...we flew out of Bangalore at 1:00am this morning and staggered into our non A/C hotel room at 8am in what was already +30 weather. Monsoon season isn't too far away now and Bangkok is much hotter than it was two months ago when we left for Nepal.

So what were we up to over the last few weeks?

Well, in our 25 days in India we traversed over 4000 km - not bad for a country in which you're lucky if you can average 35-40km/hr. When I wrote my last journal entry we had just arrived on Palolem beach in Goa. We had plans to hit a number of different beaches along the coast, but once we had started to relax a bit we just stayed in the one place in a beach hut for a week. We had an awesome time eating seafood, swimming, throwing the disc, etc.

When we finally were able to pry ourselves away from Goa we took a night bus to Bangalore, arriving there the 20th. What a mistake that was...imagine an old Greyhound bus with bunkbeds in it...no A/C...12 hours on a bumpy "highway" that actually had speedbumps on it every 10 minutes or so. Speedbumps on the highway...

Anyway, in Bangalore we met up with Paul and Jisca and headed off 2 hours east of the city to the village of Halesipum. Paul and Jisca had been there a couple of times but it was our first opportunity to meet up with Paul's friend Anbu and to see the children's work he's been doing there. Having themselves been raised in an orphanage, Anbu and his older brother Jeyam made a commitment 2 years ago to serving God by caring for the orphans in Halesipum. Every day, the 200 square foot hut that Anbu shares with Jeyam and his family is packed with 25+ children (18 orphans and 7 children whose families are too poor to care for them) for breakfast and supper. The children crowd around on the floor and wait patiently as food is served - usually rice/chapatti and curry. What a humbling experience it was for us to be able to serve the children dinner and to spend some time playing with them. With the help of Paul and Jisca's family we were able to buy them all new clothes (1 for school, 1 for play), sandals, toothbrushes, soap, and cups/plates (they'd been using paper or banana leaves). Quite an experience.

Paul and Jisca flew back to Bangkok on the 24th and Mo and I spent a couple of days wandering around Bangalore before making it back to Bangkok. It is amazing how perspectives change. When we first came into Bangkok it was the most foreign place imaginable...now it seems amazingly clean, well-organized, and with all amenities accessible. It sure is a good thing we didn't go to India first or I think we would never have lasted this long.

oh well...now to go shopping for souvenirs :-)

PS...THANK GOODNESS THE CANUCKS FIRED CRAWFORD!!