Night before last I almost did it. I almost said it out loud. "I can't believe we've been in India for two weeks and no stomach issues." I caught myself, knowing that it would completely jinx us. It didn't matter. Three hours later Deb was violently ill. She was in bed for 14 hours. Just as she was starting to recover enough to eat some plain toast, it hit me. The girls, Amy and Laurel are all fine so we've narrowed it down to the mutton korma at a suspect...

Surviving India is all about managing expectations. Our expectations of Agra were well established. People come here for one reason. The Taj Mahal, from what we'd read and heard, will exceed your expectations no matter how high. It, alone, is worth the journey to Agra even if everything else about the place is a disappointment. We expected it to be uber touristy, dirty, unfriendly, and completely devoid of character. Our expectations were exceeded on all co...

At first glance Hinduism, to the western eye, appears incomprehensible. Almost ridiculous. Then you start examining it through the unbiased lens of your own religious heritage and the perspective changes. I was never much of a Christian, but I know the basics. God had a son who he sacrificed on the cross for the redemption of our sins. Giant milk chocolate egg laying rabbits and flying, whiskey-nosed reindeer are the most recognizable symbols of the two hol...

We've been one week in India and I still have no idea how to begin to describe it. In fact I just had to pause for several minutes and gaze out the train window to reflect again upon the "sub continent" floating past. We are en route from Calcutta to Varanasi. A 14 hour train journey in 2nd class. The rail beds and sidings are covered with garbage. The poorest of the world's poor sleep between the tracks, their meagre laundry laid amongst the filth to dry. Y...

Sometimes, not always, but sometimes things just work out better than expected. After a thrilling but tiring bike trip in the Mekong Delta, we were unsure how to spend our last few days in Saigon and Vietnam. The kids had booked Sunday afternoon for a play date with their friends from Mui Ne. Monday we had to make it to the airport at a decent hour to catch our flight to Bangkok. I had tried in vain to take in a Vietnamese cooking class since I arrived. Afte...