I will be away for a few weeks

[JI7]

i'm going with my parents to visit Singapore and India for 3 weeks. i have never been there before so it should be interesting. i'm going to leave on Sunday.

i will miss a lot of stuff that is going to happeni n the next few weeks though. i will try to stay updated and the places i plan to stay will have cable. but i don't want to be stuck on the tv all day either. so i will come to DU and this forum first to check for updates.

[BlueIris]

1. Good luck. Travel safe. nt

[babylonsister]

2. You lucky, lucky person you! Have a fabulous time, take lots of

pix, and enjoy every moment!

[globalvillage]

3. Awesome

A friend of mine was in Bangalore last spring and she loved it. I made a slideshow of some of her photos if you'd like to see it. Let me know, and I'll upload it tonight.
Wow, I'm jealous. Have a great time!

[JI7]

11. would love to see them

thanks,

[globalvillage]

17. OK, I sent you the link

If anyone else would like to see, pm me. I don't want to post the password, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind my sharing her photos with any of you here.

Have an awesome time! Take pics for us!

[karynnj]

4. What a wonderful opportunity!

If I were you, I would see as much as can be seen and have a great memorable time with your family. As a parent of a 16, 19, and 21 year old, I can tell you that from the parent side these vacations with older children are more special than I can express. This has to be fascinating. Am I right in remebering you as saying you were of Indian descent? If so, that has to make it extra special.

Whatever happens in the next few weeks, will happen and you can see anything that merited being seen when you return. If rumours on other threads are right, I hope you will come back to see a whole set of wonderful speeches or interviews with a tall Senator saying he is going ahead with 2008. If that happens, I'm sure there will be video links to see them.

[JI7]

12. yes i am

we are probably the only indian family that never really visited there. most go there often. many indians are surprised when i tell them i have never been there. (i was born there but came to the states when i was a year old).

the tall Senator will be on my mind the whole time for sure.

[wisteria]

5. Have a wonderful trip! n/t

[beachmom]

6. Wow, what a wonderful trip you'll be going on!

You know, during this trip, you might consider leaving American politics and the war and everything behind. Don't just take a vacation from home; take a vacation from the news. It's good for the soul. I still remember the last time I went to Germany, how the Iraq War, although technically in closer proximity, became much farther away. It became, if for a couple of weeks, someone else's war, as I only looked at German news a little where it was indeed someone else's war. I came home refreshed.

[JI7]

14. i'm not sure i could do that

but i think i will at least try for a few days to not think about anything and just focus on where i am and what to do there.

but i DO want to see how people there view the world . how they view the war in Iraq, terrorism etc.

[blm]

7. Stay safe - that area has had postponed elections recently and you need to

stay alert even as you enjoy your surroundings. Best wishes for safe travels, J17.

[sandnsea]

8. How exciting!

Are you going to be visiting family and whatnot too? Hope you're able to post pics and check in on occasion. And of course, have a good time!!

[JI7]

13. yes

most of my family lives outside of India and just goes there to visit. but i have some family that sitll lives there. i think my dad has a brother or cousin with daughters around my age.

we are going to stay while in the area with family with an uncle who actually lives here most of the time but visits India a lot and is visiting now. he has a house there. and we will stay in hotels when we move around to other parts of the country.

i of course want to see the big things like Taj Mahal . but one thing i really want to see is just how people live there, what conditions are like.

i'm wondering how my parents will react. we came here when i was a year old about 27 years ago. my dad went there about 7 years ago to see his dad who was dying of cancer. but my mom has not been there since. in those years both her parents died. and a bunch of other of her relatives.

[sandnsea]

15. wow, amazing story

I guess I thought your family had been here a few more generations, don't quite know why. I feel so bad for your mom, not seeing her parents in all those years. I know a lot of people don't live near their parents, but that is still a huge leap to take. To leave your home country and go so far away, my gosh. Sometimes I get so frustrated with this country, but to actually go to a place you don't know and not know when you will see your family, well that's a little scary. And yet your family chose to do that, and come here! Funny how the world works. Anyway, I really look forward to seeing pics and hearing your impressions. India is certainly becoming a very important country in the world.

[JI7]

16. i did have other family that was already here

my own parents though came from India. my mom has a lot of brothers and sisters and all of them had already moved to the West before i was born. and other relatives like my parents uncles , aunts etc had moved even before then. this of course made it a lot easier when they moved here.

my parents always refer to relatives by the country they are from. the aunt from new zeland , the uncle from south africa etc.

one reason for this is because the part of india my family is from was where the Brits and others who had colonized the country had set up their ports . in Gujarat state in Surat. this allowed for movement of the people in the area between and around the UK and their other colonies. that's why there are large Indian populations in places like Africa, Fiji and other areas you wouldn't expect. Mahatma Gandhi is from Gujarat and he got his start in protest movement from the time he was in Africa.

i found out about all of this when i got older. but i do remember always wondering how there are Indians in Africa, New Zealand, Australia, etc. when i was a kid a relative of an aunt from Australia came and me and my cousins giggled everytime we heard him speak in the aussie accent.

one note about my mom's parents though is that they did visit here. both came in the early to mid 80s. after my grandmother died my grandfather came by himself once and then he died. but i think it will be more about how you go back to a place that wont be the same and the people you always knew while there aren't all there.

[sandnsea]

21. Interesting

Love the history lesson. Looks like you will be doing a lot of traveling around the country too, if you're going to the Taj Mahal. Will you be driving, taking a train? What an adventure!! And yes, I can see how it will be so different for your parents. It'll be interesting to have their perspective on the changes as you see how things are today.

[politicasista]

9. Have a nice trip!

:hi:

[ProSense]

10. Exciting! Safe travels J17. n/t

[fedupinBushcountry]

18. Have a wonderful trip J17

My husband went to Singapore years ago and loved it, but calling home was an atrocious amount back then, I think my phone bill was $300.

I went to Hong Kong when I was 21 and it was a fascinating experience. What really got to me was in an eyeview you could see the wealth and the poverty, the shacks on the hillside were luminated from the lights of the city. Then we went to a little fishing town of Aberdeen the contrast was amazing.

Can't wait for your stories of your trip, have a save trip, and enjoy.

[TayTay]

19. Have a great time!

I envy you. This sounds like the trip of a lifetime. Enjoy the vacation and we will 'see' you when you get back. (Don't worry about us, we'll still be here no matter what. Have the time of your life and see everything you can see while in Singapore and India!)

[_dynamicdems]

20. Wow! That sounds like a fantastic adventure!

Have a great trip!