Last Call

My last week of my trip went by so quickly, its all a bit fuzzy. There was the stay at my cousin Vipuls, where I had the best time with the world's most fabulous 1 year old - my nephew Rohan. I mentioned him in my last blog, 1 tooth has now become 2 front teeth and he finally got over being sick! yeah!

Towards the end of the week I hopped on a bus to visit friends from New York - Gabe and Alice who are now living in Cardiff, Whales. Cardiff is a beautiful little city, all the benefits of city life - great bars, restaurants, music and art scene, but small enough where you feel cozy and can get around everywhere on foot. Gabe and Alice were the perfect hosts, making sure to take me out to all their favourite spots and introducing me to the friends they've made out there. They seem like they're really happy being there for now (they better be back in the US in 3 years time after Gabe's law school is over)

Spent the weekend chilling with the family and then Monday Derek hooked me up with his membership pass and took me to see the China Exhibit at the Royal Academy of the Arts. After spending a few hours there we thought a little Dim Sum was in order in Chinatown for lunch. It was a lovely way to spend my last day.

So that's that. My flight to JFK was at 11:55am on the 28th of February. In 8 and 1/2 months - 259 days - 6,216 hours I've travelled to 11 countries, flown 12 times and travelled in more busses, trains and boats than i can count. Every single second was worth it - I wouldn't change anything I've done a bit - that says alot I think. There's still so much more I want to see and I barely scratched the surface. I'm not worried though... I'll be back. Right now its time to think about my next trip - the one back home.

I see London....

Greetings from London! Okay so I've actually already been here for 2 weeks but better late than never right. Its been a pretty interesting few weeks back, back in Western Civilization. Its taking a bit to get myself readjusted, there are a few things i've gotten used to and i'm not sure if i'm willing to give them up.

For example shoes - I haven't worn a pair of heels in 8 months. Seriously its been a very long time since my feet have been more than 1/2 inch off the ground. So last saturday when i decided to be cool and sport a pair of 2 inch heels i was in hell! within 5 minutes i had blisters and my ankles were crying out in pain. Then of course there's the hair - it hasn't been cut in over 4 months, hasn't seen a hairdryer or styling products in over 6. And lets not forget about the clothes - my jeans, my lovely replay jeans have seen their last days... they've seen me through thick and thin and have covered my ass, litteraly when nothing else could. All of this is really fine by me but its not a good thing when people start dropping their spare change into your coffee as you're waiting for the signal to change :)

Besides all that London has been excellent. Went up to Manchester on Monday for two days to see some sights and get out of London. In the 15 years that i've been coming here, i've only left London once! Luckily the weather here has been great and have mostly had sunny days with a bit of overcast here and there and little to no rain. Which is more than I can say for you guys on the East coast! Hope you all made it safely through the storm. Seeing my cousins and some old friends was my main reason for stopping in London, that and puting off having to go back home ;) The family got a little bit bigger last january and my nephew, Rohan, just turned 1 a few weeks ago. He is absolutely adorable - all smiles and giggles, with one massive front tooth!


Anyway, hoping to catch up with some of the old Tokyo crew later today (that's me and Derek having what else - Japanese!), as well as get out to Cardiff to see Gabe and Alice (friends from New York), catch a football match and hopefully venture out of london a bit more. Only have 2 weeks gulp! left before i fly home so in typical BG style am trying to stuff as much in as possible

Dubai, or not To Buy

After 7 odd months in third world and developing asian countries I was pretty excited about visiting Dubai, one of the 7 emirates that makes up the United Arab Emirates on the Arabian Peninsula. It was considered the Las Vegas of the Arabic World, a vacationing spot for oil-rich sheikhs and their wives, rich Brits and Europeans itching for a little Gucci, Fendi, and Armani.

Unfortunately its all the things that make Dubai-Dubai that made me realize that being a developed city is not necessarily a good thing. I mean everywhere I turned there were shopping malls, shopping centres, malls with the world's largest in-door ski resort, 5 star hotels, hotels with shopping arcades, hotels that charged non-guests an entrance fee of 200dhs ($70)!

I took the hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus to see a bit more of Dubai and thought it was hysterical that 80%of the tour consisted of pointing out the hotels and real estate projects - where they're building the worlds largest manmade island resort, the worlds largest shopping mall, and of course the world's largest tower!
Beautiful, clean and sterile, Dubai had no personality no character. Just superficial and consumer oriented.



It wasn't all that bad, luckily my friend Kamal had gotten me in touch with his friends Prakash and Jenna who were sweet enough to entertain me for a few days - their company was great and saved me from sitting in my hotel room watching Star Movies all weekend long.

Remembering the Present

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Sorry for being MIA for so long! My last week in India was insane! From my last night in Mumbai proper to the wedding back in Gujarat to my visit back to my mother's village Chanhi to trying to pack 3 months of shopping in India! There's so much i want to write about I'm not quite sure where to start.


The wedding I got to attend was of Sonu, my 'best friend' when i would visit our family in Chanhi. Our families went way back. I was extremely excited about the good fortune i had to be able to attend my first wedding in India in over 15 years and to see an old friend! It also meant a visit to Chanhi and stroll back down memory lane.



A few kilometers outside of Baroda City was the village of Chanhi, make a right at the dirt road near the small temple at the foot of the highway, where the wild pigs had as much traffic sense as the boys on bikes and the landlords in their ambassadors. On either side you found pan shops, vendors selling fresh groceries to the housewives and men incessantly spitting betel nut juice at the concrete wall next to the paan shop. A few hundred meters down the road you make a right onto another dirt road and as you drive, the road opens up to a massive archway with wooden doors, surrounded by a wall that seemed at least 20ft high. This was Amin ni Khadki (the Amin neighborhood). As you entered through the doors up a slight hill you could see all around you open spaces, in the distance on the left the open hall ways of what looked like a palace - inviting and mysterious, the echoes of children laughing and running through the hallways beckoning you to come and play. But first you had to see the family. Coming up on either side as the path came to an end were the largest homes in the village. The one on right HUGE, bleach white, and had a massive color tv! If you behaved you'd get invited over to watch Superman. On the left you had Sonu's home which was attached to your own. The front wall of the porch was solid metal to about eye level and then fence all the way up to keep out any unwanted guests and to protect the stacks of grain that were behind the massive wooden swing. You walk forward and come upon a set of wooden doors with two metal rings as door handles so commonly found in India. You push through and step in. The massive living room consisted of a small couch, a tv, telephone and a cot which was always occupied by bafoi, my grandfather's sister dressed in a black sari ( i never saw her in anything else) who seemed older in time. To the right was a small gate and a set of stairs which led you to the upstairs. Spanning the width of the house the upstairs room could have easily housed the whole village with its high ceilings and two balconies. Many a night you would bring your blankets out here to sleep under the stars. Back downstairs straight ahead you would find the kitchen, the bathroom and the small room which led to the back where your Umi bhen (our housekeeper) would do the dishes and call for you when it was time to come home for dinner. Lastly there was the door to the left. You never entered this room unless you were invited. This was grandfather's room. As soon as you would walk in, the temperature would change - it would feel cool and dry, not sticky and humid as it was outside. You'd tug a bit consciously at your dirt stained dress and try and untangle the jungle of pigtails on your head. You'd been summoned. The room was dim and your eyes strained as it tried to adjust and focus on the image at the far end of the room softly swinging back and forth. Most people would be scared, but you weren't (well not completely). Although people revered him, even feared him and his name was often used to get you to clean up, sit straight, do your homework, he wasn't scary. On the contrary he was just like a little kid. A little kid with a secret stash of valayari pipi (sugar coated aniseeds) who was willing to share with only those he deemed special.

This along with other images is what ran through my head last Saturday night as I returned to Chanhi for the first time in 15 years. As my uncle drove us i saw the familiar wild boars, the scene of children playing marbles and jacks. But something was different. As we turned the corner and approached the khadhki there it was, the Archway Entrance, barely wide enough to fit one car, the walls about as tall as me. Had someone damaged, it rebuilt it? We drove up and parked. I got out and looked around. Everything seemed familiar, yet somehow something was different, something was missing. Miles had changed into yards, mansions into small homes, the dark and mysterious into the plain and ordinary. I was anxious to see our old house. I walked in to find the large swing still intact, but it was no longer the massive spaceship i used to pretend it to be, i continued forward and entered the living room. I stepped in and sure enough there was the gate on the right leading upstairs and the entrance to the kitchen straight ahead. I turned to my left and took a deep breadth as i stepped into the doorway of my grandfather's private room. The swing was still there, but the room had shrunk, the air was musty and warm, the cupboards were gone and so was my grandfather. There was no life in the room, it was void of any of the character it had. My eyes started to well up with tears, my breathing quickened, i was shocked not sure why, but i couldn't stop myself from crying. Maybe it was for the grandfather i never really got to know. Maybe because the images i had were being shattered by the ones from the present. I was surprised by the impact they had on me, especially when i never spent more than 4 weeks in that house at a time (except for when i was born) and only visited every few years.

Baby Voltron #2

Okay so I just couldn't keep the news to myself and all of your good thoughts and prayers can only help. There were a few complications but so far surgery has gone well and she's doing beautifully. I'd like to introduce you to the newest addition to the Voltron Extended Family - Miss Kelly Marie Hickey!

Born January 16th 1:56pm at 5lb 14oz