Gina writes:

Last week, Corey and I were both in Delhi for 4 days to attend a VSO meeting. Here is a smattering of thoughts about the trip.

Train Travel

This was my first trip back to Delhi since our month-long orientation in November 2009. I've avoided going a few times because of the travel time there and back. To get there, we had to take a 4-hour train to another part of Orissa, stay overnight there, then take a 28-hour train to Agra where the Taj Mahal is, then take a 2-hour train to Delhi. The travel itself isn't so bad, since you're sitting on padded air-conditioned benches and can lay down, use your laptop (there are outlets), buy all kinds of food from the vendors coming through the carriages. It's just the length of time that's difficult to deal with.

For the 32-hour train on the way back, we were put on a waitlist when purchasing the tickets. This is normal and has never been a problem in the past, since people cancel up until the last day and there are reserved seats released at the last minute. However, this time we never made it off the waitlist! Just before the train left Delhi, Corey managed to get a refund for our original tickets in the air-conditioned class and purchase the last remaining ticket for sleeper class (the non a/c cheaper and fuller carriages that we usually don't consider for long trips). After getting on the train, the ticket checker fined us because only one of us had a ticket and then later told us that the one ticket we did have was fraudulent! We spent the first 7-8 hours trying to be calm and nonchalant hanging out with 10 other people in a group of 8 bunks, but we were both dreading either sleeping on the floor with the rats and cockroaches and mud or possibly sharing one 6 foot by 2 foot bunk for the night. Eventually, Corey talked with the ticket checker and we were given 2 bunks that would be free for the night. Relief... After that, the trip was fine, we slept well, and the train emptied out significantly for the second day. But the stress of not really understanding where we were allowed to sit and whose seat we were actually sitting in illegally and thinking about a long, sleepless night with nowhere to sleep was too much!

VolComm

The purpose of our trip to Delhi was to attend a Volunteer Committee meeting. I am the chair of the 4-member committee that works with the VSO India office to address any issues the volunteeers are having and try to improve the whole volunteer experience, increase the impact we're having, etc. It's an interesting committee to lead because 1) it's pretty much all on-line since the members are all over the country, so there's a lot of email coordination and follow-up which can be a challenge; 2) it's a unique opportunity to be invited to critique the activities and processes of the VSO India office (I can't say I've ever been able to tell previous "bosses" what I think they should change and how!). As volunteers being paid only a living stipend, we're invested in doing what we can to make the experience as fulfilling as possible, so we're invited to be an integral part of deciding how to make the whole program better; making appropriate use of this permission is sometimes tricky, since we don't want to tell the VSO India staff how to do their jobs or be confrontational.

The 4 members of the committee (plus Corey and another volunteer, who have been working on some things with the VSO India office) met for 3 full days. We ended up 1) developing a monthly progress report that the volunteers would fill out, to help the NGO and the volunteer understand each other's expectations and problems better and earlier; 2) recommending changes to the placement description template that is basically the "job announcement" that we see when we're offered the placement, with info about duties, the NGO, and the location; 3) a few other simple solutions to problems of losing knowledge when there's a gap between 2 volunteers in an NGO and building the confidence of volunteers when they arrive in placement and have a lot of logistics to arrange in a culture that they're new to. All in all, it was a very productive meeting.

Other Volunteers

Another benefit to the visit was the chance to see some of the other volunteers that I know and meet some that I don't know. Out of the 50-60 volunteers that were here when we arrived 21 months ago, only 6 are still here! Placements end, new groups come, the number of volunteers is decreasing due to funding changes...all resulting in the fact that I hardly know any volunteers now, except a few through email. I scheduled this meeting at the same time as the in-country orientation for a new group of volunteers, so counting the 5 other volunteers in the meeting, the 4 new volunteers, and the handful of current Delhi volunteers that I saw at a party at the VSO India office, I interacted with about 15 current volunteers and the program staff that I haven't seen since 2009, which was great and made me feel less disconnected to the whole group.

American-esque Experiences

Other than the Volunteer Committee meeting, I had a short list of things that I wanted to do in Delhi, mostly involving American food and typical metropolitan experiences. With a group of 9 volunteers, we went for happy hour at a casual bar (something not possible in Koraput) followed by dinner at a Thai restaurant. It was nice to just be in that environment of ordering drinks, relating to people from a Western culture, and chilling out for a few hours without a rush to finish dinner.

Friday was our free day, added on to the trip to make time for errands and such. The day started off with a trip to the dentist for me, just for a cleaning. I wanted to take advantage of VSO's benefit of paying for a dental visit after 1 year of service and wasn't about to consider visiting a dentist in Koraput! Just like Corey's visit to a different Delhi dentist in December, this was exactly the same as in the U.S. -- same look to the office, same routines (albeit a little rougher and completed by the dentist herself and not a hygienist). Cheaper though, the equivalent of about 40 USD. Lunch was cheeseburgers at Cafe Oz! So delicious, exactly what I wanted. The restaurant was casual and simple, but the service was more Western-style, with the same pace and little things like checking whether we liked our food and if we needed anything else. About half of the patrons there were foreigners; it was just such a shock to see places crowded with White faces and to not get the stares that we've become accustomed to in Koraput. After lunch, we headed out to a mall! I generally hate malls and was not interested in any stores in particular, but more the environment in general. It was nice to stroll around in the air-conditioning, check out the Apple store (well, for Corey anyway), and forget about the pollution and poverty just outside the doors. We ended up going to a movie (popcorn! English! quiet and not smelly!) and then getting pizza for dinner from Domino's! An excellent day of non-Indian fun.

It was interesting to see how my perspective of a big crazy city has changed since being there last time. Also, I doubt I'll be back in Delhi before our placement is finished, so it was nice to see the program office staff again and to take a trip back to "where it all began". We even stayed in the same hostel as we did during training, it was like deja vu!

Gina writes:

Last Thursday and Friday, we were outside of Koraput to attend our friend's sister's wedding in Sambalpur, another district of Orissa. This was our 5th Indian wedding, attending required taking 2 days off work that we technically didn't have, and the wedding was 12 hours away by train, so we weren't that excited about it. But after our friend asked us in person or on the phone about 7 times, sent us text messages about it, caught me on Facebook chat to remind me how important it was, and emailed, we couldn't very well say no. So we decided to change our attitude about it, arrange the train tickets and the days off from work, and party on!

The train left Koraput at about 8 a.m. and arrived in Sambalpur at 6 p.m. An entire day on a train with books and knitting and iPods isn't that bad, but has its sticky and smelly and boring moments for sure. A fellow passenger started a conversation with us, asking the same questions as always -- What are you doing in India? What NGO do you work for? What kind of work? How do you feel about India?. For us, it's not that interesting to have these conversations, but I understand the attraction to the average Indian with nothing to occupy his time for the entire train ride, so we try to be patient. He also asked us how much money we make, which is not as popular of a question, but is totally acceptable to ask. When we told him, his response was, "What?! Only xx? You should work in Bangalore, you can make much more. Your work here in India is a wastage of time if you only make xx!" We cut the conversation short after that.

When we arrived in Sambalpur, we called our friend and she came to pick us up. She took us to our hotel, which was perfect. Simple no-frills room, quiet and windowless, but with A/C! After an hour, I was transported to the wedding hall, where I was dressed in my sari. I wish I would have just followed the pictorial instructions that I have instead of relying on the women in the "bridal suite" where I was taken. There were about 20 women either helping the bride or just hanging out, so they all took the opportunity to watch me undress. Then, I think the short "auntie" who was dressing me was nervous or something because she took a full 20 minutes to fold and refold my sari around me. It was hot, probably at least 90 in that room, and I was sweating so much from my face that it was literally dripping off my chin. Gross! Needless to say, I wasn't in a great mood when I was released from the room and found Corey. I'll admit that I'm totally over the thrill of wearing a sari -- I already have good pictures of me in 3 different saris and they are not that flattering to my figure or the least bit comfortable, especially when walking or climbing a lot of stairs.

Not a great pic, but it's the best we have.


Dinner was served at about 9 p.m. from stations around the big hall. This was cool, not something we'd seen in India before. There was the usual buffet line, but also a coffee station, chow mein station, shaved ice station, a rice pudding station, some street-food snack stations, and a few others. The food was delicious.

This curious cow came to tell us that her invitation was lost in the mail.


The stars "aligned" at 10:30, so that's about the time that the loud, dancing processional with the groom's party arrived. Soon after, the rituals started on stage. Sadly (to me, at least) only about 40 people were still there compared to the 200+ that were at dinner! The upside, though, was that everyone still there was focused on the wedding instead of just chatting with each other and on their cellphones and ignoring the main event, which is what we've seen at the other weddings. The rituals can sometimes last for 6 hours or more, but this ceremony was finished in about 3. I can't explain the significance of any of the rituals or items, but the turmeric, flowers, puffed rice, fire, string, oil lamps, mangos, gifted cloth, gold cardboard crowns, and cement stepping stone all had symbolic significance.

It looked similar to other weddings we've been to, so I took very few pics. Here the bride and groom are both covered, just before they're revealed to each other.


It was interesting to watch even if I had no idea of the purpose. Following expectations, the bride did not smile the entire time, but held an empty look on her face. She's not supposed to show happiness that she's being separated from her family.

We returned to the hotel at about 2 a.m. Since I was in my sari, I had to ride the motorbike side-saddle for the first time, which I disliked a lot. I can understand the need for women to ride that way if they're in a sari, but I think women wearing pants should always ride astride, it's so much safer!

I slept later than Corey (as usual) and woke up to him returning from one of his "exploring trips" with breakfast! We ate, then chilled out (literally) in the room for a few hours. There wasn't anything to do in Sambalpur but browse the shops and it was hot, over 100 degrees. I was feeling no obligation to make use of the day by leaving my nice cool hotel room, so Corey picked up lunch for us when he became restless. Before I knew it, it was nearly 7 p.m. and I had spent the entire day relaxing on the bed, not even seeing the sunlight for 1 minute of the day (due to the lack of windows). Awesome!

The overnight train ride home was uneventful. I tried hiding in my top bunk to avoid conversations from curious fellow travelers, but an annoying but friendly gentleman insisted on asking questions to me while I'm laying down 6 feet above him...awkward! The usual questions again, though this time I had to devote some effort to convincing him that the U.S. actually does have beggars and people living on the street. Not the first time that I've had to correct someone from thinking that all Americans are wealthy. Anyway, we arrived in Koraput at 8:30 a.m., showered and headed to work!

Gina writes:

Our friends Chris and Jackie were here to visit us for about 10 days. We arranged a trip for them that showed them the various sides of India -- urban and rural, rich and poor, bustling and relaxing.

The visit started with a 4-day stay in Mumbai. We thought the 2nd largest city in the world, with 14-20 million people (depending on the source) would be a crazy, but true introduction to India.

We met them at the airport a little after midnight, in true Indian fashion.



Then we zipped off to the Traveller's Inn, a simple but fantastic place that was in a great location; we'd highly recommend it to other budget-minded travellers (Rs. 1,400 or USD 31 for an a/c room!).

During our first morning in Mumbai, we walked to the Gateway of India. The destination wasn't as important as allowing Chris and Jackie to experience the sights and sounds of India for the first time, and giving Corey and me a chance to get the feel for a new city.

I was expecting Mumbai to feel a lot like Delhi, old and dirty and loud, with very little (on the streets at least) that could be called peaceful or beautiful. But the Fort area of Mumbai where we were walking was exactly that, filled with huge, gorgeous buildings, wide streets that were relatively clean, and lots of trees and greenery.



I don't know anything about architecture, but the style of the buildings really amazed me. It felt more like a well-preserved European city than an Indian metropolis.



We only walked for about 30 minutes before reaching the Gateway of India, a monument built to welcome British dignitaries in the early 20th century. The Taj Mahal Palace hotel is here too, a cool building to see. We took a short half-hour cruise to see these structures and more from the harbour. A good introduction to Mumbai!



In the evening, we walked to Victoria Terminus, the main railway station in Mumbai. It's a UNESCO World Heritage site, so the building itself is neat, but it also sees 2 million people pass through it every day, so was interesting to visit, especially since we didn't have a train to find!





The heat and the jetlag were a lot for our guests to handle, so we didn't plan much else for the first day. That was okay, since we really wanted to just hang out and catch up after not seeing each other for 17 months! Corey was especially happy to have some drinking buddies!



On day 2, we spent the morning on a "slum tour" run by a company called Reality Gives. The tours in Dharavi, a large slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, limit tour groups to 4 or 5 people, prohibit cameras and hand-outs, and focus on the slum's huge, thriving industries. Dharavi is home to 10,000 small (unregulated) factories, on which the estimated 1 million people make their living. Businesses manufacture everything from pottery to leather goods and generate an estimated $665 million a year in revenue.

It was interesting to see the industries and the complexity of the slum. We saw the plastics and cardboard recycling area, where companies around the world get their plastic pellets. We saw woodworking, soap, and biscuit factories. We walked through dark, tight alleys with tiny rooms, some of them pictures of the squalor that you'd expect, some of them with satellite dishes and bright tile floors and refrigerators. It was still a sobering sight that made my stomach flip a few times, but it was nice to see the hope behind the hovels.

There's a popular discussion in development about the pros and cons of slum tourism. You can decide for yourself what you think by reading this article.

As part of the tour, we also took a quick look at Dhobi Ghat, a huge, open-air laundry with about 700 washing platform where 200 washer-men wash a clothes for hotels and residences all over the city. It's a chaotic and amazing sight.



After the tour, we had lunch at Rajdhani, a place known for it's huge thalis. A thali is found in many Indian restaurants, a platter with small dishes giving a sample of many different curries, breads, and other items. This thali was the biggest I've ever had, 4 kinds of bread, 6 or so curries, sauces, dessert, buttermilk. Delicious!



Then we visited Crawford Market, a big fruit and vegetable market that's housed in a cool-looking building.



Outside of the market building was a very typical street market, busy and filled with all kinds of shops, loosely organized by item (so you have the underwear shops all together, the elecric shops together, etc.).



We tried to find another market area, but ended up getting lost and walking in the wrong direction before finally admitting defeat and hailing a cab. I'd guess that we walked about 8 or 9 miles that day!

On day 3, we had a smattering of spiritual and other tourist sites on our itinerary. Again we were walking the whole day, getting a feel for yet another part of Mumbai. It felt extra-hot, but it wasn't until we read the newspaper the next day did we find out that it was the hottest March day in 55 years. 41.6 degree Celsius - 107 degrees Fahrenheit!

Banganga tank is a devotional place for Hindus. The tank is fed by a spring, so the water is clean and fresh. While hiding in the shade for a bit, we watched the birds and the big schools of fish and a man performing a Hindu purification ritual .



A stroll through the Hanging Gardens was only marginally enjoyable, since there was virtually no tree cover and we were there in the hottest part of the day. However, "experience confirms that friends who meet and walk regularly in the garden have remained healthy and fit for the day!"







Chowpatty Beach and Marine Drive are great places to stroll along during dusk.





We watched the sunset here, listening to the waves break, the cacophony of rush hour in the background, a cool breeze brushing across our faces.





We ended our Mumbai adventure with food at a nice restaurant that didn't have ANY Indian food on the menu! Lasagna and a steak burger were dinner for me and for Corey. Chris and Jackie might not have been tired of Indian food yet, but it was our vacation too, and we needed to indulge in the variety of food that only the big cities can offer. Cheese...steak...yum...



Early the next morning, we were off to the airport to fly across the country to show Chris and Jackie our home in Koraput. Check back next week for stories about that part of the trip!

Gina writes:

I've been looking forward to writing this entry, because I get to tell you about my experience bathing baby elephants!

Having some kind of contact with elephants has been a dream of mine while here in India. So when I heard about a camp near Cochin that rescued and trained work elephants, I was really excited! When I heard that they bathe the baby elephants in the river every morning and that the tourists can help if they want, I was even more excited! Then a friend told me that when he went, health regulations or something prevented the tourists from helping with the bathing. I was less excited, but glad that he helped me not to set my expectations too high.

Then, you can imagine my delight when we arrived at the bathing area and I was invited to help! The mahout (elephant trainer) gave me a piece of rough coconut husk and motioned to splash water on the elephant laying on its side and then scrub scrub scrub.

To be that close to something so huge but docile was amazing! Knowing that the "baby" that I was bathing weighed 4 tons and could easily trample me if he was standing and became agitated was surreal. I had to catch my breath at one point when I realized just how lucky I was to be able to do this, truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

There was a gargantuan adult elephant that was being led to the river as we arrived.

I eventually got to bathe him (her?) too. Only one other person wanted to do that, I wonder why?

After we hung out by the bathing area for about an hour, we left to see the next item on our day-trip itinerary, the mini zoo. Unfortunately, this stop pulled us out of our reverie. The only reason I'm mentioning it here and including pictures is to beg anyone finding this blog and visiting the Kodanad area to NOT patronize this animal prison. The state of the cages, the lack of wildlife or any simulation of a natural environoment, and the number of animals in each cage made me sick. Shame on you, Kerala, for endorsing this as one of your tourist attractions.

About 14 eagles in a disgusting cage.

Our last stop of the day was to the Athirapilly Waterfalls. We followed a sign that said "Best Viewing Point" or something along those lines, and ended us hiking down a set of switchback to the bottom of the falls. A great view rewarded us!

Right now is the dryest part of the year in Kerala (and most of India). We both said that it would be amazing to see these falls in monsoon season!

Overall, an excellent day-trip. We were in a comfortable car for the drive, our guide pointed out some interesting roadside sights, and our two travel companions were pleasurable company. However, we agreed that we would have been satisfied with seeing the elephants only and then returning to Cochin by lunchtime.

Gina writes:

The state of Kerala was on our list of places to see while in India. We had heard that the feel of the place was different, due in large part to the state's economic prosperity, and that the nature around the cities was worth seeing.

We used Christmas money to treat ourselves to flights there and back. Travel to and from airports and layovers still made for a 16-hour journey each way, but much better than the 30+ hours we'd have had to spend if taking the train! We arrived in the evening of February 15 and left on the morning of February 21, so had 4 complete days to enjoy.

We spent the whole time in and around the capital city of Kochi. It's extremely popular to stay in homestays (similar to bed & breakfasts in the U.S.), so we decided to try that. Our homestay, Heavenly Homestay, lived up to its name for sure. Patric and Mary, the owners, were so nice. We arrived at about 9:30 p.m. on the first night, but Patrick still took us out for a walk around the neighborhood to show us a few restaurants and help us get our bearings. They were also really helpful in scheduling day trips with various tour companies. And a big, delicious breakfast every morning, at the exact time that we arranged the night before, was a real treat. The free internet, bottled water, hot shower, and soft mattress were just bonuses to the excellent service. Highly recommended, especially for the price of 700 rupees per night.

There are a lot of old churches and museums on the lists of tourist attractions, but we're not interested in that, so we decided to spend our first full day in the city exploring the unique features of the area like the markets and the beaches.

Princess Street is known for it's colonial architecture and shops. It was nice to stroll through the streets. The shopping isn't a good value, though. The prices of shawls and other things that can be found elsewhere in India were at least 3-4 times the price! After Princess Street, we took a rickshaw to Jewtown. (Yes, that's the official name of the neighborhood.) There, the shops were basically the same, but more street vendors and temporary stalls.



We walked too much for both of us and shopped too much for Corey's liking, so we took a break at a waterfront restaurant.



After swearing off "tourist shopping" we went to the mainland of Ernakulam, to see a more authentic Indian market and explore the busier section of the area. We opted to take the ferry, which was a great decision. 3.5 rupees to ride a hop-on, hop-off service that stops at 4 ports. The ferry wasn't crowded, so we had a relaxing 15 minutes enjoying the time on the water. The skyline of Ernakulam is so impressive, so many new skyscrapers!

A ferry identical to ours with Ernakulam in the background


We did find Broadway Market, which was a typically crazy Indian market with lots of chaos and lots of junk! The only thing we wanted specifically was spices from around Kerala, since we read that Broadway Market was the best place to get them. Unfortunately, our market-savvy failed us, because I'm pretty sure we paid about 6 times the price we were supposed to for some black pepper and vanilla beans!



After that, we were shopped out, so made our way to the boardwalk to relax. We had tried to sign up for a sunset cruise that we found advertised online, but it wasn't running due to lack of interest, so we were happy when a man approached us trying to fill a last-minute cruise leaving in 10 minutes. Good timing! The 1-hour cruise, at 50 rupees (1 USD), was a great way to enjoy the cool breeze and the setting sun.



The next activity was a drum performance by 150 or so Hindu priests. I don't know the background or further information about the group or the music, but it was an excellent performance. I especially liked the horns that 10 of the men were playing, almost like a french horn stretched out to its full length.





After the ferry to our island, we ate a delicious Italian dinner at Upstairs Italian. A calzone with real cheese, ham, and olives for me and a more basic pasta dish for Corey -- a nice change from rice and curry.

We returned to our homestay exhausted and sweaty, but satisfied. An excellent first day!

(The plan was for me to cover days 1 and 2, but as you can see, I've gone on too long already. Coming soon -- backwaters boat tour, bathing elephants, waterfalls, a Kerala martial arts performance, and more!)

Gina writes:

The second half of Corey's parents' visit was much like the first half - filled with nonstop activity, fun (and hedonistic) and exhausting.

After spending 5 nights in Koraput, we went to Chilika Lake, a huge lake just an overnight's train ride north. We were excited to introduce Denny and Lisa to the wonders of the Indian railway system, since we've used it so much in the past 14 months. We reserved a 2AC cabin, which meant that the 4 of us had a curtained area to ourselves, 2 bunks on each side of the car. Apart from the midnight interruptions from people getting on or off, I think they were relatively surprised at the train's comfort.

The train stopped in Chilika Lake at about 6:30 a.m., so we had the full day to enjoy the area. The reason for the visit was primarily to see the birds that migrate their every year at this time, about 1 million birds (160 species) from as far away as Siberia and Iran! After a nice breakfast, we hired a boat and guide and headed out to the main bird area. We saw eagles and egrets and other birds whose names I don't remember. It was a unique experience to see the different kinds of birds and then find them in the guide book.



In addition to seeing birds, it was nice to just enjoy being on the water for 3 hours. We also got to see fishermen pulling in their day's catch.



In the evening, we took a stroll outside of the hotel grounds. Corey and I spoke some basic phrases in Oriya to shop owners, like we always do, but had an interesting reaction. Apparently it was SUCH a rarity for a foreigner to know some Oriya that the "news" spread up and down the street faster than we did! A random guy came up to us just to hear us speak, and the next morning, a hotel worker said something like, "Oh, you're the ones who speak Oriya. I heard about you!"

The next day, we hired a vehicle to drive us to Bhubaneswar. Bhubaneswar is not that big by Indian standards (pop. 600,000), but it's accessible by an overnight train from Koraput, it allowed Corey's parents to experience the feel of an India city, and it's big enough to have some luxuries that we don't have here (like Pizza Hut and bakeries and department stores).

Our first stop was a set of caves on the outskirts of the city. The caves (Khandagiri and Udayagiri) are partly natural and partly artificial, in use starting in the first century B.C. It was interesting to see such an old place, only marginally enhanced by our guide who seemed to want to educate us more about Hindu mythology than the history of the caves themselves.



Here we are sitting where the VIPs sat to watch dance performances. Oh the comfort and opulence, it's just too much!


After the caves, we went to Dhauligiri, an area with a Buddhist temple and a Hindu temple next to each other. This temple was actually a slightly upsetting experience, because we were approached in 3 separate groups by Hindu monks who performed a blessing for us and then demanded money in a way that was not very friendly. We agreed that it felt like we came to the temple and respected their religion, but that they turned it into a money-making opportunity, thereby bastardizing their beliefs. Sad, really.



The main activity the next day was a visit to the zoo. The Nandankanan Zoo is known for its large tiger population, especially white tigers. It wasn't long after walking through the gates that we realized what a great zoo it was! The habitats for each animal are huge, there aren't so many barriers between you and the animals (like in the U.S.), the grounds are pretty and well-kept. It really was a thoroughly enjoyable time!

The monkeys were running around out in the open!


I was literally about 4 feet from this mother and new-born baby for about 5 minutes!


Here's the white tiger, making its rounds.


And the "regular" tiger. There was no fencing separating the public from the animals, just a good amount of space (and the public viewing areas were slightly higher than the enclosures). It felt safe, but so much more natural.


These gargantuan crocodiles were amazing to see. Even more so after seeing this employee walking around them with a bag of fish. Even MORE so when he whacked the one in the picture to get him in the water before throwing the fish!


We went on a 20-minute lion and tiger "safari" through the sanctuaries where they roam freely. We could just barely see some white tigers far in front of the bus, but the chance to see the OLD mama lion drinking water just 6 feet or so from the bus made up for it!


We watched a mama and newborn hippo for awhile from across a pond. Then we walked just a little further to be surprised by an area with 8 more hippos! They're not so cute up close, but it was neat to watch them lumber around, resting their snouts on the ground for balance and rest.


Other highlights from Bhubaneswar:

• wandering through a big permanent market to see dozens of food stalls and hundreds of street shops
  
• visiting Ekaram Haat, a quiet area selling handicrafts from all over India
  
• pepperoni pizza from Pizza Hut! (my first real pizza in 14 months)
  
• chocolate eclairs, cappucinos, and macaroons from the luxury hotel across the street from our budget hotel
  

A delicious meal (huge chicken cordon bleu, real lettuce in the salad, tasty cream soup) on our last evening together marked a fantastic end to the trip! Thanks for everything Denny and Lisa, see you in 10 months!