End of the whirlwind tour...

Bangalore, Goa and Bombay:

We separated from reality for a bit on these excursions. All three of these locations have the resources to make you feel like you are far away from India, in denial about the severity of poverty in some places and in others magnify the divide between the rich and the poor.
We started off with a short drive to Bangalore with an incredibly reasonable driver who even slowed down for pedestrian crosswalks and STOPPED at red lights (Another point learned in India, red lights are merely a suggestion).

We met up with a friend who lives in Bangalore and has a number of different capitalist ventures going on around the world and lives quite a different lifestyle than what we were used to in Vellore. We needed to do some last minute souvenir shopping so did that for most of the day. I think I was a bit tired so I kind of wandered aimlessly although I did go to a store called FabIndia which does a lot of free trade with local artisans and I fell in love with some curtains. However, as I said I was tired so I actually did not purchase anything. After shopping we went out to a posh hotel called the Taj (a chain of super expensive luxury hotels, nicer than any four seasons, ever) for drinks and appetizers. After we went to another bar for more Kingfisher and dancing. The best part about Bangalore is the city has a curfew of 11:30pm so you have to do all your partying by 11:30. This is actually perfect for me because I can go out then go home, go to sleep and still get eight hours of sleep! The next best thing about Bangalore was our hotel had a treadmill! This was the first time in three weeks I got to run. For anyone who knows me this is a huge amount of time for me not to run but I have actually been ok. However, all of our hotels the next three days had treadmills and there were a fantastic treat!

The next morning we sent Vida off to Thailand to meet up with Dustin and we went on to Goa to sit on the beach and do some serious relaxing. The first night we were there we walked down to the beach by our hotel just to check things out. There was trash all over the place, cow dung mixed with sand, lots of men in their underwear (including a group of men playing cricket on the beach in their undies) and sea water that kind of made your skin itch. The cool part about our beach is there is a tanker that ran aground and then was abandoned because no one knew what to do with it. Apparently some groups want it removed but the Indian government does not want to allocate funds to take it apart and therefore it shall remain! The next day we took a taxi with a driver anmed Francis (huge portuguese influence in Goa) to a more quiet beach. We were going to go to Morjim but Francis informed us that it was vacation time for the country and it was not going to be quiet so he would take us to Aswin instead. The beach was perfect! With little straw thatched coverings and beach chairs for rent for $1.25 for the whole day, a restaurant nearby and a clean beach we could not go wrong. We spent most of the day reading, swimming and sleeping and ate some of the most delicious garlic prawns ever (they literally melted in my mouth). We went back to the hotel and then went shopping again! We found another FabIndia and seeing as I was more rested I bought some curtains. I really do not know what I am decorating seeing as I do not have a place to live yet next year but darn it I have curtains! (It's the little things in life).

After Goa we flew to Bombay and stayed at an apartment owned by a friend of a friend that was in a building where a lot of Bollywood stars live ( I told you we saw the other side of India). Bombay had everything your heart could desire. Setup kind of like Manhattan it is congested, dirty, overpopulated, overpriced, and smells a bit like fish. However, it is still India and still has a certain charm about it and I still enjoyed myself. We partook of our last true Indian dishes and also treated ourselves to some gelato (definitely not available in Vellore) before flying to Istanbul. After the India portion of the trip I have to say I had a fantastic time. Each town we visited really has its own unique character, the people are incredibly kind and there is really something for everyone as long as you are willing to find it. It is imperative that you take each day at a time, do not be in a rush because inevitably things will run behind schedule and be willing to try new things.

These are memories that all of us will cherish as we head into residency and for the rest of our lives as we may never have this opportunity or time to allow this kind of trip. All I can say is when you travel to another country rememebr that it is a privelege to be in a foreign country and you should respect that. All too many times I have been in another country and seen tourists take a holier than though attitude with the locals , and usually they are from the US, and it's really embarrassing. When you are traveling you are a representation of your country and because you look and act differently people will take particular notiece of you. So, I just ask you treat everyone with the utmost respect and not be afraid to try new things, practices that are "weird" to us may be daily occurrences for them. I am not saying you need to drink the tap water or bathe in the water drain on the side of the road just be smart and enjoy yourself. Figure out all that such a rich country has to offer through culture, food, tradition and even day to day life!