On Thursday morning we arrived at DTW around 6:45am for our 8:30am connection to Chicago. After printing our boarding passes and dropping off our baggage, we made our way to security where we were shuttled through the TSA pre-check line. Although we haven’t applied for the pre-check program, we are apparently frequent enough fliers on Delta to be randomly selected and let me tell you it was awesome! No removing shoes or belts, laptops can stay in their bags, the lines are significantly shorter and you don’t have to wait for someone to swab your hands if you are carrying a kiddo. If you are at all a frequent flier and eligible for the pre-check program, do it! Getting through security was easily the best part of our day. Everything went down hill from there…

Read on

We wandered the tree-lined streets of GK-II, ate in an Italian restaurant, and then retreated into the relative quiet of our clean and comfortable guesthouse. Then the next day we lazed around Lodi Gardens, which is a little like Central Park, if Central Park had 15th-century Afghan tombs and bright green parrots everywhere. We grabbed an auto-rickshaw bound for teeming Old Delhi to catch the sunset at India’s largest mosque and then ate some of the best chicken we’ve ever had in one of Chadni Chowk’s back-alley restaurants. Then it was time to head back. It took several hours, three different drivers, and a couple of threats (for good measure) to get us all the way from Old Delhi to GK-II. It was a long journey, but not as long as the next one will be. We are going home.

Read on

When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon—do not fear them:
You will never find such as these on your path
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your heart does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy
you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive here is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let if last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.
Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would never have set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you must already have understood what Ithacas mean.

—Constantine Cavafy (1863-1933)

Read on

A word of advice: never trust a brahmin priest. Only a few hours after we tipped one for leading us through some good luck prayers, I was flat on my back in our hotel room, too weak to drag myself to the bathroom or even ponder what ungodly bug I had contracted. For a whole night I was left reaching for a bucket as waves of nausea and vomiting passed over me every hour like clockwork. It soon became clear that we weren’t going to Jodhpur in the morning.

Read on

Descending 4,000 meters off the Tibetan plateau, the scenery begins to change dramatically. Gone are the dulcet earth tones, glaciers, dust, and stone—replaced by lush greens, tropical reds and oranges, and brilliant yellows. Not sublime like the Tibetan landscape, but warm and sweet and welcoming. This is where the subcontinent continues to crash into the rest of Asia. The smell of curry and incense mix, flowers spill over the sides of rooftops, and woman wrap themselves in vibrant saris.

Read on