Sri Lanka

Over the Easter holiday, I took a wonderful trip to Sri Lanka.  We spent several days in Mirissa, a lovely beach town on the South Coast.  The turquoise waters were a perfect bathwater temperature. And the waves were amazing!  No wimpy little swells.  Crashing waves that sometimes made my heart skip a beat as they threatened to maul me.  They brought back fond memories of summertimes at the Jersey Shore, jumping the waves of the Atlantic Ocean.  Of course, the Jersey Shore didn't offer fabulous fresh coconuts...or warm water for that matter!

Erica drinking fresh coconut on Mirissa Beach

While the beach was fantastic, Sri Lanka had so much more to offer than just beaches.  We were completely charmed by the Fort of Galle.  We walked along the fort walls, with stunning views over the Indian Ocean.  In addition to admiring the seaside views, we stopped for cocktails, lunch, and coffee at three different cafes in the Fort area.  Total overkill, right?!?  And we visited several cute boutiques with fun souvenirs.  The entire Fort was perfect for strolling and just soaking in both the natural and manmade atmosphere.  We were also lucky enough to catch the sunset as the capstone to our Galle visit.

Sunset over the Indian Ocean in Galle

Sri Lanka is one of the top producers of cinnamon in the world.  We learned this and other facts about cinnamon during our visit to Mirissa Hills Cinnamon Estate.  We saw how cinnamon is planted, harvested, and rolled into shapely sticks.  We also visited Handunugoda Tea Estate, where we tasted many varieties of Sri Lanka's famous Ceylon tea that is exported across the globe.

Fresh cinnamon anyone?

Besides these agricultural exports, we were excited to consume the other bounties of Sri Lanka - namely fresh coconut juice and seafood!  I drank a fresh coconut each day I was in Mirissa.  They may or may not have been spiked with vodka.  At our first dinner in Sri Lanka, my friend Dorian ordered crab.  When the waiter came to me, I also ordered crab.  He paused and said "But your friend already ordered crab."  I looked the waiter square in the face and said "Yeah...and I want my own crab." I then had to eat my words and a whole lot of crab to clean my plate and prove the little woman could eat an entire crab of her own.  

Smiles all around for fresh coconut :)

With happy stomachs and spirits, we headed towards the airport for our return flight to New Delhi. Along the way, a friend shared a vague news article about an explosion in Colombo.  Then I received an email about more bombings.  We turned on the radio and heard that six bombs had exploded in Sri Lanka that morning.  Airport operations were unaffected, so we continued to the airport.  As we approached the terminal, we slowed to a crawl and then spent the next 40 minutes inching forward towards a new checkpoint where security officials were screening every car and opening every trunk.  At the terminal entrance, every bag was opened and searched.  After that we proceeded as normal to the gate and returned to Delhi without incident.

Erica & Karime at Colombo Fort's Clock Tower

We learned that one of the bombs had gone off at the Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo.  Earlier in our trip, we had taken the above photo at the Clock Tower in Colombo.  Then we walked down the block and passed right by the Kingsbury.  We also heard that an unexploded bomb was found near the airport, and we probably passed right by it as we waited in the long line of cars entering the airport.  We are thankful that is the extent of our encounters with this tragedy, but our hearts ache for Sri Lanka at this time.

Mughal Gardens

Erica jumps for joy in front of Rashtrapati Bhavan

Rashtrapati Bhavan is the Presidential Residence of India.  According to Wikipedia, it is the largest residence of any head of state in the world.  It was originally built as the home of the British Viceroy when Delhi became the capital of India in the early 1900s.  The 330-acre estate includes the 15-acre Mughal Gardens, which are open free to the public in February/March every year.

Erica at the Musical Garden

One of the first stops on the Mughal Garden tour was the Musical Garden.  I absolutely love musical fountains, so I was ecstatic!  The others in my group commented that it's the only fountain they've ever seen that danced to Bollywood music.  Unfortunately, the music stopped just as I was about to record a video.

Rashtrapati Bhavan from the Mughal Gardens

From there, we moved on to the Main Garden, which is designed in the Mughal style with water canals symmetrically dividing the garden sections.  From here, we also took lots of great photos of the Rashtrapati Bhavan building.

Erica by a Mughal canal in the Main Garden

The weather was absolutely beautiful for our visit.  We seemed to have finally emerged from the Delhi winter.  Yes, we actually have winter here, although many of you will scoff at winter lows in the 40s. More importantly, the main winter pollution season has also passed and the air quality was good, the skies were blue, and the sun was warm.

Circular Garden

The final stop on the tour was the Circular Garden.  This was a section where you could actually get close to the flowers without being blocked by ropes or long expanses of grass.  Everything was in full bloom so I felt immersed in color, with flowers on both sides of the walkway.  Thank you to India's President for allowing us into your garden each spring!

Cirque du Soleil

Dorian, Erica, Maribel, and Mary practice their acrobatic moves

When I heard that Cirque du Soleil was coming to New Delhi, it was an event I did not want to miss! I've seen Cirque du Soleil before and knew they put on a fabulous performance.  This show, Bazzar, was no exception. 

Bouncy Tightrope

The picture above was what I'm calling the bouncy tightrope.  The rope was strung perhaps 3 or 4 feet off the ground.  Much of the act involved the performer bouncing high off the rope, flipping in the air, and then landing back on the rope.  In this picture, though, he's not bouncing.  He's wrapped his ankles around the rope and is balancing while hanging off the side...obviously with no hands!

One of the best things about seeing the show in New Delhi was that the tickets were cheaper than in America.  We had 3rd row seats for under $100.  It was amazing to be so close to see the performers' facial expressions and to take decent pictures.

Pole Man

I had a hard time thinking of a good name for the performer pictured above.  There was a wooden pole in the middle of the stage and he climbed up it and balanced himself in different positions.  In this picture, he's made it to the top, balancing on one hand.  I love how I snapped the picture just as the backup dancer was posed as if he was looking up at the acrobat in wonder.

Another fabulous aspect of the show was the music.  There was one man who seemed to play every imaginable instrument, from piano to horn to drums.  And there was a woman with the most amazing, powerful, thrilling singing voice.  I was mesmerized every time she appeared on stage.

Seesaw Jumpers

The seesaw jumpers bounced each other high in the air where they did flips and twists before landing back on the seesaw to return the favor to their partner.  Sometimes they were so high, they went above my camera frame.

Now to explain the first photo above.  There was no photoshopping involved!  The lobby of the arena had a photo booth with a fun spherical jungle gym.  So we climbed in - and in my case on - for an awesome group pic showing off our Cirque moves!

Cirque du Soleil Ensemble Dance

Bagan Temples of Myanmar

With my friend Jane living in Myanmar working for the United Nations, I didn't want to miss the chance of being so close but not visiting.  Jane took me to the Bagan Archaeological Zone, a region in central Myanmar studded with 3000 temples built mostly between the 11th and 13th centuries.  

Erica and Jane at Tharabar Gate

Many of the temples were Buddhist and received the faithful bringing offerings and performing worship.  I participated by applying a piece of gold leaf to a Buddha statue.  This act of merit-making supposedly improved my changes of reaching a better future life.

Erica earning merit

The temples also provided rich fodder for fun photos.  Jane assured me that doing silly poses in front of the Buddha statues would not reduce the merit I had just earned with the gold leaf.  Actually, she didn't say that, but she promised it wouldn't be seen as offensive, so I forged ahead!

Erica losing merit??

The most-touristed temples were large and grand, with carvings, morals, and Buddhas galore.  These temples often had impressive golden spires with maze-like inner passages winding past endless Buddha images.

Ananda Temple

As part of our Bagan experience, we rented e-bikes - electric-battery-powered motorbikes.  Although I had driven a moto around a parking lot once while living in Cambodia, this was my first time really driving a motorbike, on real streets with other real vehicles.  Granted, these e-bikes topped out at 30 mph, but even after 6 hours, I still never executed smooth turns or conquered my fear of wiping out disastrously.

First time driving a moto!

Despite my uneasiness about the e-bike, it was the highlight of the trip.  Because the real beauty of Bagan was in its atmosphere:  cruising down quiet tree-lined paths; admiring the surrounding landscape sprinkled with small, unnamed temples; suddenly seeing one of the larger temples pop into view; soaking in the peaceful spirit of the area.

Erica enjoying the peaceful beauty of Bagan

Capital City Minstrels

Since grade school, I have sung in choirs:  school choir, church choir, community choir.  In fact, I have sung in every city I've lived in, even overseas!  Some groups have been small, all-women choirs. Others have been large ensembles of men and women accompanied by a full orchestra.  Many people only associate choirs with church.  While my choirs have always sung some religious music - how can you ignore all the classical greats like Handel and Mozart and even the modern composers like Lauridsen and Bernstein who composed beautiful music based on the Latin mass? - I've also sung plenty of secular music like Broadway tunes, rock ballads, folk songs, pop hits, and more.

Erica singing with Capital City Minstrels

Here in Delhi, I joined the Capital City Minstrels in February 2018.  CCM, as it's known, was formed in 1994 with only 10 singers.  It has now grown to over 40 members and traveled periodically to Europe for performances.  Currently, the group is made up primarily of Indian singers, with a smattering of expats from America, England, Germany, and elsewhere.

Capital City Minstrels in concert

This December, we performed a holiday concert on the theme of peace, with songs about the beauty of winter and the hope of the Christmas season.  One song about a moonlit winter's night inspired our outfits of silver and blue.  Yes, that's me in a sari!  I have to give a shoutout to my fellow choir members who helped drape the sari on me beautifully.  I was hopeless at it myself.  At home, I simply wrapped the sari around myself like a mummy so I could get out the door fully clothed.  Then once arriving at the concert venue, I begged others to fix me up appropriately.

Erica with her fan club!

I was lucky to have several of my embassy friends come see me in concert.  I was really touched by their support and praise.  Some of them had never been to a choir concert before!  Below is a short clip of my favorite song from the concert:  "Sing Alleluia" by Sally K. Albrecht.  May it bring you a moment of joy and peace this holiday season.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

Pushkar Camel Festival

I had heard about the annual Pushkar Camel Fair before arriving to India and had been looking forward to attending ever since.  My chance came when the embassy organized a group trip.  Upon arriving at the fairgrounds, we were immediately met by a swirl of sounds, colors, smells, and dust. We proceeded to the stadium to see if we could catch any of the popular contests such as camel dancing or longest mustache.  While there were lots of camels, horses, and people milling about, no organized activity was going on, so we left to see other parts of the fair.

Erica at Pushkar Camel Fair Stadium

The pathways of the fair were lined with vendors.  Some were selling the usual foods and souvenirs you'd expect.  Others were selling horses!  We inquired into the price of a horse named "Prince" and were quoted $300,000.  I'm betting that was the foreigner price!  There were also lots of stalls selling horse and camel accessories, like saddles, harnesses, and tassels.  While I declined decorations for my nonexistent pack animal, I did buy a small paper mache camel to use as a Christmas ornament. As we browsed the offerings, we had to be mindful of camels moving up and down the paths.  Camels definitely had the right of way at this festival.

A colorfully decorated camel

The highlight of the trip came the next morning.  We woke in the dark for a sunrise camel ride.  As we climbed onto the camels in pairs, we were also treated to the sight of hot air balloons being blown up for sunrise rides.  It was quite stunning for the darkness to suddenly be brightened by a literal blaze of color from the flames inside the balloons; they looked like light bulbs.

Karime and Erica ready to ride!

Once everyone was in the saddle, we proceeded on a tour through the slowly awakening fairgrounds. The venders and traders at this fair did not stay in offsite hotels; they pitched tents right on the fairgrounds.  As dawn broke, we watched as they came out of their tents to drink tea, eat breakfast, brush teeth, and go to the bathroom.  It's the reality in India that going to the bathroom does not always require an actual bathroom or anything besides the ground at your feet.

Camels dine at communal breakfast platter of grass and grains

We ended the ride in what felt like a camel parking lot.  Camels were all around - sitting, standing, eating, some gathered in groups.  Perhaps they were tailgating for the start of the festival day.  But it was a great opportunity for us to wander around and get our fill of camel photos.  You'll notice some of the camels have one front leg bent up and tied.  This is essentially a hobbling device to prevent the camels from running off.  Simple, yet effective.

Erica with the camels

While I never did get to see any quirky contests, I enjoyed the camel fair and another weekend trip to the state of Rajasthan.

Weekend in Pondicherry

We all know that India was a former British colony, but I never knew there were pockets of the country under French control as late as the 1950s.  One of these is the city of Pondicherry, on the southeastern coast of India.  This seaside city, with its touches of French cuisine, culture, and architecture, is a pleasant getaway from the bustle of Delhi.

I took a walking tour offered by Storytrails.  The tour guide told us fabulous stories about the battles back and forth between England and France for control of the city, the quirks of the various city rulers, and the intrigues as the city developed.  Even though the tour was in the late afternoon, the temperatures were hovering around 90 degrees, so I was grateful for stops in the shade and even more grateful once the sun started to set!

Raj Nivas governor's residence

The tour ended with a farewell drink.  South India is known for its coffee, but since I'm not a coffee drinker, I asked the guide if there were any other options.  She suggested masala milk.  Never having heard of it, I responded:  "Yes, I want to try that!"  Turns out masala milk is milk boiled with ground nuts, saffron, cardamom, and sugar.  It has a bright yellow color, almost like an egg or lemon custard, and a lumpy consistency.  I immediately loved its sweet, creamy wonderfulness!

Erica discovering an Indian treat: masala milk

From Pondicherry, I took a side trip to Auroville, a community that eschews material items, champions hard work, and embraces self-discovery along a path seeking peace, harmony, and human unity.  I will limit myself to that factual description of Auroville's raison d'être and refrain from any further terms that may have positive or negative connotations.

Erica with depiction of Auroville's values

The centerpiece of Auroville is the Matrimandir, which is really hard not to compare visually to Epcot Center or a golden golf ball.  Matrimandir literally means Temple of the Mother and is considered by Aurovilians to be the soul of their city.  This is their place of concentration, introspection, and consciousness.  Visitors may enter only with advance reservations, so I viewed it solely from the outside.

Erica at the Matrimandir

In addition to the above highlights, I ate raw oysters (in India!) and drank a roadside coconut.  It was a weekend full of new adventures!