Delhi, Agra, Mumbai, Surat, Dandi, Mumbai, Kanchipuram, Mahabalipuram, Tirusulam, Colombo, and Induruwa (yikes)

At this point I'm hopelessly behind in my blogging, so I'll just put down a (very) brief summary to get you up-to-date.

Delhi

We met up with my Dad in Delhi since he decided to join us on our trip. He was in this part of the world almost 40 years ago and has never been back so it was a very exciting reunion! We visited some of the places he went to last time he was in Delhi, like the Red Fort.

Agra

There is really one reason that people come to Agra and that's to see the Taj Mahal. Last time my Dad was in India he decided it was too much trouble to make the trip from Delhi to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and he's regretted it ever since! We were thrilled that we were all able to go and see it together for the first time. It's as beautiful as they say!

Mumbai, Surat, Dandi, and Mumbai

There is lots to see in Mumbai including plenty of British architecture. However, this wasn't what drew us to India's largest city. Bollywood filmmakers have a habit of picking up Westerners on the street to come and be extras in their films. Since before we even left Ukraine it's been Heather's dream to make it as an extra in a Bollywood film. It only took a day or two in Mumbai before someone approached us, it wasn't a Bollywood filmmaker, though. Instead it was a wedding planner who was hiring western women to greet guests at a very, very large and expensive wedding. Heather decided to do it, she made thirty bucks and we were all invited to by far the most lavish wedding I've ever been to. It was really incredible and now I understand why Indian weddings have a reputation of being really over the top.

The wedding was five hours away in Surat so on the way back we stopped in Dandi to see the beach where Gandhi marched to make salt in defiance of the British government. It was one of the major events on the road to Indian independence and there is a lovely monument and we saw the palm hut where he lived at this time and where he was arrested.

Kanchipuram

We stopped here on our way to the coast to take a tour of five major Hindu temples. At one of them we all got blessed by an elephant after paying his fee (we literally had to give the elephant a rupee after he reached down with his trunk!) All the temples were very beautiful, it's a shame we couldn't spend more time in southern India.

Mahabalipuram

Our last stop in India and the first beach we spent any time at. It was a pretty touristy place, but it was a good change. We got to sample the south Indian cuisine (off a banana leaf), see ancient stone carvings, go to a beach temple, and soak up the tropical air.

Tirusulam (Chennai airport) and Colombo

We left early in the morning to catch our flight to Sri Lanka. I must admit that I have a whole new perspective on flying. In the states it just seems like a pain and you spend so much time just waiting around. After taking several 24 hour trains, countless buses, rickshaws, etc. it seemed like a really pleasant experience. Sure you have to wait a bit, but everything is so clean and nice...yeah, a different perspective. We didn't stay in Colombo, but went straight to Induruwa.

Induruwa

My dad booked us rooms at a beautiful guest house on the beach. We just arrived yesterday, but I can already tell that Sri Lanka is a completely different place than India. Much, less hectic, much more relaxing. I'll write more soon, promise!