Flying over Kochi, in India’s southern state of Kerala it is immediately evident, this is a vastly different place. The overbearing rust colored cities and dusty villages give way to such a vast array of greenery one might exhaust all adjectives to describe it. But one thing is clear, once stepping off the plane, it is humid, so humid you swear within seconds of disembarking that you’re already sweating. Probably, because you are. This is monsoon though, so I accept it as best I can and tell myself, at least it’s good for my skin. Continue reading
Category Archives: India
Pushkar: Final Northern Stop.
I’m starting to get used to getting up before five am, that’s not to say I enjoy it, or even tolerate it, but my body is now wide awake at 6:30, making early departures (such as 4:45am) at least a bit less awful. It was good to leave early though, our train ride to Pushkar took us 6 hours. To pass the time I they’d movies preloaded onto my iPad, which as always makes me nostalgic for home, this time I craved cucumber sorbet on a hot southern california night from Carmela in Pasadena. It’s the first real homesickness I’ve felt, and I blame it directly on the movie. As long as I’m not reminded of home it’s much easier to miss it less. Continue reading
Udaipur
Udaipur is easily the prettiest city I’ve seen thus far. Our hotel is set on the lake overlooking the white and blue speckled city. It could almost be Greece. On our first night after a day of meandering the streets the four of us who felt like venturing out of the tourist box found ourselves weaving through alleyways in the heavy heat of an Indian summer night. We were off to Natraj, a thali restaurant where we would be the only foreigners. Despite the late hour and still oppressive heat I had been waiting for a food experience like this, and I wasn’t about to miss out. Once we sat down we learned Anthony Bourdain had been there, which while I religiously watch his show and truly enjoy his special brand of snarky narcissism, his presence tends to create hordes of tourists and deceased service. I was relieved to find this was hardly the case, the crowds were all local and the service was ridiculously quick and efficient. Not to mention delicious! Much like in Nepal it’s a set menu of several smaller dishes that are continuously refilled, resulting in an absurd level of fullness. Finally! A food experience worth writing about.
A Castle in Rajastan
We weren’t promised we would get to sit. The local train that would take us from Bundi to our rural heritage stay in Byaipur for three hours only guaranteed we would get on the train, not much else. Luckily, we did manage to grab seats, even if they were cramped and situated next to a baby who insisted on trying to gnaw on my book while the mother looked on with amusement. Continue reading
Colliding With The Earth 