The trip in photos

Here it is. Some pictures culled from the last eight and half months. And the stories that go with them. Thanks for traveling with us. We are almost home.

London telephone booth: Less than 2 hours into our trip Evan wore the ice cream instead of eating it at DFW. So Jo got him some new threads. And that's how he arrived in London. Vivian asked what this red thing was. Try explaining a phone booth is to someone born after the demise of land lines. 

Maggi noodles at Preethi: The first of many lunches and dinners at this table. I grew up eating frequently at this very same table from when I was Evan's age. Soon Evan would be making a beeline for the dining table and demanding foo. 

Kangaroo Kids: Vivian's first day at  her new pre-school. She disliked it for a week. Then she loved it. Then they didn't know how to handle her. And finally everyone loved everyone. They can and do teach. From writing the alphabet to spelling and subtraction in 7 months.

JVR Park: A stone's throw from the flat. Morning walkers and karate kids at dawn. A lovers lane for ladies in burkas and their beaus at dusk. Closed the rest of the day. Broken playground equipment. But we loved it.

Haircuts: At the Secunderabad Club.  Evan's hair got shorter and shorter every time Jo sent him for a haircut with me. He cried like a baby the first time and then settled in like it was a second home.

Bucket Baths: The best way to finish off a shower.  They even had their buckets toys. Evan pooped then yelled for help when a turd floated up next to him. Must have figured out you don't poop in the bucket because it didn't happen again.

Singapore Night Zoo: Overheard - Jo: "Evan don't squeeze the snake".  Singapore was fun. The Sabah province of Malaysia was beautiful. Years ago Jo and I  saw a documentary on baby orangutans on a Jet Blue flight and we mused that if we had kids they would look like that. So we took the kids to meet their relatives at the very same place in Sepilok.

Street food on Jalan Alor: in Kuala Lampur. Evan and Vivian devoured the food. Also at the Filipino night market in Kota Kinabalu. But in India we kept away from culinary adventurism.

Taj Picture One: The first trip to the Taj with Aaron and Peyton. In the immortal words of our guide "On a full moon night the Taj Mahal shimmers like a tear drop on the cheek of eternity". Also visited Delhi and Jaipur. The kids got to ride on elephants and camels and Aaron got to sit still with three cobras draped on him.

Diwali: One of the many festival we celebrated in India including Id, Ganjesh Puja, Sankranti, Holi, Ugadi, Ram Navami, and more. The Choudary's bought traditional Andhra garb for Vivian (lehenga)  and Evan (dhoti).

Taj Picture Two: Second trip to the Taj in three weeks. With Carol. Seems like it's always smoggy in India but mornings are worse. On the other hand, seeing the Taj at dawn was great. Then we the went to Mussoorie in the foothills of the Himalayas and chilled - literally.

Dancing Fools:Vivian and Evan found their inner dancers. With no TV, no friends outside school, and no easy access to the outdoors, the kids learned to entertain themselves and us in many new and interesting ways.

Sports Day: With the single-mindedness and drive and execution that Indians save only for pre-school and school education, Vivian's class prepared for sports day. Vivian was the star. And then they never played another day of sport after that.

Christmas in Hong Kong: who knew the most densely populated place on earth would look like this? Miles of hiking and empty beaches. We knew we'd be back here before we even left.

Chao Grampa: Lets Go, Grandpa. Evan helps Grandpa up for dinner. The kids, specially Evan bonded with Grandpa. And while he seemed mildly puzzled to see us pop up here and there, he always smiled when he saw the kids.
 

First Trip to Goa: fabulous time in Goa. Great time in Pawna about two hours from Bombay. Here we are on a kayak late in the afternoon. Then we went on a night sail. The kids and Jo were surprised that all of India wasn't a big dirty crowded bazaar.

Savitri's Family:The girl in the school uniform is Shravini. Her little sister is Subu. Evan is sitting on Savitri's lap and eating her lunch. Savitri cleaned and baby sat. We wish we could bring them to Austin.

Second Trip to Goa: so it sounds like we ran out of places to see and kept repeating ourselves. This time to Goa with the Khannas-Frontains-Madans-Singhs. A party of 16. A real party. Evan is trying to wrangle a drink.

Vivian Modeling: Before you could say Marbela Beach Vivian had launched her beachware line, Jo was streaked in Holi colors, Evan was fast asleep on my shoulder, and I was in a magenta lungi. Did I mention party? 

Jai Ho: loosely translates to  "hallelujah".  It's the name of the song from Slumdog Millionaire that Vivian and seven of her classmates danced to for the school concert night. Vivian has tasted Bollywood and going back to ballet will be like green tea after espresso. Evan helps Vivian with her steps.

Easter in Hong Kong: So we do have a problem with repeating repeating ourselves. It's like we're catholic and Hong Kong is the Vatican.  But really - it's because it's on the way back. Caroline and Evan try to buy the whole chocolate store.

Hilo: Aloha. The kids watch American cartoons. Jo spends some quality time with the dryer. Many more miles to go but we are back in the US of A.