Farewell to India

April.. Our Last Month in India

We apologize for the lateness of this blog… It was written the last week of April while we were still in India but I guess its better late than never! 

Can April of 2015 really already be over? We arrived in Delhi on April 30, 2014 at about 11:00pm at night and as I write a full year has passed. Kaysi and I are both shocked in how fast time has flown by over the last year. 

Our year here in India has been a wonderful experience for us. It has been great over the last year to have been afforded the opportunity to get to spend vast amounts of time with each other! We feel the experience here has strengthened our marriage and we have both learned so much about each other through the process. We feel truly blessed to have had this opportunity! I could go on much longer about how our year here has impacted us but I feel that those questions can be me thoroughly answered in person! So, with that said hopefully we will get to meet up with all of our friends in the U.S.A. to tell you about our experience and if you are here in India please feel free to ask us! 

So now, on to the month of April! 

At the end of March we were able to get our visas extended through the middle part of May which was great! Neither Kaysi or I had any desire to be deported from India! One thing we had not realized though about the renewal of our visas was that we needed to take info to our cell phone company to show that our visas have been extended. Soo… unfortunately… as we awoke on April 1st (the day our original visas expired) our cell phones were not working. I thought that maybe it was just a strange coincidence but it was not. They were on top of things and since to their knowledge our visa had expired our phones were shut off! Even more unfortunate we had to go back through the whole process of reapplying for cell phones which took almost four days to complete. Thankfully we were giving a temp number from Kaysi’s work so that we weren't completely unreachable. You don’t realize just how much you rely on those luxuries of life until you don't have them any longer. We definitely were grateful to have that all figured out! 

The first weekend in April was Easter weekend so Kaysi got Good Friday off! We were thankful for the extra rest we were able to get over that weekend! On Friday we decided to go and catch a movie at our favorite movie theatre here and were treated to a great and exciting movie Fast and Furious 7 and even a little extra entertainment. The extra entertainment started a little over half way through the movie when we here someone towards the back of the theatre begin yelling at someone else. Apparently there was a disagreement of some sort. Some movie theatre staff came and seem to calm things down. The excitement was not quite over though! As the movie was getting close to the end and doing a tribute to Paul Walker the guys who had previously been arguing made their way out of the theatre but not before starting a fist fight down in the very front of the movie which progressed to the lobby of the theatre. It was quite entertaining! 

On Easter Sunday we went to a Sunrise service at Lodi Gardens that the church hosted and then breakfast at a restaurant after! It was an amazing time! After breakfast we headed to the regular church service and then returned home for the day and caught up on sleep!

During our time in Mumbai Kaysi began treating a patient who has continued seeing her even after our return to Delhi. He comes in for a few days out of the week for treatment then heads back. He has a couple of favorite restaurants at the hotel he stays at here in Delhi and invited us to dinner with him a couple of times! Once at a place called Dum Pukht and another called Bukhara. He said its the best Indian food and we both have to agree it is quite amazing food! We first went to Dum Pukht where the food is cooked slowly to capture all of the spices and flavors of the dishes! It truly was amazing! There were lamb kabobs that literally melted in your mouth! Kaysi and I were also introduced to their Dal Bukhara which is absolutely amazing!! The second time he invited us to dinner we we to Bukhara, where the Dal Bukhara was made famous and again we were blown away by the quality and taste of the food! Kaysi had a chicken dish that was wrapped in a fluffy egg and I had some melt in your mouth lamb! I ate so much I was absolutely miserable when we reached home… but it was worth it! 

We were able to get one last mini trip in during April. We went up to Darjeeling, which is one of the best Hill Stations in India! Kaysi and I absolutely loved our time there! We booked the trip through a travel agent so they had planned everything for us which was awesome. We flew from Delhi to Bagdogra and then it was about a three hour drive up into the foot hills of the Himalayas (pronounced Hih-Mal-Yas not my Texas accent of Him-Ma-Lay-Yahs). A guide and a driver met us at the airport and were there to guide us around the whole weekend. Our guide's name was VJ and the driver Binot. 

The first day we arrived to our hotel and just relaxed for the remainder of the evening. Saturday morning we rode a Toy Train Steam Engine (its not actually a toy just a smaller train on a narrow gauge rail) from Darjeeling to the town of Ghoom. 

It was close to a two hour ride with a quick stop off at a Memorial for solders of fallen wars. It was quite foggy that morning so with the fog and the steam engine you weren't able to see a whole lot but the experience was great! After the train ride we went and toured a Buddhist temple in Ghoom. It is always so interesting hearing about the different traditions and practices of other religions. 

After that it was off to a Tea Estate in Darjeeling. The hills lined with tea bushes are absolutely beautiful and the smell amazing as well. At the tea estate we were able to take a quick tour through the factory where the tea is processed and then had a tea tasting afterwards. I really enjoyed that. 

Before we went back into the town we made a quick stop for some pictures as the ladies who were picking the tea were just finishing up for the day. We headed back to our hotel, The Mayfair, and had lunch. We were planning on going out for a walk that afternoon but the weather was uncooperative so we took the opportunity to just rest and relax and got to bed early because Sunday was going to be an early morning! 

Sunday we woke up about 3:30am and left our hotel by 4am so that we could get to Tiger Hill to watch the sunrise! Tiger Hill is the tallest point in Darjeeling and from it, if the sky is clear, you get an awesome panorama of the Himalayas! Our guide told us that we were the first group he had taken in the last few months that actually had a clear morning. The closest big mountain is Kangchenjunga which is 8,586 meters high! (Thats 28,169 ft and is the 3rd tallest peak in the world!!). We were also able to see the very tip of Mt Everest in the distance, but it was a good distance away! We felt so very blessed to be able to have a clear day to see the beauty God created! We have pictures of the sunrise and mountains that morning… but I have to be honest.. they do them no justice! 

After the sunrise we went back to our hotel warmed up a bit (I was actually cold in India! That was a first!) as the weather was fairly cool. We had breakfast and then we set off to go to the Zoo and the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute! The zoo was great! Got to see all sorts of different animals! The leopards were awesome! Got to see a couple common leopards, a snow leopard, and even a black leopard! And of course who can not marvel at the royal Bengal Tiger!!! The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute is within the grounds of the zoo and it was quite interesting as well! Gave you great information into the Himalayan Mountain Range as well as had an entire floor dedicated to Mt Everest. 

After lunch we took a walk to Buddhist Monastery that was begun in 1913 in protest to the beginning of the first World War.  They have begun restoration of the grounds because of the 100 year anniversary and were still in the process. The walk there was a good distance and mostly uphill but it was fun! It was great to be able to be out in nature and see the beautiful scenery! It was an amazing trip and we feel so blessed at having the opportunity to travel to many different places over the last year! 

I can’t write this blog without a heavy heart for the people of Nepal as well as those in Northern India, Tibet, and China who have been effected by the earth quake on April 25th. Kaysi and I were at an Eye Clinic where Kaysi was having a consultation for LASIK eye surgery. We had just sat down on a bench and they were beginning the process of dilating Kaysi’s eyes when we began to feel the tremors from the earth quake. I thought that we might just be sitting on a wobbly bench and Kaysi thought it was part of the effects of her eyes being dilated and balance being thrown off. We were evacuated from the building and after a few minutes were able to return inside. My heart breaks for the millions of people who have been effected by this tragedy. I would encourage you to pray for those effected, and if you have the means, find organizations that are doing great work in the effected areas. 

The last two weeks here in New Delhi have been busy! Kaysi has been busy getting things squared away at work and I have been busy getting all of the other things related to our apartment and bills squared away. In the midst of that Kaysi did end up having LASIK Eye surgery this past weekend May 2nd. She was a trooper through the surgery and has recovered nicely! The Dr was pleased with her surgery and was also pleased with the follow up appointment on Monday! 

We were also invited to one of Kaysi’s co-workers weddings this past Sunday night! Kaysi was excited that she was able to wear the sari that she had purchased once here in India! Her co-worker Katherine and her had a getting ready party here at our apartment to get the saris wrapped and on. It was a little bit longer of process than they anticipated but they got them wrapped and we were off to the wedding! Once we arrived we were greeted by family and then waited for the bride and groom to arrive to the ceremony. One of Kaysi’s other co-workers Sumeet showed up and she came to the rescue and got Kaysi and Katherine properly wrapped in their saris! 

We were only able to see a little bit of the wedding ceremony but it was beautiful and we were able to greet the bride and groom and give them our best wishes!

Our time here in India has been a wonderful experience for us both! It has taught us so very much about ourselves and helped us to become closer to one another as a couple! Kaysi has been stretched as she has taken on new roles within work and feels this has been a good experience for her leading into her fellowship in Steamboat Springs for the next year! For me it has been a year of being able to step back a little and take a good long look and gain clarity as I move forward. I definitely don’t have everything figured out but I feel confident God is leading Kaysi and I in each step we take! We are so thankful for this opportunity to be here in India! It has broadened our horizons and given us so many great opportunities to meet new and amazing people! 

There are a few people we would like to thank for everything over the last year. We would both like to thank Vardan for providing this opportunity to come to India, we are forever grateful for the hospitality and care you have shown us! For Kaysi’s co-workers we are grateful for the friendships and laughter we have formed with you all and look forward to staying in touch over the years! To all of those here in India who have made our stay comfortable and worked on our behalf we thank you from the bottom of our hearts! For the church families we found both here in Delhi at DICF and Eden Springs in Mumbai we thank you for welcoming us in as family and helping to make us feel welcome! To all the others we have met over the last year we thank you for adding a little excitement to our lives and challenging us to become who God has created us to be! Finally, to our families and friend back in the U.S. for being so supportive of us over the last year and praying for us during this time! 

Our Last Month in India Photo Album

March in Delhi

March  Blog

To start things off for this blog I need to cover out last week in Mumbai back in February. It seems like such a long time since we have been in Mumbai! Our last week in Mumbai was a good time. We were able to attend the Valentines celebration of Eden Springs on the night before we left to come back here to Delhi! It was a great time of visiting with all of our friends we met had met at Eden Springs and also telling them all goodbye. We enjoyed our time in Mumbai very much and hope one day to visit again!

Now back to March in Delhi. As most of you have read we spent the last week of February and the first week of March in New Zealand. We arrived back in Delhi on Friday March 6th. I hadn't realized that we would be returning on the night of Holi. We were greeted at the airport by our driver and got to partake in a little bit of of Holi. We were quite tired when we reached home and were definitely ready for our bed here in Delhi! That weekend we did a little bit of cleaning and got to make it back to our church here in Delhi. 

It was back to work for Kaysi once we returned from New Zealand! March was a very busy month for her getting back into the swing of things. After a week of work we welcomed in Gregg Johnson here to Delhi, who was here to teach a couple of courses in the clinic. He is one of the founders of the Institute of Physical Art (which is who recommended Kaysi for the job here in India as well as who she will be under in her upcoming Fellowship Program). It was great to get to meet him as well as have dinner a couple of times throughout the week. It was a busy week of training for the IPTs and Kaysi and the other CFMT’s as they had a full week of courses and treating. The week was capped off by a great dinner out with all of the IPTs and some of the staff from Vardan at Barbeque Nation, where I ate way too much but it was soo good!! 

The weather here has started to warm up nicely and with that I have been able to take advantage of that and play a couple of rounds of golf with my friend Peter. The first round we played I used the borrowed clubs from one of Kaysi’s patients and then was able to return them to him before we head back to the US. The second round I borrowed Peter’s wife Eddy’s clubs. The second round we played at Karma Lakelands which was an awesome and beautiful 9 hole course! The caddy we had for the day towards the end of the day says “I think these are ladies clubs…” I wonder what gave it away? I think it might have been the pink shafts on all of the clubs! Either way, I am certainly sure that it was the best round of golf I’ve played in a long time, if not ever! I’m not sure what that says about me… but I’ll play with pink golf clubs for the rest of my life if I play that way! Haha!!! 

With April fast approaching we also had to get our visas extended so that Kaysi could complete her contract. It is always an adventure when we get to go to the FRRO offices! I had gotten all of the paper work filled out and papers submitted earlier in the week and we had an appointment for Friday morning of this past week. I was having some issues with the website when I was uploading documents and once we got almost through the whole process at FRRO we were informed that all of the needed forms had not been uploaded. Thankfully we had one of Kaysi’s coworkers with us to help with the process, but unfortunately we had to return to the office fill out all of the paper work again and submit everything once again and then return to FRRO. Thankfully once we returned all of the paper work was submitted and our visas were extended so Kaysi can finish out her contract and we won't get deported! I did feel pretty bad for Kaysi’s co-worker Anupam because I had wasted almost his whole day in what should have just been a quick morning visit to the FRRO. Super glad that is all taken care of! 

So with March over we have now completed 11months here in India! Its crazy just how fast time has flown by. It seems just like yesterday that Kaysi and I were saying good bye to friends and family. We are definitely excited about being able to see all of our friends and family back in the US, but we are cherishing each day that we have here in India to spend with the many friends we have made over the last year! Thanks for joining us on this journey so far and I look forward to what is in store for us our last month here in India! 

More Pictures from March

Adventures in Middle Earth!!

We absolutely loved our time in New Zealand! It was a whirlwind of a trip with something planned almost every single day! We feel like we could have spent a month there and still missed seeing or doing something! Guess we will have to go back again and just stay a while! So yeah.. where do I even begin a blog on New Zealand? I guess the logical answer to that is the beginning of the trip… so sit back, relax, grab a cup of coffee or your preferred drink and enjoy!

A quick side note.. We flew from New Delhi to Auckland via Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific. Kaysi and I were very impressed with the customer service of the airline all the way around! If you are flying somewhere and have the option of Cathay Pacific, I would highly recommend them! One would think since you are already half way around the world that the flight to New Zealand wouldn't be that far from India.. well one would be wrong in assuming that! It was 6 hours to Hong Kong and then a nice 11 hours to Auckland! 

So we arrived in Auckland on Tuesday morning the 23rd of February around 8 in the morning. We had probably gotten a good 8 hours of sleep over a two day period so we were both pretty worn out upon arrival. We rented a car and made our way to our hotel. We wanted to try to stay up as much of that day as we could so that we could sleep that night so we did some exploring around downtown Auckland and picked up a few things we would need for our trip. We also went and got a massage that day which we both slept through! That night we went to Katsura Japanese Restaurant that was in our hotel! It was quite amazing! 

Day two, we were off to Waitomo where we went black-water rafting and spelunking through Tumu Tumu Cave. It was about a two hour drive from Auckland to the caves and we were able to begin to see the beauty of New Zealand! Once we arrived we had to take a shuttle about twenty minutes away to get suited up to head into the caves. Being under ground the water is quite cold so Kaysi and I both had to suit up into the first of many wet suits we would wear in New Zealand! Once suited up and got some rubber boots on it was off to the cave entrance. The cave entrance is just big enough for a person to shimmy down a ladder into the underground! I got to be the first person down into the cave after our guide where he took a beginning picture of us. Kaysi was second down and our guide had to take two pictures because he said the first one she looked a little frightened! Once in the caves we were able to do a little bit of everything! We squeezed through tight spaces, jumped off ledges into our tubes, floated through the caves as we were able to observe the glow worms, swim through some really nice and cold water (thankful for the wet suit for sure!) and even have a nice little snack of orange juice and chocolate! After a good two hours underground we emerged from the under world and were greeted by nice warm showers before heading back headquarters! It was a great adventure to start our trip off with! We then made our way towards Rotorua where we would be staying for a couple of nights at the Regal Palms Resort. 

Tumu Tumu Caving Album

Day three, was another day full of adventure! Our first adventure was to head to Hobbiton where the Shire scenes from the Lord of the Rings as well as The Hobbit were recorded. It was about an hour drive from Rotorua. The drive was super beautiful, as expected, and as we got closer we began to feel as if we were being transported to another world.. Middle Earth! You begin your tour from the Shires Rest which has a gift store and cafe. You make your way onto a sheep and cattle farm and after about 10 minutes you catch your first glimpse of the Shire! (I was like a little kid.. so stinking excited!) Once at the Shire we went on a guided walking tour where we were informed of different scenes that were shot in each place and even got to take a picture in front of Bilbo Baggins’ home!

 It was neat to hear how the set was created for each of the two different series of movies. In the Lord of the Rings all of the Hobbit holes were actually just facades with all of the details painted on. After the Lord of the Rings was filmed they began tearing down the set but were stopped by torrential rains and had to leave several of the facades in place. In the mean time, the movies came out and word got out of where the scenes from the Shire were shot. Soon people came knocking on the door of the owners of the farm wanting tours of the Shire. Soon after this Peter Jackson (the director of the Lord of the Rings) approached the owners of the farm about filming for the Hobbit. The family agreed upon one condition, and that was that permanent structures be built so that it could be preserved for generations to come! We finished off the tour with some good cider from the Dragons Breath pub (Kaysi didn't think the cider was good.. her face was priceless when she drank it!). 

More Pictures from Hobbiton

Day three at this point was just getting started! We still had another adventure for the afternoon! That was rafting down the Kaituna river! The rafting trip was just about an hour long but along the way you go over several different waterfalls! The second or third water fall you go off of is the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world (that’s their claim) its about 7 meters high, so a little over 21ft! It was crazy awesome fun! We made it over the waterfall without loosing any members of our raft and without tipping the raft over! It was quite exhilarating! After that water fall they asked for a volunteer to ride on the front of the raft kinda like you would ride a bull so I volunteered! It was quite fun! We also got to swim in part of the river, as well as go over a water fall while floating on our backs! They asked for volunteers a few other times where they would have the volunteers sit at the very front of the raft and put the front of the raft right up against a water fall! Kaysi and I even got to reenact the scene from the Titanic movie, although Kaysi wasn’t all that excited about having the water continuously splashed in her face. One of the final waterfalls we went over things got a little bit hairy for a bit… I guess they didn't get the raft lined up right going into the water fall and the raft got trapped and just almost capsized as it was being pushed up against the side of some rocks.. we all hung on and got to one side of the raft and were able to get it free! I was pretty sure that the main guide was not freaking out… but it seemed as if our other guide was so we aren't sure if that is a planned thing or it was an accident?! Either way I thought it was pretty fun.. Kaysi wasn’t as thrilled with that part. Overall the rafting was quite amazing and the scenery even greater! We finished off day three with and amazing dinner where Kaysi had chicken and I had a great steak! 

Kaituna Rafting 

Day four was a travel day, but before we hit the road to Wellington we made a quick stop at Hells Gate which is a geo-thermal park. There are quite a few different mud pits and hot springs with a good portion of the water and mud reaching boiling temperatures. The smell is a quite lovely sulfur smell that stuck with me for several days, it loved it it was the best! After about an hour walk around the park we returned to the spa where you can take a mud bath and then soak in the hot springs! The water in those pools were not near boiling.. which is a plus! 

We grabbed a quick bite to eat in Rotorua before we set out on our drive to Wellington which was a good five hour drive through more of the beautiful country side of New Zealand. On this drive we saw some of our first snow capped mountains of the trip even with it being towards the end of summer in New Zealand! We arrived in Wellington and got checked into our hotel and then went and had some Mexican food and I was able to have my first Jaritos Toronja soda in probably almost a year!! Felt like I was back home!! The Mexican food was ok definitely not like anything at home but it definitely scratched the itch!

Day five we had to catch a morning ferry ride from Wellington on the north island to Picton on the south island across the Cook Straits. It is said to be one of the, if not the, most beautiful ferry rides in the world! I would definitely agree with that!! The water was super smooth for the whole ride which made for a great ride! For the majority of the ride you could take picture after picture of beautiful scenery! The ferry ride was close to four hours but it was quite nice! Once we landed at Picton it was off to Christchurch! You drive through the region of Marlborough which is the largest wine producing area in New Zealand! This area was definitely one of the places that would have been nice to spend a couple of days at, but we just didn't have the time to do so. We also got to drive along the east coast for a while where the bluest ocean water I have ever seen was! It was such an amazing drive getting to see strikingly blue water set against a beautiful landscape! We made a few different stops to get some pictures and also let Kaysi chase a few seagulls! (We really are both just big kids!) Kaysi also made the mistake of venture out one to many stones out at one of our stops and the waves got her jeans and shoes pretty wet! We arrived in Christchurch where we stayed at the Pavilions Hotel. It was a neat family owned hotel with a nice restaurant in it. We settled in for the night to get ready for our next day.

Ferry and East Coast

Day six we had an exciting day planned in Akoroa! Akaroa is about an hours drive from Christchurch on the Banks Peninsula. It was another beautiful drive from Christchurch to Akaroa! We arrived and were able to grab a quick bite to eat. Kaysi had a hamburger that the worker described as a “very very plane burger” and I had the fish and chips! Once we finished lunch we went to get dressed and ready for our afternoon adventure! The afternoon adventure was swimming with the Hectors Dolphin which are one of the smallest and rarest dolphins in the world. We got a quick introduction to what we would be doing as well as getting suited up in our wet suits. Once suited up we headed out to go look for some dolphins! It took about twenty minutes or so for us to locate some dolphins and we were able to get out of the boat and start swimming with the dolphins. The water was pretty cool but the wet suits did a pretty good job of keeping us warm as well as keeping us afloat! We didn’t even have to wear a life jacket because the wet suits were so buoyant. We were instructed to not touch the dolphins if they got close to us, but they were definitely close enough for us to touch quite often! It was such an amazing experience! We were able to be in the water close to an hour and enjoy the experience! On the ride back into Akaroa we were able to see a mom and a baby dolphin!! (And all of the girls say.. awwww!! I guess the guys did too) Once we arrived back in Akaroa we set out on an adventure to find a lighthouse we saw on while on our way to swim the dolphins! It took us a little exploring and a few wrong turns and me not stopping to ask for directions but we found it! I think it was the first lighthouse I’ve ever had the chance to see up close so that was pretty exciting! I love lighthouse! 

We headed back to Christchurch and set out to find an Italian food place we had seen the day before. We decided to walk instead of taking the car because I thought it was fairly close.. apparently I was wrong because it took us a good 20 minutes to walk there, oh well!! It was great food and we didn't feel as bad about eating a big huge meal!

Day seven, whew a week in already, was an adventure and travel day. We began the day by heading to Lyttelton which was a short drive from Christchurch. Our adventure for the day was to go Fly Boarding. With Fly Boarding you have a big hose connected to the jet on a jet ski that is attached to boots that are attached to a small board! Kind like a jet pack attached to your feet! The owner of the company Volo Jet Skis Nick was great! He told me before hand that he could get us both up and flying in five minutes and by the time we had done thirty minutes each we would be worn out! He was correct on both accounts! I went first and after just a few minutes I was up and flying! At the beginning I would get up eight to ten feet in the air and would freak out just a bit and then wipe out! Towards the end I was getting the hang of how to move so that you could keep your balance and change directions. I think by the end I had probably gotten maybe 15 feet off the water.. or it at least felt that high! Kaysi went next and she did great! It took her just a couple of minutes to get up and she was off and flying! She also would look down to see how high she was freak out just a bit which caused her to also have some wipe outs. She definitely enjoyed flying and she also enjoyed the ride from the beach out to the open water and back. Since the jet skis jet is attached to your feet you are the jet skis power so you get to be out in front of the jet ski and you feel like you are swimming crazy fast!! Kaysi said she felt like a mermaid! Fly Boarding was amazing, if you ever get the chance to do it, DO IT!! 

FlyBoarding

Once we finished up we grabbed a quick bite to each and headed towards Franz Joseph Glacier. The drive was quite possibly the most spectacular of the trip! We drove through Arthurs Pass which was cut during the very cold winter of 1865 to help get gold from the west coast to the east coast. We passed quite a few ski slopes and lots of hiking and camping areas! This was another area we could have spent a few more days in if we had the opportunity. We arrived in Franz Joseph around 7pm and got settled into our motel and went and had some good Thai food at a local restaurant. We settled in for the night and enjoyed a nice and cool rainy night in the mountains!

Day eight we had grand plans of an amazing glacier experience! We awoke to blue clear skies so we were excited about our trip! We had our breakfast and then made our way over to the headquarters for our tour. As we were checking in we heard that the trip ahead of us was being delayed a bit and that our trip would be pushed back some as well. We got registered and were in the midst of filling out our release form when we got the bad news. The blue clear skies had quickly changed into heavy rain and dense fog over the glacier, so the trips for the day were canceled. We were both kinda bummed about that but I am pretty sure I dont want to be in a helicopter trying to land on a glacier in dense fog while its raining heavily. We got a refund of the tour and decided to go on just a hike up close to the glacier. The hike took about an hour to reach the glacier. You walked through a beautiful valley with water falls on both sides of you! Words and even pictures can’t really capture the beauty of the place. The water coming off the glacier is ice blue and so awesome! 

Franz Joseph Glacier Album

We enjoyed getting to see a glacier in person and weren’t to sad about the money we saved! We left the glacier and headed on to the next town to grab a bite to eat. We had lunch in the town of Fox Glacier and then were off to Queenstown! Throughout our drives we had seen quite a few hitch hikers and since it was raining that day and pretty miserable outside we decided to clear out the back seat of the car to make room in case we came across anyone. As we pulled out of Fox Glacier we saw a guy with an umbrella hat in a poncho with a since saying “Wanaka”. He looked nice enough so we stopped to see if Wanaka was close to where we were going, and it was! He asked if we had room for two, which we did! His name was Dimitri and the second was Natalie. They were a neat couple from France. Our drive to Queenstown was about five hours and Wanaka was just an hour from Queenstown. We got to visit quite a bit and hear about their story! They actually met in India, she was working with a non profit and he was traveling around. Since they met they did more traveling around India on a Royal Enfield and then walked through Germany working as they went! They had been in New Zealand for about a week and were planning on being there for a few months. It was great time getting to know them, Kaysi and I both thought after we had dropped them off that we should have gotten some contact info from them! They seemed to have such amazing lives! We dropped them off and then headed in to Queenstown! 

Dimitri gave us a hint to take a different route that was a more scenic route! We were very thankful for his hint because he was so right about the views! We made it down the winding roads through Arrow Town and then on to our hotel which was right outside of Arthurs Point. We stayed at the Nugget Point Hotel which is a boutique hotel. It was definitely our most favorite hotel of the trip!! The restaurant of the hotel looked out over the Shotover river (as did part of the rooms, but not ours). We so enjoyed the views as we had our dinner that night!  It was absolutely beautiful!! We ended the night by going down to the pool and spa area which was magnificent as well!!

Day nine was a day to explore Queenstown and to go zip lining! We started the morning off with an amazing breakfast in the restaurant looking out over the Shotover. As we were having breakfast we saw a jet boat coming down the river. We had looked into riding a jet boat but had decided against it. After seeing the jet boat going down the river and remembering that we had saved quite a bit of money by not going on the glacier tour we decided that we should see if we could get on a boat the next day, and we were able to but more of that in a bit! We headed into town and did a little bit of souvenir shopping. Once we finished shopping we made our way up the gondola for some lunch and then on to zip lining after that! The zip lining was another great and fun adventure! There were a total of six different lines we were able to zip on that was close to a kilometer in length all combined. We had two guides for our trip each giving us some history of the area as well as showing us how to do different tricks on the zip line. We were able to zip upside down which was quite fun as well as doing a free fall backwards off one of the platforms. The final line dropped several stories! The trip ended with a short hike down the remainder of the mountain. After zip trekking we were a little tired so we went back to the hotel for a quick nap before we were to head back into town for dinner.

ZipTrek Album

 Dimitri and Natalie had told us about a restaurant that was supposed to have the best hamburgers in New Zealand so of course we had to go and check it out! Kaysi got a cheeses burger with bacon and a fried egg on it! I got the Big Al which had 1/2lb of hamburger meat, bacon, lots of cheese, two fried eggs, beetroot, lettuce, tomato, red onion, relish and a big wad of aioli (which is a provencal sauces made of garlic, olive oil, eggs yolks and seasoning). The hamburgers were as big as our faces and they were soooo good!!! We ended the night in a food coma!

Queenstown Album

Day ten was our last full day in New Zealand. We started the morning off with another amazing breakfast looking out over the Shotover! We then headed out to the Shotover Jet headquarters to get ready for our jet boat ride! We got suited up with life jackets and a rain coat and waited for the rest of the people from our boat to arrive. Our boat drive for the day was named Rob. The jet boats are quite amazing machines! They are powered by two Chevy 350 motors each powering their own turbo jet! The ride was outstanding!! We went about eight miles down the river getting up to 55mph in as little as 10cm of water!! The ride went through several canyons where you would come within about a foot from rocks and the canyon walls and the craziest parts were the 360° spins! The driver would let you know he was about to do one and then you held on for dear life! We had such a blast even though our faces were quite frozen by the end of the ride! 

Shotover Jet Album

Once we finished the jet boating we went back to the hotel to pack our final things and then head to the airport to fly back to Auckland for our last night in New Zealand. We arrived back in Auckland and made our way to our hotel. We stayed back at the Rendezvous hotel with its nice location we figured it would be a great place to end our time in New Zealand. After checking in to our hotel we ventured out to grab some lunch and then finish up our last of souvenir shopping. I had found a place on the internet called Mexicali Fresh which is like a Freebirds or Chipotle. We both got a nice big burrito and I had another Jaritos Toronja!! (I love those!). We finished our burritos off and then set out to find a shop that I had seen the first day we were in Auckland… I was certain I knew where it was at… as we neared our hotel I realized that I was certainly wrong about remembering where it was. So my amazing wife reminded me that I had a phone that had google maps on it.. so we looked it up and we had definitely walked right by it earlier! We made it to the store and then trekked back to our hotel. I imagine we walked a couple extra miles because of my certainty! (oops…) We ended the night relaxing and getting ready for a trip back to New Delhi the following day. 

Random New Zealand Album

Day eleven was an early morning as we had to catch our flight back to New Delhi. Our trip to New Zealand was definitely a once in a lifetime vacation!! We feel truly blessed to have been able to take this trip! It was such an amazing time!! Thanks for sticking with us through this crazy long blog! Kaysi and I would highly recommend going to New Zealand if you ever get the chance you will not regret it! 

Adventures of Jan and Feb!

The end of January along with the beginning of February turned out to be a busy time for me. It is now the middle of February and I am just getting around to the January blog.. Because of the late post this month the blog schedule will change for the next couple of months. This blog will cover January and the first half of February, I will get a blog up after our vacation towards the first of March and then I will have a March blog up at the end of that month! So now, on to the January-Mid Feb blog.

January was a great month and as I had mentioned above it was a busy month for both Kaysi and I! We started the year off by ringing in the new year right here in our apartment looking over the Back Bay here in Bombay! It was great to see the many fireworks as well as people sending lanterns floating off into the sky. Our friends Steve, Meghan, and Holden arrived on New Years Day so we were able to do a little site seeing with them over that weekend as well as go to a few of the restaurants in the Colaba area, Cafe Mondegar and Leopold’s both famous tourist restaurants and one called The Table. All had excellent food!! 

The second weekend of January Kaysi and I took a weekend trip to Goa which is a few hours south of Mumbai on the Arabian Sea. We stayed at a great Boutique Hotel called Soul Vacation near Colva Beach. The hotel was a nice getaway from the busy city with an amazing staff and great food! I had some of the biggest prawns (shrimp) that I have ever eaten in my entire life!! 

On Saturday we were able to go to Old Goa and tour through a number of historic churches. Goa was at one point a Portuguese colony and has a strong Catholic influence. We toured through three different churches Basilica Bom Jesus, Se Cathedral, and Church of St Cajetan and saw a fourth St Francis of Assisi but didn’t tour it. Construction of Basilica Bom Jesus was started in 1594 and was completed in 1605! Its a fairly simple on the outside but has ornate carvings and paintings throughout the interior!

 Se Cathedral is a massive church building and was began in 1562 but it wasn't completely finished until 1652! The interior has intricate carvings and paintings as well with high vaulted ceilings. 

Our favorite of the churches we toured though was Church of St Cajetan which is supposedly modeled on the St Peter Basilica in Rome. It was a little further away from the other churches so it wasn’t as crowded and very quiet! We really enjoyed getting to tour the churches!

Upon returning to the hotel that afternoon we went and walked along the beach and were able to dip our feet in Arabian Sea! It was fun to watch the many Indians who were enjoying the beach, many who we assumed it was their first time in the ocean! They also had lots of different water sports you could partake in although we opted to just watch others. Kaysi and I both got massages and then went out to a lovely dinner at place called Jamies! The food was excellent!! (Have I mentioned I like food?!) Sunday we took it easy and went for a stroll along the beach and again dipped our feet in the ocean for a bit! We then had lunch on the beach before returning to our hotel and then heading back here to Mumbai! 

The following week I was busy finishing up my reading for a course I was taking and preparing to meet a group of students and professors from Asbury in Bangalore. I met up with the group in Bangalore on the 17th after several delays from my flight but hey I made it!. While in Bangalore we were able to learn lots about Indian culture as well as some of the Christian history of India! It was a great week of conversation with students from Asbury as well as some other students I met while in Bangalore. I arrived back in Mumbai late on the 24th after a couple of delays I was sure ready to see Kaysi! That was the longest stretch we had been apart since we’ve been married (neither of us were a fan of it). 

That weekend happened to be a long weekend due to Republic Day here in India falling on a Monday this year which gave Kaysi and I an extra day before she had to return to work. On Sunday after we went to church we went and ate The Pantry. Now, I’ve had my fare share of waffles in life but I am pretty certain that I may have had the best waffle of my life that Sunday! It was a Caramelized Banana Waffle and it was glorious! 

We also got another massage that day at the Palms Spa which too was amazing! We did a little bit of site seeing that day as well. We went to the Gateway of India which is right close the The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. The hotel is quite beautiful outside as well as inside! Kaysi and I took a short afternoon break in one of their restaurants for some hot chocolate (for Kaysi) and a cappuccino for me! Monday was a relaxing day with not too much activity! We hit up one of our favorite restaurants called Pizza By the Bay and then just relaxed at home the rest of that day! 

The last week of January was full of me getting book reports and papers turned in for my class and Kaysi working throughout the day and then also doing a good bit of work at night on an inservice she will be hosting soon! By the end of the month we were both pretty tired but it was a great month! Oh and one other thing I cannot forget about January.. Natural’s Ice Cream! Our friend Jatin introduced it to us and Kaysi and I are hooked! If you know me, you know I love ice cream!! Naturals is a Ice Cream Company based here in Mumbai and they have absolutely great ice cream! Their chocolate cream flavor is like having a Wendy’s frosty, only better, and their strawberry rivals some of the best homemade strawberry ice cream I’ve had! If you’re ever in Mumbai definitely give it a try! Now on to February!!

February snuck up on me this year, and has almost snuck past me! With February comes my brother and I’s birthday sandwiched in between sister in law and sister, and two nephews birthdays! Jerrad and I turned 32 this year! Thats just crazy!! And since we are about 12 hours ahead of family here in India I told Kaysi that it was only proper that I celebrate my birthday for 36 hours and she agreed whole heartedly!! (Upon her reading the blog before posting she disagreed with the last statement..) Here in India its a tradition that a person gets “caked” for their birthday! That means that after you have cut into your birthday cake everyone takes turns cutting a piece, feeding you a little of that piece and then they proceed to place the cake all over your face and in your hair! Kaysi got the first shot at me and she was super nice to me.. just place a little cake in my beard.. Next it was our friends Jatin and Bruce’s turn. They weren’t as nice but still I’m sure, no I know, it could have been worse.

 

The second weekend of February was a busy one! We celebrated my birthday dinner on the Friday at a place called Ellipses… (sorry that was a lil redundant) anyhow it was a great meal! Kaysi had some Australian Beef Tenderloin and I had Chicken and Waffles! I can never seem to not order that combo if its ever on a menu! We also had a bread pudding desert that topped things right off! 

On that Saturday a woman, Mithila (almost pronounced Matilda), who works for the Times of India took us around to several different places for some sight seeing! We first went to the Dhobi Ghat which is an large outdoor clothes washing area. Its a big area with many different stalls for the washing and drying of the clothes! 

New we went to Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum (formerly the Victoria & Albert Museum which show cases many of the things that are produced and sold here in India! It was originally opened in 1872 and was recently renovated. 

Next we went to the Times of India main building here in Mumbai. There we were able to see the main news room, which was a ghost town since we were there around noon. We were served an amazing meal! We were served what we thought was the main portion and Kaysi was so proud she finished it all… then the next phase of the meal came! The meal concluded with a chocolate moose and fresh strawberries! After lunch we were able to tour through parts of their archives which was quite interesting and also look at a newspaper which was from August 15, 1947 which was the day India became an independent nation!  

After touring the Times of India building we went to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) it is directly across the street from the Times of India building. (which is a very busy and historic railway station and the headquarters of the Central Railways). The CST main building is beautiful as you can see in the pictures! We tried going up to the very top of the main building to see the stained glass windows but it was not open for visitors on that day. We were able to go to the main platform where you catch trains and it is a huge area! If you’ve watched Slum Dog Millionaire this is where the final dance scene was recorded!

Next we went to The Prince of Wales Museum also known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya. The main attraction we went to see there were some Saris that were from the mid 1800’s. The Saris were special because unlike traditional saris that are usually just designs these Saris depicted many of the things that people saw in every day life including a lady smoking hookah, a steam locomotive, a sail boat and numerous other things! They were very neat! 

The last stop of our site seeing tour was the Afghan Church (also known as Church of St John the Evangelist). This church is away from the tourist area so it looked almost abandoned as we approached. Luckily our friend Mithila was able to find the woman who was the care taker of the church and she let us inside to tour it. We were the only people there so that made if quite nice! It is a beautiful church both inside and out! 

 

One funny part of the day came towards the end after we had a little bit to eat at Starbucks. As we were walking out Mithila told Kaysi that she had thought in preparing for guiding us around that we were probably in our 60s! Apparently in the description given to Mithila and her co-worker Kaysi was referred to as a very senior Therapist and as Miss Kaysi. I think much to her relief we are not in our 60s!

On Sunday after church we were able to go on a tour of the Elphanta Caves which are on an island about an hours ferry ride from the Gateway of India! Again, Mithila accompanied us on the adventure! I had envisioned a very crowded ferry ride, but thankfully on each ferry there were enough seats for everyone to sit down during the ride. On our ride to the island we enjoyed getting to see numerous boats and even saw a submarine coming into port! Once we arrived on the island we took a small little train up to where you begin making your way up a long stair case up to the caves. 

The stairway leading up to the caves is lined on both sides by vendors selling all sorts of things. There is also a variety of wildlife on the island. The most prevalent are cows, dogs, goats, and monkeys! As we began our ascent up the stairs we saw a sign that said “BEWARE OF MONKEYS” with monkeys sitting on the sign. 

Mithila told me that I should put my sunglasses in my backpack which I did along with a coke we had just bought. Soon after she told me that we were all caught off guard by one of the clever monkeys. Im pretty sure two of them had worked out a plan! One distract and the other snatch! Mithila was carrying an orange juice in her hand down by her side as she was looking out for monkeys above, right at that moment I see a monkey dart across the path snatch the bottle out of her hand and scaled up a tree! We wondered what he would do with the closed bottle.. well we were shocked as he proceeded to open the bottle, tilt it on its side, and then drink her orange juice. They were right about those monkeys! 

After making our way up the remainder of the stairs navigating past vendors, goats, dogs and those pesky monkeys we reached the first of five different caves. The first cave has the most carvings as well as the most intricate of designs! It took about an hour to get through all of the caves. We made a quick stop between some of the caves and were entertained by more monkeys fighting over food as well as a cow climbing stairs! It was a great day of adventure!

Kaysi and I have enjoyed our time here in Mumbai! It has been rather refreshing having a change of pace in life! Kaysi has really enjoyed her patients here in Mumbai! Its so much fun for me to see her in her element and loving what she does! I have enjoyed the changes as well although most of my days are pretty predictable they are quite fun! Our driver Kapil has been great for us and he pretty much has my routine down! I always enjoy getting to look at all the different nice car’s Kapil and I come across on our daily drives! We’ve seen everything from a Lamborghini to Rolls-Royce! I have also become known to a good portion of the baristas at the Fort Area Starbucks here in Mumbai, which has been a normal place for me to go most days of the week! 

We are winding up our time here in Mumbai and its bitter sweet! Mumbai is a city that’s easy to fall in love with! The people here are so great and the weather this time of year is impeccable! We have loved Eden Springs, the church our friend Pete and Katie got us connected with! They have been such a loving church family here and I was even able to be a part of the service this past weekend! Below is a picture of the Halyburton's and us after church a few weeks back.

Our apartment here is also great! You cant ask for a better view overlooking the back bay here in Mumbai! We have been truly blessed by getting to spend the last two months here! So what comes next? We will be heading back to Delhi shortly and then off to an amazing vacation we have planned!! You’ll have to check back in to the blog or catch us on Facebook to see where we are going!! Its going to be #epic! Oh what the heck.. if you’ve read this far you deserve to know where we are going! We are checking off another place off our bucket list and going to New Zealand!! Check back in March for our adventures from Middle Earth! 

Oh and one final quick story! If you know Kaysi you know she is an animal lover! We come across many dogs and cats and even elephants that she desires to have as a pet. Often I am the Debbie Downer and always tell her why we can't take said animal home or keep them as a pet! Well… I finally gave in… We now have our very own pet here in India! His name is Theodore and he is a pigeon! 

The end!

These links go to Photo Albums if you want to see more pictures!
Mumbai    Goa    Elephanta Caves