We’ve arrived in Guwahati, the capital of the state of Assam. It is the jumping-off point for the ‘seven sisters’ – the seven small Indian states in the north-eastern part of the country. Our mission here is to try to get a permit to visit one of the sisters: Arunachal Pradesh, and then move on. [...]
Today, we yet again failed to secure a permit for Arunachal Pradesh (they’d moved the office to another part of town). We did, however, have a lengthy conversation with the Commissioner at the Manipur office. I’m posting this here for the benefit of travelers interested in visiting Manipur, because there is so much misinformation out [...]
The thali is a dish we’ve been looking forward to since we last left India. Actually, calling it just one dish is a misnomer – it’s really a bunch of little dishes served together with rice and/or naan (Indian flat bread). Thalis vary by region – one of the best meals we’ve had in India [...]
This is why travelers should not drink the local’s “drinking water” in India. We ran across this truck after walking along the Brahmaputra river in Guwahati. The water you see being dumped into the tank is pumped directly from – you guessed it – the river. The same river that I was happy to [...]
We’ve found that taking a stroll in India means that sometimes you come across a dead dog. It happens, you feel a little gross about it, then you move on. It’s just one of those things that you deal with. Today’s stroll along the Brahmaputra river in Guwahati brought an all together different dead-thing [...]
Color, color everywhere. The Holi Festival took place today and, as promised, it was a rambunctious display of drumming, dancing and color powder smearing. We’re taking the train north today from Kolkata, so we’re missing most of it, but what we did see (and be apart of) was a whole bunch of fun. [...]
OK, OK – I know. I’m obsessed. But really, when you buy a pair of pants like this and you’re seriously going to wear them, someone needs to point out that they’re absolutely awful. In the name of all things fashion – I bought a pair of diaper pants today. Not because I’ve had [...]
As a part of our ongoing quest to secure a special permit for visiting Arunachal Pradesh, we recently acquired a couple of application forms from the proper authorities. It took me a bit to figure out what it was that made them feel unusual and strange. They have been manually typed by a typist – [...]
When you have masses of people jammed together in a mega city (Kolkata is home to 15 million people), many of whom are looking for work, there is always someone who will do something for compensation. Take Nils’, our travel buddy at the moment, story about buying a card for his cell phone. The price [...]
“I’ll have a venti, one splenda, non-fat, no foam chai latte, please.” Yes, this used to be something I said out load – to people, no less. Starbucks may have been my introduction to chai, but India and Nepal have been my education in it. Here whole milk is combined with tea and spices. A [...]
Rumor has it that we’ve arrived in Kolkata just in time for the Holi festival. It hasn’t happened yet and we’ve been told it’s taking place on three different days from three different people. Our hopes are set for tomorrow, since we’re departing in the afternoon and really want to be apart of something as [...]
While meandering through the BBD Bagh area today, we happened to stumble upon a curious sight: Kolkata’s Chinatown. Today, hardly any ethnic Chinese live in Kolkata. Those who did – mostly merchant families brought there by the Brits in order to stimulate trade – moved to Vancouver, London and the US a long time ago. [...]
Kolkata is perhaps better known under its old name – Calcutta: a name that evokes images of poverty, beggars, Mother Theresa and vast overpopulated slums. After a couple of days here, I have to say that our experiences of the city are far different. In contrast to other Indian cities, we’ve found Kolkata to be [...]
The Indian Museum in Kolkata is a glorious throwback to what museums used to be like. It has everything from intact whale skeletons to Egyptian mummies and Naga crossbows. The taxidermied animal section is especially freaky-looking, with a moth-eaten Polar Bear that has turned brown with age, a Tiger so amateurishly stuffed that he looks [...]
We’re foodies. There – I said it. We can’t stop ourselves from talking about the food we eat on this trip. An observant person might say that when you’re unemployed, mealtime is the main focus of the day. And, yeah, I’d have to agree. We eat our breakfasts talking about what we plan to eat [...]
You know the saying, “to fly by the seat of your pants?” Well, that's been our philosophy for most of our adult lives – before and after meeting, falling in love and marrying. We're now taking that idea on an extended round-the-world trip. Follow us as we share the good, the bad and the downright nasty of life on the road.
