We’re excited and happy to be traveling again, but as with any major life change, there is some trepidation as we adjust to our new routine. After the demands of preparing for this trip (in parallel with us both completing in Ironman Canada at the end of August) followed by Continue Reading
India
Things we’ve learned in India
We’ve learned a lot in India. Yes we’ve learned about India and its peoples, but we’ve also learned about ourselves. Here are some of the things we’ve picked up… Indian people that know about Canada think that it’s a good country. Indian culture, religion, language, and food are far more Continue Reading
Life and Death in Varanasi
Varanasi is an ancient city and perhaps the holiest city in India for Hindus. It is located at a confluence of the sacred Ganges and several other rivers. All Hindus wish to die in Varanasi to have a chance to end the cycle of reincarnation. If they aren’t lucky enough Continue Reading
A Kiwi Connection to the Oberoi Grand
Due to the length of our trip we are, by necessity, budget travelers. We arrange for periodic episodes of luxury from time to time to keep our spirits up, and to see how the other half lives in some of the places we’re visiting. We tend to do this when Continue Reading
The Meter Man
One of the challenges with traveling in India is getting the taxi drivers to use their meters. Like in most major cities of the world, meters are installed in all taxis to fairly calculate the fare, including factors like distance, wait time, time of day, etc. The rates are set Continue Reading
Durga Puja
We spent most of last night wandering the streets of Calcutta. We had no idea where we were or exactly where we were going. It was amazing. We’re here during a major Indian festival called ‘Durga Puja’. It is celebrated in many places in India, but nowhere with the fervor Continue Reading
Oh Calcutta
Leaving the South of India we returned to the North, catching a flight from Chennai to Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state. Kolkata was previously known as Calcutta. Diane was a bit apprehensive about coming to Calcutta. It is India’s second largest city with over 15 million people. In Continue Reading
The Last of the Man Eaters
We’ve come to the Sunderbans, the last place in India where people are regularly attacked and eaten by tigers. It is located on the north east border with Bangladesh, which is just a few kilometers from where we write this. Sunderbans is the world’s largest river delta, where the Ganges Continue Reading
On Toileting
Be aware that the following article is colourful, and may offend the sensibilities of the faint of heart. Or, you might just laugh your a** off. As is the case with many travel epics, it has come to this, the point when the many exaltations of a grand journey are Continue Reading
Begging
We expected to be encounter people begging on this trip. However at times it can be overwhelming and much more sad then we had expected. One of the toughest things to deal with, is that we’re getting used to it. This is a way of life for many people here Continue Reading