Vacation = awesome

I returned back from my travels around Coorg and Ooty yesterday, and although it feels good to be back home, the vacation was FANTASTIC and I'm sad it has come to an end. 

Here's a brief review of all the awesome things that happened while traveling:
- Smoked some hookah in Bangalore with Nikolai the Sunday night before my departure for farther places.  It was an awesome transition from Rishi Valley to traveling, and the soundtrack was AWESOME.  Huzzah!
- Hiked to a waterfall in Coorg -- the 8-10km (depending on whom you ask) hike through coffee plantations and beautiful forest was GORGEOUS
- After arriving at the waterfall, we found ourselves at a Bollywood movie shoot.  Um...win.
- Bought many kilos of Indian coffee beans, as well as amazing Indian spices (so. much. cinnamon.) in the Coorg market.  AWESOME.
- I have missed Chinese food.  In the past week, I had gotten my fill.  Nom nom nom nom.
- Went to Dubare Forest Reserve to BATHE RETIRED ELEPHANTS.  This was, perhaps, the highlight of the trip.  Old elephants were walked out of their pens to the river, where they peacefully laid down to be scrubbed by their caretakers.  I got to scrub an old lady elephant.  She was the sweetest.  Some elephants got feisty and sprayed the tourists.  It was awesome.  Another elephant kind of flipped his shit and ran away to the deep part of the river -- the caretakers had to get a much bigger elephant to push him out and back to his appropriate place.  It was awesome.  I love elephants.  We then got to feed the elephants.  Best day ever?  Mayhaps.
- The weather in Ooty was AWESOME.  It was light-jacket weather ALL DAY every day!  Amazing!  It was cuddleweather ALL NIGHT.  So great to feel cold again! 
- Went around town to see some fantastic botanical gardens, rowed a boat in the Ooty Lake, climbed some hills to see magical overviews of the city.  All in amazing weather! 
- A bunch of people make their living by making homemade chocolate in Ooty.  Epic win.
- Rode horses up the hills in gorgeous forests.  Beautiful, scenic, fantastic.  Our horses were also super sweet.  We fed them lots of carrots.
- Bought and planted flowers.  I miss gardening and grandma.
- Found non-dairy whipping cream and had a tremendous amount of coffee shakes!  NOM NOM NOM NOM
- Speaking of noms: shwarma. 
- Back in Bangalore, went to karaoke with Nandan.  What an awesome time! Dancing and singing with some neat Indians.  Crazy great stuff!!


Now, it's back to Rishi Valley, where we're hosting a training for some peeps from Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan.  Fun stuff!  I've got to complete 10 milestones in a month, so this is a challenge I am looking forward to! 

My life is exciting beyond belief.


If you want postcards, send me your address!!