Greetings From Kerala,
Lynne and I successfully made it to India! We had a 4 hour plane flight from SD to Dulles, Washington DC. Then a 13 hour plane flight from Washington DC to Dubai. A really nice man sat next to me. He had been in DC to visit his sister who found out she had Lymphoma. We were debating on chemotherapy vs. Holistic Nutrition. We also talked about all the places he has lived. Egypt, London, Cairo, Holland and Dubai. I learned that Dubai is a very rich country and was formed only 40 years ago. It is in Saudi Arabia Emirates. The gentleman told me that we can call him anytime if we need help and offer for us to stay with him and his wife for a couple days if time permitted. We plan on staying in contact. After reaching Dubai, Lynne and I had a two hour lay over and got on our plane to Kerala. It took us a good 3.5 hours to reach Kerala and we were the minorities on the flight for sure.
Looking out my window I saw clear sky's but lightening. Once landed everyone got up and raced to the bus. One thing about Indians they don't believe in personal space. They run, push, shove and hit you with their carts. The weather at 3:40 AM was 81 degree, talk about hot! Lynne and I got through customs and made our way to pick up my back pack. It took at least an hour and I finally found my back pack our course in the corner not even on the round about. Heather came and greeted us! She had gotten us a hotel room with AC so we could take showers and rest. Our hotel is really nice. India is very Ancient with lots of culture and customs. Julia and Dani meet up with us and we all went and got Thali meals which incorporate all five sense. Sweet, pungent, sour, salty, and spicy. The meal was amazing or as Paul Baily would say "orgasmic". Only problem you have to use your right hand. The spoons were wet and I am not about to get parasites. I will be using their customs. At least we have hand sanitizer. After our incredible lunch we walk to the clothing store to get our tailored clothes. India is very strict on apparel. Women MUST be covered.
We are planning on going to visit craft stores later and having dinner with Heather's friends. We will be leaving tomorrow for the yoga ashram and staying their for 3 nights, four days. I guess the ashram is supposed to be pretty cool. It has a lake by it and we will be practicing yoga for four hours a day and exploring more of Kerala. Right now we are staying in downtown. There are lots of different smells, the people are very friendly and it is HOT like 91 degrees and your in a sauna all day. Luckily, Heather had us bring Peppermint oil that helps us stay cool. It will be nice to get to the ashram where it is not as chaotic! The Indian people have never seen digital cameras. They love looking at their images on the screens and always ask where were from. There is a 12 hour difference between India and California. I will keep you all updated on my adventures!!! Much love to you all, Namaste, Car
