Winds of Change

So not only is "Incredible India!" the official slogan for the Indian tourism campaign, it also expresses my deepest sentiments about an amazing year of sights, sounds and colors. India, truly, is incredible.

Now that I have arrived back in Minneapolis and I'm digging my feet back into the soil of Minnesota, I am moving my blog entries to my newest blog site: In The Zone (click and bookmark now). I will leave this site here (Michael's India) for the time being but use my new blog to document my insights, stories, photos, and observations as I keep traveling the world, meeting people and writing about it. Stay tuned for updates as always, and breaking news at once!

I have also started a new blog site for my current project and upcoming book series, The Balance Factor (click and bookmark now), so add that blog to your list for more of a philosophical look at our lives. I will choose focus topics to write about and would love to introduce you slowly to the content of my upcoming books.

Thank you for following my adventures. I look forward to connecting with more of you as I continue my journey. Be Well.

Namaste.

Out With A Bang!

My last weekend in Bangalore was the celebration of Diwali (pronounced “deevolly”), meaning the “festival of lights”—an annual holiday celebration throughout India. Much like Christmas, the tradition of Diwali is to give gifts, hang colorful lights, and light off fireworks and firecrackers… okay, so maybe it’s more like Christmas meets the 4th of July! Everyone in India knows that Diwali is a celebration of food, fun, and friendships, and my last Diwali weekend in India was no exception.

Between the two team dinner parties (one at Sonal’s and one at Aparna’s), dinner with the expats at GianCarlo’s, and my final “Indian Dinner” with Raghu and his possee, I had plenty of opportunities to join in the festivities of the season and celebrate my last week of living in Bangalore, India. And what a year it has been!!

At Sonal’s and Aparna’s I had the opportunity to connect with my team members from work for the last time; dinner with the expats was another to say goodbyes; and hanging with Raghu and the boys was a great way to bring my Indian experience full circle. We lit fireworks (known as “bursting crackers”) and ate at Ruchi, my favorite India restaurant. I ordered my usuals: Garlic Naan, butter masala, veg miriani, and, of course, jamoon with vanilla ice cream for dessert. MMMMMM!! Plus at the restaurant we had front row seats to the fireworks and firecrackers displays out of the streets. It was loud and crazy! Just the way I like it :o)

As I was fortunate enough to enter India last year during Diwali, I felt it appropriate that I also left the same way—truly going “out with a bang!”

More about my final departure next week.

Peace.

Pondicherry Peek

So just when I thought my last trip while living in India would be the big 9-day long whirlwind tour of Asia, Curly and Pamelita (Michael & Pam) asked me if I'd like a short hop over to Pondicherry (also known as Puducherry) --a cozy French-Indian city on the east coast of India. Of course I went! Another Target teammate, Gail--who was visiting from corporate HQ--joined us, and the four of us had a fantastic weekend in this quaint little Indian town.

We decided to endure the 6-hour road trip and had Pam's driver, Prakash, take us in the Innova. During the journey we watched movies on Curly's laptop, relaxed to songs on the iPod, talked, laughed, and (of course) napped :o) It felt good to take a short break from the buzz of Bangalore and hit the open road. Along the way through Tamil Nadu (the state we traveled into from Karnataka), we saw all sorts of typical sights--animals of every size and color, temples, mountains, amazing rock formations (Tamil Nadu is known for it's amazing rocks and hills), and several cities beginning to set-up for the upcoming Divali holiday--lots of colors, lights, and flowers everywhere.

In Pondicherry we had a wonderful time walking along the beach (I still have a huge heart for the ocean!), visiting the local markets, receiving blessings from elephants (!) and running to avoid the rain. We ended up staying in an amazing hotel, the Hotel Le Dupleix--appropriately named after the 18th century French Governor, Joseph Francois Dupleix. This colonial villa has now been converted into 14 suites complete with many pieces of the original woodwork and furniture. Beautiful, indeed. The hotel had an amazing restaurant and the food was delicious. The French left behind a great legacy, especially in the area of culinary delights :o)

Besides lots of walking and shopping Pondicherry, we headed up to Auroville--a spiritual city and meditation center located just about 20 minutes north of the town--stunning! We learned all about the projects undertaken in Auroville and learned more about this amazing vision that's been carried on for years. A visit to Auroville wouldn't be complete without seeing the Matrimandir--a brilliant spiritual meditation center consisting of a golden dome with a special interior... read the link to learn more. We walked around the city, had a fantastic lunch and shopped for homemade incense, candles, and oils at the many boutiques. A great afternoon!

On the roadtrip back to Bangalore we stopped at Tiruvannamalai, the largest temple complex in India reflecting the glory of late Dravidian Style of the Pandya period. The temple city was full of people praying, children singing, and a host of mischievous monkeys (see the gallery). We got a full tour of a few temples, received our blessings from the priests (with a tikka, or spot of ash and red turmeric powder, on the forehead), and had a chance to explore the rich history of Hindu philosophy. This was another site not to miss! Needless to say we were all bushed after another 6-hour road trip, but the weekend was so well worth it--plus I got to take another 200+ snaps.

So now here comes the time to "wind down"... as I write this note I only have 4 days left in India (*sigh*) and what an amazing adventure it has been. I will continue to blog as I travel around the world so stay tuned. Also, I will try to post another blog note before I leave on Thursday, but it looks like the chapter in my India book is coming to a close. Wow. I can't believe that 12 months have passed so quickly! It's true what they say, "Time flies when you're having fun." I've been having the time of my life--and it's been worth every day and every moment.

Namaste.

Bangkok Rocks!

Last week I had the opportunity to travel on an amazing journey through three countries that have been on my "list" for years--Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. In short, Thailand for the temples and food (mmmm...); Vietnam for the history; and Cambodia for the legendary Angkor Wat. As opposed to my usual "weekend trips", this time I took 3 days in each country and made a whole week of it. I will highlight each country with its own blog and photo gallery over the next couple of weeks so I can give each location its due diligence. But I can already tell you (in summary), that these places are AMAZING!

First, let me start with Bangkok, Thailand. I think that many of my initial impressions of what Bangkok would be like were skewed by rumors, stories, and old movies--I expected it to be dirty, seedy, rundown, and very "raw"... but what I found was a fantastic city that has instantly catapulted into my Top 5 Favorite Cities of all time!! Yes, Bangkok rocks. (BTW: my top five cities are currently London, New York, Zermatt, Barcelona, and now Bangkok :o)

Since this trip was about meeting up with fellow Target expats throughout the various countries, I spent this first weekend in Bangkok with Pam and Jess. Will started the journey with us and after a short red eye flight from Bangalore (only 3 hours--short hop), he went on to Vietnam to meet a friend in Hanoi. Pam, Jess and I jumped in a cab and it didn't take us long to spring onto the Bangkok scene. Before you could say "check in the hotel" we were at the local Starbucks having breakfast and spending day and night of shopping, eating, dancing, site seeing, and soaking up the city. Bangkok has a wonderful array of tourist areas, shopping malls, restaurants, and things to see and do. It was quite a bit more international than I had expected, and most of the areas were very clean, organized, and efficient--which was also not what I had expected. I loved the vibe--Bangkok was a comfortable city.

Between the three of us we were able to visit temples and monuments, take in the exciting nightlife, and have dinner at the top of the State Tower 65th floor. Our highlight that night was visiting the world famous Sirocco sky bar and Breeze restaurants at the Dome Bangkok (see the photo gallery). The whole rooftop is a work of art with sculpture and lights--truly classy and slick. I loved it--we felt like we were on top of the world!

On Monday, Jess headed back to Bangalore and Pam and I stayed until Tuesday morning before leaving for Vietnam to meet up with Paul and Will (two more Target expats). I really thought that Bangkok would have been great to visit for a few more days, so it now goes back on my list of places to revisit. Bangkok, I will return!

I will blog about Vietnam in my next entry so stay tuned :o)

Peace.

Mr. Tood Departs

This past weekend our family of expatriates threw a few parties, had a few dinners, said our goodbyes, and put Todd on the plane back to Minnesota--his contract was completed and was time to return home. What's harder to believe than the fact that Todd has already completed his 12-month assignment for Target India is that I am only six weeks behind him! Yes, I will complete my assignment and head back to Minnesota at the end of October. Funny how time flies...

The events of the weekend included a going away party with a "Minnesota State Fair" theme (everything on a stick!) Tracy and Tom organized this fantastic party with so many of Target India's best team members turning out to wish Todd a fond farewell. There was corn-on-the-cob, homemade corn dogs (yum!), cotton candy, popcorn, cookies, french fries... the list goes on and on. The kids loved the balloons and party favors, and everyone had a chance to get their faces and arms painted (I still have glitter on my hands :o) I felt like I was back on the St. Paul fairgrounds! Sunday brought brunch at Zen, the Asian restaurant at the Leela Palace Hotel--a nice and relaxing time before heading to the airport.

What an amazing year it has been and what an amazing group of expats I've had the privilege to live, work, and play with! Living in our apartment building, Zen Gardens (or affectionately known as the EPC--Expat Central), has been like a college dorm & the Real World meet Indian Melrose Place (I know, that's quite the visual but it's actually quite accurate...) We've all had the unique opportunity to live and work in a foreign country; learn more about the people, culture, and customs that are uniquely Indian; and also take time to travel together, eat together, watch movies, attend concerts, shop, play games, and best of all, laugh together--and SO much laughter!! There's never been a dull moment this entire year.

And so, Mr. Tood (affectionately misspelled by the girl at the food court Domino's Pizza), we will miss your laughter, your smiles, and we will certainly miss watching you do your funky little dance or seeing you twisting your hair... Congratulations on your successful year in India and only the best to you in your new position back at Target Minneapolis. You will be missed.

Now our current expat posse will slowly begin to disband over the next few months... Todd, then me, then Curly (the "other" Michael)... but new recruits are already coming in to replace many of us "old timers" and pick up where we left off. It still seems like just last week when I was getting settled in my apartment, adjusting to Indian food, and looking at my year ahead. This is why it is so important to be present and savor the moments you have.

Life is today--life is now. Live it, Love it, Enjoy it, and Celebrate it! And most importantly, celebrate the people in your life--give thanks often and be grateful. Take the opportunities to appreciate others, for only through your relationships with others do you truly live!

Peace.

It's The People

Today I decided to take another one of "muse walks" and just see what's going on in my neighborhood. I grabbed my camera and decided to walk the "100 foot, CMH loop"--a favorite walking path of the expat walkers (thank you, Todd) which takes you on a nice one-hour walk--approximately 3 miles--around some of the neighborhoods in central Banglore--Indira Nagar, Cambridge Layout, and Ulsoor. On the route you will see everything from cows to coconuts; smell everything from freshly steamed sweet corn to auto rickshaw exhaust; hear everything from fluted Indian music to noisy car horns; an assault on the senses but an amazing experience nonetheless.

After living in India now for over 10 months I must say that my favorite part of this experience has got to be the Indian people. Being a blonde caucasian I stand out easily which still seems to fascinate people--it's like they're not sure who or what I am. They often stare, which at first bothered me. I thought they must think I am a threat to them or that I was trouble, but then I figured out what to do--I smile. When they see me smile I see their faces soften, their eyes glimmer, and their brilliant white teeth peek out of their mouths as a gentle smile comes to their face. It's wonderful!

Everywhere I go I continue to meet amazing people--warm, sincere, polite, and oh so friendly--and when they see my camera they know that I am just as interested in them as they are in me. Kids will come running to me yelling "Hi!" and "Me! Me!", waiting for me to take their picture as they stand and pose, showing me their best angle. Most of the time I don't need to say much... in fact, today I didn't speak a word to any of the people in my pictures--I didn't need to... just that simple smile, hand wave, or a quick salam (done by touching your forehead and bringing your hand down) is all that's needed to communicate in a universal language.

I have only 53 days left in India--and what an adventure it has been. I've still got a couple of trips left--one to Nepal & Katmandu in two weeks (some fresh air in the Himalayas!), as well as a week-long trip to Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia with some of the expats--but then I pack up for home at the end of October. So I will continue to soak-in the experiences during my last two months... each experience, each person, each memory another page in my book as my world gets bigger and bigger.

I am so grateful for this experience.

Namaste.

Sri Lanka Revisited

Last weekend a group of us headed to Sri Lanka for a weekend visit. Pam, Todd, Davin and I flew over on Thursday night (a short one-hour flight) and spent the weekend relaxing by the ocean, visiting the elephants, and touring the tea plantations in the mountains. It was wonderful to visit Sri Lanka again (the only location I've visited twice in my travels this year!) and enjoy the rich tropical rain forests, teas, and hospitable people.

One of the major highlights of the trip came on Friday as this was August 8, 2008 (08/08/08) and we were glued the to the hotel TV at 5:25pm (3 1/2 hours behind China) to see the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympic games at 8:08pm. Stunning!

Another major highlight was visiting the Glen Loch tea plantation. We got to tour the tea factory and see how they process the different types of teas harvested in the mountains of Sri Lanka. It was fascinating (see my Picasa Gallery for more snaps). After the tour we stopped in the tea house and had a cup of freshly-brewed tea with Buddhist monks--what a unique and tranquil experience :o)

The rest of the weekend was spent resting, relaxing, reading, swimming in the pool, driving around the island, touring the beautiful mountains, and eating good food (steak--mmmmm.... :o) A nice relaxing weekend, indeed!

Sri Lanka - so beautiful I had to visit twice.

Namaste.

Bannerghatta Safari

Another place I visited when my friend Tom was here in July was Bannerghatta National Park and wildlife preserve in southern Bangalore. The 25,000 acre park is home to panthers, lions, tigers and a large variety of birds, and offers several different safari packages to the interested tourist.

Tom and I decided to head down there for a day and found all sorts of interesting sights. We bought our tickets for the Lion & Tiger safari and decided to walk around the premises beforehand. Much to our surprise there were some elephants walking through the park and their guides were nice enough to stop and let us meet the elephants on their way! We also got to experience a wide variety of monkeys (and their crazy antics!) as we walked around the lake and circled the zoo area.

In the zoo were a variety of snakes, birds, and other animals. I was amazed at how clean the zoo looked (after hearing reports that the zoo was rather shabby) and the variety of exotic birds and other jungle animals was quite interesting. The safari was incredible--we saw male and female lions, both gold tigers and white tigers, and got to ride in a bus with a whole group of kids from a local school. It was a blast! My favorite part was seeing the white tigers...beautiful. In fact, we were so close to them that they were only an arm's reach away--amazing!

After the safari, I introduced Tom to a drink of fresh coconut juice and a bite of the "meat" inside of it--I think he realized just how different it really is from the processed output we are accustomed to in the U.S.--but I love it! Plus fresh coconut juice is good for the body. Check the online photo gallery for more snaps.

All-in-all the trip to Bannerghatta was well worth the noise and hassle of traffic--a short ride for an amazing adventure, and all just a quick trip on the other side of Bangalore. Even though there might not be lions and tigers, you might be surprised about the things that are just outside of your backyard, I know I was!

Peace.

Kerala Houseboat

This month my good friend Tom was visiting India from Minnesota for a few weeks and one of our touring stops was in southwest India in an area known as Kerala, referred to as "God's Own Country"--a highly populated region of India running along the southern part of the Indian peninsula. This amazing region is well-known for being one of the most literate, healthiest, and gender-equitable regions in India and has once been occupied by the French, Dutch, Portuguese and British, who have all left their mark, making it extremely eclectic and rich in history. One of the highlights of visiting Kerala is to take a houseboat tour through the backwaters of Allepy and the areas of Old Cochin--an escape from the modern cities of India and a "float" down the rivers of India past. So, based on the recommendations of another expat, Jamie, we booked a weekend trip. Our entire weekend tour was organized by Nirmal at Oriana Travel Shop and was planned and executed seamlessly.

After a short one hour flight from Bangalore, Nirmal met us at the airport and gave us our vouchers and explained the whole travel package to us. We joined our driver, Kuriakose, and headed to the city of Kochi. We stayed overnight in a hotel by the water and were able to tour Old Cochin and visit the ancient Chinese fisherman's nets and fishing docks the next morning. We then drove down south to Alleppey in the late morning to board the houseboat by noon to spend the next two and half days cruising the backwaters of Kerala, observing the nature, animals, people, temples, churches, longboats, and amazing scenery.

The houseboat voyage was a wonderful experience and the crew was fantastic. All of our meals where cooked on-board the boat (including fresh lobster and fish from the waters of Kerala!) We occupied ourselves by relaxing, reading, playing cards, and watching the sites as we toured many different areas of the backwaters and rivers. At night they would shore-up the houseboat along a side of a riverbank and we would enjoy the peace and quiet of being out in nature. The stars were abundant and a gentle breeze provided relief from the heat of the day.

By Monday morning we returned to Alleppey, disembarked from the houseboat and spent time visiting other parts of Kochi including a Jewish synagogue and more of the old sections of the town. Later that afternoon before departing for Bangalore, we met with with Nirmal, who made certain we enjoyed our whole trip and presented us each with a souvenir houseboat replicas as thank you gifts. What a great guy!

The whole weekend was wonderfully relaxing and a culturally interesting experience. If you visit India I would definitely encourage you to look up Nirmal and book a houseboat trip to Kerala. The freedom of being on the open water, the beauty of the natural scenery, and the general sincerity of the people convinced me that Kerala does, indeed, live up to its name of being "God's Own Country".

Namaste.

Raghu's Rama Naumi

Last month I had the unique opportunity to go with my friend, Raghu, to his village to celebrate Ramu Naumi, a festival celebrating the birthday of Lord Rama, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. According to Hindu legend, Rama, the legendary King of Ayodhya, is considered to be the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu while his wife, Sita, was believed to be the incarnation of the Goddess Lakshmi. This celebration, usually held in the spring, not only honors Rama's birthday, but also the marriage of Rama and Sita by re-enacting their wedding vows and celebrating with food, music, and song.

I met Raghu earlier this winter at one of the Bangalore Expat Club mixers that many of us expats attend at the Taj Residency on Friday nights, and he's been a great friend--taking me to visit Indian temples, historical landmarks, and other local sites--teaching me more about his culture and his world. When I first moved here I was hoping to make some Indian friends so I could see the many facets of Indian life, and I got exactly what I wished for! Don't you love it when that happens? (Which, honestly, happens all the time whether you realize it or not--just be careful what you wish for :o)

When we arrived at the festival, I was quite the attraction. Being the only Caucasian person amongst a crowd of over 600 people was quite overwhelming at first, but after about 15 minutes I couldn't remember the difference. Granted, I couldn't speak their language, but there's nothing that a smile, head nod, or handshake doesn't say--communication is easy when it's from the heart. Soon I was surrounded by all sorts of people, mostly children, who all wanted to meet me... or just touch my skin to see if I was, indeed, "real". Imagine seeing a live version of something you may have only seen in a magazine or on TV--or, for many of these children, never seen before. Their eyes were wide with wonder--and it was amazing.

I had my camera (of course), and they all learned to love having their picture taken--in fact, many of the photos in my "Children of India" gallery came from that day. I had the most wonderful time. We ate, listened to music, watched people dance, and walked all over the village meeting people and enjoying the festival. I got to meet all of his best friends--guys who he had grown up with since he was a toddler--and we hung out in the graveyard for part of the afternoon (this is what men do when they want to have their "alone time"--it's very cool). Then I got to meet Raghu's family, who all live together in a small simple home of three tiny rooms. Amazing. They fed me and made me feel so welcome--a guest, indeed. I'd never felt so blessed :o)

After Raghu dropped me off and I returned to my apartment at the end of the day I couldn't quite describe the feelings I had... just being absorbed in the culture of the people, food, music, colors, sights, sounds, and smells of incense and curry, was overwhelming. My heart swelled with peace and acceptance--India felt to so good to me. It was all good... yes, it was very good, indeed.

Thank you, Raghu--or should I say, "Shukriya" (thank you in Hindi). You have given me the opportunity to see your life, your home, your family and friends, but most of all you've given me a priceless gift--the gift of your friendship.

Namaste.