When was the last time you ate SPAM?

Spam! No, not the annoying stuff you get in your email. I'm talking about Spam - the canned meat that sustained the troops in WWII and, to this day, is celebrated in Hawaii, and eaten all over the world.

Did you know there is a Spam Museum in Minnesota? 

My brother Richard, me and Chan with "Spammy"

Today, we ventured down I-35W to Austin - an hour and a half south of the Twin Cities. My Phoenix brother was visiting his wife's relatives in Des Moines, Iowa, so we decided to meetup at a halfway point and suggested the Spam Museum. 

How much fun. You're treated to Spam samples as you wander through the space, which takes you through the history of this canned delight and how this Minnesota product has become world famous. Did you know that Hawaii even has a Spam festival  - over 7 million cans of the stuff are sold in the islands every year. But the facination with Spam has actually spread all over the world, and the Hormel company has come up with so many different versions to suit these tastes.

After our visit we stopped at Kenny's Oak Grill, for what else but Spam!

Other fun museums we have visited: 

Potato Museum, Blackfoot, Idaho

                                                                     Corn Palace, Mitchell, South Dakota

Get out there! Mingle! Have fun!

Whether it's joining an impromtu dance at the beach, saying "yes" when locals want their photo taken with you, or asking if you can participate in an event, getting out of your comfort zone will really enhance your travel experience.

We recently returned from a month-long stay in Cascais Portugal. Wow, what a privilege to spend so much time in one place. Nearly everyday we walked to the beach area just to see what was happening and, of course, eat! We happened on a dance party, which my husband quickly joined in.... if there's dancing, you know he'll be out there movin' and groovin'. How fun, not only for him, but he put a smile on a lot of faces.... sadly, most people are age seem to prefer to sit on the sidelines. Not us! 

I have no idea who these people are, but they wanted their photo taken with us! I have grown accustomed to this request, especially in Asia. Why people want a photo is beyond me, but I always say "yes."

Dham is unique to Himachal Pradesh, India. It is a way to serve hundreds of people quickly and efficiently. You can experience Dham, which consists of several lentil curries and rice, at weddings and other family events. Whenever possible, I try to get myself invited to these event. But in India, really you don't have to wait for an invitation. All are welcome.

"Explore" Kerala: I wish I'd had more time

Two days after touching down in India, after our grueling trip from USA, we joined three friends and boarded a plane to the southern most tip of India, the state of Kerala. 

To be standing where the explorer Vasco da Gama landed, and was later buried, really captured my imagination.

Let's keep the politics of colonization out of it for a minute.... Just imagine the will, the determination and the sheer maddness it took for explorers of that time, to leave the safety of their homes for the open sea and the possiblities of new lands.

The state of Kerala is very different from northern India. I hope I don't offend anyone when I say that it seems more "civilized." It is definitely cleaner and all-in-all, it seems more orderly. From clothes, to food, to the weather, language and terrain, everything is different from northern India, which I have grown accustomed. 

Kerala is definitely a tourist state, with good food, facilities and roads that are easy to travel. We hired a driver for our 8-day visit, which I highly recommend.... while the roads may be good, the driving habits are foreign to a westerner.

We spent three nights at Uday Samudra Leisure Beach Hotel which is within walking distance of the Arabian Sea, and located in the nearby town of Kovalam. The morning view from our window was of fishermen casting their nets for the daily catch.

I certainly got my fill of prawns, and on at least two nights, the head chef came to our table to display the day's catch and tell us how it would be prepared. I was definitely in the lap of luxury.

Sad to say, this is when I started feeling sick and even though I made time for an Ayurvdaic massage, I spent a lot of time in bed, trying to kick what was causing my digestive disorder.

Thank god for Pepto Bismol, as I was able to withstand the five-hour drive to Kochi, also known as Cochin. It is a large port city known as the Queen of the Arabian Sea. 

On the way, we visited Padmanabhaswamy temple, which is an architectural marvel located in Thiruvanthapuram. Only Hindus are allowed into the temple and men must be shirtless and wear the mundu (sarong) to enter.  It was, even from the outside, a stunningly beautiful.

Once we got to our hotel in Kochi, I crashed for two days while my travel mates took in the historic sites, which included the old city, where Portugese influence and trading history was apparent in the old architecture.

Then, it was off to the hills and the lush greenery of the jungle. We stayed in the rural town of Munnar at the Ice Queen resort. Strange name for a place that has probably never seen snow and ice. Anyway, I was really impressed with the efforts the owners are making to keep the carbon footprint low, and run a sustainable operation. 

Again, because I was still sick I spent one day in bed, while others visited the large tea plantation and museum. 

My absolute highlight, and is not to be missed, was the Kathakali dance performance. If you ever have the chance, please, please see this. The skill of body movement and muscle control (especially facial) is mesmorizing.

And then it was time to head back to the Kochi airport, which has the most comfortable seating I've ever experienced at an airport.

And then it was time to fly back to Delhi and then on to Dharamshala.... our homebase in India. It took we another week, but I am now fully recovered from the travel and illness.

International travel: S**t's gonna happen.

We had three objectives in mind for our travels to India on Nov. 3.

1. No checked luggage; 

2. Connect through Lisbon, Portugal, as we intend to spend March 14- through April 12 there before returning to the USA.

3. Reach Delhi by Nov. 5 to meetup with our friends for a trip to southern India.

We had so many connnections this time to accommodate the Lisbon connection and our timeframe, that we knew there would be a good chance our bags would not make it to our final destination, Delhi. 

Our planned itinerary began in Minneapolis then to Chicago, Chicago to Paris, Paris to Lisbon, Lisbon to Dubai, Dubai to Delhi. 

It turned out to be a very wise move on our part to have only carry-on, as once we reached Paris, we got hung up in security (so short -staffed) that we missed our flight to Lisbon. And that, caused a cascade of issues. The next flight to Lisbon, would have had us miss the Dubai connection, and then possibly the Delhi connection. So, as we sometimes have to do, we had to suck up the financial loss and rebook a direct flight the next day from Paris to Dubai (skipping Lisbon) which meant we had to spend the night in a Paris hotel near the airport.

Pretty confusing! We reached Delhi about 2 a.m. on Nov. 5.

Take-away lessons:

• Go non-stop if at all possible, when flying international;
• Make sure your phone is charged at all times;
• Log into the airport wifi, whenever possible;
• Carry airline customer service numbers with you. You may not be able to locate a "live" person to help you at the airport, especially if your connections involve multiple airlines. You will save a lot of time and headache trying to work out connection issues;
• Be sure to carry water and some snack, your "dollar" may be no good in the foreign airport terminal.
• Most important- stay calm, take it from me getting worked up will get you nowhere. Shit's gonna happen when you travel, it is best to just stay calm.

Mandir, a place of worship and so much more

 

India is known for its magnificent and important temples and mosques. But if you want to see how the average Hindu worships, on nearly a daily basis, you'll need to explore the small streets and pathways for the neighborhood mandir (Hindu temple). During our recent trip to Delhi, our hosts brought us to a couple of temples that my husband worshiped at during his youth. It was a moving experience for him, bringing back many memories of his childhood.

On the day of our visit, the temples were preparing for the upcoming Holi, often called the festival of colors. No doubt you have seen photos of Indians celebrating by throwing colored powders into the air and splashing them all over their faces. 

But something more meaningful was happening. At this temple, along with many others, large batches of food were being prepared for the langar, meals served to all free of charge, regardless of religion, caste, gender, economic status, or ethnicity.

Religion plays a huge role in the lives of Hindus. Being a Christian, from the United States, I won't even pretend to understand how much worship, prayer and sacrifice are a part of their everyday lives. Most families have a mandir at their homes, where daily prayers and offerings are given, but it is at the community temples where you witness true faith.

Welcoming Arms of Lovely Dharamshala

 

We're back! 

With our abrupt departure from India in early March 2020, we had no idea that it would be a full two years before we could return, and the havoc covid would take on all of our lifestyles.

While the country is not officially open to tourists, we have Overseas Citizen status and when we were fully vaccinated with an extra booster shot we decided it was safe for us to return. However, India required a lot of paperwork from us to be posted online basically to prove we were covid free, including copies of our vaccination records before we were OKd to go.

When booking the flight, we decided to fly direct to Delhi from Chicago, then spend the night in the airport hotel and take a morning flight to Dharamshala. In the past, our preference has been to stop over in London or Amsterdam long enough to leave the airport, find a hotel and try to get some sleep. That strategy seems to work for us, as we sure aren't as young as we use to be. This time, however, we felt that any layover in another country could be a hassel because of changing covid requirements. AND then we faced another hurdle. Because of the situation between Russia and Ukraine, the flight pattern was changed to avoid Russian Airspace as well has Iran's. This added about an hour an a half to the already 14 hour flight.

But we made it,. We were greeted in Dharamshala by our trusted taxi driver, Trilok, and crisp mountain air, and while on the half-hour car journey, we couldn't resist stopping in Kangra at a sabji (vegetable market). The sights and smells quickly brought me home to India.

Once we reached our house, we were created by some dear friends who came to greet us with a wonderful chocolate cake.

And of course, there was Shubnum, whom we consider our daughter. She takes care of us when we are here, and watches and cleans our house when we are not. We are so happy that we will be able to attend her wedding set for April 27.

Namaste

Traveling the rails in India is worth the trip.

Travel through India is not complete without at least one trip on the train.
My first train experience in India was 15 years ago, and the railway station, at that time, was so chaotic and confusing that I had a panic attack when Chan left me to find the bathroom - and he didn't tell me. I was so scared  to turn around and find him gone. So, I yelled at the top of my lungs "CHAN." If that didn't get people's attention, my tears of anxiety sure did. And Indians then do what they do best  - Help out. Despite the language barrier, so many people tried to assure me I was going to be OK. Anyway, I remembered the lesson I taught my kids when they were young... "if we get parted, just stay put." So that's what I did, and Chan eventually came back totally unaware of the crisis he had caused.
But now, traveling by train in India is a wonderful experience; the stations are clean and orderly, and even if you don't speak the language, you'll be just fine because the signage is easy to understand.
HOWEVER.... when booking your ticket, make sure that you are choosing the right class. Now is not the time to try to save money, or you could find yourself standing, crammed into a car with way too many people.

We booked A1 sleeper for the nine hour night journey to our destination, Ajmer.  We thought we would have the cabin to ourselves. OK, so there were four of us, that was doable. You get clean sheets and pillows, and actually the ride isn't bad.

Tips: 

• Book your rail tickets as far a head as possible- seats sell out fast.
• Use the porter service available at the stations. Those guys carry your luggage, bring you to the right lounge (yes, there are comfortable places to wait) and they make sure you and your luggage get on the right train.
• Bring snacks and water. These days, food is not available on the trains.
• Bring hand santizer and lots of it.
• Handwipes are a must- you may get lucky and have a western-style toilet in your car, but you won't have paper of any sort. In fact a good idea is get used to using the bidet method which is most common in India.