Ambassador Pallava Chennai (Madras)

... called Rendez-vous - owned by Nepalese people it seemed.<br><br>We got back to Naz&#8217;s house to play tennis. I played a set against the tennis coach and surprisingly won 6-4. He is probably around 50 and you could tell he must have been very decent when he was younger though.<br><br>One of Naz&#8217;s friends came along and we had a double which was good fun. <br><br>In the evening, we went out and tried to get to this hotel club but they would not let us in because ...

... your mind is all over the place, constantly skipping from one thought to the next with no order or reason. This is called monkey mind and me an Nick had a lot of it! You actually realise that you are mad, completely crazy! Concentrating on the breath also pulls you into the present moment. It is something that is constantly changing and moving and you can flow along with it, just observing it as it happens, without interfering. On day 4 you then begin to move your attention to all ...

... things about Gandhi like the fact that he was married before he even started high school. It was very hot outside so I didn't stay out there too long. We were on pirate watch as well outside. We are on our way to Singapore to refuel so we are going through a narrow straight where pirates are known to attack. Captain Jeremy has had to out run pirates in the past. They said that the main thing pirates ...

... Over the several days in Chennai, I learned a lot about my dad as a youngster and my Thatha and am realizing that there are many qualities of his that I possess - it's kind of uncanny (down to the way I walk, carry myself, treat others, my pride and unfortunately my sometimes short fuse). We then popped into a nice sculpture and art gallery before gorging ourselves in a chaat feast (Indian snacks and small food items like Cholle Batura, Pakoras, Samosa Cholle - basically ...

... Chevrolet and Ford); European brands (usually the luxury models: Audi and Mercedes, but other brands as well); Japanese brands (Suzuki is very popular); Korean brands (Hyundai is common); and India's home-grown brands. The two coolest types of cars I've seen are old jeeps driven by some police and government workers and on old (late 50s) Dodge Power Wagon tow truck that was parked along the side of the highway near a toll booth. In addition to cars, there are a variety of other ...

... slopes. There was a man named Raman on the hill who was carving deities vigorously out of stone. He was doing some nice work and the prices were good. I wish I had more room in my bags. I may get a small thing or two. I went to the ashram office and inquired about the next town I was heading to, for a retreat with Karunamayi. Lucky for me a man in the ashram store lived in that town and knew Karunamayi. He helped me figure ...

... in Chicago packed ked with that mixture, and I mean packed! The three hour bus ride was pretty full on as the larger lady next to me took about 3/4 fo the seat and I was smashed to the open air window. Oh, and she fell asleep on me, but hey, all in a days tour of India. Only 20 rupees for a 2 or so hour ride (about 50 cents). So, to find a beautifully clean, breezy room right on the ocean, with anew bathroom (not a squat toilet) that ...

... I just wanted to repeat something that I think was significant from my time here: Viet Nam is a country, not a War. Burma-- I traveled an hour north from Yangon by plane to Nyuang Shwe, or Inle Lake. I had no idea it was going to be so amazing. It was gorgeous, and many people have called it the Venice of Asia. While there our main mode of transportation was canoe. The restaurants that we ate at, and the hotel that we ...

... On our way back into Chennai we stopped at a local farm where we were shown cashews, lipstick plants, and ate fresh grown watermelon and coconut milk. It was quite an experience. Then we went to a crocodile farm owned by an American. It was a lot of fun but very dangerous. There wasn't a lot of protection from the different crocodiles and at one point while trying to take a picture Mac warned me right as a croc came up from under my hand thinking I was holding food. He got about ...