A Ray of Light a Smile at a Time

As we talked with our guide in Varanasi about the hopelessness and poverty we witnessed everywhere, we learned about Kiran (literally 'ray of light'), a place for children (most with polio, CP, rickets or hearing impairments) to receive education, skill and vocational training, and rehabilitation. We asked him to take us to see this center run by a Swiss woman. We drove through the countryside for an hour enjoying the break from the city. What an inspiration to see a clean and peaceful place where the children happily studied and practiced skills! We were satisfied that a donation to that school would have a much greater impact than giving rupees to the street beggars in the city.

Organized Chaos

Living in Indonesia and Angola prepared us somewhat (but not totally) for the street traffic here. Add into the normal mix of cars, bicycles, motorcycles and busses--cows, dogs, camels and donkeys, goats, rickshaws and tuk-tuks. The guide said all you need to drive here is a good horn, good lungs and good legs. It's amazing we haven't seen any accidents. They all seem to know what they're doing. This picture doesn't nearly capture the chaos.

Sunrise at the Ganges

We rose early to board our boat for an hour long ride along the River Ganges to witness the sun rise as locals and pilgrims bathed in the water. This is a daily ritual for some as they believe in its power to heal skin diseases and wash away their sins. Allan has pictures of this which I couldn't download to this post.

All I could think of was the words to the hymn:
What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh precious is the flow that makes me white as snow--no other fount I know. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

What a way to ruin a day!

Varanasi is one of the holy pilgrimage sites for Buddhists, as they believe that bathing in the Ganges will wash away their sin. First we toured the ruins of Sarnath, which date back to 200 BC, and is supposedly the place of Buddha's first sermon. I provided comic relief for Allan and our guide when I mistook the cistern there for an ancient BBQ pit. In the evening we took a boat ride on the Ganges to view the Aarti ceremony, a Hindu ritual of offering fire to the deities, and the cremation sites where 12 fires were burning before the ashes were spread into the Ganges.

This vacationing is hard work

You've heard it before. You see it now with your eyes.

It's Naan of Your Business

Sampling the cuisine of Northern India has been a delight, however mindful I've had to be of carb consumption. We've especially enjoyed garlic naan, found in almost every restaurant. Another treat was crispy spinach with cucumber and tamarind sauce.

Byteless in India

I've experienced technical withdrawal as we've had difficulty connecting to the Internet and not having phone service. It makes me realize how many times each day I take out my phone to get info or play wwf. Seriously, it's like I'm back in the 60's!

Timeless

After close to 30 hours of flying and transit time, we reached our hotel in New Delhi around 2:00 am on the 26th. Following a much-needed shower, we were able to catch 5 solid hours of sleep before waking to a sunny Republic Day, the national holiday commemorating 62 years as a republic. Our guide showed us the parade route not far from our hotel where thousands of people had congregated to celebrate. We visited the Qatar Minar, a 234 ft. minaret built by the Moguls 12 centuries ago and toured the World Heritage Site of Humayun's Tomb (2nd c. Mogul ruler) built by his wife.  The weather is beautiful right now and we thoroughly enjoyed our first full day in India.

The Real Deal

I must admit. I like flying business class. Real tablecloths, real cloth napkins, and real silverware served with a four course meal. Any beverage of my choice plus a real ice cream sundae, which I, unfortunately, had to turn down. Personal attention for my every need. I'm not sure Allan appreciated it quite as much as I did because he gets this kind of service from me all the time. :) Then there's a wonderful 15 inch screen to watch programming of my choice, and, to top it all off, having a seat which completely reclines as a bed with a real pillow and a real blanket. Now if I only got a real night's sleep, it would have been perfect. Not that I'm complaining, mind you.
(BTW--Allan spotted Susan Rice (US Ambassador to the UN) on our flight to Zurich.  Guess she likes the real deal, too.)

Never a Dulles Moment

We're sitting in the first-class lounge at Dulles after the shortest flight that we take today (4hrs). In a couple hours we leave for Zürich, (8 hour flight) after which we have a 5 hour layover. Then on to Delhi (7 1/2 hour flight). Can you believe they offer no meal on that flight--even in business class? We arrive at 12:45 am, and the worst part of our trip is over. Then it's all fun, baby.

Wheels Up

If you've ever traveled with the Vances, you've heard this often enough (not that it always means you'll leave at that time but that it's a good idea). Do I like being late? No. Did I like leaving the room with no makeup on because I didn't set the alarm for early enough? No. Did I like being that last one on the shuttle this morning because I couldn't find the hotel lobby? No. Nevertheless, we made it to the airport (7 min away) with plenty of time to sit in the United Club lounge for 30 minutes before boarding. I took this shot of Mt Ranier at sunrise on our way for the 4 hour flight to Dulles. It's gonna be a great day after all!

Vance's New Year's Greetings

Sorry the quality of the video is so poor.  You can't really read it but those of you who couldn't get PP on your email would appreciate the special effects!  I did upload it to YouTube and the resolution is somewhat better but still not great.  Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkLfhE-aa0A

It's About Time . . . and more time

No one needs to remind me that it's been 3 years since my last blog entry.  Now that doesn't mean I haven't been blogging.  Actually, I blog in my head almost all the time.  Most things wouldn't interest you, and some things might even scare you. So suffice it to say that things have been going well for Allan and me, and retirement has been very good to us for the past (almost) two years.  Washington is a beautiful state, and despite the sometimes not-so-good weather, we love waking up in the morning and looking out at the vista of mountains and water. Even when it is cloudy and overcast (which it has been a lot lately), we feel blessed to be here.  Although we had decided that once we retired, we would stay put a little and wouldn't travel  internationally, we are making one big last hurrah (or so we say) to take an around the world trip with our United miles.  We figured we'd better while the miles were still good and we were in good health!  Our adventures begin next Wednesday as we leave Seattle to head to India (through Zurich), Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Vietnam, New Zealand and Australia. It was difficult to decide what we've missed that we would really  like to see.  We will return on the 24th of March to LA, so if you wanted to organize a grand welcome back to the US party, that's where it would be!  I will do my best to keep you posted with pictures and notes along the way, but since I'm not getting paid for this, you can't complain if I'm not as consistent as I hope to be.  We've got good walking shoes and are trying to pack light, but it's hard when we're going to be gone for two months.  We hope you'll join us online now and then.  Until then . . .