Vanessa Jane (and The Weary Travellers)

Friends!!!!

Hosting visitors might just be one of the best parts of living abroad. Showing someone from back home your new world, peeling back the shellshocked and proving to someone that your little foreign story is real. Livable. Sharing Heves with mom and dad after their Olympic trip; show-and-telling Rachel and Margaret as spring came to Heves.

First Indian visitors? Camper-turned-coworker-turned-dear-friend Vanessa and her boyfriend Nick, a stellar lad in his own right. They both spent the past two years teaching English in Korea -- a great gig -- and celebrating the end of their stay with two months in Southeast Asia and two months in South Asia, four months of Asian galavanting.

I know first hand how tiring travelling can be, so i'd been pushing HYD on them as a mid-way resting point since they started planning their trip months ago. Air-conditioning, washing machine, car and driver, all the modern conveniences. Plus Miller Genuine Draft.

Three weeks ago, after a marvelous stay in Sri Lanka, they touched down in Thiruvananthapuram, the southernmost point in India, and have slowly been inching their way northward. The loved the flavor of Kerala. Savored the calm of Ooty. Dug the beaches of Goa. Wandered the wonder of the ruins at Hampi. All by bus and train and foot.

Saturday morning, they pulled into HYD via overnight coach from Hampi. Mixed reviews on comfort, as you might guess. But immediately i threw them into the fray in a weekend action-packed with Hyderabadi fun:

playing cricket (and MGDs) at the consulate
pool party with the foreign exchange students
afternoon nap
McDonalds on a tray
sunday morning brunch
trying to figure out what happened at the pool party
Old City and Charminar
Watching Lagaan (first half only)

Monday, they took off on their own while I was at work and gave the Nizam's Chowmahalla Palace rave reviews. That evening, Raghu and his wife Uma, brought over mutton biryani in honor of their 17th wedding anniversary. (we presented them with a nice basket of goodies in return.) It was nice to meet Uma, I hadn't before. We had a lot of fun mixing English and Telugu (for her benefit) after we insisted long enough and Raghu and Uma finally agreed to join us at the dinner table. (He ate, she didn't.)

Tuesday, they went to Golkonda Fort with Britta, which I haven't even been to yet. They had a good time trapsing up and down the 17th century fort. Wednesday was a full day of relaxation, followed by a delicious lasanga dinner in gloria's new kitchen. In all, it's been great hosting them, as it's great motivation to be more social then I usual am after work. And social, of course, is fun, even if it's tiring.

Today's a packing day, as tomorrow we're off to Mumbai! Beautiful Bombay... We wanted to take an overnight train, but you have to book 2 months in advance, yikes. So we're off by plane. Should be grand!

I hope this is the first in a long string of visitors. Janani's planning a Bastille Day swing through HYD. Jenn Bahmer'll be dermatologying here for two weeks in August. Anders and Simo are debating September. October suits Annie's fancy more. Madison/Colorado friends tease me with the possibility of a December visit. And Cousin Kristine will be going ma and pa in January. And I continue, of course, to lobby others. Including YOU. :-)