India {See you soon, not goodbye}

I didn't think leaving India would be as hard as it was. I fell in love my new family and the country itself. As we pulled away from the house, I felt the tears welling up in my eyes. It took everything in me not to cry the whole ride to the airport. I've never experienced anything like this before. I literally did not want to leave. I was finally getting comfortable with my new family and able to really enjoy my time with them. The first week was overwhelming. The language barrier itself was a challenge. On top of that, I was trying to remember everyone's names (pronounced them correctly!) and how they were all related - there were times I felt I needed to draw a family tree the names written phonetically! Then, there were the short trips we took to Delhi and Fisherman's Cove. Amazing experiences and so glad we went, even though it made the trip feel that much shorter with the family. The final week was spent with family again and I think that is when I finally felt like I belonged. I was able to communicate with everyone, remember who they were and make those connections. Personalities started showing and I really got to know them (and love them!) even more. I adore everyone I met with all my heart and am already trying to figure out how soon we can get back. It's bittersweet being back home. It was such a short trip and I wish I had more time there, but I am also happy to be back home with my family and friends here. I'l leave you today with a few of the things I'll miss in India:

Autos - My preferred mode of transportation

Cheena Coal (neighborhood dog) - the little guy in front reminded me of
Coal only smaller,hence I named him Cheena (small) Coal. He was the best!

Random Cows all over the place - Love them!!

But most of all, I will miss my family:

All the cousins together with me

My mother-in-law - isn't she adorable!?!

My nephews (yes, they are twins)

The fam - love them dearly

More family (Ramesh's sister with her two boys and Dinesh's wife and one of her boys)

India {Wearing my Saris}

I picked up my blouses from the tailor yesterday and set about the task of learning how to wrap a sari. My sister-in-law will tell you it's very easy. HA! That's what she thinks. When she showed me how to wrap and pleat the sari, I was thinking to myself "how will I ever master this?" How do you know how big to make the pleats? Which way do they go? I have to make two sets of them? This was more complicated than I thought. After several failed attempts on my own, I went back for more help. Turns out I was making the pleats the wrong direction - no wonder I couldn't figure out how to get them to drape down my back. The size of the pleats determine how easy it is for you to move in your sari, so you want them to be large enough to walk, yet not so large that the sari doesn't hang properly. It took me a better half of the day to get it right one time, but I did it! Practice will make it better. What do you think??

Hand woven silk sari

Traditional Kerala Sari (Cotton)

Machine woven silk sari

India {Mehndi - Henna tatoos}

Mehndi is an ancient art form in India and was originally used on brides before their wedding ceremony. It was also one of the things I wanted to have done while visiting India. As luck would have it, Ramesh's aunt knew a woman who could come to the house to do this for me. It's not a quick process by any means and required a lot of patience on my part- this felt like my longest day in India outside of the first day we landed. The henna is applied using a cone-like tube with a metal tip and it was applied free form, meaning she didn't use a template or any guide to help her draw. The application itself only took about an hour and a half. It was the waiting three and a half hours for it to dry that was the long part. I couldn't use my hands during that time (it was quite humorous actually... Ramesh had to feed me some snacks and find me a straw for my soda!). Once the time was up, I scrubbed the henna off with a dry towel to reveal a light orange "tattoo". The color darkens over 24-72 hours to a deep orange as it oxidizes. 

India {Mahabalipuram}

After we left Fisherman's Cove, we ventured to Mahabalipuram to visit the ancient temples. Mahabalipuram's temples were carved in the 7th century from stone and represent many different styles of architecture for that time. It is believed that this was a training ground for young sculptors. The temples portray the events in the Mahabharata - a sanskrit epic of India completed in the 4th century and is considered by some to be comparable to the bible, Qur'an, and works of Homer. What's most striking about these temples is they are carved from single pieces of stone, they are not assembled.

One of the Pancha Rathas

Arjuna rathas

Sculpture of Nandi at Pancha Rathas site

Varaha Cave Temple

Arjuna's penance

India {Fisherman's Cove aka pure bliss}

On Sunday we left the city and made our way south for a two day stay at Fisherman's Cove (a resort-like hotel). It's about an hour south of Chennai, on the Bay of Bengal. I can honestly tell you I didn't know what to expect. Imagine my surprise when we were taken by golf cart to our very own private cottage with ocean view. When reserving the room, the only option available was garden view, so we didn't expect an ocean view from our room- let alone our own private cottage! It's hard to believe we are still in India. This hotel could be in any tropical location and you wouldn't know the difference. It has a spa, three restaurants, pool with swim up bar, gym, and tennis courts- it reminds me of a place we stayed at in Cabo a few years back. We ate dinner on our patio both nights and it was heaven. We didn't have to dress up for dinner, deal with crowds or worry about service. A girl could get used to this - just kicking it on the patio watching the waves, with a corona in hand! We took time out to enjoy the spa too. I took a steam and then had a head massage for 45 minutes and after that an hour long relaxation massage. It was fantastic- one of the best massages I've ever had (and I've had my share of massages). It was nice to get a way for two days, just the two of us. We spent a lot of time just lounging on the patio, reading, and enjoying the peace and quiet. As we checked out Tuesday, I saw a coworker from home! Such a shock!! When I said his name, he couldn't comprehend it was me...in India! What a small world. He had just landed the night before and was here for a week for work. The chances of that happening again - one in a million I'm sure. If you are ever in India and have a chance to visit Fisherman's Cove, I highly recommend it. 

The view from our cottage

Our very own cottage

We even had an outdoor shower - HEAVEN!

Me sitting on a catamaran - fisherman use these for fishing - I don't  know how the navigate them in the sea?!?

My view while lounging on the swing

Proof that I ran into Skip in India!

Late night snacks

Don't we look refreshed?

India {Happy Pongal}

Today is Pongal - a celebration of the harvest and to give thanks to the sun god and livestock that have helped create the material abundance. The holiday is over 1000 years old and signifies the suns journey northward (and days getting longer). One of the traditions of Pongal is to draw kolams on the doorsteps to bestow prosperity on the home. Years ago, these drawings were done with colored rice powder, but today they use chalk. I walked around the neighborhood this morning and took some pictures of the kolams to share with you.

The stairs leading up in to the house

Doorstep leading into the house

View from the balcony of the house down to entrance

India {Sari Shopping}

Last night we went shopping for saris. The store we went to had three floors and I was a bit overwhelmed. Saris can range in price from about $5 to over $10,000 depending on the fabric and embroidery. Since I won't be wearing mine daily-only special occasions - I was looking for a dressier version in silk. It's a good thing I already had a color scheme in mind, it's easier to get side tracked by all the gorgeous fabrics. Once you know what type of fabric you are interested in, you take a seat and your sales clerk starts pulling various saris from the stacks and stacks of them lining the wall. Some are basic with only two colors on them, others are very elaborate and even have jewels stitched on them. It's easy to see why shopping can take a while. My husband said his mother can easily spend 5-6 hours looking at saris before making a decision - I thought the 30 minutes I took was long! I ended up going with a peacock blue and gold hand made silk and a burgundy/green/gold machine made silk sari (it's amazing the price difference between hand made and machine made!). After I made my selections, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law showed me the traditional saris worn in Kerala (where their family is from). They are simple, yet beautiful. They gifted me one and I can't wait to see what it looks like on me. Now I need to get the blouses that are worn under the sari stitched (they come as part of the sari now so they match the colors exactly and you take them to a tailor to have them stitched to your measurements). As soon as they are complete, I'll post some pictures of me wearing them! 

Machine made silk sari

Handmade silk sari

Traditional Kerala Sari

Of course I had to buy some silk scarves and another pashmina (I don't have a green one yet) for myself too!

India {Taj Mahal}

We started our journey to Agra at 7a.m. It's a four and a half hour drive (200km) and the roads are not easy to travel - each city we passed through slowed us down due to traffic. Back home, this drive would have taken about two hours. Once we arrived in Agra, traffic was utter chaos. I thought Delhi was bad, this was worse. No stoplights, stop signs or lanes - a free for all and survival of the fittest. When we pulled into the parking area, we were immediately mobbed by guides and drivers trying to get us to use them (you can't drive up to the Taj Mahal, you walk .7km, take a rickshaw or ride a camel). We opted to walk (especially after that 4.5 hour car ride!), but took a guide with us and we were glad we did. On the walk up, we were constantly approached to buy souvenirs or take a ride the rest of the way and our guide helped ward them off.


Getting into the Taj Mahal was a quite a process in itself. You pass through security similar to the airport. You are patted down and cannot being in anything except a camera, phone and wallet/purse (which they search as well) - you can't even chew gum! But, it's worth it. Pictures do not capture the awe you experience when you see it in person. It's absolutely amazing. The grounds are meticulously manicured. As you take it all in, it's hard to imagine this was built in 1632 and only took 22 years. That may seem long by today's standards, but the sheer size and detail make this seem like a short span of time - not to mention everything was handmade. 


The story surrounding the Taj Mahal is really a love story. The Shah built it for his third wife who had recently died while giving birth to his 14th child. In her memory, he created this beautiful structure/mausoleum. He was eventually imprisoned by his son when he took power and the Shah watched it's completion from his prison cell in the Red Fort.


Entering through the royal gate, the Taj Mahal is at the end of a long garden. It's brilliant white is almost blinding. As we approached the Taj Mahal, we were asked to either take off our shoes or cover them with provided shoe covers. This is to protect the marble and keep it from deteriorating - it wasn't designed to have thousands of people walking on it daily. As you walk up the stairs and see the stonework up close, it's even more impressive. All the pieces are carved from single slabs of marble - they are not pieced together. The colors you see on the Taj Mahal are not painted, they are semi-precious stones inlaid within the marble (onyx, jade, yellow marble, jasper, crystal). The red stones shimmer in the sunlight and in moonlight, the Taj Mahal glow and red stones shine bright red. At one time, diamonds were also inlaid in the stones, but when the British arrived in India, they removed them all.


As you walk around the Taj Mahal, you can't help but notice the symmetry. For example, there are four gates leading into the Taj Mahal, four minars surround it, 22 steps lead up to the Taj Mahal and 22 domes sit atop the Royal gate (representing the 22 years it took to complete). The gardens are symmetrical as are the additional buildings surrounding it (a music room, guest room, prayer room and museum). As we walked away, we were left in awe of what an accomplishment the Taj Mahal truly is. To withstand time and still look as it did when created is unbelievable.

Standing in front of the Royal Gate (notice the 11 domes on top, there
 are 11 more on the back side)

Taj Mahal from Royal Gate

Looking up before climbing 22 steps

If you look closely, you can see some shimmer in the upper right front

Detail of semi-precious stones

Close up of marble carving - it was smooth to the touch

This stonework creates an optical illusion, it's only four sides, but looks jagged - they aren't

Looking from Taj Mahal over gardens towards Royal Gate