Long Over Due

Okay, so we had traveled back to the US because Vikas needed to be there for work and to get some time back at home. That was at the end of October of last year. Then he went back to India to work and I stayed in Austin because honestly, doing that flight two more times in such a short time period, did not appeal to me in any way. I missed him dearly though. We've never been apart for an entire month. I got a lot done and I even got my exercise on. I lost 14 lbs. before he arrived back in November. Well, after he got back, and the Christmas holidays were rolling around closer and closer, I wasn't feeling well. I had been told at a prior physical that I had a virus but I had felt fine and thought nothing of it, nor did the Dr. seem worried. Anyway, long story short, the crap hit the fan and everything went down hill. We ended up staying much longer in Austin than planned. There were many tests, many trips to different specialists, lots of physical therapy by who I swear is the best physical therapy business in the whole of Texas, Core Therapy and Pilates, and massages by the best and most caring massage therapist ever, Michelle Savage. Let me know, if you want either of their info. They are all patient, kind, caring and work on finding the source of the problem and treating it by helping the body learn to heal itself. That I believe is key to healing in the long run. They will also try to work with you as best they can with appointments, insurance and anything that you need.

So now we're back in India. We got here about a week ago. Two days after arriving, I end up getting another cold virus. Yeh, so many phrases can be used here, but I'll just stick to, "oh great, what luck". It wasn't as bad as the last few months so I'm taking it in stride. It seems to be getting better and that I'm on the better side of it now, here's hoping. I want to feel better so we can start getting to the traveling part. Right now, we are looking into traveling to Jaipur and Udaipur. I am VERY excited to go to these places! Since I love to make jewelry, Jaipur is going to be a place where I need to sew my wallet closed. Fine silver, gemstones and many other pieces are made in Jaipur. I'm going to be like a kid in a toy factory. Both cities are supposed to be rather beautiful. Also, we hope to stay at least one night in one of the world's top ten chosen hotels (chosen by Travel + Leisure), The Oberoi in Udaipur. The trip should be soon, but we'll see. For now, we might go somewhere closer, Pondicherry, Mysore or something like that. So many wonderful places to see and visit and any of them will be fine for me. I'll just be glad to be experiencing new things and enjoying that I am feeling much better and hoping every day that it stays that way.

So I wanted to basically catch everyone up and explain why there was such a long pause in writing. Tomorrow is Sunday, which means brunch at the Oberoi, here in Bangalore. I love love love their homemade ginger ale. What a great drink for a cold virus too.

I still have some photos to post from Diwali when we were in Mumbai, before coming back to the US in October of last year. I will try to post those tomorrow sometime. Take care everyone and have a great day in the US. Here it's nighttime and much past my bedtime. Rest is important. :)

The Unknown

So because of some body pains and issues, I get massages every now and then. I've been researching where to get a good massage that is more what I'm used to in America, versus the Asian style that is here, meaning no sheet, bare and being massage a little too close to the "no go" zone than I prefer. I've been reading other people's experiences which seem WAY more intimate than I would EVER prefer. I think I've found a place called SPA.ce (http://www.spacethespa.com/). There might be a couple of other spas too but I need to make some calls and ask some questions. I think the key is to let them know up front what you expect, which is exactly what I'll do. If that's very "american" of me then so be it. I'm paying them and it's my body so I should get the experience I prefer and am comfortable with. I will let you all know what I find and what I like most. SPA.ce is run by an expat Brit (meaning British expatriate) so I'm thinking that may be more directed towards what I'm expecting. I also can't wait to try reflexology massage. Actually, I'm also going to see about the spa here at the Taj West End hotel that we are staying at (http://www.tajhotels.com/Luxury/City-Hotels/The-Taj-West-End-Bangalore/Accommodations.html).

So each time we've stayed here at the Taj West End hotel in Bangalore, they've given us a gift. It's such a nice and thoughtful treat. Last time they gave us a small aromatic pillow. I missed taking a photo of it. This time they made us monogrammed pillows (each pillow has our first name on it). So on one pillow, it has my name (spelled correctly too, yay!) and the other has Vikas' name. You can see photos below. I absolutely adore these pillows! It's so hard to find my name on anything unless it's made specially so this was an absolute treat. The pillow came with a little card and a sweet note from the Housekeeping Team here at the Taj. The pillows are made with silk and down feathers.

This little fella was on our path to go to breakfast yesterday morning. Had to take a photo. Beautiful little home he has there. :)

Took this photo at the domestic section of the Mumbai airport when we flew from Mumbai to Bangalore. Beautiful and modern. Of course we didn't feel so beautiful due to our eventual 5 hour delay.

So we found out today that the house will not be ready for us to move into until next Monday. We will be staying a few more days at the Taj (darn <---- sarcasm). Right now I am a little bored from time to time, but I am honestly enjoying the rest and being a bum. It's also giving me time to do some research for things and find places I want to go to during the day on my own. I plan to do a little more research via phone calls tomorrow to find out more about places that do massages the way I would prefer. I'll keep you informed so that if any of you travel here you will know of a few good places to go. Well, and I'm not being too much of a bum because I actually have work to keep me busy. I'll try to take photos at any places I go too so you can see. :)

Off to breakfast and another day of new things to do and learn.

Just as I was about to publish this post.. out goes the electricity but of course within a few seconds it was back on. One thing to get learn to get used to here.