering we should get to watch the whole game now. And while this mishap by the travel agent guy cuts off one day on the beach in Kovalam, that day simply gets added to our stay on the beach in Goa, which I think we can handle. 😉

As for other updates around here, I caught the gut bug, and last night I was making multiple trips to the bathroom... I of course have dosed up accordingly with antibiotics, and feel better today, yet I still have an upset stomach as I type this. We'll see how it all transpires. Besides the gut problems, which I need not go into detail (you should be able to figure it out), because of the antibiotics a lot of my joints are a little sore, which just makes things that much more uncomfortable. But you gotta do what you gotta do.

We've met a lot of very cool travelers here, the vast majority of whom are in meditation, yoga, and Ayurvedic classes or seminars, but we've met very few people from the United States (only one that I can remember, plus another north westerner from Vancouver, BC)... as such, we've apparently been tagged as the three Americans by the network of people we've met while being here. And by the way I was told that we apparently have some reputation as well, which I'm kinda curious about. Other than being social butterflies, riding the waves at night, and having a few bonfires at night, I don't know what else could be included in our "reputation..." but its just weird to have one already. That being said, we hope to uphold our reputation with the bonfires and have another one tonight... after about 10:30-11pm there's really nothing else to do, so we figured we would just have to start our own "parties", at least until the police come and tell us to go to bed, due to the... non-existent curfew? Oh well, I'm not one to argue with them.

Anyway, I've been sleeping most of the day, and as I write this my eyes are burning, so I'll be heading back for a little nap before I try and eat some dinner (so far I've held down two small bananas, and haven't attempted more yet, but then I haven't wanted to either). Hopefully I'll get better as the night progresses, or at least feel normal by the morning! I'm crossing my fingers...

As for updates to Kevin and John, Kevin was mightily disappointed when he got back to the hotel yesterday, only to see three pictures of a big (non-venomous) snake cruising next door... you see Kevin is psycho and wants to find and play with the snakes here. Go figure. On a similar note, Kevin has certainly been quite the photographer and adventurer, apparently going into a few towns that no tourists had been to before... and then going right back to the jungle for some nature photography and animal searching. To those who love him dearly, I apologize, as he's hard to stop when he wants to do something, and god knows I'm not going to follow him into some jungle that has no paths!! But to his credit, as I'm sure you know, he's a savvy traveler and one of the most well researched guys I know, finding out pretty much everything he can about the wildlife before we get to an area. But he's still annoyed about missing the snake 😉

As for John, he's maintained an early morning jogging routine, which I haven't been able to keep up with, although I've tried on a few occasions. He's kind of the social motivator of our group, making sure we do our best to enjoy what we have before us! Can't complain about that!

Anyway, off to take my nap, then hopefully get some food down before the night begins......

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Comments

[Mom]

Gut issues
Dear, dear, we are sorry to hear when any of you are fighting gut issues. Peter, we suggest that you take about 4 days in a row of antibiotics if not more. Be careful about what you are drinking....especially drinks made with water - smoothies, etc.. I'll be about ready to go on a liver cleanse with you when you return. Your body pains 'could' be from sun poisoning? Do your bones ache? Have you been in any of our Vedanta Ashrams yet to say hello to the swami's? Might be a good introduction as to what your experience will be like in Benares....I am certain you will see Ramchandra....please say hello to him for us and tell him we are coming end of the year. He will take you everywhere you want to go and especially to Saranat where Buddha gave his first talk. Even at his age, he is always in a hurry so ask him to be patient and tell him you wish to take your time when you visit places. (good luck!) Also if you have time, see if he can arrange to take you out into the country (a 3 hour drive) to 3 auspicious temples he took us to; one where Sw. B's guru had the vision of Thakur...more later on that. You can now get into the Golden Temple but must show your passport; he will help you...please do not walk through the MAZE in Benares near the river until you know how to get back out. Your dad and I did that on our way to the Ganga and got very lost! Very lost indeed and it took some time to find our way out and it was getting dark. Not so good. You will be amazed at watching Arati now done on the banks of the river!! Lots of fire and noise...and people! Quite impressive. Ramchandra will get you up front; he knows all the pujari's; as you know he used to be a priest at the Golden Temple with his brothers before him. Helps to know someone in Benares. Also a boat trip at sunrise for great photos is a must....you will remember all these things when you return to this most holiest of cities...Shiva's abode! Most of all please remember to give Ananda Maharaj our love and sincere pranams!! Looking forward to reading your Benares/Varanasi experience soon. Weather here is dismal - snow, rain, wind and sun all sometimes in a day. OK this should have come to you in an email....stopping for now. All is well here. Love, Mom and Dad