Pictures from Kerala

I apologize for not having proper pictures in yesterday's post. So to show that I am sorry, I have uploaded a nice collection of photos starting from when we left Delhi and continuing all the way up till yesterday.

The last few days we've really been "sight-seeing." Near where I am now there happen to be a lot of "mountainous" locations. Don't be deceived into thinking its like Mt. Everest or anything over here, but these high locations give a great view of the area.

They also have a dam and some reservoir areas where we also took some pictures.

I'm on a dial-up connection. Its a blessing and a handicap at the same time: handicap because its so slow but blessing because at least I have some connection to the world! So things move very slowly for me and I'm going to use that excuse to not put up each picture individually here. Instead I'll put the link to the album and you can view it at your leisure. =)

I even added captions to all the pictures... so check them out!

First Round of Kerala Pictures

Or if that doesn't work: Photo Album

Okay, Good night!!


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Kerala!

Well, so I've finally made it to Kerala!

The train rides were fantastic. Especially from Pune to Kerala, there were some very scenic points. And you know me, I took tons of pictures. Unfortunatly, unlike past posts which are full of photos, I dont think this one will have even ONE of my own photos. Maybe I'll temporarily hotlink some images from a friend's blog....

Been in Kerala for about a week now. I guess today marks exactly one week. Im at my mother's house right now. There was a wedding (Bindu aunty's sisters) in a place between where my dad's house is and where my mom's house is. So I figured I'd attend the wedding and come straight to my mom's place for a few days.

The wedding was nice. We got there a bit late, and so the church was already packed. We stood outside and by the windows for a little while. Finally I became bold enough to walk in and take a photo :-P ... and thats when one uncle (Joykutty uncle) saw me. He started waving to me to come inside and sit down. I was a bit hesitant from the door, especially because I didnt see any empty seats. But upon his insistance I went in. In front of all the people. And the cameras. It was difficult. So when I got to him, turned out the only empty seat was in the FIRST ROW. Yes, the FIRST ROW like even in front of where the bride's SISTER was sitting! Talk about embarrassing... Anyways, my blushes was partly saved. About a minute later they found a seat for me a few rows back (next to Blessonchachen's mom). Then things were okay. Steven and Sharon were seeing me for the first time in about 5 months, but it was great to see that they still remembered. Good times... good timess...

Like I said... pictures will have to come later!

Then I've been here at my mom's place and visiting our mom's side relatives for the last few days. Good stuff. We are going for some good ole sightseeing soon. There isnt much, especially because its semi-dry season... so all the dams and waterfalls and stuff are dry/drier than usual.



So here are some hotlinked =o photos from my friend's site. Be sure to visit his blog also : http://www.ppeapen.blogspot.com


sorry about the big size...









Thanks for reading and keep praying!!


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Rajasthan and more!

Rajasthan (seat of the Rajas, aka kings :))

So last weekend I had one of my most enjoyable moments on this trip so far!

I took a train (Jan-Shathapti) to Kota, Rajasthan. It was a 7 hour ride, but who would've guessed. The "AC-Chair Car" was not too bad. Last time I took one of these "shathapti" trains, everything was free. Like food I mean, not ticket! So this time also I figured it would be free, I mean Shathapti is Shathapti, right? Wrong. Turns out that time I had gone on the Rajadani Shathapti, which is far superior to the Jan Shathapti. So anyway, long story short, the guy asked if I wanted lunch and I said to myself, "Sure, Im not feeling hungry at all (I had eaten at home) but if it's free, why not!?"

I ate some of the chapati and some dal, but it wasn't too great. Then everything was fine till I realized that unlike the first train, in this one people kept walking up and down the aisle yelling, "cool drinks, dood, frootiiiii" or "biscut chips biscut chips!" or "paaaaniiii, panipani paannniii" Haha. After hearing this I realized, yea they were charging for all this stuff. And surely enough, towards the end of the trip the guy came back to me and asked for 30 some rupees for the food. =)

Beside the fact that the train was 2 hours late, and that Bro. Renny, who was picking me up and with whom I was staying, had to wait at the station the whole time... the journey was not bad at all.


The people I was staying with turned out to completely blow my expectations out of the water, in a very very good way. In retrospect, I'm thinking I should have stayed longer. But unfortunately I couldn't. Saturday I spoke at the cottage meeting and Sunday again at the service.



Sitting on their terrace. This shot came out unusually well...


Eating Put! =) With banana (it was extra good because Renny bhaiya prepared the coconut by hand =) )


Taken while riding on a motorbike =P


After the cottage meeting... he came up RIGHT INTO MY FACE!!


At the park


Again at the park, above it says I'm in the hospital! =)


I saw this elephant and just HAD to take this picture haha!


Directing traffic... I was actually taller than the rim of that stand!


Being mischievous again. That statue was fenced in and about 5ft off the ground =)




Swwweeet looking shot. This is a reservoir of a dam.


Easily Distracted?


Nice bike!


Sunday night was our night out. We went to a park and then another park next to it...

We took a LOT of photos =) Then we finished the night off with some amazing Firdos food! If you ever go to Kota, go to Firdos. Buy the Mutton ... dish... with the B word after it. Its like the first one on the menu, I forgot the name though. It was amazingly awesome!

Then Monday morning 6am, took the train back to Delhi. This time the train was only 1 hour late, and I wasn't tricked into thinking the food for free. (I bought some food regardless... but that's because I was actually hungry this time) And thus ended my Rajasthan trip. There was so much more, but I just don't feel like writing it all down! Give me a break, its already 12:00 am here!

This is what the toilet in the train looked like, in case any of you were wondering:



Souvenir
Then there's that souvenir we've been working on for the past month or so. The one that would never save properly. The one where the files were like 400-500mb each. The one where if you brought the file from one computer to another (even the "proper" way) none of the fonts show up.... Yes... THAT souvenir is finally done and sent for printing!! THANK GOD. We celebrated with some KFC =] (Mind you, the KFC here tastes a little funny... kind of like the taste you get when you lick something off of aluminum foil. [don't look at me like that, you know you've licked things off of aluminum foil too!])

Now the meeting on the 6th of Feb (day after tomorrow) and I'm all set to go from here. Pune first, then Kerela! Yay!!


Wedding
Today I attended a wedding here in Delhi. The bride belonged to our church here. Married a guy from Maduri (near Agra)

The people (Bridegroom et. al. ) from Maduri were horribly late to their own wedding. But when they finally got here and we finally got started, everything went extremely well. Even afterwards (or during, for some of us) the food was awesome! I finally got to eat Gol Cupa (aka Pani Puri!) and noodles, and all these things. It was fantastic. Especially the Gol cupa, its mind boggling why it tastes so good! Only the sweet pani though, the chutney pani isnt so great.


My chow mien bowl was ripped!


Afterwards...


Next UP...
So my trip is somewhat winding down. On the 12th Ill leave from Delhi to Pune. It is about a 30 hr trip, but train, assuming the train will reach on time (which it wont). Then from Pune I'll go to Ernakulum, which is another 25-30 hr ride, with no delays.

All in all, those few days should be pretty intense! I like traveling on the train, so it will be fun.





So that finishes up another entry!

I know I forgot lots of stuff I should have added... but maybe I'll tell you those stories some other day!

Now I have to go because all these mosquitoes biting my ankles are starting to get annoying!


God Bless and Keep praying for all of us down here.



If you have a thought or comment, I invite you to leave a comment on the site so other readers can also see it.

If you haven't already, you can also choose to receive my updates via email, or RSS feed. Both those options are available on the left side.

God Bless You!