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Last night the Mysore Palace was illuminated for festival. We ventured out on a convoy of Tuk-Tuks. The site was magical. Today I climbed nearly 700 steps on Vindhyagiri Hill to see the 17m high Statue of Gommateshwara. The fact that I actually made it was perhaps also magical😄 While at the top I received a blessing from a Jain Monk. It is always significant when someone offers to breathe blessing into your life regardless of differences in your faiths. May your day find blessing. You are Always in My Prayers. Love Mom. P.S. Yup--between the sun, and the climb, and the heat I really was that red! This morning we woke up to the call to prayer and the smell of incense wafting into our room. After a breakfast of both dosa and idilies we were off on a grand adventure. Did you know that black, green, and white tea come from the same plant? The difference is in the picking and processing. We learned that this morning on our tour and tasting at the tea plantation. Trust me, a large package of chocolate tea is coming home! Then we were off to take our hill train ride from Coonoor to Ooty. This is the same train system that your Dad road to school on 50 years ago. This narrow track train has been featured in a BBC documentary (found on YouTube). This was only part of a day full of memories for your Dad. After our official touring for the day we headed up to Hebron (previously called Lushington) where he attended school for three years. After convincing the gate guards that they should indeed let us in we bumped into a fellow that started school there the year after your Dad. He and his wife gave us an almost two hour visit that ended with Dad and Aunt Gill searching through the yearbooks in the alumni room. Trust me, I now have new stories to tell. Well, we are off to Mysore in the morning. Life is an adventure. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom. In Mysore we are in the middle of the four day Sankranthi or Pongol Festival. This is the Tamil Nadu Thanksgiving Festival. Cows are bathed in turmeric (thought to have medicinal properties) as a way to honour their contribution to everyday life and the harvest. Part of the festival involves these holy cows running through fire. Although we aren't going to be around for for Bessie to dazzle us with this daring feat, it has been fun to chase down the colourful beasts for photo opportunities😄
It has been an incredible day. Dad distinguished himself by accidentally walking through the flower petals on the lobby floor while texting and Aunt Gillian and I "accidentally" joined a men's birthday party poolside where we were literally feed cake by the 70 year old celebrant. Food highlight of the day were the Southern India Tahli plates. Soooooo Good! Having a blast. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom
Yesterday evening in Cochin we were introduced to their traditional Kathakali dance. Male dancers perform all of the characters wearing makeup that can take up to two hours to apply (and only ten minutes to remove). Key to Kathakali are both facial expression and intricate hand movements. We learned that there are many expressions for anger and love yet only one express for serenity. That is an interesting comparison which probably contains a life lesson I am just beginning to ponder.
Most of today was spent ascending the ghats to the Nilgiris Hills which we will explore tomorrow. That said we enjoyed a very tasty dosa for lunch as well as a visit to an Indian sweet shop. Dad purchased ladoo--the treat Gpa Homewood handed out the day he was born. Loving Life. You are Always in my Prayer. Love Mom. We hope everyone back home is staying safe and warm. As we enjoy the sunny skies and 30 degree Celsius weather we hear that you are "enjoying" snow storms and road closures.
Cochin India is a fascinating combination of fishing village and an industrial port. The same scene that captures water buffalo and Chinese fishing nets captures cargo ships and industry. Indeed, the Kerala province is anything but backward--the literacy rate here is close to 100% Well, we are going to sip a nice cold drink of ginger lemonade as we wait to enjoy our evening entertainment of traditional dance. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom. Just a short note to let y'all know we have arrived safely in Cochin. As with many places in India, you will find a variety of names and spellings for the same place. Our adventure began even before we left Toronto. When we arrived at our Park and Fly hotel we discovered that they are temporarily accommodating 400 Syrian refugees. The lobby full of children had re-purposed the furniture into playground equipment. They were clearly having a hoot as they pushed the couch, turned imaginary truck, through the front foyer.
Our journey here included stops in New York and Qatar, 18 hours in the air, and over 24 hours of travel. I thought I managed a bit of sleep on the plane, but my Fitbit begs to differ (it reads only 2 h 45 min). Getting sprayed with pesticide before you leave the plane is always a shocker--we tried not to breathe in! Today is all about settling in and getting ready for some serious touring tomorrow. We enjoyed a lovely walk along the Bay. In spite of the unique advertisements there are no rats in sight😄 Dad is already enjoying curry puffs from the Cochin Bakery. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom. |
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Ray & Diane
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