GOLLY! We have arrived safely and soundly in the cosmopolitan but (partially) crumbling capital of India. It was a 50 hour sweaty train ride crossing much of the country, and even taking a route that went from where we were on the west coast, to the east coast and then up towards the north, closer to the west. Brian and I did not get to ride in the same berth as we had waitlisted tickets. I sat across from a girl younger than me pursuing her masters degree in genetics travelling to Delhi for school with her family. Brian was with a group of young men training up for a few day vacation in the capital. Both parties were happy to skootch over so we could hang out. The Commonwealth games are happening here in a ... read more

Greetings from the sweltering south! We have only 4 more days of training here in quaint Nettoor before we hit the road again and once more we will able to sleep in past 5:30a.m. !!! As a nice treat we were invited to a traditional Keralan lunch for a housewarming party. The party was thrown by our Guru's cousin and there were hundreds of guests. It was an open house but we decided not to tour through as we were feeling a little shy being the only foreigners and being stared at by everybody. The meal was the most traditional and delicious we have had in Kerala. It was served on an open banana leaf and dozens of servers were hurrying back and forth with several kinds of vegetarian delights scooping them out onto everyone's leaves ... read more

Our day to day is pretty rigid an uneventful here in Nettoor. There is the intensive training but most days are rather dull. This is a sleepy village and the only cool place is this internet cafe which daily and nightly attracts throngs of bored locals teens, desparate for something stimulating tp happen. This time is giving us a chance to reflect on much; our trip thus far, loved ones back home, what we want for our direct and distant futures, and different ways we could possibly avoid the oppressive heat. One aspect of our experience that doesn't get conveyed back home is the cast of funny characters we meet in passing for short to medium periods of time and colour the backdrop of our days. I decided to write about a few of them for ... read more

After the heat in Karnataka and still having some extra time we decided to head to the Nilgiri Mountains range in Tamil Nadu to soak up some chilly nights. Unfortuneatly, I started getting sick in Mysore and promptly became very sick in Ooty, having eaten all the same things as Brian and him being fine. I was on pretty strong antibiotics shortyly before we came here and my symptoms seemed to mirror intestinal infections that follow a little while after those antibiotics. Food poisoning generally doesn't start with two days of fevers and achiness. We visited a doctor who prescribed me more antibiotics, probiotics, some weird digestive pills called 'Happi - D' and was generally very friendly. It was very professional and unprofessional all at the same time. I got better in a few days and ... read more

This is out of order from our posts but i am fitting it in anyway. Between our last stint in Goa and our chill out time in Gokarna we traveled by train inland to the central plains of Karnataka to visit Hampi; the ancient, deserted, giant-boulder ridden capital of many empires long past. From what everyone had told us, the theme of Hampi is desolation. There is a several square km area that is walled in on all sides and filled with temples, government facilities and elephant stables. The remains of the ruins range from mostly restored to crumbling wrecks but are all unique and worth a look. We were excited for the opportunity bask in some history after being beach bums for a while. What we didn't realize is that there were 2 festivals simultaneously ... read more