Never fear! We didn't disappear. We didn't become 'Bad Bloggers.' En route to the Mediterranean, we decided to take a nice long pit stop in India and relax with Pallavi's family. As such, we didn't do too much traveling, but we did do a lot of visiting with friends and family. There are a few sub adventures during our journey though:
1. Arriving in Delhi
We took off from Bangkok at 5 a.m. to Calcutta, where we had a 10+ hour layover, before completing our trip to Delhi. Did you know that Calcutta is only a 2.5 hour flight away from Bangkok? I never thought it was so close. We were so lucky that Pallavi's uncle, who manages a tea garden near(ish) Calcutta, was able to book us a room in his company's guesthouse and a driver for the day, so we could shower and sleep during our layover. I swear, no tea tastes nearly as good as tea straight from the tea plantation.
The plan was to sleep just a few hours, then meet up with one of Pallavi's best friends for lunch, and then head off to the airport. That was the plan anyway.
No sooner did we arrive, had breakfast, than we passed out. For hours! More than a few hours - well past the time when we could go and get lunch. Plus, when we woke up, we still hadn't heard back from Pallavi's friend. After some back and forth and almost quitting on her friend, Pallavi finally got a hold of her - her original text hadn't gone through! She raced over, we had tea, and then rushed to the airport. Only to have our flight delayed anyway! Go figure.
2. Chandigarh
One of Pallavi's best friends from Google had just had a baby 10 days before our arrival in Delhi. That friend lives in Chandigarh, which is just 6 hours of so away. Pallavi has felt like she's missed out on a lot of her friends' big life moments (marriages, babies, etc.) that she really wanted to see her. Her parents also had dear friends from the Army who live in Chandigarh, so we all loaded up the car and went on the road trip together.
This is my first trip through Punjab. Most of the Indian dishes that Westerners are familiar with come from Punjab. Have you ever actually seen the dab of butter melt into the top of Butter Chicken? So good!
Chandigarh is a planned "new" city. It was created to be the shared capital for the states of Haryana and Punjab when Pakistan & India split. It is a Capital Territory, much like Washington D.C. - it doesn't "belong" to either of these states. As a result, it's completely different from anywhere else I've ever traveled in India. It is clean and... quiet!
The visit with Pallavi's friend was nice and the baby is super cute. Pallavi's family friends also took us out to the local lake, which is a major attraction of this city. Everybody goes there to get some air, so it is a lovely place to just take a walk. Since our arrival in the city, I have seen 0 tourists in this town! However, go figure that when we go to the lake, I see the only other Caucasian in this town - this Midwest haggard, leathered, hippie woman came up to me, and asked me, in a heavy American accent, "are you alright?" I stared at her and replied, "Uhh... yeah. Are you alright?" She was surrounded by two sketchy looking Indian men, and her eyes said either crazy or high. She's said, "yeah, do you speak Indian?" Me: "No, I don't speak Hindi." That was it! She wandered off!
No sooner did she leave, than apparently some local villager started asking questions about me. His major question was what was wrong with my eyes that caused me to wear glasses. He seemed shocked that Westerners could have weak eyes too! Blast! Our weakness is exposed! Now nobody will believe I have x-ray vision.
3. Weight Gain
What else did we do: Gain 6 lbs! No, seriously. When we weighed in upon arrival, we discovered that I had lost 9 lbs! I was the skinniest I'd ever been. Don't worry! It's still the case - the skinniest I ever WAS! No sooner did we land than we started eating the yummiest of food all of the time. Pallavi's mom and sister are both amazing cooks, so there wasn't a single dish I could say no to. To top it off - every meal - was dessert. Every day, on average, for lunch and dinner, some delicious cake or homemade ice cream or custard or mango cheesecake would be presented. Pallavi's mom cooked like a magic elf - somehow every day it was done without our knowledge. It was so delicious that both of us just kept telling ourself, just one more dessert, and then we won't eat another one. I gained 6 lbs in spite of doing yoga every day! Towards the end, I just threw in the towel. I figured, what's done is done. If I'm going to gain weight, at least I'm going to have done it eating the yummiest food I've ever eaten.
Obviously there was a lot of business to do, as is always the case when you visit 'home.' I learned all about how driver's licenses are made; how the passport office functions, how to tie a Rakhi; how to behave properly at a Rajput family gathering; and more.
It was a great month, filled with tons of relaxation, but now we return on the road. Next stop: Egypt!
1. Arriving in Delhi
We took off from Bangkok at 5 a.m. to Calcutta, where we had a 10+ hour layover, before completing our trip to Delhi. Did you know that Calcutta is only a 2.5 hour flight away from Bangkok? I never thought it was so close. We were so lucky that Pallavi's uncle, who manages a tea garden near(ish) Calcutta, was able to book us a room in his company's guesthouse and a driver for the day, so we could shower and sleep during our layover. I swear, no tea tastes nearly as good as tea straight from the tea plantation.
The plan was to sleep just a few hours, then meet up with one of Pallavi's best friends for lunch, and then head off to the airport. That was the plan anyway.
No sooner did we arrive, had breakfast, than we passed out. For hours! More than a few hours - well past the time when we could go and get lunch. Plus, when we woke up, we still hadn't heard back from Pallavi's friend. After some back and forth and almost quitting on her friend, Pallavi finally got a hold of her - her original text hadn't gone through! She raced over, we had tea, and then rushed to the airport. Only to have our flight delayed anyway! Go figure.
2. Chandigarh
One of Pallavi's best friends from Google had just had a baby 10 days before our arrival in Delhi. That friend lives in Chandigarh, which is just 6 hours of so away. Pallavi has felt like she's missed out on a lot of her friends' big life moments (marriages, babies, etc.) that she really wanted to see her. Her parents also had dear friends from the Army who live in Chandigarh, so we all loaded up the car and went on the road trip together.
This is my first trip through Punjab. Most of the Indian dishes that Westerners are familiar with come from Punjab. Have you ever actually seen the dab of butter melt into the top of Butter Chicken? So good!
Chandigarh is a planned "new" city. It was created to be the shared capital for the states of Haryana and Punjab when Pakistan & India split. It is a Capital Territory, much like Washington D.C. - it doesn't "belong" to either of these states. As a result, it's completely different from anywhere else I've ever traveled in India. It is clean and... quiet!
The visit with Pallavi's friend was nice and the baby is super cute. Pallavi's family friends also took us out to the local lake, which is a major attraction of this city. Everybody goes there to get some air, so it is a lovely place to just take a walk. Since our arrival in the city, I have seen 0 tourists in this town! However, go figure that when we go to the lake, I see the only other Caucasian in this town - this Midwest haggard, leathered, hippie woman came up to me, and asked me, in a heavy American accent, "are you alright?" I stared at her and replied, "Uhh... yeah. Are you alright?" She was surrounded by two sketchy looking Indian men, and her eyes said either crazy or high. She's said, "yeah, do you speak Indian?" Me: "No, I don't speak Hindi." That was it! She wandered off!
No sooner did she leave, than apparently some local villager started asking questions about me. His major question was what was wrong with my eyes that caused me to wear glasses. He seemed shocked that Westerners could have weak eyes too! Blast! Our weakness is exposed! Now nobody will believe I have x-ray vision.
3. Weight Gain
What else did we do: Gain 6 lbs! No, seriously. When we weighed in upon arrival, we discovered that I had lost 9 lbs! I was the skinniest I'd ever been. Don't worry! It's still the case - the skinniest I ever WAS! No sooner did we land than we started eating the yummiest of food all of the time. Pallavi's mom and sister are both amazing cooks, so there wasn't a single dish I could say no to. To top it off - every meal - was dessert. Every day, on average, for lunch and dinner, some delicious cake or homemade ice cream or custard or mango cheesecake would be presented. Pallavi's mom cooked like a magic elf - somehow every day it was done without our knowledge. It was so delicious that both of us just kept telling ourself, just one more dessert, and then we won't eat another one. I gained 6 lbs in spite of doing yoga every day! Towards the end, I just threw in the towel. I figured, what's done is done. If I'm going to gain weight, at least I'm going to have done it eating the yummiest food I've ever eaten.
Obviously there was a lot of business to do, as is always the case when you visit 'home.' I learned all about how driver's licenses are made; how the passport office functions, how to tie a Rakhi; how to behave properly at a Rajput family gathering; and more.
It was a great month, filled with tons of relaxation, but now we return on the road. Next stop: Egypt!
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