Thursday, 26 Nov 2009 – Four AM of Thanksgiving 2009 comes fast, as two bell boys and a driver are there to get me on my way. I leave fiancée April sleeping at our resort (Ayurvedagram in Bangalore) as she has a different flight than I. The ride to the airport is the most harrowing yet: a dense fog obscures pedestrians and the small taxis, which we dodge at high speed while avoiding oncoming headlights that suddenly appear out of the fog, sometimes on the wrong side. (Remember, Indians drive on the British side of the road, so it just feels doubly-wrong to an American.) Read the rest of this entry »

The amazing Wednesday spent in India at an Ayurvedic resort was coincidentally one year from the day that April and I first kissed. As I ponder the last year, I can only be astounded at how different my life is in such a short time period: Read the rest of this entry »

Wednesday, 25 Nov 2009 — Ayurveda is a 3,500 year-old holistic health system developed in Kerala – where we’ve been visiting for the last week before our return to Bangalore. The name of our resort, Ayurvedagram, means “Ayurveda Village,” and we’re excited to slow down after our harried travel schedule. (We were actually supposed to go see the amazing Mysore palaces, but we couldn’t possibly spend another 3 hours each way — meaning much more in reality — to go.) We arrived late the prior night, and in the daylight we can see how truly beautiful this resort is. It’s about 15 traditional, historic Kerala buildings which were disassembled, transported, and reassembled here, set in gorgeous, lush grounds. The Kerala houses are what I’d imagine traditional Japanese houses look like — with open-air courtyards of various types, shingled roofs, and sparse yet beautiful interiors. Our room is set on a gorgeous courtyard with a large double-door, and a traditional latch secured with padlock and skeleton key (!). April is up early enough for Yoga, and I join her a bit later for a traditional, very tasty Kerala-style breakfast. All the meals here are vegetarian, and if I could eat vegetarian like this at home I’d be far less likely to eat meat.

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Tuesday, 24 Nov 2009 — The sunrise over our Kerala houseboat brings a new day, and soon the night is just a memory. As “Disneyland natives” we have to keep reminding ourselves that this isn’t the jungle cruise, it’s so beautiful. I take a ton of sunrise photos over the rice paddies, and as we putter across the lake April comes out of our cabin, tired but only a little grumpy. (I, of course, have to mercilessly tease her over the memory of her in her mock-burka, spritzing DEET everywhere, and doing the mosquito dance.) We see dozens of fishermen in their long, wooden canoes as we glide over a vast lake. There’s no horizon due to the light morning fog, and thousands of clumps of water hyacinth look like unreal, upside-down clouds, the water dotted further with hundreds of black birds awaiting fish breakfast. I can’t imagine another place like it, so oddly peaceful in the middle of this crowded, bustling country.

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The journey to our houseboat in Kerala — seemingly like all journeys in India — was quoted as 1 hour … and delivered as 3. (Breakfast at the resort, by the way, was marsala omelette, fresh squeezed pineapple and watermelon juices, various vegetables in sauces, and the heavenly local coffee, which is so good it tastes closer to hot chocolate than coffee.) The houseboat is around 50 feet long, with a thatched roof, decently sized bedroom, a crew room, a kitchen, and functional western bathroom.

(Have I mentioned bathrooms yet? April has come to prefer the holes in the ground, as they are much easier to use when wearing a sari or other traditional clothing. Even in the nicest homes there often isn’t toilet paper — this isn’t because it’s not affordable, it’s because there is some system with (a) a hose and squirter, (b) a large bucket, and (c) a small bucket. I actually never figure out how this combination of items works together, and I’m too scared to experiment for fearing of spraying water over everything and still not making any progress. Okay, I googled it, and in pictures here is the hilariously done answer. Now I know.)

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