We've spent a week with Ernest and his family here in Hyderabad. Each day there has been some kind of wedding preparation which has been a fascinating insight into the Christian Indian wedding culture. On Wednesday we were invited to take gifts from Ernest and his family to Sneha his fiancé. This involved all the married women in Ernest's family taking a beautiful sari, gold jewellery, makeup and all sorts of fruits and cakes to her home. There she was presente...

My first Ayurveda Massage. Ayurveda means science of life and aims to restore your Prakruthi (normal body constitution) through the use of herbal oils, massage and other treatments. I was taken by auto to the spa building where I was greeted by an Indian lady. I decided on the rejuvenating massage which in retrospect I wish I had chosen the relaxation option! The masseuse instructed me to take off ALL my clothes and sit on the stool. I can handle this I thought...

We are on the last leg of our trip enjoying a few days here in Kerala. They call it God's own country and its breathtaking. We are staying in a small family run Bed and breakfast right on Cherai beach. We wanted peace and quiet which I would say we got as we are a good walk from the restaurants and shops but the waves are deafening! There is a strong undertow in the water so I've just paddled on the shore too scared to venture further. The water (Arabian Sea) is ...

Boy were we glad to leave the oppressive heat of Chennai to reach Valpari yesterday which has to be the prettiest spot in India. It's a balmy 80 degrees during the day with periods of rain followed by cool evenings. We are staying in a home stay which is a large cottage surrounded by flowers with views of the hills. Valpari is an animal reserve, we've seen signs warning us to give way to elephants, tigers, panthers, cheetahs and lion tailed monkeys. So far we've...

We are back in the south of India visiting Jetson Edinbro who first met Jon when he was working in Weymouth and living in Portland with a Pais team. We are staying in a lovely serviced apartment that has such a beautifully soft bed that it was hard to get up this morning! Jetson drove us around Chennai; I was surprised by the lack of rubbish on the streets and how cosmopolitan it is. There are many 5 star hotels, numerous malls and many bakeries. He gave us a ch...