ends & beginnings

hi, i'm brandon. with jake and sara leaving india, my friend gerrit and i decided to take up the torch.

we arrived about 10 days ago and spent one fabulous and aromatic day walking around delhi. we ate uttapam (YUM), soaked up the intensity of the spice markets, watched baby monkeys get shuttled by their mamas across the electric lines, gulped down some deeeeelicious fresh squeezed pommegranate and pineapple juice, and then had to say a too-quick goodbye to the colorful, beautiful, shiny one that is s. weston. lucky u.s. gets her back for a little while.

geeze, jake and i then hopped on a sleeper bus up to the state of jammu and kashmir. a shared jeep took us the rest of the way through achingly beautiful mountains to srinigar and we arrived, quite late, for a wedding. jake had to leave the next day, but we got in a way-good meal and an afternoon chilling around dal lake.

for the next week, gerrit and i were the exceptionally well-treated guests in a home that housed about 30 people for the wedding festivities. every day jake's friend shabir sent us on a new adventure with guides from his family. we never knew what was in store until someone would appear and say "come, come now, please." we saw the gorgeous moghal gardens, rode a gondola up to the snow-capped peaks of gulmarg for a picnic, rode around on a technicolor-bright boat on dal lake, took in a mosque surrounded by fat, short, funky trees, relaxed in an almond garden. even with all these eye-opening trips, the best part of our week in srinigar, by far, was getting to know the family during morning tea and cake, burst-at-the-seams lunches, afternoon salty chai with dipping gulcha, etc. biiiiig shout out to the baker's dozen children of the family and their wild and crazy ways.

too much already for 1 post but just want to say that, so far, india gets a big YES. top-drawer, 5 stars, fireworks... throw it a parade.