Jayanthi and I went to meet Melissa at Sari Bari today. She had promised to give us a tour this afternoon of one of their locations, where she works, in Shova Bazzar. Sari Bari is a program that works in the red light district of Kolkata. It isn’t geared at…
I just went see to the Marble Palace here in Kolkata. It is a home that belongs to a wealthy family here in town and has been in their family since the 1830s. Apparently they still live there in a part of the house. The tour guide (who didn’t really…
Last night, I got to go to the first ever Moth Storytelling night to be held in Kolkata. It was hosted by Rishi Desai and his girlfriend Melissa and was absolutely great! I hadn’t heard about The Moth before my sister told me about it a couple of weeks…
The weather forecast for today in Kolkata says it’ll be 109 degrees Farenheit (43 Celsius). That is so NOT cool, especially when you consider that there is humidity to boot. I have to tell you, I do not love super-hot weather. I feel that whenever you are cold, you can…
The next morning, Dean took us into town and helped us arrange a driver to take us to Kaziranga National park in Assam. Our driver was cool, stopping for daab just outside of town (basically as soon as it was available) and good-naturedly letting us fill up every extra available…
Mawlynnong won an award a few years ago for being the cleanest village in Asia. It is proud of that designation, and rightly so. The village is almost utopian-like in its cleanliness. When we were hiking, we went quite far out of the town before I saw even one potato-chip…
Today, I went to the living bridge in Ruwai, near Mawlynnong, in Meghalaya. This is perhaps one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in my entire life. I do not exaggerate on this. Due to one of the highest annual rainfalls in the world, the floods each…
When we got up to head to Meghalaya, Bonnie had prepared breakfast and sent us off with a wave for our journey with Dean. We drove out of Shillong and headed into the hills on a road that is under a lot of construction. In some places, it’s still dirt…
After a couple of days in Kolkata, I got onto another overnight train, headed for Guwahati. Jayanthi and Alec had been out of town when I returned to Kolkata and both returned from their travels ill. They weren’t quite up to the difficulties of a full day on a train,…
Back in Kolkata, I had reserved rooms at a place called Travel Inn. I decided to stay a little closer to the area of town where I had stayed when I lived here in 1998. I’ll only be in Kolkata this week for a couple of days before my sister…
Vishakapatnam is located in Andhra Pradesh, on the shores of the Indian Ocean. While beautiful, this shore in Andhra is not quite as beautiful as the Arabian Seashore in Goa. It’s touristy, but more for Indian tourists, rather than foreigners. It is therefore, filled with trash. Also, (and I assume tides…
The day after visiting the orphanage and school, my cousin Pratap took me into the jungle to see one of the village churches. This is a ministry he and Sunitha have been working on for years. They now have 20 churches. What I didn’t realize, nonetheless, is how extensive the…
In the evening after I had gone to see the kids at the school and the orphanage, my cousin Moses and I went over to see the building site our cousin’s husband Venkat is developing. He owns a construction company and had mentioned I should come by and see it,…
I’m staying with my dad’s cousin Deborah Sunitha and her husband Pratap here in Rajahmundry. Pratap is a bishop now and he and Sunitha have a very large mission program, school, and orphanage they run, based out of Rajahmundry. Moses, their son, just finished his masters and is looking for…
Rajahmundry is hot. And humid. Everyone on my trip so far has been asking how I’ve been bearing the heat. In Goa (and Hyderabad and Bangalore) everyone said, “It’s so hot! How can you manage?” I said that it was hot in Kolkata, and hot in Goa and humid in…
Peeing in India can be…challenging. If you are a boy, this is not the case. You can find any street or building-side – really, any corner or bush will do. No one will blink an eye. A girl, however faces a few more hurdles. Assuming she can find a toilet,…
Right after coming to Hyderabad, my cousin’s wife Clara and I went with her kids Melissa and Aaron to the lake in the center of town where there is a very large statue of Buddha. It’s on an island in the center of the lake actually, and I’d seen it…
I’ve been in Hyderabad the last few days. I haven’t really had time to update my blog because I’ve been busy with my family. One would think that’s when I’d have some downtime to sit and relax a bit, but most of my family in India is concentrated in Hyderabad. …
So I say goodbye to Goa. I had so much fun here. I was able to try new things, different things, and to relax and rest and rejuvenate. I feel good. Hot and sweaty (as per usual here in India), but good. Also, I am about 3 shades darker than…
There are four girls (and by girls, I mean ladies in their 20s or 30s like me) at my hotel who came a couple of days ago. They are clearly on holiday. We’ve said hello a couple of times. Their names are Jyoti, Pallavi, Aparna, Bittu. I know they’ve also…
I went para-sailing today! For the first time. And it was super awesome! More details to come. *just a note to my friends who are asking why I haven’t posted recently – I’ve been traveling around throughout India…
Driving a motorcycle in India at night is …. Wow. It’s like driving directly into oncoming traffic on a road that they paved, but forgot to smooth (so it’s like a four-wheeling in the mountains because of all the bumps and potholes), while someone shines strobe and flashlights in your eyes…
I’m sitting in a Greek restaurant in Goa, India. I’m drinking 10 year Glen Livet Scotch Whisky and listening to American techno pop music pumped through the speakers. Breezes blow in off the Arabian Sea and I watch the sun set in the West before me. After I finish my…
Hi! I’m writing from Goa! I am staying in a beautiful hotel called the Empire Beach Resort. It’s on Calangute Beach, in North Goa. It was suggested to me by my sister’s friend Alec. My cousin Pranu called to check on pricing for me (you never know when they’re going…
My sister Jayanthi and her boyfriend Aakash are both musicians. (While I may be a little biased) They are both incredible artists. You can check out their websites by clicking on their names. They are both living in Kolkata and working on their music. Aakash, composer and alto saxophonist extraordinaire,…
Today, I went to Kalighat, to the temple for the goddess Kali in Kolkata. This is known, I believe to be one of the largest temples in the city and is known to me as well from my previous time in Kolkata. I may have mentioned this before, but I…
Hello! I am currently in Kolkata, in West Bengal, India. My sister and her boyfriend have been living here since August, which is the main reason I chose to start my journey here. And the reason I wanted to start travel when I did is because I wanted to be…
