Day 14: Saravana Store (aka shopper's paradise!)

Although I have been shopping in several of the malls in India now, I have been wondering where the locals buy their clothes because I know they don't pay the touristy prices I have been paying. Today I found my answer at Saravana Store! A cross between a WalMart Supercenter and Ross, Saravana Store was an exciting place to be! I went with Randy T. and Kevin who are always good sports; if I had to go shopping with two guys, these were the ones to do it with!

The store has seven stories of shopping paradise- you start with ladies casual saris, then on the dress saris and salwars, children's clothes, menswear, food, electronics and household goods and then shoes and accessories. It took us several hours to make it through the store and we skipped three of the floors!

I ended up buying two beautiful saris I can wear at weddings, two salwar sets, two pairs of shoes and a men's kurta- all for less than $100 US!

Almost everyone in the store is local, so they treat foreigners extra special. We were given a personal shopping guide upon entering who helped us navigate through the floors and different sections. He also carried all of our merchandise from floor to floor, which is a luxury because locals have to wait in line and pay on each floor before going to the next. An interesting things is that the store always takes a photo of the shopping guide with the foreigners on the way out of the store. It was cute, so I got a picture on my camera too.

I am sure I'll be going back to Saravana Store soon!

Sightseeing in Delhi

On our second day in Delhi, we visited a Hindu temple with our tour guide, visited the Gandhi museum and went to an incredible mall.

Sightseeing in Agra

After the Taj Mahal, we did more sightseeing in Agra.

The secondary attraction in Agra is the Agra Fort, which was where the king who built the Taj Mahal for his wife spent the last years of his life imprisoned by his own son. The tower where the king lived has an awesome view of the Taj Mahal and it is said that he spent most of his time staring at the Taj thinking of his wife. The fort was pretty neat, but not nearly as cool as the Taj!

The next biggest attraction in Agra was McDonald's! Ok so not really, but for Brian and me it was! We saw it on the way into town and made plans to go there for lunch on the way back to Delhi. Brian thought they would serve hamburgers, but of course they didn't since 99% of the population worships the cow as a sacred creature! Although they didn't have Big Macs, we did thoroughly enjoy our chicken nuggets, chicken sandwich, veg pizza McPuff and fries. Yummmm!!! Everything was surprisingly similar to the American version and really hit the spot for a taste of home. After we gorged ourselves on three value meals, Brian and I both said that it was the first time we didn't feel guilty one bit about eating such bad food!

After we ate, it was time to use the bathroom before our 4.5 hour drive back to Delhi. I took a photo because it was a Western-style toilet, but obviously there were no Westerners using it because the tape was still on the toilet paper!

Taj Mahal

Seeing the Taj Mahal was #1 on my list of things to do in India. I told Brian I was going to see it with or without him- luckily he took off a day of work to go see it with me!

I am not a history buff and know nothing about geography, so all I knew before making this trip was that the Taj Mahal was somewhere in India and someone put it on a list of the seven wonders of the world. After seeing the Taj in person, it is very clear why. Its beauty cannot be captured in pictures or conveyed in words. You really have to see it to believe it.

We had an awesome tour guide who accompanied us to the Taj. I saw "Slumdog Millionaire" so I was ready to have my shoes stolen and see bunches of little boys trying to work scams at the Taj. The movie was actually pretty accurate. They changed the entrance to the Taj just a few days before we visited so that the ticket counter is about 500 meters from the entrance. They also do not make you remove your shoes anymore; instead, they give you little hospital booties to cover your shoes. There were lots of kids trying to sell us stuff at the entrance- postcards, fans, books, marble carvings, etc. Our guide told us not to buy anything because everything they sold was fake. The little marble carvings they were selling were actually made of soap!

Security is tight at the Taj and we were told to take nothing but our camera, money, water and prescription medications. We entered through the East Gate and waited in separate ladies and gents lines to be scanned by the metal detectors and frisked. Once inside, we were surrounded by the red sandstone walls of the entry court and saw the main gate to the Taj. The main gate was huge and so impressive that anywhere else it would have been an attraction on its own!

Once we crossed the the gate, we got our first view of the Taj. We visited the Taj at sunrise to beat the heat and crowds, so it was nice because there weren't tons of other people there, so we could get some pretty good photos. Our guide gave us some time to take photos and then went to a little shady spot with a great view of the Taj so he could tell us the story of how this wonder came to be.

After telling us about the Taj Mahal being a love story between Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal, our guide took us inside the Taj to see their tombs and see the beautiful building close up. The Taj took over 20 years and over 20,000 laborers to build, and after seeing it up close I can tell why! I was so amazed by the detail on the building- the semiprecious stone inlays, the carved floral design marble slabs, the marble and onyx floor, everything!

From close up and far away, we were mesmerized by the Taj. Even when we were leaving, we had to keep looking back for just one more glimpse. I'm not sure if we'll ever make it back there, but we will surely remember this visit forever!

Drive to Agra

The drive to Agra is long. From the clock I could tell that, but I fell asleep before we even made it out of Delhi! Once I woke up, we had an interesting drive. Here are some of the highlights:

• Our guide pointed out "buffalo." I know I'm a city girl, but I know what a buffalo looks like and this creature was surely not buffalo. I came to the conclusion that it was water buffalo- some animal Brian said he had seen on the Discovery Channel that the lions eat. It was ugly!


• When he saw we were a little confusred about the buffalo, our driver Vijay asked us if we drink buffalo milk. Uh...no.


• Vijay also asked us if our marriage was arranged. Brian's repsonse: "No, I chose her." Thanks! :)


• The country autorickshaws have an extra bench which translates into at least 10 more seats! We saw some autorickshaws with at least 20, probably 25 people on them. Most of the time, you can't even tell who is driving!


• Our driver had to pay for a permit to cross the state line and left us in the car and said don't open the window. We had heard about the monkey at the state line, and he was there and did some tricks for us. Brian opened the window to give him a tip, which the monkey attendant did not think was adequete and made Brian give him the rest of his coins!

Trip to Delhi

We started our trip to Delhi by waking up at 4a.m. to make it to the airport for our 6:25 a.m. flight. Once we arrived at the airport, we realized we were going to be very lost! Every airport does things a little different and that is the case in Chennai too. Before entering the airport, guards with big guns check to make sure you have a ticket. Good think I printed off our e-tickets!

Some things we were completely lost about:

• We had to scan our luggage and have it zip tied shut before we checked in at the ticket counter
• You have to have a tag for each piece of "hand carry" luggage. If you don't have a tag, they'll scowl at you.
• They did not want to see our passports ever.
• Our boarding passes did not list the gate number. You had to watch a screen and then listen closely because it changed throughout our waiting period.
• You line up by your gate number to get on a bus that drops you off in the middle of the tarmac
• You have to know whether you should board the plane at the front or the back. Of course we picked the wrong one.

Once we got on the plane, we realized that we were truly on an Indian domestic carrier because the seats were made for short and skinny Indians, not big, tall Americans! Brian sat in the middle and couldn't sit straight at all because his legs wouldn't fit. By the end of the flight, he was numb.

Once we made it to Delhi and got our bags stepped out of the airport doors to a sea of Indian faces holding signs with names. We started looking and quickly found "Meghann Dibrell" and a smiling face. Vijay was our driver for the weekend and he was great! His English was just barely enough to communicate, but he was always in the right place at just the right time when we needed him.

Vijay took us into Delhi to see some of the major sights. We were supposed to have a tour guide, but due to some miscommunication, we toured the sights on our own. It was fun, but we really had no idea what we were looking at since only minimal signs were in English. We went to Qutb Minnar, the Bahai Lotus Temple and Humayan's Tomb.

We had fun, but it was extremely hot. My shirt was soaked completely through! Since we had just flown in, we also forgot about sunscreen, which was not good for my white husband!

Little Italy ends with a sizzling chocolate brownie tower!

The table next to us ordered one and we couldn't resist! I am supposed to be on a chocolate fast with Linda, but I did take one bite of the brownie. Brian liked it, but it tasted like Indian chocolate to me, which is not quite right!

In the lobby

Our hotel always has beautiful tropical arrangements. I just love this one!

Meeting Madhan

I was blessed with the opportunity to meet Madhan and his mother on Tuesday. It was an amazing day, and I am so grateful for Marshall with the India headquarters and all of the project staff from the Andrews Kirk Child Development Center for planning our visit. It was also great that one of Brian's coworkers could join me for the day since Brian had to work.

This is the first of two slideshows I have from the day. This slideshow is from our visit to the project in one of the slums of central Chennai. The project is inside of a slum area and actually sits on top of and in the middle of a graveyard. The project director and several of the counselors were there to show us around and help us get acquainted with Madhan. They also brought in the head cook early so we could have coffee and cookies, which was very sweet.

After visiting the project, Madhan's mother invited us to her home. It was such a unique opportunity to see where he lived and it was an honor to be invited.

I have tons more to share about my visit with Madhan, so stay tuned!

TV

We don't spend a lot of time watching TV, but we like to have it on as background noise and to catch up on the world news. Watching the TV has been as interesting an experience as walking down the street. It gives us insight into Indian culture and the rest of the world.

We have about 5 channels on our TV that I'll watch: BBC News, CNN, National Geographic, Discovery and HBO. We have about 10 sports channels, all of which seem to show cricket matches 24 hours a day. There are several Indian news channels that may be speaking English, but I can't tell. And the rest of the channels seem to be entertainment channels that basically have Indian women singing and dancing and doing moves that Brian says were "in" 10 years ago like the macarena. Very odd. For the American movies on HBO, they provide English subtitles. Hmmm... are we as hard to understand as we think they are?!

The commercials range from insanely weird to hilarious to downright dumb. There are some products that I can't even believe they advertise. Loreal advertises a skin lightener "to make dark ugly skin look white and beautiful." There are other commercials that we can't even get beyond the song and dance to figure out what they are advertising!

The thing about the TV that I am most annoyed with that prompted me to write this is Dolly Parton. CNN International seems to think that Dolly Parton is the greatest thing since sliced bread and has aired a special about her 6 times a day! I understand they have to reuse programming, but come on! It's been 6 days since I got here and they are still showing Dolly Parton!

Day 6: Expect the Unexpected

One of Brian's coworkers was invited to a wedding by one of the contractors he works with. He knew about my love for weddings and invited me to go along with him. Ever since I found out we had the chance to come to India, seeing a wedding was #2 on my list of things to do (#1 is the Taj Mahal).

In the U.S., Indian weddings are a huge deal and include lots of guests, food, decor, everything. From talking to a few Indians who we know, weddings in India are on an even larger scale. So, there was no chance I was going to pass up this opportunity to see the Indian culture up close in one of their most sacred rituals.

Well, let's just say I was underwhelmed. I have realized that in India, you really do have to expect the unexpected. Nothing is as you would imagine. I know it was still a wonderful day for the bride and groom and their families and don't want to take away from that, but it was really not what I expected.

I was prepared to see all of the guests dressed in their best saris and sherwanis. To see beautiful gold jewelry. To see more of the amazing flower garlands I have seen the Indian ladies stringing for special occasions. To see the bride in the most beautiful outfit that her family has been preparing for her since she was a child. To see the ancient rituals of an Indian marriage ceremony.

I was not prepared for pink tulle, silver tinsel, Styrofoam white-skinned angels, guests in blue jeans, cell phones ringing during the ceremony, the bride's mother offering a loaf of white bread still in the bag from the grocery store to the altar or the beautiful Indian bride wearing a Western-style white veil with her gorgeous sari!

It was not so much the departure away from the traditional elements that disturbs me, but the incursion of Western culture that irks me more. Angels are fine- but why can't they have brown angels?!

*Just a note for those wondering why the photos are in a church- this was a Catholic wedding ceremony. Even with Indian Christians, the weddings are still arranged and traditional elements of Indian wedding ceremonies are incorporated.

The Yoga Master

Our hotel offers complimentary yoga classes three times a week. I decided to try it out tonight because I love yoga and do it about once a week at home. When I got there, one of the spa girls told me that the yoga master was stuck in traffic and class would start 30 minutes late. Yoga master? OK, so this is going to be REAL yoga. Well, I waited there with the two Japanese men that were taking the class with me until the yoga master arrived. We were taken to a little room, just barely big enough for the five of us to lay down in (an Indian man had also joined us). There were two seats up front and two in the back. I've always been a front-row student, so that's where I headed. When the yoga master came in, I was immediately overtaken by his overwhelming scent of body odor. It probably would have been really bad to have passed him on the street, but to be stuck in a tiny room with him and to be half an arm's length away was just awful! I'll just hold my breath, I thought. Well, half of yoga is the breathing, which was not going to work! I tried my best to fake the breathing through my nose when possible and use my mouth instead. I got called out a few times and was forced to take a big whiff. I thought about getting up and leaving, really thought about it.

Once we got past the 30 minutes of breathing exercises, we went on to the stretching. I have never been a flexible person and even though I do Pilates and yoga regularly at home, I just do not bend easily! So when the yoga master tells me to sit with my feet in front of me and lean tot he right and touch my head to the floor, it doesn't quite work out as planned. "Come on, come on, what are you doing?!," he says. I really was trying! Then it was lift your leg, grab your ankle and touch your head to your ankle. It turned out to be more like lift your leg, grab your thigh and lift my head off the ground! The yoga master was going around forcing the other men in the class into position, but Indian men do not touch women so for me he would stand by me and waft the air forcefully telling me to go higher, push harder, lift more, etc. My only successes came with the shoulder stand and the backbend because my back is my only flexible body part. I held the shoulder stand for a good 10 minutes without flinching and the backbend for a good 5. The yoga master was very proud!

Just like when I take yoga at home, the class ended with relaxation in corpse pose- laying on the floor with legs and arms spread, completely relaxed. The yoga master left the room for a minute (yes, I could breathe!) and then I was really relaxed an could enjoy my mini nap.

Throughout the whole class, the yoga master did this deep hum thing and would break into song. He ended the class with a song and told me to come back Tuesday. Only if you shower, Mr. Yoga Master!

Day 5: Trip to Spencer's & Raymond's

We ventured into town again today to go to Spencer's Plaza. This was Brian's first trip into town since he's been here, so although he wasn't feeling 100%, he still wanted to go. I could probably skip going to this mall for the rest of the time I am here, but Brian just wanted to get out. We shopped around at some of the nicer department stores and then went into the alleys to look at some of the good stuff.

Brian wants a leather jacket and leather is big here and they sell it for cheap. But you have to be careful because there is a lot of pleather out there too! We stopped by one shop and I felt one of the jackets. That's a clear sign to the shopkeepers that we are interested. They pulled us into the shop and started trying jackets on Brian. Either the sleeves were 3 inches above his wrists or the jacket was made for a 300-pound guy. Not exactly what we were looking for. The jackets were also really cheap looking and not real leather. I told them thank, but no thanks and started to leave. Brian was still wearing one of the jackets so we started unzipping it and taking it off, but no they weren't going to let the sale get away that easy! With three guys trying to make us stay, we had to rip the jacket off and toss it aside and make a run for it because they just weren't going to let us leave! About 20 minutes later, we were walking on a completely different level and in a totally different alley and we start hearing shouts by some guy running toward us, "You want leather jacket?! Come look in my shop!" Apparently, word travels fast in the mall- look for the big white guy who wants to buy a leather jacket!

While at the mall, I bought my first sari. I bought a cotton sari for now until I can shop around some more. I know I want to buy a really nice one that I can wear to future Indian wedding I will hopefully do, but the people at the shop weren't the nicest so I'll have to try another place next time.

We stopped for lunch at the mall and found a great treat- KFC! Surprisingly, it was mostly the same as back home, with a few twists. Brian and I both ordered chicken strips and french fries which were delicious. Instead of honey mustard or Ranch, they dip their chicken in a spicy salsa. It was actually pretty good! The combo meals were a bit different: Veg burger, 2-piece chicken with rice, etc. But overall, the concept travels well into India!

After lunch we headed out of the mall into a shop called Raymond's, which is a men's clothing store and tailor shop. From the advice of some of Brian's coworkers, we stopped in to get some custom shirts made for Brian. He's so tall and skinny around the waist and has really long arms, that no shirts ever fit him just right. We ended up picking 4 really nice fabrics to get shirts made for him. He's also going to get a custom Kurta made, which is a traditional Indian shirt. It came out to under $30 each. They're going to make one sample and he goes to try it on this Wednesday.

All in all shopping in India is fun, but I think I'm shopped out for a bit!

Day 4: DakshinaChitra & Fisherman's Cove

Today started early with Brian waking up in the middle of the night with stomach problems. Poor guy- he spent the morning in the bathroom and the rest of the day in bed with chills and fever. We're not sure what it was that did it, but he's been skeptical about eating anything but the food we brought from home until his stomach recovers.

I already had plans to spend with day with Randy T. going to a craft village, so I made sure Brian was medicated and left to go into town. We visited a cute little museum village called DakshinaChitra. It was a place very similar to the Institute of Texan Cultures showing houses and village life in the different states of South India.

It got pretty hot while we were there so my sweat rag came in very handy. The sweat rag/hanky is a staple in Chennai- almost all men carry one. I don't think it's very ladylike, but I carry one too!

At each of the little exhibits, there was an Indian lady showing off a craft project- basket weaving, spinning tops, paper mache noise makers, puppets, etc. I ended up buying a little puppet and several of the paper mache noise makers, which are already driving Brian crazy! The noise makers are really interesting not because of what they do, but because of what they are made with. The paper they used to make them was actually textbook paper. Maybe it was a sign for me to study math because all of the ones I got were from a math textbook!

Another cool exhibit was the weaving. They had a giant loom with a man weaving a piece of silk fabric. The amount of work that goes into that craft is amazing.

I also got mehendi done on one of my hands. I have gotten this done before, but the ink they used here is a little different. It was a very dark orange and is now a deep orange. The lady did it very quickly and it turned out great. It only cost me 50 rupees (about a dollar). I only got one hand done because I needed one hand for the sweat rag!

We also met some really great Indian students who were working on some crafts. They said they were part of a yearlong program to learn all about crafts and culture. We asked them what they planned to do after the program, but they said they had no idea. They did say that they would no longer bargain on craft items because they understood how much work goes into them! They were really great and I'm glad we got to talk to them for a few minutes.

The best part about DakshinaChitra was the future-telling bird. I saw a man sitting by a house with a bird sitting on a cage and another one in the cage. I asked him if the bird talked and he said yes. He said the bird talked futures for 30 rupees. Ohhhh... a fortune teller! I told him I wanted my future told, but unfortunately, the bird only spoke Tamil. Darn- next time I'll bring a translator!

To see more of DakshinaChitra, visit: http://www.dakshinachitra.net/.

After DakshinaChitra, we went to Fisherman's Cove, which is a beautifully landscaped beach resort. We had an Indian buffet lunch at the restaurant there, which turned out to be really good. My favorite item was the cauliflower and coriander soup- yummmm! We went down to the beach, which was not the most beautiful beach- no white sands or clear blue water, but more like Galveston or Port Aransas. But, I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to step into the Bay of Bengal and it felt great!

Once I got back to the hotel, I took a long nap, spent some time on the room at the pool, and then had room service pizza- another yummmmm! On the agenda for tomorrow is going shopping in town again if Brian is feeling better. If he's not, I'll stay with him at the hotel and catch up on some work.

Day Three: Trip to the mall

I went into town with two of Brian's coworkers to visit the big mall- Spencer Plaza. Spencer Plaza turned out to be a melting pot of all of India. There were rich people, poor people and everything in between. There were extremely nice Western stores selling expensive items and there were crowded alleys with small shops trying to lure us in with 100 rupee trinkets. I ended up buying some Pashminas and some Indian shirts and a few other souvenirs for people back home. Mostly, it was just fun looking around and taking in the bargaining process. It was very interested to watch!

We also ate at the food court, which was another melting pot. Their food court had a mix of little carts with items to walk-up counters to sit-down restaurants. We ate at the Noodle House, a chain sit-down restaurant. This was my first time eating outside of the hotel so I was a little nervous, but the guys assured me they had eaten there several times and it was safe. I ordered some vegetarian noodles and spring rolls and everything was delicious. I tried some of the guys' fried cauliflower and it was awesome! I guess anything fried can taste good!

Crossing the Street

I took this video as I waited to cross the street to go to the mall. This is during the off-peak traffic hours and it's still constant. We crossed the street about 2 seconds after this video ends- I feared for my life a little but we made it!

Working out and Thai massage

I went to the spa today for a quick run on the treadmill before heading in for my Thai massage. The workout room is very nice with several treadmills, bikes, weights, etc. I wasn't sure what to wear because although we are at a Western hotel, I didn't want to shock them with the small amount of clothes I normally wear when running. I opted for a sleeveless tank and yoga pants since I was just doing a 2-mile jog. I am a sweaty girl when it comes to workout out, especially when I'm wearing too many clothes. So after about 3 minutes, the gym attendant came up to me with a towel. I said yes, thank you and instead of putting the towel in my outstretched hand, he started dabbing my face and neck with the towel for me. It was a little awkward, but I figured he was just trying to be nice and get a tip. I said thank you again and he walked away. I asked for the towel again, but he wouldn't just give it to me- he was my personal sweat dabber for 25 minutes!

After I was done in the treadmill I did some stretching and started on my core exercises. While in the middle of some crunches, the sweat dabber told me to get up. OK. I got up. He pointed at my love handles and said, "You're fat here." And then to my thighs: "and here!" OK..... "I'll fix it!", he said. "For 100 rupees." I wasn't sure what kind of miracle he had up his sleeve but for $2 I was going to find out!

It turned out that he wanted to give me a personal training session, even though he probably had no qualification to do so. For another 30 minutes I twisted and turned and did leg lifts and crazy things Brian would not approve of as the sweat dabber chanted, "Faster, faster faster!" Finally, I told him thank you and gave him his 100 rupees and went in for my Thai massage.

For the massage, I was told to change into my special "pyjamas." They had asked me my size when I scheduled the appointment, and then gave me a special locker with pants a shirt and sandals all laid out nicely for me. I put on the shirt, which was basically a loose, button down pajama shirt. Then I went to put on the pants and realized they gave me the wrong size. The waist on the pants was so big I could have gotten 5 of my bodies in each leg! After looking more closely, I figured out that they were one-size-fits-all and had a drawstring. Well, it looked like a drawstring but didn't actually "draw." Hmmmm... what do I do with this string and huge waist. Bunch the front of the pants up and tie the string around it? That sounded good to me! After a few tries, that's what I did and went out to meet the receptionist. She took one look at me and said let me help you. I knew there had to be something that made more sense! She took the two strings and tied them around my waist with all of the extra fabric on top and then folded the extra fabric over so that they wouldn't fall off, but I would still look like an oompa loompa!

The receptionist took my down to the meditation room where I was treated to chilled towels and cold tea (something I haven't seen anywhere else here yet). After that I went into the massage room with the therapist and started my massage. The massage was fantastic, but not what we are used to back home! She basically used her whole body to stretch my body and massage me. She walked on my legs, bent me in crazy positions and then sat on me, did handstands on me- crazy things! it was great and I'll definitely do that again while I'm here!

Our bathroom

I've had several request for information about the bathrooms! So, here is a picture of our hotel room toilet. We do have toilet paper in the room, but I don't think they are very used to people using it. The full roll is about a quarter of the size of the double Charmin rolls that I buy at home. It is also thin and scratchy- no extra quilting here! They also don't replenish it unless it is gone or you ask for more. The toilet has a spray hose attached. I haven't tried that out yet because it just seems like it would get messy. I'll let you know if I get adventurous and try it!

Getting Acquainted

I arrived in India at around 3:30 a.m. so my trip from the airport was in the dark. On the two-hour drive to Kanchipuram, I was able to really see India for the first time. After my one day of being in this country, I have realized I have so much to see and learn. The culture here is so incredibly different than our own and I saw that just about everywhere we went.

Here are a few things I've seen so far:

CLOTHING

I loved looking at all of the clothing while we were driving. The saris are so beautiful and the colors and patterns are endless. As we moved into more rural area, I saw most of the men wearing "man-skirts." I was shocked at first because I thought it was women wearing short skirts, but it wasn't. The proper name for this piece of clothing is a lungi. It is basically a tube of fabric that can adjust to be long, short or anything in between. I noticed that men were adjusting their lungis constantly- maybe to get a breeze in there? Who knows!

BATHROOMS

I timed my bathroom schedule and drank limited water so that I wouldn't have to go while we were out. I am not quite ready to experience the hole in the ground bathroom! I noticed several signs while we were out advertising "TOLET." I'm wondering if they are misspelling toilet or if this is something completely different. Hmmm... a mystery I'll have to figure out! I did notice than men use nature as a toilet quite often. When on a major road, I saw a line of about 15 men standing on the side of the road peeing. That was quite a sight!

DRIVING

They drive like crazy people. Really. I've seen some pretty crazy driving in the Dominican Republic and Mexico, but they have nothing on Indian driving! The traffic pattern is reversed here like in England with people driving on the left side of the road. In reality though, people help themselves to the entire road and usually drive down the middle, on the wrong side or whatever is going to get them to their destination faster. Even on a divided highway with concrete barriers in the middle, you will see cars going the wrong way!

The modes of transportation are diverse and it's amazing that they all share the same road. There are lots of cars, tons of motorcycles, bicycles, autorickshaws, buses, trucks hauling goods, oxcarts, etc. The autorickshaws look really cute- large enough for only about 3 people comfortably, but I've already seen them stuffed with up to 10 people! The buses also pack people on with people literally hanging off the bus with only one foot and hand to keep them on it.

Indian drivers have a lot more obstacles to be aware of than we do. The number one obstacle is pedestrians- a lot of pedestrians. There are so many people walking here at any given time of day. Even when we were driving at 4 a.m. the roads were full of people walking. They walk on the pedestrian side roads, along the highways, in the highways, in the middle of intersections - wherever! The second big obstacle is the animals. Cows, dogs and goats are what I've seen the most of so far. All three roam the roads freely and travel in packs. I've seen whole groups of each taking a break in the middle of the highway and all of the cars stopping and detouring around them. The dogs are the scariest because they run all over the road and could easily get wiped out. The cows are pretty hard to miss though.

The most interesting thing I've noticed about Indian driving is that despite the craziness and the commotion, drivers are extremely friendly! Horn honking is constant and I think it's more of a courtesy. Little short taps on the horn are just to let you fellow drivers know you're coming. Several times today while driving on a one-lane road where we were trying to pass a car in front of us but another car was coming, the driver we were trying to pass would use his hand as a signal to stay or go. This happens a lot in the intersections to. The stoplights and stop signs are meaningless so there is a lot of signaling between drivers to wait or go. It was very interesting to watch!

CHILDREN

The children here are precious. They are all just adorable and I want every single one of them to have a wonderful, happy, blessed life. I've already seen how parents put there children to work selling items or begging. It's very sad and one of the hard things I know I'll have to get used to while I am here. I did see lots of schools and tons of kids walking to school in uniforms. I am so glad they are getting the opportunity for an education because that will undoubtedly be their ticket up in life.

IT Boom

It's no secret that India's Information Technology industry is booming- that's why we're here after all. Our hotel is located along the IT highway so I've been able to see several of the companies who have operations here in India. The buildings are all large and very nice looking, which is odd because they are in a sea of run-down buildings and piles of trash.

Here are some photos of the large office building where Brian is working. He works in the blue glass section that is finished and they are building a huge mass of steel and other buildings around it. We drove up on it and it really looks like a spaceship landed on Earth! Brian said that when it is complete, the building will house 25,000 workers.

One of his coworkers told me that when it is complete, the building will look like a butterfly from an aerial view. The big curved section you see is one of the wings. It was hard to capture in photos how massive this was, but it was an amazing sight to see.

Day One: Visit to Kanchipuram

Today, I visited Kanchipuram with two of Brian's coworkers and some other family they had in town. We had a great time visiting this small town known for its ancient temples.

It was a two-hour drive to get there, and once we arrived it was almost noon when the temples close for an afternoon break. We had enough time for three temples, but ended up only seeing two because one was closed for a funeral.

The first temple was really big and had several pyramids. The intricate design on each was really an amazing thing to see. There was a large pond in the center of the temple with lots of fish. There was a really cool tree at this temple which was a wishing tree. People hang little wooden beds or fabric on the tree in hopes of getting married or having children. The tree was so colorful and it was a really cool sight.

The best part about this temple was the elephants. They had a painted elephant right when we walked in and he was so pretty! The elephant was giving blessings by tapping our heads with his trunk. After a good tip, the elephant minder told me to step up closer to the elephant. He gave me a really good blessing by resting his trunk on my head and then blowing hot air at me. It was really kind of gross, but an experience I will never forget!

They had two more elephants in the back getting "baths and makeup" and they said I could ride one for 100 rupees (around $2). I wanted to until I saw how sad the elephants looked. One had a huge gash in his leg that looked fresh and bloody. Their skin was discolored and didn't look like an elephant should look. I said no thanks and gave a good tip in hopes that they would use it to care for the elephants.

The second temple we visited was pretty small, but pretty. It was a square and all of the walls were full of designs. No two sections were the same. One cute little part had a little bed, so we all got up there and took pictures. There was also a big cow statue outside that we climbed on for photos.

I had read a lot about temples and these visits weren't quite what I expected. We did have to remove our shoes (we walked in socks), but other than that there were no rules. We didn't have to cover our heads, refrain from touching things, etc. as I would have expected in a spiritual place. Other than the few tourists, there were mostly just beggars and not many Indians there for worship. Our driver did tell us that we were there at an off time and that it is very busy on the weekends because people have to take off work to drive there.

Kanchipurum is also known for its silks, but because it's pretty touristy, they are overpriced. Our driver told us we could buy the same silks for a better price in Chennai, so that's one thing on my list to look for now!

Farewell USA!

I'm sitting at the San Antonio airport ready for journey across the world.

I worked a great wedding last night and then stayed up almost all night packing. I tried to stay up all night so I could sleep on the plane, but my body won out and I fell asleep somewhere between the 3 a.m. Bill and Guiliana rerun and an E News recap.

I woke up at 7 a.m. to finish packing and then had a realization that I should probably do some cleaning too! I didn't think coming back to one-month-old soap scum would be fun. So I cleaned the kitchen, bathrooms, living room and dining room. Our bedrooms didn't make the cut, but that's OK. I also emptied all of the trash, emptied the fridge of perishables, and unplugged all electronics. Brian made me a checklist that he posted on the door before he left, so that helped!

I had some last-minute work to finish up at the office and then I went to lunch with Dad, Patti, Linda and Tony. I decided that since there is apparently no chocolate in India, I wanted to leave town with a stomach full of Red Robin chocolate shake (with a hefty dose of Lactaid of course!). It was soooooo good! I only drank half of the shake and shared with Patti for the sake of my neighbors on the plane. :)

Next I parked my car at Dad's house and visited a bit before heading to the airport. I got to the airport and had issues with the self-service machine, left my passport at the ticket counter, got pulled over for an extra security check and now my flight is delayed! I am so excited I don't even care though!

I had a short layover in Dallas even before the delay, so I just hope it gets there on time. I'll have 40 minutes from the time I touch down in Dallas to the time I take off for London. I'll probably be running across that huge airport to catch the flight!

I stocked up on some good reading material at Barnes and Noble this afternoon. In my shopping bag is:

• My Sister's Keeper: The movie previews look great and the book is always better!
• Eat, Pray, Love: About a woman's travels across Italy, Indonesia, and India searching for a balance between worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence.
• Lonely Planet's Guide to India: The authority on all things Indian
• People: I've been dying to read Kate Gosselin's explosive interview
• Time: Some intellectual stimulation since I won't be talking to anyone for a while

More updates when I get to London...

Brian made it to India!

Brian has made it to India and is currently working his first day at work. He left Monday at 1 p.m. San Antonio time and finally made it to his hotel room today. While on his layover in Singapore, he took a tour of the city and visited the famed butterfly exhibit, which looks really cool! I haven't gotten to talk to him much, but I do know that he was well fed throughout the whole trip and had unlimited alcohol to drink. He also mentioned that although the airplane seat was nice and roomy, it was a few inches short for his giant body!

I'm looking forward to getting more travel tips from him and more information on what else I should bring. I can't believe I leave in 4 days! I have a fantastic wedding on Saturday and lots of loose ends to tie up, so I really haven't had any time to pack or think about the trip. I will be spending Friday night packing for sure so I am all ready to go before my wedding.

Here are some photos that Brian took while at the airports and in Singapore.

Let the packing (and shopping!) begin

Brian is leaving in just 10 days now, so we've started to get things together and already packed one suitcase. While I worked today, Brian went and shopped for snacks. Although we know there will be many wonderful things to eat in India, it will be a bit of a shocker for our American palates. I want to make sure we have a little taste of home with some of our favorite snacks. There are also a few things that we might just cry if we didn't get to eat for a month-for me it's Fiber One bars and for Brian it's Wheat Thins.

With the advice of some of Brian's coworkers and some online research, we stocked up on things like granola bars, oatmeal, cookies, crackers, tuna, nuts, peanut butter and some candy. Yuuummmm.

Brian set aside enough for the week he'll be in India before I arrive and a few snacks for his carry on. The rest went into a suitcase that I'll be checking with the airline. It weighs just under 40 pounds so we might find a few more snacks to stuff in there.

We also got a few hygiene items that we are particular about- deodorant, body wash, etc. that also went into the suitcase.