We were on our way back to India for a wedding. The last time we went to India was in 2012, and we spent a short time in Mumbai. This time was going to be different – we were headed to the Northwest part of the country where people promised me that the traffic would be calmer, the nights would be cooler, and the moments of frustration would be fewer. I was not so sure – we had just returned from a three week trip to the USA for the Christmas holiday, and I was exhausted, jet lagged, and ready…
We are getting ready for our second trip to India. Our first trip was a little over three years ago, and it was to Mumbai. This time we are headed to Jaipur in Rajasthan, which is in the North West of India and borders Pakistan. Jaipur is known as the Pink City, and for some reason I have always wanted to go to this part of India. It seems romantic to me – more so than the chaotic nature of Mumbai. That being said I am told by many that it is only slightly less chaotic, and I should expect…
I cannot believe that it has been almost three years since I last posted – three whole years. And this means that we have been living in Abu Dhabi for almost five years. The times has gone so very quickly, and at times it seems that it passes a little too quickly. The past two and a half years have been filled with the most incredible highs and lows we have probably ever experienced, and it probably explains my absence from writing. In fall 2013 we welcomed our first child. Our life has never been more full (and more hectic).…
Morning Glory, green papaya salad, fresh rolls with shrimp, peanut sauce…and smiles. LOTS and lots of smiles It is rather challenging NOT to love a place that is so welcoming, kind, and beautiful. Even the giants Buddhas at Bayon Temple in Cambodia greeted us with a smile as we climbed around the ruins. Cambodia was certainly not Vietnam – nor should it be. But the sense of welcoming crossed the border with ease, and it continued to bring us a sene of peace and wonder that is typically only found in the minds of children. The history of the countries…
We needed a break – a break from it all. From work, from the sand, from the desert, from our lives, from everything. Months earlier we decided that we were going get away – for a while. We have had no shortage of traveling over the past year: Oman, Sri Lanka, England, USA, France, India, and Nepal have all made it into our passports and memories. However we wanted something that might not have been heavily influenced .by the West just yet. So during dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant in Dubai Dr. H suggested we look into a holiday to…
India… what can one possibly say about India that has not already been said, whispered, yelled, screamed, cried, or put into a Bollywood production?It is loud and in your face. The air clings to you and holds on with a grip that will not let go. The noise vibrates deep inside your head for days after you leave. Your eyes see things that tell your brain to turn your head away, but instead you continue to stare and you start to shake and maybe even tremble. But you also smile. You become dizzy with the richness of the culture and…
There are those days when it all seems to start coming together. It is remarkable really when it happens. Maybe it takes place over weeks, months, or even years. But then suddenly on a single day – even a moment of that day – it seems to make sense. For me it was a rainy Friday morning in Abu Dhabi. Yes, you read correctly. RAINY in Abu Dhabi. In the 18 months that we have lived here, I have never put those two words together. Rain is something that I have missed desperately. The sound of it, the fresh smell…
We were told about Pashnupatinath well before we boarded our plane for Kathmandu. A good friend sent us a long list of everything that we needed to see in Kathmandu. We only had two days to explore, but he told us not to worry. We would be able to see quite a bit. The list included names of temples I could not pronounces, stories of living goddess in young girls, funeral rituals, and monkeys. Had I not been reading something from someone I actually knew, I might have mistaken the email for some kind of Grimm fairytale. It all sounded…
Traveling. It is one of the things that is so wonderful about living in the UAE. We suddenly find ourselves in the middle of a whole new world. Places that seemed like remote possibilities or not even possible are suddenly within reach. Asia and Africa are places we can almost reach are arms out to and touch. Borders and are something to look forward to, and not debate in a political forum. We recently made a last-minute decision to travel to Kathmandu, Nepal. Upon arrival we discovered that Nepal is so much more than that famous mountain range. We left…
We are about to travel to the East Coast – to New England. To rivers and streams, to intermittent thunder storms. To rolling fields of green and the smell of fresh cut grass. And maybe, if we are really lucky we will find some road side farms stands where we can buy our dinner…
