a semi-charmed kind of life

Wait. THE third eye blind? Yes, THE third eye blind, in Hyderabad, on a four-stop swing through the Hard Rock Cafes of the world's largest democracy.

Hyderabad turned 1998, give or take a few years, for a brief evening. the lead singer man might have said it best..."Wow, this feels like a basement party from years ago." truly a semi-charmed kinda life.

the rotary dial

and when friends-of-friends pass through Hyderabad on the Rotary circuit? well, that calls for jump shots at Golkona Fort, no? Luckily, michelle was more than game. :-)

thankful redux

a grand hurrah, of sorts, welcoming back IDEX fellows and friends (and including visiting friends, of course!) for a thanksgiving abroad. so nice to be amongst familiar faces and tasty dishes, even far from home. the turkey on the wall may be the same as last year, but i now know how to tie a bow tie...

berta and brian bonanza!

so nice to welcome berta and boyfriend brian to Hyderabad for a short stint of the two-week expedition around a nice little swing of india. friends #20 and #21 over the course of these two years, wow. sehr impressiv, my friends, sehr impressiv!

Berta and Brian do the world's largest wardrobe in the Purani Haveli

Thai thai thai!

I'm a little embarrassed it took me 22 months to get to Thailand. It's just a cheap, direct flight from here...but literally a world away. Happiness and hedonism and healthiness...not words you'd usually use with Hyderabad. Makes for a great destination, you'll definitely want to spend more than a week there.

I wasn't overly impressed with Bangkok, compared to the other cities i've been to of late. The metro is nice and the malls are fun, but the river cruises and monuments are only alright. The city itself didn't seem to have a distinct, unique culture to it. The new night market Asiatique was actually cooler than the ladyboy burlesque show. Highlights were a great (strangely enough, diwali) rooftop part and a great tour guide-ess helped us explore the city and find some good Thai food.

But the beaches, oh those beaches! This is the reason to go to Thailand. The most amazing coastal geography on this planet, lined with perfect beaches. We flew to Phuket Island, picking Kammala Beach as our destination of choice. A good combination of pretty and peaceful, but close to the chaos and color of Patong and the more happening hubs of southern Phuket. Best side trip? Ko Phi Phi. Incredible little island and great little town, definitely would recommend spending a few days there, rather than just taking the tour boat over for an afternoon.

The strangest thing, though? As beautiful as Thailand was -- and it's stunning -- i was rarely tempted to pull out my camera. Beautiful, just not as photogenic as my home for the past two years. so it goes.

Big Brother

My new favorite picture from two years in India:

Number Three

Happenin’ Hyderabad!! Lonely Planet just named Hyderabad the NUMBER THREE city in the world to visit in 2013!! Congrats to Vanessa, Nick, Janani, Jen, Ann, Laura, Bekes, Rachel, Sara, Barrett, Jess, Earl, Carl, Kristine, RJ, Gaby, Kate, Sha, Berta and Brian for beating the rush!

#1 San Francisco

#2 Amsterdam

#3 Hyderabad

No freaking lie. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/themes/best-in-travel-2013/top-10-cities

This is particularly funny because Lonely Planet wrote a whole book last year on the 25 best places to go in India..and Hyderabad didn’t even make the table of contents. See also: http://shop.lonelyplanet.com/asia/discover-india-travel-guide-1/?lpaffil=lpdest-shoppod

up in knots

what's harder...learning to tie a lungi or a bow tie?
first lungi? check.
first bow tie in life? check.