Jodhpur Fort

Thalie India

  Jodhpur fort, also known as Mehrangarh, was built upon a massive hill in Jodhpur (obviously).  The founder of the fort was a man named Rao Jodha, and there is a story that he buried a man in the foundations of the fort ….. ALIVE!   This is how it goes:  The Maharaja (king) of Jodhpur […]

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Indian hospital

Gerry India

So Thalie got really sick, really fast, whilst we were in Kerala  – swiftly followed by Luke.  Thalie’s fever was spiking very high, and she was complaining of pains traveling up her legs, so – with WebMD  diagnoses of Dengue and Septicimia dancing before my eyes, and Debra’s gentle urging, we went to the local […]

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Kaiya House

Our time in Varkala would not be complete without talking about Debra and Kaiya House.  Debra is an American expat, married to a Keralan, ex masseuse to all the major rock groups of the 80s & 90s, inveterate traveler and all around warm-spirited, gorgeous person.  We stayed in her house, which is decorated exquisitely with […]

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Varkala art

Varkala is blessed with the madly creative genius of Alexi and Vladimir, two Russian some-time residents whose art pops up to brighten the most surprising of places.  Our lovely hostess, Debra, had one on the wall of her rooftop, but we also found their distinctive samples in random places at the side of the road, […]

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Pilgrimage

Hindus love a good festival, and throw themselves into fervent and joyful worship more than any other group that I’ve seen.  We were too early to see the extraordinary, skin-defying lime and cheek piercings that our friend Debra showed us, but we were fortunate enough to catch the beginning of pilgrimage season in Kerala.  All […]

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Varkala love

Indian palaces and temples of sand And so to Varkala, a lovely town on the coast about 4 hours south of Cochin – completely true that once you get here, you really don’t want to leave.  It’s a combination of Hindu pilgrimage and sacred site, fishing village and low budget Goa vibe.   We stayed at […]

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