27th. April (Wednesday)..Arrived in Almora by taxi at around midday after a tiring and somewhat frustrating bus journey from Delhi to Nainital which turned out to be a ten hour journey against the mention of six hours on the "Make my Trip" website...Probably a website we would not recommend or use again as this has been our second bad experience with booking through them...Unfortunately their reviews are not much to go by..It will be interesting to see their reply to my strong letter of complaint...Our taxi ride to Almora was a couple of hours and unfortunately, not on the best of roads in these mountains as the previous monsoon rains have caused some serious damage through areas of heavy landslides...We checked into our guest accommadation (thanks to Nithin's father, Mr Upreti) at the very comfortable forest guest house and after lunch we both got some much needed sleep so we could be fresh and ready for Nithin & Rajni's much anticipated wedding the next day...After a good rest & dinner our rest of the evening was spent with most of the family including us having hands and feet being very artistically painted with "Mendhi" in readiness for the wedding celebrations that lay ahead of us for the next three days....

28th./29th & 30th..."Forget William & Kate"...The experience and honour of being special guests at Nithin & Rajni's traditional Kumaoni wedding in the small mountain village of Almora is a memorable occasion that will stay in our hearts forever...The big day consisted mainly with the groom and his parents spending a number of hours in prayer with the Pandit (Priest) in the family's prayer room (Mandir) while most of the family and never ending stream of relatives & guests sat in groups singing trditional Kumaoni Geets (Hymns) and eating & drinking the typically sweet ginger tea that is very unique to this area of India...After a suggested short rest in the afternoon Song & I got ourselves dressed and ready (obviously Indian style to suit the occasion) for the "Bharaat", which is the ceremonious procession that takes the groom to the reception and place of the wedding ceremony...The celebrations and ceremony took us through the night till around 0630hrs. of the 29th. morning and though Songhi & I once again decided to have a few hours rest the ceremonies continued through the day with us joining them again for more song & dance in the evening which once again ended in a large banquet for a guest list of approx. 3000 people...We realise it's all about tradition & culture but it's certainly hard to understand why the bridal couple and their families put themselves through so much of what seems to us like torture...Incredibly,this traditional visiting of family & relatives along with the exchanging of gifts and hours of prayer each day apparently goes for one month...We thoroughly enjoyed the wedding and feel extremely priveliged to have been invited and sincerely wish Nithin and Rajni all the very best for a long & happy future together.....

Sat.30th & Sun 31st.....After a much needed sleep-in and late breakfast Songhi & I along with some of Nithin's relatives who were up from Delhi took a relaxed tour of Almora and visited Nanda Devi Mandir, one of the more popular temples in the vicinity...The rest of the day was spent with Songhi theraputically helping out some sore backs and aches caused from the events of the past few days while I edited and displayed most of the close to 1000 images I had taken through the three days at the wedding...We've once again developed some very close friendships in these few days and hope to be back towards the end of this year on an invitation to Nithin's younger brother's wedding...Bieng a noted government minister in the local district Nithin's father Mr. Upreti has been wonderful with his help in organising initial accommadation for Songhi & I in Ranikhet during this busy time of the year...

Tues.3rd. May..It was a nervous & apprehensive Songhi that woke for her first day of work..not only after almost a year off but now in a different environment & culture..Our first appointment was to view a room for rent in the centre of town which we found to be too expensive at Rs.8000 per month.."We think they obviously saw the tourist $$'s in their eyes"..So no doubt we shall keep looking and also have the help of a few friends who are on the lookout for us too..Though it is the busy tourist season in Ranikhet we are still positive of finding somewhere till we leave on the 25th.May...The clinic is in it's last stages of completion before the innaugral opening day set for the 12th.May..We were made very welcome by Dr. Vijay Upadayah who introduced us both to the other new members of his team at the clinic..Though not yet open officially, the clinic is accepting walk in patients which fortunately gave Songhi her first opportunity on her first day in the job and help calm the nerves..With my support as the Hindi translater we both feel all went extremely well and look forward to a positive feedback from her first patient at the clinic...There are many interesting plans visualised for the business with even a health retreat in the nearby forest hills to be up and running for the overseas tourist by early September...Though the doctor has asked for us to return by September this year, our feelings are that it may be too early to return to stay for a long period.. even though the proposition sounds good, it is a big decision and commitment to make without some serious thought and discussion....

Tues.3rd to Sun.8th....It's been six days since Songhi had her first therapy appointment at the clinic and typically as with any small town or village, especially here in the more remote hill station of Ranikhet the word that there is a new therapist in town has spread extremely fast...She has averaged approximately three appointments per day and gladly all with positive feedbacks to her healing process.Her unique & different approach to alternative therapy has caused much interest in the vicinity & even though we are both still disappointed to be leaving on the 16th of this month, we are both happy to know that our return here will be more than welcomed...Her knowledge of hindi has improved tremendously and I feel it will not be long before my presence as her translater is not required and I will have to search for an alternative form of occupation..haha..!!!..There is not a day that goes by without us being stopped in the main street or bazaar and being invited in for tea and a chat. It obviously shows our presence here is accepted with great warmth and happiness...Dad's years in the Indian army with the Kumaon Regiment in Ranikhet are still remembered by many with a great deal of respect and it's certainly wonderful to have met up with a handful of now retired ex. Kumaoni officers and Jawans (soldiers) who had served during dad's time and have settled in and around this district..some also, whose children were in school with me here at Canossa Convent...The likes of Col. Ram Singh & Col. KS Kataria have brought back many good childhood memories for me here...We shall both miss our time here when we leave on the 16th. and have made ourselves & the friends we have a promise to be back very soon..........

9th to Thurs. 12th.May... The inaugaration day of the "Archana" Ayurveda clinic today and we have both witnessed a quite positive feel & build up to this place since Songhi started back on the 3rd...As she puts it now, "she is not here to prove herself now but to heal"..The proof has already shown quite soundly in what she has done so far... With over 200 invitations and the guest list reading the who's who of Ranikhet, there should be plenty of support & backup to help this clinic progress into an important and popular healing establishment for this district...After an initial session of Pooja (Prayer) in the presence of a priest the opening ceremony began with the traditional cutting of the ribbon by the Commandant of the Kumaon Regiment, Brig. Jasbir Singh... On being politely asked, I volunteered my services as the official photographer for the day, though the event was also briefly covered by the local media for the next day's news print...Our feelings of returning to India are still quite deep though now comes the crunch of our financial status when we are back for the longer stay...Yes, we agree that Ranikhet is a beautiful spot with a particularly easy going and relaxed lifestyle but unfortunately when reality sets in we have to think hard and thoroughly research our final decision on moving here on a more permanent basis...Thanks to some honest and positive advice from some very close friends here and with just a few days before our departure,Songhi & I now have to have a heart to heart talk with management here to help us decide whether our committment to return and progress in her work here is a viable decision or do we stay content and happy with the thought of continuing our life & Songhi progressing in her chosen career comfortably in Australia...We both feel & agree we have shown our intentions quite clearly by changing plans & schedules along with our added expense to return to Ranikhet for a second time within the month, so now we have to leave the ultimate decision to Dr. Vijay Upadayah and his superiors on how Songhi stands with her future at this clinic...Apart from these obvious decisions the other major point is her working conditions & environment at the clinic. We admit being a new clinic, there is still a great deal of work & construction going on but it is vital that with Songhi's particular kind of therapy the absolute importance of "Shanti" Peace & Quiet is a number #1 priority...Without this, unfortunately neither she nor her patient are able to develop any success from the treatment..Especially Reiki Therapy..With this particular and most important need we think a priority must be a seperate room set aside & away from most noise and disturbances so she can concentrate, with a view to positive & successful results while at work..Unfortunately, to our disappointment this has not been the case on a number of appointments she has had so far... So, lots of thinking and big decisions to be made in the next couple of days and we both know that with each other's strong moral support we shall both most definately come up with the right one..."We have both been there and done it before"..!!!!!!!!

Thurs. 19th May...It's been an eventful few days since the last upload..Unfortunately, with Songhi's days being fully occupied with appointments it was difficult to get about and do much sightseeing around Ranikhet...We did take advantage of the extra daylight in the evenings though, with a few forest walks to Col. Ram Singh's house off the main road to the village of Chaubattia..We were also fortunate enough to catch up with his son (also retd. Colonel from 4th. Kumaon) and his family who were up on holiday from the beautiful city of Jaipur.. An invitation to stay with them in Jaipur on our next visit was accepted without too much hesitation..!!!!.. Well, Songhi has decided not to stay with the hospital and continue & progress further with her practice in Australia.."I'm sure we both heard & felt a sigh of relief from a few"..!!!!!.. Our idea is to perhaps return to India once a year for a couple of months during the cooler season when Songhi would like to offer the lesser privelaged and needy her therapy on a totally voluntary basis.. She feels this will give herself much more personal satisfaction & happiness....We left Ranikhet for Haldwani at 1400hrs. on the 16th. by taxi..Unfortunately, due to reconstruction on a bridge enroute our journey that would normally have taken approx. two hours turned out to be a four & half hour trip with a detour through Corbett Nat. Park...As our onward bus to Delhi was not due to depart until 2230hrs. we were invited to dinner by our good friend Raju Ahuja & family who had also kindly arranged our seat booking on the AC bus...Maybe Songhi & I should have taken up Raju's offer of staying with them overnite as little did we realise that our onward journey to Delhi was not going to get any better...We departed at approx. 2230hrs. and were making good time until 0730hrs. in the morning when we encountered probably our worst traffic jam due to the full moon celebrations on the banks of the Yamuna river...knowing we had a train to catch from New Delhi to Amritsar at 1400hrs. we were initially not too concerned with only 90kms. to Delhi...Having only moved five kms. in four & a half hours we decided to call and cancel our train booking which was fortunately refundable, less 10% of the full fare..We finally arrived in the searing heat of 44% in Delhi at 1530hrs. and feeling a little worse for wear decided to check in to the "Residency Inn" in Gurgaon for a freshen up & rethink of schedules...After almost two days of failed attempts to rebook our train to Amritsar we have now resigned ourselves on the decision to stay in Delhi and catch up with friends & family here, including taking the opportunity to see some sights we missed out on when we were here last... The Delhi metro system has certainly made a huge beneficial difference for the tourist & locals.It's probably the most economical, fast & definitely the cleanest way to travel around the city & it's suburbs...On Wednesday we shopped for gifts in Connaught Place & the underground Palika Bazaar to get away from the 40deg. dry heat...It was also great to catch up with friend Pankaj Dhyani & his family for dinner at their house in Dhwarka...As luck would have it, Nithin & Razni were down from Almora & on their way to spend their honeymoon in Manali, so it gave us the perfect opportunity to see them once again before we return to Australia.....