India! Week 2

Week 2!  After Jack & Diya's beautiful Indian wedding, Andrew and I went on our "second honeymoon"!  We say this because we actually took a shorter honeymoon after our wedding than we would have if we did not plan our two week Indian adventure.  Sooo, we wanted to make the second week of the Indian adventure more romantic and relaxing that the first week of touring and wedding fun. 

We took a short flight to Kochin and then a LONG 4 hour car drive up the mountains through tea and spice plantations to Thekkady.  The climate here was much more cool (in the 60's - and nope, I didn't pack enough cold weather clothes!) and the landscape was lush green.  We stayed 3 nights in an eco-tourist resort.  There was no internet or TV.  How refreshing it was to know we could go 3 days without being connected to the rest of the world!  We spent much time sleeping, reading, and relaxing.  We enjoyed some of the best Indian food we've ever eaten at our resort here in Thekkady.  The resort grew much of their own spices and produce - we could taste the freshness!  Did I mention that I made paper and we rode an elephant?!?

Porch of our villa

Paper Making!

After our stay in the northern part of Kerela, we drove 5 hours to the coastal town of Kovalam.  The beaches of Kovalam are a popular tourist destination for Indians and specifically Indian honeymooners.  We happened to visit at the low tourist season:  the plus side - our resort was not at all crowded, the minus side - we did not actually spend that much time on the beach or swim in the Arabian Sea.  In Kovalam, we spent much time eating, shopping, & relaxing in the pool.  I loved listening to and watching the waves explode against the jagged, rocky coastline.  We took a day trip to ventrure out to Periyar National Forest & Tiger Reserve where we took a boat ride to observe wild animals.  Although we did not spot the coveted site of a tiger, we saw wild elephants, boars, deer-type animals and lots of birds.  

View from the coast looking at our resort nestled in the palm trees (there's a little lagoon between the resort & the sea)

View from the coast looking out to the Arabian Sea

 

Lake Periyar boat ride

Touching the Arabian Sea

Enjoying our best meal in Kovalam - spicy tomato aperitif drink (pictured) and fresh red snapper grilled on a mango wood plank with roasted veggies - words can not do this meal justice.

Just to say I did it, I had a "Big Spicy McPaneer Wrap" at McDonald's.  Ewh - it tasted like greasy, fried, artery clogging American McDonald's.  That's one thing I surely did not miss about America.

Lessons Learned in India

1.  We Americans take our cleanliness for granted.  Pretty much, there is no form of waste disposal in the areas of India we visited.  Trash just piles up in the street, between buildings, wherever it falls.  

2.  That being said, one minute you can be dodging a huge trash mound, then then next turn around to walk into a gorgeous five star hotel.  India is a very diverse environmentally, as well as socioeconomically.  Servants, maids, and drivers are common in the upper/middle class households.  We were told that given our careers in the US, we could live a very luxurious lifestyle if we were to move to India performing the same jobs. 

3.  Space is very limited.  Very crowded and congested.  The big cities of Dehli & Mumbai were loud and busy (similar to NYC I suppose).  They know how to pack a lot of people into small spaces and there are the smells to prove it.  

All-in-all, our India adventure was the trip of a lifetime!  We would not have traded going to the beautiful India wedding of Jack & Diya for the world.  We learned more about the world and the India culture than we realize, and are blessed to share this experience with our friends and each other!

India!

After 39 hours of traveling, we arrived home on Sunday morning from our 2 week adventure in India!  The main purpose of the trip was to attend the wedding of Jack and Diya - our friends from Austin.  Around the wedding, we did lots of sight seeing the first week and a "second honeymoon" the second week. 

Bon voyage Austin!

Week 1 - we flew in to Dehli, the capital of India.  The 14 hour flight really wasn't THAT bad - maybe it was built up as horrible from my friends' experiences, maybe it was the goodie bag that my mom prepared Andrew and I that kept us entertained ;)  In India, it's common to have a driver to drive yourself around town and between towns (after witnessing the traffic & driving habits, we Westerners simply CAN NOT drive in India, trust me).  So, the first two days our driver drove us (14 friends from USA) around to several different mosques, monuments, gardens, shopping & restaurants.  My favorite experience from Dehli was a rickshaw ride through a market that sells everything from fresh veggies to wedding supplies to clothing and jewelry.  VERY crowded and energetic.  I guess it was their Wal-Mart :

Note the electrical nightmare

Selling Marigolds!

 

We drank lots of yummy tea

The beer was not so good :(

The next two days were spent driving to/from and touring Agra, where the Taj Mahal is located.  I understand why it is considered a "New Seven Wonders of the World" - truly magnificent and intricate.  We got there at 6am, right when the gates opened to capture photos (or as our tour guide said "make pictures") of the beautiful mausoleum.  Now it's time for wedding fun!!!

We took a domestic flight (think Southwest style) to Mumbai where we had non-stop from from Wednesday night until Sunday morning.  On Thursday, separately, the guys and girls went shopping for Indian clothes to wear to the wedding.  The guys actually had a lot of fun and were finished in a couple of hours.  I was stressed by the style of shopping in India, where they would just pull folded clothes in individually wrapped plastic bags off of the shelves and fling them in front of you.  I felt under pressure to try stuff on I didn't like and the stores were super busy.  I ended up getting a beautiful sari, that I am really happy with.  It came with a custom tailored top and under skirt.  Diya arranged for a lady to put it on me - she did a great job.  Now if I'm going to wear it back in the U.S., Andrew will have to learn to put it on me.   Some of the girls got mani/pedis and I got a facial (ask me about it later - whoa).  Treatments are super cheap (~$15 for mani/pedi & ~$30 for my facial) and good quality.  That night we went to a couple of clubs in Mumbai with all of the "kids" (cousins, family friends, & U.S. friends).  Pretty much felt like we were in the U.S. when we were at the bars - same drinks (alcohol is really expensive over there), same music (seriously). 

so tired

Friday was the mehndi and the sangeet.  The mehndi is a girl party where the women honor the bride & get henna drawn on their hands.  Diya had hers done the day before because it took ~6 hours to put on & ~4 hours to dry.  Mine took ~20 minutes to put on & ~2 hours to dry (Andrew had to feed me lunch so as to not ruin the artwork, hehe).  That night was the sangeet which is basically a dance party.  Also the family performed skits (dances, singing) for the bride & groom.  It was super fun, as the U.S. friends were the life of the party.  Diya said that the family members were intimated to dance because we were such good dancers - even Indian style dancers!!

Andrew wearing a kurta and Becky in a sari at the sangeet.

On Saturday, two different wedding ceremonies were performed.  First was the Telegu wedding from Jack's family.  That night was the bride's families Bengali wedding.  Both were similar but different.  Lots of chanting, flowers, colors, rituals, throwing of rice & flowers :)  Different from U.S. culture, the guests would start out watching the ceremony, then about 20 minutes in to it, everyone would start chatting, mingling, eating appetizers and drinking.  Since the ceremonies last 2-3 hours, I suppose that's why it's socially acceptable to do this.  We ate, drank & danced the night away to celebrate the newlyweds - Congratulations to The Jakkiki's!!!

Telegu wedding

Entrance to the event center

Bengali wedding

Next post will recap Week 2

Weekly Menu & North Carolina

We're baaaack...from a wonderful wedding weekend in North Carolina celebrating Brandon & Miranda!  We drove through lush green countryside and mountains on the way to Asheville - what a treat!  Andrew was a groomsman in the wedding, as he was roommates and friends with Brandon at UT (note the Tennessee orange tie that Andrew's wearing).  Brandon was also a groomsman in our wedding!  Tis the season for weddings.  We have 2 more to attend this year!

Firstly, after a weekend of gluttony (re: made to order crab cakes & baked brie at the reception - YUM) I am ready to start healthy eating again!  Secondly, I rediscovered TONS of recipes from Real Simple & Cooking Light magazines that I have saved over the years (my mom would be proud).  I went through them and ripped out all the pages of recipes that I will actually cook (my mom would NOT be proud) and put them in a lil' binder for easy access.

Here's what we're eating this week...

CM Goat Cheese Ravioli with a Tomato, Spinach, Artichoke Sauce (that I whipped up!)

Summer Vegetable Frittata (Cooking Light June 2010)

Open Face Caprese Sandwiches

Baked Cod, Broccoli, and Vinaigrette Quinoa

Dijon Salmon Cake with Couscous (Real Simple August 2010)

Taco Salad! (Andrew requested I make these because it was a frequent meal growing up in the Wooster house)