SUNRISE OVER KANYANUMARI

Tuesday started early. I would even say that Tuesday started in the middle of the night for us. At 3:30am my room bell rang. It was Samson letting me know that our plans to leave the hotel at 4:00am had been changed a little and that we were going to leave in about 15 minutes. Fantastic. Who needs sleep anyhow? Our reason for waking early was to make it down the very southernmost tip of India to experience the sunrise over the ocean and we needed a few hours for travel time. I was thankful for the ability to sleep nearly anywhere.

THE FALLS AT TIRPARAPPU ON THE KOTHYAR RIVER

Once again, I will say very little about this stop on the journey and just let the photos do the talking.  

PADMANABHAPURAM PALACE

(Say that ten times fast, or… once.)

** This post (as well as the next two planned posts) is a bit of a “back-tracking” post. **

While down in the deep south for the wedding, I had the pleasure of joining my friends for a little sight-seeing. I will keep the commentary brief on these posts as they will mostly be photos. Keep an eye out for the photo captions to get a little more in-sight regarding the commentary.

WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU...

My last morning in India started earlier than I had hoped. I never sleep all that well the night before a big day of travel. At 5:30am I finally decided to roll out of bed and into the script of the morning’s departure preparations. This is always a dreaded day for me. I know it’s not going to end smoothly whenever it finally does come to an end; jet lagged, tired, and most definitely uncertain about whether or not I am really ready to be back in the US.

FIVE TO EIGHT DAYS AND NO IMMEDIATE ESCAPE

I'm about to get real with y'all, so bear with me. When I first arrive here in India I'm ecstatic. I will tell you I'm thrilled to be back. I will say that in some ways it feels like coming home. (Home to my home-away-from-home, that is.) But those are little white lies.

A MALAYALI WEDDING IN TAMIL NADU

I’m going to start this post with a quick lesson in Southern Indian geography for any one listening in at home. India, much like the US, is divided into various states; the two southern most states being Kerala (on the west coast) and Tamil Nadu (on the east coast). Unlike the US, each state has its own language and cultural nuances. In Kerala the language spoken is Malayalam with a Malayali cultural divergence; in Tamil Nadu the language is Tamil with a Tamil cultural divergence. The wedding I attended this past weekend happened right on the southernmost border of the two states; thus a Malayali wedding in the state of Tamil Nadu.

AN AMERICAN PREPARES FOR AN INDIAN WEDDING: A COMEDY

Preparations are a big part of any wedding event; anywhere you go in the world. Generally when one hears the word “preparation” associated with a wedding they assume reference is being made to what the bride and groom have gone through to make ready for the big event. It is true that the bride and groom, more specifically the bride, take the trophy home for the one devoting the most energy to preparations for a wedding. However, guests also make wedding preparations.