India, Travel Home and Dubai

Today I said goodbye to my mother and the staff at Zamorins and departed for the Kochi airport at 4:30am. I knew that if all went well, in 36 short hours I'd be home in my own bed :)

Travel went smoothly through India, emigration had no issues with me departing the country. A four hour flight brought me to Dubai, UAE, where I had the problem/fortune to have a 13 hour layover.

I had heard a great many things about Dubai from friends and colleagues. I think the most accurate description I heard was

that it is like Vegas with less debauchery. Everything is larger than life. It has the single largest mall, the tallest building, the only 7 star hotel, and hosts of other "only"'s in the world. Given such a short timeframe, I knew I would have to optimize my time well. Given the fact that the ayurvedic is supposed to leave you physically spent for some time, I decided I'd skip the indoor snow skiing. I checked into the Riviera Hotel in the Deira part of town to have a home base and a place to shower later in the day. From there, I started walking down Baniyas Road in the 105 degree heat. I figured I'd cross over Dubai Creek and see some of the sites in Bur Dubai. I took the abra (water taxi) across for UAE 1. It was a pretty cool way to travel, with a nice breeze. I took to the streets in search of the Dubai Museum, which I found promptly. I've discovered I can only stay in museums about 51 minutes before running out of patience. Fortunately, this place was air-conditioned and interesting, so I survived my limit and learned a fair amount about the immediate area. There had been some semblance of civilization

in the area for thousands of years, mostly semi-nomadic bedouins that survived in the arid desert through wile and intelligence. Oil was discovered in 1966, which forever transformed the area into a land of wealth. Some of the recent leaders showed significant foresight in utilizing that oil wealth to attract other enterprises and entrepreneurs to build their businesses in the area. There's no sales tax and in general a lot of tax breaks compared with other areas. After leaving the museum, I utilized that no sales tax rule in order to go to Dubai Mall and purchase Raechel a small present :)

After that, I decided I'd play the par-3 course at Dubai Creek Country Club. Like everything else, the clubhouse there was ridiculous in terms of it's scale and design. Fortunately, the greens fee and rentals were very reasonably priced, I managed to only put down about $60 US to cover the entire experience. Afterwards I had a fruit cocktail for dinner (stomach isn't ready for meat just yet) on the waterfront, and headed back to the hotel for a shower. A few hours later, I was on my 14 hour flight back to DC, and another 3 hours to home.

What a trip. I am completely exhausted and worn out, but very happy to be home :)

India, Final Day

It's hard to believe that two whole weeks has already passed and I am heading for home shortly. I'm sad to be leaving a place where I had such a great experience, but I feel satisfied with the time I've spent at Zamorins and I'm excited to go home, most especially to see my wife, Raechel.

Today we had an opportunity for our final field trip, this time to

visit the Elephant Park as well as to do a little shopping in town. The Elephant Park was just that, but on a grander scale than I ever expected. There were around 90 elephants, and none were behind cages or bars, only secured with chains to keep them in place. It seemed like a fairly humane, the elephants seemed playful and generally good demeanor. They ranged in size and age, with the youngest being a playful one right at the entrance. It was probably one of the most entertaining animal in captivity experiences I've had, mainly because of how close the animals were.

We closed out my experience at Zamorins with Dr. Baji, Col Babu, my mother and I sharing in an evening discussion. Dr. Baji gave me my final examination, which said my health had improved with a lowered blod pressure and losing 10lbs. I'm looking forward to taking some of the learnings from the past two weeks and continuing to apply them at home.

My mother will be staying at Zamorins for an extra couple of weeks, which I think is great. If you have the opportunity, I think you have to take it. Which goes for anyone I suppose, I'd recommend Zamorins to anyone looking to help with a specific medical ailment, or just in need of some mental refreshing.

Day 15 India, The Physical Aspect of Ayurveda

Someone asked me a few questions on the physical aspect of Ayurveda and the treatment I’ve been receiving.  I figured I would give everyone the same response in case they were also curious.

Specifically, has the diet affected you in any noticeable way?

I weighed myself today, and right now I weigh just over 75kgs, meaning I’ve lost about 10 lbs since coming here.  That puts me just at the top of “normal” on the BMI scale from “overweight” before.  The biggest change for me personally was not having coffee or alcohol for two weeks.  That’s probably the longest I’ve gone without either in ~7-10 years (since boxing in college).  I didn’t really notice any withdrawal from either, perhaps because I was so jetlagged.  I usually work out ~3x/week, but the exercise is fairly strenuous like running or soccer, and it kicks up my appetite so I eat more.  I’ve noticed no increase in my appetite since being here, other than the occasional craving I’ve had recently for popcorn.  In terms of the food, I usually eat pretty healthy, though this was obviously vegetarian where as I’ll usually eat turkey or chicken at least once/day.  In terms of my body, the biggest thing I notice is that my tummy has gone down, presumably the fat buildup from alcohol getting consumed.  I still have my love handles, which I’ve always had, even small ones when I was 125lbs doing boxing.  Will the changes hold to my body?  I have no idea.  If I can maintain the weight, I’ll be impressed.  Although, for me personally I think my empty calories come from eating out and drinking.  I’ve made a pact with my Mom that if she continues walking an hour/day, I’ll limit alcohol to a max of 1 serving/day.  And we each get a couple freebies per month.  I suspect that will hold down the empty calories aspect.  In terms of food, like I said I usually eat pretty healthy.  Dr. Baji advocates eating 25% whatever you want, and 75% fruits and vegetables, fresh if possible.  If you do that, you can eat until you’re full and not gain weight.

 

Were the oral medications helpful?

No idea on that one.  They taste like crap, so I presume yes.  There's no one single variable I could say is doing x, but everything working together seems to be leading to fat and weight reduction.  We did get a chance to view some of the plants at Dr. Baji’s house last night, he maintains a garden where he grows many of them.  It’s amazing how potent the smells are in the plants when you break the leaf or root, you can almost feel that they exude some extra quality beyond the plants we have in the States.  BTW- in case folks were wondering, he does sell the medications in pill form, but they are generally less effective than eating many of the herbs fresh.  One of the advantages of Kerala, India is that all of the herbs grow fresh and naturally here in the rain forest.  That’s one of the reasons for actually coming to the location.  There are several places in the States that specialize in Ayurvedic treatment, but for the most part they lack the herbs and medicines that are part of the program here at Zamorins.

 

Does your body feel different with daily massage and yoga?

It feels very tired.  It's amazing how worn out I feel at the end of the day.  I’ll start yawning at about 5pm and I’m ready for bed by 9pm.  I wake up about 6am.  Dr. Baji ballparked that each massage burns about 100 calories.  And keep in mind, these are not your American style massage.  They apply oil, but then in the first one they are hitting/beating your body with sacks of herbs (feels like sand), in the second one they are scrubbing your body with what feels like sand.  It's enjoyable, but it's not like they are kneading my muscles or anything.  The oil is to lubricate your body, the pounding is to loosen up the impurities in your body to be washed out.  My muscles feel elongated and stretched, which is beneficial for me because running tends to make your muscles tight over a long period of time.  They’ve warned me that my system will feel pretty rundown for a couple of weeks, so I should take it easy upon my return.  Hopefully my immune system isn’t too compromised that I get sick. 

Have you been able to effectively  eliminate the toxins from your body?  I think two of the pathways were eyes and your bottom - so has digestion or elimination (talking about your BMs - and yes probably not comfortable to discuss:P) been improved?

Again, I presume yes.   I won't go into detail, but all of my bodily functions have been normal/regular.  I was concerned about getting diarrhea upon arrival, everyone warned me of it, but I’ve had nothing of the sort thus far.  I'm not sure about the eyes eliminating toxins, I haven't noticed anything in particular.  My pee smells like Indian food, so certainly the herbs are coursing through my body.  I drink a lot of water, but I’ve always drank a lot of water.  I run through about three liter bottles per day, and also drink water at all three meals and juice in the morning. 

 

Day 14 India, Yoga

Day 14 "...And feel better the change in our minds and bodies..."

Today I figured I would give a bit of information on the yoga that we're doing here at Zamorins.

 I'm no yoga master, so bear with me. In fact, the very first time I did yoga was actually at the

 beginning of my sabbatical when Raechel and I were at Westglow Resort in Blowing Rock. I enjoyed it enough there that I figured I would give it a try while I'm here in India.

Each day at 11:30 our yoga master, Anil, arrives on his motorcycle. Amelia, my mother, and I are what constitutes the

 class. The session basically breaks into three separate parts. I'm certain there are formal names for all of it, but I would call it stretching, exertion, and meditation. Each requires concentration of the mind and proper breathing technique. In fact, I have a suspicion that yoga is just a means of increasing the oxygen level in your blood to give you a "high." But point being is that the stretching involves each member of the body in various loosening exercises. The exertion generally means positioning your body into some sort of contortion that requires you to exert force on your muscles. It's still in a stretching fashion, but in a way that makes you sweat and your muscles tense. The final meditation is a cooldown period, where our yoga master asks us to visualize our mind and body at rest and at peace.

I had some experience with the meditation aspect in college from my world religion's course. T

he goal is to focus on the here and now. If you've never tried it, you should. It's very hard you'll find. It's amazing the different kinds of thoughts that will wander into your mind while you are lying still, focusing on your breathing. I swear I've covered at least half my life's memories over the period of the last two weeks' thoughts.

The end result is a body that feels better. There are many ways to describe in what way, but I always have the image of being at peace, and at balance. Things feel more right when you're done.

I'm not certain if I will keep up with yoga when I return to the States. I hope I do, if only from time to time to help center myself.

I will always remember the sessions here for the cadence and tone of the yoga master. I'm not sure if it's because English is his second language or it is part of his plan to put our minds at peace, but he uses the same words and inflection each time during the session.

"And relax, to feel better the change in our minds and bodies..."
"Take time, and take our minds, and put it to free..."

"Relax.....relax.....relax...."

Day 12 India, Field Trip #2

Field Trip #2, St Thomas the Apostle
Not two days after saying we only rarely go on field trips, we took another today. Francis, the manager of the property, invited us to visit with him at his local Catholic church. Because we had treatment, and because they try to keep us away from crowds during treatment since it's hard on our bodies/immune system, we departed shortly before noon for St. Thomas the Apostle Church. What makes that slightly ironic is that my local church growing up in Elkhart, IN was also called St. Thomas the Apostle. Or perhaps that's more of a coincidence than irony, or so my lawyer friends tell me.
Francis hired a cab for us that took us through the same route as we took a couple days ago, but veered to the left of the large Hindu temple (famous apparently). We pulled up next to the church, colored in blue and white. The most amazing thing upon approach was the gigantic statue across the street. We found out later on our tour that this statue was 45 ft tall! You can see my Mom is quite small standing at the base of it. It is the largest statue of St Thomas anywhere in the world.
We took a quick walk around, then Francis arranged a tour for us with a guide. He escorted us around the grounds for about an hour, showing us three main attractions. Inside of the church was the original foundation, which we were told was built in 52 AD, nearly 2,000 years ago. Incredible. He told us that St Thomas came to Kerala shortly before that, having sailed from the Holy Land through the Red Sea, across to India. I'll have to do some research, because this seems like an incredible journey for that long ago. St. Thomas upon arrival performed one of his miracles. The locals were worshipping their Sun God, throwing handfuls of water up into the air. St. Thomas said that their god must not be the Highest since their water fell to the Earth. He threw a handful of water into the air, and the water stayed suspended, "as if they were stars." The second part was to go inside the cave behind the church, were there were statues depicting the life of St. Thomas, including his martyrdom. Finally, we went across the street to the local museum, that had many artifacts ranging from a few hundred years old to well over 1,000 years old. That type of time is hard for people to imagine, particularly Americans where our history is much shorter. It was an amazing trip.
The monsoon has officially arrived per the newspaper. It rained this morning, making for a wonderful walk in the warm downpour. The rain disappeared, leaving a heavy humidity this afternoon. Hoping it rains again soon :)

Only a few more days until I get to come home and see Raechel!

Wedding Weekend Album!

Check out the wedding album I made using Shutterfly! Just came in the mail today ~ I love it. Thanks to everyone who was a part of our special weekend :)

Click here to view this photo book larger

Day 10 Field Trip

The past few days have been great, if uneventful. There have been few interruptions to the routine. Which partly is what made last night's field trip so much fun.

Col Babu asked us in the afternoon if we would be interested in visiting a local Hindu temple, one to Lord Shiva, known as the creator. We were excited about the opportunity, both to visit the religious site as well as get more of a view outside of our walking radius from Zamorins.

We drove for approximately 30 minutes in Col Babu's car. We passed through Thissur, which had a small market selling local wares, clothing, etc.

We arrived at the temple shortly before sunset. It's always interesting visiting another religion's holy site because you're never sure what customs to follow, etc. Col Babu assured us that this temple permitted most activities and dress. The only requirement was that we remove our shoes before entering.

Col Babu took us inside the temple, which was perhaps an acre in total size and open-aired. The temple to Shiva was quite beautiful, with flowers and candles surrounding it. Col Babu took us around the perimeter of the temple, which also had shrines to other gods such as Ganesh (I believe he is the god that blocks or clears paths for people). As we went around, Col Babu also pointed out that there was a single link fence on one side of the shrine to Shiva. This was to indicate that we were to go no further. The symbolism to this is that Shiva, as creator, is associated with the Ganges River, which gives life to India. The link fence was to indicate the River, and also to remind people not to try to interfere with nature as it was intended. You could see how this has some bearing on people today as well as 5,000 years ago. After participating in the evening prayer, we departed for home and dinner.

Backing up a little bit, before we left for the temple, Col Babu showed us how our medicines utilized in our treatments were made. Two of the technicians were taking various plants and herbs, mixed with a couple of different oils, and heating them to condense them down. They were then tied into the sacks that have been utilized to apply the medicine to us in the mornings. He detailed a few of the different ingredients, which are grown locally. The fact that they are fresh is an additional benefit from being in Kerala versus a dried herb utilized in other parts of the world.

On a final note, my mother has decided she is going to stay an additional couple weeks on site. I'm very excited for her, as she has taken to both the treatments and to India with an excitement and eagerness than is very enjoyable to witness. It has been a great trip for both of us.

New Layout!

Yay! With Dave away, I am doing random projects every evening. Tonight was the blog make-over and I put wedding pictures in frames and into our cute little coasters! (special gift from Aunt Linda and Jeff) I'll probably re-organize my Outlook when I'm done here :)

Yesterday, I finally put together our new wine rack ~ and thank goodness... the boxes were taking up the whole living room.

It's looks terrific! The color matches our place perfectly, and all our drinking accessories fit well. Now everyone needs to come visit, so we can pour you a drink! The excitement of the wine rack was a good balance with the disappointment of American Idol. Kris Allen is a cutie, and I would buy his album... but he is no Adam Lambert. What an upset! It was especially depressing because I didnt have David with me to gossip during commercials.

This weekend I am taking a roadtrip across NC ~ visiting my girlfriend Kristen and the mall in Charlotte, then seeing Sarah in Greensboro. Hopefully the sun will stick around ~ and more importantly, I hope I dont break the bank filling my lonely heart with designer purses and shoes ;)

~ raechel

Day 7, Internet is back!

Sorry for the absence, the internet service has been down the last couple of days due to the start of the monsoon. I was starting to feel a little removed from the world, so glad to be able to reconnect. There's only so much self-analysis one can do before thinking about what everyone is doing :) Incidentally, I had always pictured "the monsoon" being an elongated typhoon/hurricane. It seems like it's just another name for rainy season. With the expectation being any given rainstorm could be several inches of precipitation.

The past few days have followed a similar routine: walk, breakfast, massage, yoga, lunch, massage, dinner, bed. Mix in there a lot of reading, and drinking some of the nasty herbal medicine we're on (picture right) 4x/day, and you've pretty much summed it up.

Rather than write a few details on every activity each day, which would get rather repetitive, I figured I would mention a few unique items from the day, but focus on one or two individual topics. Should give you a reason to log in each day.

Today I wanted to mention the discussion we had with Col Babu and Dr. Baji yestereday. It was the first time I really felt like personal walls were coming down and we got to know them a little better. We spent a couple of hours with them. And you know what broke the ice? They wanted advice on buying a laptop :) The funny thing was that Dr. Baji wants a standard notebook, Col Babu wants a netbook, and neither sees the other point on the value of the other machine. I can't help but smile at the discussion, I can almost hear Intel people getting nervous that Dr. Baji will selldown to the netbook. I do offer some tips on purchasing, and as you can see here, Col Babu takes me right up on my suggestion to get an S10 Ideapad netbook. He even tried to get me to give him a discount for the local engineering school to purchase 100 netbooks. I'll have to work on that one when I get back in the office.

The rest of the conversation was discussion on the election and the subsequent 17% jump in the Sensex (Indian stock market). The election was a decisive victory for the incumbent Congress party, eliminating their need to partner with the Communist Party. As opposed to the U.S. system dominated by 2 parties, India has several hundred political parties. This usually means that whatever party is in power has to partner with a bunch of other ones, and usually leads to little progress on any one agenda. The Congress Party, led by Sonia Gandhi, will be in power with nearly 50% majority, and will subsequently get to set the agenda. Prime Minister Singh, known for his sound economic policies, will have more leeway to deregulate markets and unleash India's economic prowess. It is amazing that even after the Financial Crisis'08, the stock market recognizes the greatest wealth potential lies in open markets and competition.

What was interesting about our discussion with Col Babu and Dr. Baji was their optimism about the future. They mentioned that there is a common belief that India has been in a state of devolution, having peaked hundreds or thousands of years ago (I found this also common when I traveled in Brazil). But over the last 5 years, that perception has shifted, and there is a sense of India's rise being at hand.

I have to say I have been enjoying the reading time. Raechel has been trying to get me to read A Time Traveler's Wife for a while now, and I finally buckled down and read all 530 pages in two days. It helps to have a hammock with a nice breeze to keep you motivated. Anyway, a great book, and I would recommend it to anyone. It hits a little close to home right now given the story is about absence between two people in love, but at least I know when I get back to the States I get to see Rae every day as much as I want :)

And a very Happy 6th Birthday to my nephew Keagan!

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While Daves away, Rae will play...

Dave's college buddy, Brian Bausano, was married yesterday to Bonnie. We originally declined the invitation, as Dave was heading to India... but last minute, we decided I would attend on my own. I love meeting Dave's friends and was looking forward to putting a couple new faces to names, including the infamous, Brian Bausano.


The major freeway in St Louis was under construction... with the intention of being ~20 mins early to the ceremony, we (myself, Joe and Joe's girlfriend Tiffany) ended up being ~5 mins late. The TomTom could not figure out how to get us to the church without using the freeway! It was Joe's iPhone that came to the rescue, and actually calculated the best route with the knowledge of which roads were torn up. The ceremony was beautiful and everyone looked great. I will note the flash photography was a hugh distraction and I am thankful our wedding photographer did not use flash.


After the ceremony, there was a ~3 hour break. I head down to the hotel bar, with my book Atlas Shrugged, and read. Three drinks later, Joe and Tiffany joined me, along with some other ND grads. The reception kicked off on the rooftop of the Sheraton hotel. A little chilly, but fun. I felt silly every time I introduced myself as Raechel "Frick". Practice makes perfect, I guess.


Steve Bueche (one of Dave's groomsmen, and Brian's best man) speech was impressive. He talked about how Brian is loyal, forgiving, and comes from a great family. The maid of honor was Bonnie's "younger" sister, not "little", which made me giggle, as LB is also my younger sister, and not little sister :)

Sunday morning, Brian's aunt and uncle had some of the wedding guests over for lunch. Both Brian and Bonnie's family was warm and welcoming. It was a great weekend.


I was sad to be without Dave, and decided that is the last wedding I attend without him :) Now, I'm home, and back to cleaning and reading by myself.

Day 4, Election Day

Or rather, vote counting day. Today, India tallies up their 430 million votes to determine who has won what seats (sidenote: they've managed to computerize the entire process). I've only studied up a little bit on Indian politics, but it seems very interesting. First, there are many parties, most of whom are local to their region or state. The two large national parties are Congress and BJP, but they have to form coalitions with smaller parties in order to be in charge. Most of the local parties, of course, care about local issues. Add to that as well that the vast majority of voters are likely from lower income levels, and the amount to which the government subsidizes a kilo of rice becomes enormously important (one party says 3 rupee, the other says 2 rupee). Anyway, read away if you like.

http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a4wGrhWeLFHA&refer=home

In terms of my experience at Zamorins over the last 24 hours, it has continued to be a great experience. We were introduced to our herbal medicines yesterday. They are liquid shots of green and brown. I have to take two different concoctions 3x/day. They taste somewhere between worcerstershire sauce and vinegar. It's mind over matter to keep them down, but I'm going to take a leap of faith and assume they are doing my body good.

I did take an amazing walk this morning. I went a similar path as yesterday, but a bit further this time. The only thing that cut me off was two dogs on the path that I figured were in charge of that area and I should disperse. There is a video I captured (hopefully) of the religious ceremonies taking place, or at least the sound of them in the distance. Kerala has a diverse mix of religions, with significant percentages of Hindu, Christian, Muslim, and more. I could only harbor a guess, but I would say that it sounded like one was Hindu and the other Muslim.

Further along the walk, I came across a man on a scooter with a cart on the back. He was shouting out, and appeared to be letting the neighborhood know he was around. It turns out he was the fishman, kind of like a milkman except delivering fresh fish. Women approached and bought some of what he had, it looked like some sort of small codfish.

I also had a chance to meet some children on my way back to Zamorins. They were quite excited to show off some of their English, and we conversed briefly. They disappeared briefly, but then reappeared because they wanted to shake my hand. Not sure if that is an Indian custom, or a belief of Indians on an American custom, or they were just being friendly. But it was fun to meet someone local, if only a couple of 10 year old boys.

I also forgot to mention yesterday that I was a little too energetic in my yoga class. The instructor had us extend our legs to the side during warm up. Of course, I hear a giant ripping sound. I go the other direction, and another ripping sound. I pretty much destroyed my pants. But I stuck it out for another 30 minutes. Here's a photo of the result.

Day 3 Medicinal Value

Last evening we met with the resident doctor of ayurvedic, Dr. Baji. He's a pleasant man, around 40 years of age. He gave each of us individually a medical examination, which later included a blood test. The questions were largely the same as what you would find in a routine Western medicine evaluation, focused on lifestyle, ailments, and family history. His teachings were definitely more on the holistic side, something that I find attractive.

His instructions focused mainly on lifestyle, and how we all need to treat our bodies with respect if we're to get the most out of them. He discussed diet and how important it is to our bodies, and why at Zamorins they focus not on how much you eat, but what you eat. Everything is vegetable and fruit focused, and it's all naturally grown. Most of it is raw, though some is steamed. The food has a distinctive Indian taste, but after my mother had issues with the spiciness, they toned down her meal for her. In general, the medical side of the experience was great because it was an actual conversation with the doctor, not a 3 minute interlude before getting a prescription. We sat for around 45 minutes over the past two days discussing what a healthy lifestyle is, why it helps, and what the results will be. He doesn't encourage radical changes, though since it is a controlled environment here at Zamorins, it is more restrictive than would be expected in every day life. But the main teaching remains the same here as well as afterwards, to have a healthy balance in life you must treat your body well and feed it well. Basic message, but often I've found I don't take the time to follow it. Nice to have a completely dedicated experience to ingrain that in my mind.

My health in general is good, but that I could stand to lose 10kg to hit my optimum height/weight. My prescription was to walk an hour a day, certain herbs included in my diet, my 2x/daily massages, and proper vegetable/fruit diet. He felt that even within two weeks I should start to see results of losing a couple kg without even noticing it. We'll see at the end if it's true. Regardless of the scale, I'm optimistic that by the end I will feel as well as I ever have health wise.

Jet lag showed its face when I woke up at 3am ready for the day to start. Fortunately, the Internet here works fairly well, so I used the time before sunrise to catch up with my wife Rae. 21st century is amazing, we were able to videochat while she was at work and I'm sitting 10,000 miles away.

Once the sun was starting to brighten the horizon, I decided I would get my hour walk over with early in the day. I proceeded to head out on the road, being incredibly careful to note where I walked (good lord, being lost in India sounds dreadful). I headed down the asphalt path until I hit a larger road (1 1/2 cars could fit on it). I continued down that path, walking by houses and people on their way to work. I was obviously not from these parts, but no one seemed to pay me any mind other than to stare a little longer than normal. I passed by the Hindu temple I've heard chanting early in the morning and in the evening, a service/ceremony was about to begin. After getting through a town area, I reached a clearing that was beautiful. The clearing appeared to be for some power lines, but regardless of that it was an amazing view of the cross-section of what I would call jungle or rainforest. I continued along for another 15 minutes before turning around. I completed my walk by running into Amelia, the 40 yr old Austrian psychologist who is also staying at Zamorins. After 30 seconds of strolling, she commented that I do walk fast. I realized if there was ever a time in my life for me to slow down, now was it :)

The massages today were a little different. During the first, they utilized heated and hardened sacks of herbs after the oil application. It was a pounding effect all over my body, meant to strengthen my body's muscles and joints. In the second, they applied herbs based on the doctors evaluation as to what would best fit my constitution. It's grey area beyond that level of description, but it basically felt like an exfoliant they applied to my body so that it would absorb it. Both felt great, though the second one was a bit abrasive on my skin.

My mother is also blogging about her experience if you want to check it out: http//:drpeggyf.blogspot.com.

Tonight should be fairly chill. I will likely go to bed early after chatting with Rae about her day. Not a bad life going here :)

Day 1 (and 2) India- It's a long way away

Day 1 Travel

India is really far away, as both my Mom and I had the chance to discover. After running some last minute errands and running into mad traffic on I-40, I made it to the airport just in time. It was very very very very sad saying goodbye to my wife, but unfortunately because of the time constraint we didn't even get to say a proper goodbye. I miss her lots already.

After getting from RDU to Washington Dulles, I met up with my mother who was coming in from the Midwest. We grabbed a bite to dinner and had a chance to catch up on wedding photos while awaiting our flight. Those couple hours flew by, thankfully, because we had a good 13 hours to sit on the flight to Dubai. Given that prognosis, and knowing we still had another 4 hour flight after that, I bought the bullet and upgraded to Economy Plus. Luckily, the plane was only half full so we had a chance to spread out and sleep a bit (as well as you can on a red eye that leaves at 10pm and arrives at 7pm).
We didn't have a chance to see Dubai too much on our approach, which was a disappointment. Hopefully on our way back it will be easier given our 14 hour layover. The airport was impressive in terms of it's shops and restaurants, and the people were exceptionally friendly. I have to say it was my first experience being in a Muslim country, though the airport view showed as cosmopolitan and global of population as any I've ever seen. As you can see, they like their upscale duty-free (which isn't really duty-free since they don't have sales tax anyway).

Day 2 Arrival in India
We arrived at Kochi around 3am in the morning. I actually felt pretty decent, likely because the time zones are so far off that my body isn't sure what to think. We met our driver, who escorted us to his Toyota SUV and we headed on our way. Altogether summary on travel is that it wasn't that bad thankfully.

It took around 90 minutes to go the 60km to the Zamorins location. We couldn't see too much of the road since it was the middle of night, but in general I would say that I was surprised that nearly all of the 90 minute drive had shops on the side of the road. It was what I would call fairly typical 2nd/3rd world looking scenery, except that it went on forever.

At Zamorins we met Colonel Babu, the person who we had been in contact with over the last couple months of planning. He is a very pleasant man, around 40 years old. He escorted us to our private rooms, basic but comfortable, and let us make ourselves at home before falling asleep. I wasn't really able to sleep, but it was nice to lie horizontally after a full day of traveling. Here are some photos of my room (called Ganga).

At 8:30am we were roused to join Col Babu for breakfast. I had no idea what to expect. It turned out it was a rice dumpling with coconut curry, and some fresh mango. I'll say the latter fit my taste buds better than the prior. We spent an hour eating and talking. Col Babu shared his reason for why Zamorins exists. He shared the basic concept of Aruyvedic. I think I'll save the full description for a later blog post (why give away the story). But the high level concept is that the body as a unit is very good at solving it's own problems, provided it has the proper holistic support provided for it. He utilized rough conceptualizations to help us visualize what he meant. His first examples were about Russia vs Afghanistan and how the body needs to be strong before it can fight off an enemy. You could try to kill the enemy with full combat, but a much more productive approach is to provide support to the body so that it can do what it does best (heal itself). He mentioned Aruyvedic tactics are targeting clearing up blockages in the body that prevent the body from operating at its full capacity. A concept of balance that the body needs to achieve in order to function at its best. All in all, I think both Mom and I appreciated the fact that there is value to a holistic approach to health.

We went on a brief walk of the grounds, with Col Babu describing the local flora. Included on the grounds are mango and coconut trees, and a number of species less familiar. I'll post photos of them later.

After rest, we went for our initial massage. It was unlike any other massage I've ever had. First, you wear essentially a very small cloth diaper. Then I had two technicians working on my body for over an hour. They begin by pouring hot oil on your skin, an effort to lubricate away impurities. They then massage the body, for the most part in a vertical motion towards or away from the heart. Following the massage, they then scrub you down with a concoction of spices and soap to clense the body. Afterwards, it's an amazing feeling of cleanliness and wholeness.

I finished my morning with a bout of yoga (not sure where this energy is coming from). It was only my second time ever doing yoga, but the instructor was patient and worked with me. When there was a position that was obviously uncomfortable, he asked if I was in pain. He had us shift out of that position, relax, and actually focus on the pain. The belief is that if you focus on it, your body will target it to help heal it. It seemed to work. The only session was very rewarding, the breathing relaxing without making you tired, the stretches strenuous without feeling painful.

Alright, I get the idea there's a routine to each day here, so I hate to write such a long thread on the first day and have nothing to write for the other 13. But I have to say that I'm pleased with what's been going on thus far, and looking forward to what's to come.

But I do miss my Rae the most :(

Our final day and trip home

Final Day (Rae's bday)

Today is our final blog post from our honeymoon.

As we mentioned before, we had a great time in the lagoon snorkeling yesterday. We were a bit melancholy, however, that we were unable to take photos given our camera was destroyed in the saltwater. We decided we wanted to venture back out into the lagoon, and booked Teking for a private charter, in celebration of Rae's birthday. The best aspect was probably the ability to control where we spent time. We focused on the areas we really enjoyed the day before for both scenery as well as snorkeling. This time we had our digital SLR with us, and captured some picturesque views to share with everyone. The topper was that we had a champagne brunch in the shallows of the lagoon, prepared by our captain and first mate. The fish swam right up underneath the table and through our legs, hoping to get a sample of bread. We obliged, and captured some great photos of it. The snorkeling was at least as incredible as the day before, and we really enjoyed that we were able to share it just to ourselves. An amazing experience.

After we concluded our lagoon trip, we spent some final hours at the pool enjoying the sun. After packing up, it was time to go to the airport and begin our 18 hour trip home. We're sad to see our honeymoon go, but we feel ready to get home, see family, and sleep in our own bed. 12 days was just perfect, enough to truly enjoy everything we wanted to, but also not too long as to be hoping the trip would end.

We've now returned home to Raleigh and had a chance to absorb the whole wedding and honeymoon experience. There are mixed emotions about it being over. We're happy everything went perfectly, but sad that it is all over. It is certainly as everyone said: it goes faster than you can truly appreciate.

We have posted all of our favorite photos from the wedding and honeymoon to the following link. This includes the disposable cameras from the wedding day, a collection of photos from everyone on wedding day, honeymoon photos, and the photo booth pics from the wedding day.

http://picasaweb.google.com/frick4/

We want to say thanks to everyone for their love and support. You are all wonderful.

Love,

David and Raechel

Words Can't Describe

Day Whatever, Lagoon Snorkeling

Before detailing the day, we have to mention the conclusion of our evening last night, which included security coming to the rescue as there was a three-way gecko war ongoing. We've largely gotten used to them, but when they started hissing at one another on the ceiling above the bed, it's a difficult thing to ignore. The help staff who showed up was quite adept at capturing one of them, he's obviously done this before. I figured it was a useless endeavor to try to catch them, but he quickly pinned it behind a picture on the wall and had taken it out to the outside foliage in just a minute or two.

This morning we woke up ready to join Teking on his Lagoon Cruise. Teking was a personal recommendation from our host on Rarotonga based on his fun-nature as well as his small boat's ability to reach locations many of the larger touristy boats could not. The recommendation was right on the money. He brought the right amount of humor and personality to the day, something we enjoyed and appreciated.

But regardless of who was leading our expedition, the lagoon is simply stunning. Words can't describe the color of the water all around. Though there were variations throughout, the most prevalent color we could come up with was Otter Pop Blue. And it stretched for miles in every direction. We stopped at three different snorkeling locations throughout the day. The first stop Raechel had a chance to feed the fish from her hands leaning over the boat. Though the fish were benign, it reminded me of what a piranha feeding frenzy would be like. Rae could really feel them tugging hard at the bread. Teking referenced to keep our eyes out for Taz. We discovered Taz was the big guy in the neighborhood, a giant blue fish that weighed in the neighborhood 100lbs. We were recommended to keep our hands out of the way of Taz's jaws as we were instructed to prepare to get in the water.

So, we all put on our snorkel gear and hopped into the water. Unfortunately, as soon as we got into the water, we noticed that our camera would not turn on. Our waterproof bag had sprung a leak! We were extremely disappointed that we wouldn't be able to capture pictures the rest of the day, especially once we had a chance to witness the sights. We would have to enjoy and share the experience the old-fashioned way, through our own memory and stories.

Rae did a great job overcoming her dislike/fear of snorkeling. Teking helped, as he encouraged her to relax and get back in the water. She explained she didn't really get what everyone was talking about given she could never really see well through her mask given the fogginess. She realized after he put a bit of toothpaste in her mask what all the enjoyment was about. We swam around as buddies and checked out the coral and fish. We're going to do a little research on what type of fish they were, but they were plentiful and colorful. Our favorite was probably the bright blue starfish that was maybe 18" in diameter.

Our next stop was one that had a lot of giant clams growing. Teking encouraged us to dive and touch the edge of the clams. I managed to do so, and immediately freaked out when they recoiled and clenched. It felt a little like if jelly were in a plastic bag. There were perhaps 50 of these things growing. Teking explained that the local clams and many of the clams in the lagoon had largely died out about 20 years ago, he suspected because the lagoon temperature got to warm. He said that recent implants were from Austalia, and had positive attributes like faster growing cycles. There were still local original clams, but they were smaller and less prevalent.

After that, we stopped at Honeymoon Island, for which we were given special consideration given our recent nuptials. I don't think there is any way to accurately describe this island, it was the coolest attraction of the day. It looks like how you would picture the idyllic desert island, perhaps at most 2-3 ft above the lagoon. We were at high tide, and there was a large finger of island stretching out into the shallow area of the lagoon. The water was a light turquoise, and would occasionally wash over the finger of island. The water was no more than 2-3 feet deep 200-300 yards out from the island as well.

Across from Honeymoon Island a few hundred yards was Unfaithful Island, for which we were told to beware. It was also the site for our lunch. We had a chance to get to know our shipmates, of which there were 10. Amazingly, there were no New Zealanders on board. We represented the U.S., there was a couple from Vancouver (who had been 4 times since their wedding on Rarotonga 5 years before), an engaged couple from Finland, a couple from Austria, an older couple from our resort from the U.K., and a guy from Germany. They were all quite pleasant and we enjoyed getting to know them during the meal. We finished our lunch by competing in a hermit crab race. Teking was obviously on something as he said I was first prize, he was second prize, and Raechel was third prize for the victors. I know that the 1st place winner was not exciteed with their prize :)

We stopped for some more snorkeling, another couple islands (where they filmed Cook Islands Survivor), and concluded our trip at One Foot Island. Other than enjoying the sun and water, nothing too notable. After that, Teking took us home. Fingers crossed, but if they have enough petrol (there's a shortage since the boat couldn't dock last week), we're going out for a champagne brunch on one of the islands tomorrow for Rae's official birthday.

Tonight, we're heading to happy hour, a buffet, and a show here at the resort.

Hard to believe our honeymoon is coming close to conclusion. We both agree it has been amazing, and we also agree we booked just the right amount of time as we're starting to think about home and all the nice things (like Sunday coffee in bed) that come with it.

Happy Birthday to Rae

Day 11 Well, a couple days early...

In case we didn't mention, we did conclude last evening with the exciting fire-dancers. They had to move indoors from the beach because of the wind outside, but we were still impressed by their throwing lit torches up and about. Two of them had actually been to North Carolina as part of an exhibition at universities on world dance.




BTW- the word has obviously spread amongst the beasts as to my ability to unleash the fury: as we were relaxing last evening we heard a thump on the floor. One of the lizards had either gotten tired or drunk, as he fell from the ceiling of the living room onto the floor. I walked out to the room, and scared the bejesus out of the lizard with my thundering roar. He scampered this way and that, and safely made it out of the way of my pounding feet.

Today we enjoyed a somewhat abbreviated bike ride on the island. We utilized the map to head through town, which lasted approximately 90 seconds. We also noticed that some of the lines on the map were dirt versus asphalt. What we didn't anticipate is that those dirt trails would eventually go from pseudo-roads, to two dirt trails, to a single dirt trail. With ominous clouds behind us, and unsure what lay ahead, we instead turned around after getting around the south end of the island (about 1/3 of the way around) arriving at PRA just in time for a late lunch. The weather brightened considerably in the afternoon in time for some sun at the pool. Increasingly brave, we've shed the sunscreen increasingly over the past few days. That also led to a purchase of Aloe Vera, which we have used copiously in the last 24 hours.

After some lazying around, Rae and I dressed for dinner. I had slipped a hint that we might have a special occasion upcoming. After a brief happy hour shared with a few friends we met (apparenently there ARE professional cricket coaches), we were escorted down to the beach to our 4-post suite with candles aplenty. We are a couple days early, but given our upcoming travel schedule, I wanted to make sure Rae had a very special birthday! We sat in our bean bag seats with pillows a la Aladdin and took in the view of the ocean and lagoon with a soft breeze in our faces. We talked about how certain moments seem so amazing as to just be surreal. This was one of them. After being served some bubbly, we enjoyed a wonderful feast of seafood, including the best tuna sashimi we've ever had (sorry Mikuni). The feast kept coming, with calamari, oysters, mussels, shrimp, and fresh crab. We finished off the meal with a plate of wonderfully decadent desserts, made up of cheesecake, chocolate cake, and raspberry ice cream. Delicious. We had amazing timing, as not more than 10 minutes after we finished dessert and champagne did the rain start. The resorts hosts were very kind in running through the rain to bring us an umbrella to make our way back to hour room.

Tomorrow, we venture on a half-day cruise of the lagoon with TeKing. Camera charging now so we have plenty to show manana.