Goa

We are now in Goa, but leave tomorrow night for New Delhi. We were supposed to stay at a beach house here, but because there wasn't room for all seven of us, we moved to a gorgeous Taj hotel. I think we all needed a little break from all the people and visual stimulation of the big cities in India. The view from the hotel is fantastic and the food is delicious. Chris, Noelle, and Mark are feeling a bit under the weather so we all are kinda just hanging out at the hotel. Lindsey and I took advantage of the luxurious spa this morning and got the best massages ever.

Pune

We stayed in Pune with Carmen's cousin, Karen Anand, for three days. Pune was verry different from Bombay. There was a lot more greenery and less people. Karen and her husband Yadu were so wonderful to us and we truely enjoyed our visit with them.
Karen and Yadu's beautiful terrace in the morning:

A cow in the middle of the road is typical in India.

The boys took an auto rickshaw into town.

Us girls shopped for saris in Pune. The process of picking out a sari started with us all sitting in a small room on step stools. One of the employees started pulling folded saris from the numerous bays full of fabrics and threw them in front of us. After narrowing down the type of fabric and color, we just had to pick the one or two that we wanted to buy. It was so hard to choose just one or two. They were all different and so beautiful. Lindsey and I were able to pick our favorites and Noelle got hers the next day.

Bombay

We covered so much while we were in Bombay. From the Gateway of India right outside our window to the small village of Pali Hill where Carmen grew up.



We found a fantastic driver, Dillip, who drove us all around the city and through the slums. We drove by Victoria Station (the train station shown in Slumdog Millionare), numberous temples, markets, and small roadside vendors.

We met Carmen's family and friends for lunch and had an amazing Chinese-Indian meal. After lunch, her childhood friend Karen took us to their elemtentary school. Carmen wasn't able to take any pictures with her when they moved to the US, so this is her first picture of her school with her classmate.

We also went to Pali Hill were Carmen grew up and saw the house that she grew up in. She hadn't been back to the house since her and her family left 34 years ago. It was amazing to be able to share that moment with her.

We also went to a large market where we found fruits, vegetables, spices, and pets.

After our long day, we took group picture with our favorite driver, Dillip. :)


There is so much to share and not enough time to share everything. Hopefully I'll have more time to write in Goa.

Love from everyone!

Our Two Days in Singapore (Part 1)

We arrived in Singapore on Friday afternoon and noticed immediately how clean and prestine everything is. The foliage is kept cut and trimmed, and the buildings are modern and unique. We stayed at the Shangri-La Hotel, located near Orchard Road, which was a perfect location to shop, eat, and explore.

After dumping our luggage in the room, we set out to have lunch and see some of the downtown area. We ate at a yummy Chinese restaurant in one of the myriad number of malls and walked around window shopping. After a short walk, we decided to take the Hop-On bus around the city and just a get a feel for what we would want to go back and see.

By the time we got back to the hotel, half of our group decided to take a nap, while Brian, Lindsey, and I set out for a "short" walk to find a Fish Spa. Four kilometers later, in the melting heat, we were unsuccessful in our hunt and found ourselves pouring into a cab back to the hotel. We ate a quick bite to eat at what Lindsey called a "Singapore Denny's" (not very appetizing) and went to sleep in Asia for the first time.

The next day we all went to the Bontanic Gardens. There were so many beautiful orchids and plants. We took a ton of pictures of the flowers, but we also took some great pictures of the fam.

We walked around a bit, but headed back to the hotel in time for Brian and Chris to get a haircut before we checked out. Yes, the boys were lucky enough to get haircut from their mom all the way in Singapore. While the boys were busy, Lindsey and I finally found the Fish Spa and treated ourselves to a massage and fishy exfoliant. In Singapore there are fish spas that have fish tanks full of fish that you put your legs and feet into. The fish swarm to your legs and eat the dead skin cells, serving as a type of exfoliant. It sounds really weird, but it was a fun experience.

We loved Singapore and are happy that we get to go back after we leave India. Stay tuned for Singapore (Part 2).

Love,

Brian, Erica, Chris, Lindsey, Noelle, Mark, and Carmen

Bombay (Mumbai)

We made it to Bombay!! As soon as you step off the plane and onto the tarmac, you immediately understand that you're in a very different world; a different, exciting, humbling, and colorful new world that we will get to explore during the next two weeks.

We made our way to our hotel, the Royal Bombay Yacht Club, and are settling in. It's been a long day, some of us have been up since 4 am Saturday and it's now 3 am Sunday morning. With all the different time zones we've past through, it's difficult to keep track of when we should be sleeping and when we should be awake.

We are excited to see what the city looks like in the daylight and are looking forward to meeting some of Carmen's family tomorrow. Here's a picture of the amazing view from our room: The Gateway of India!



And we haven't forgotten about everything we did in Singapore. We'll post about our time there soon!

Leaving Singapore

We are about to leave the Shangri-La Hotel in Singpore in just a few minutes, but I wanted to write a brief post. I will upload pictures and write more while we are waiting at the airport tonight. We have a lot of fun pics and some fun adventures to share.

We have loved our stay in Singapore, but it's time to go to India!!

Love to everyone!

Singapore!!!

We are now in Singapore!!! We had a great 19 hour plane ride. Our sleeping pills worked great and we all got a full night's sleep. The food was surprisingly yummy too.

We're in our hotel in Singapore and are getting ready to head out.

Everyone sends their love!

All Packed

I finished packing tonight (for the most part) and while I was putting everything in the suitcase, a stowaway snuck in!

We sure are going to miss the fluffballs!

India!

Brian and I will be traveling to Singapore and India with his parents, Carmen and Mark, his sister, Noelle, his brother, Chris, and my bestie Lindsey. We will be going to Singapore for about a day at the beginning of our trip and then again for about a day at the end of our trip. While we are in India, we will be traveling to Bombay (Mumbai), Pune, Goa, and New Delhi.

Because we will see and experience so much, we thought it would be best to keep everyone updated with this blog (it will also help us remember everything we've done along the way :) ).

Enjoy!!!