Happy & Healthy in Mumbai

Hi Loved Ones!
What a whirlwind it's been -- but I've made it through the Governor's Mission, sent (most) of the group on their way home, and am enjoying the weekend with a combination of touring, work catch up, and even a little bit of spa time (today). I'm sorry I wasn't been able to keep the blog up to date very well last week, but I really found that every spare moment not spent in a meeting was required to prepare for the constantly evolving schedule and never ending to do list related to my seminar. But, it's over and it really, in the end, went very well. YAY & PHEW!

Above all, I have to say that it is SO MUCH MORE FUN to be here when I'm healthy -- and so far, having been here just over a week, I'm doing great with not a single "gurgle"! (And I haven't even been eating my poptarts.)

So, to start the process of catching up on my adventures, I thought I'd run through a quick summary of what last week included:

Friday, the 20th -- I arrived very early in the AM, with 6 of my fellow travelers. Then, I spent most of the day having a typical work day full of email and phone calls, largely focused on reconfirming and adjusting our week's schedule in light of the Governor's decision not to travel. I had a meeting in the afternoon which finally got me out of my room, and out of the hotel to a local Indian coffee spot -- their local answer to the Starbucks phenomenon (as Starbucks is not yet here). That evening I very happily met up with my Indian family -- Parmeet, Nina, and 4 new friends (including Parmeet's brother in law, who lives in Mumbai, and who I'll be having dinner with tonight!).

Saturday, the 21st -- I had a full day of touring Delhi with my friend Sudhakar, who grew up here in Delhi. We went to the "South Ex" mall, which is apparently the premiere destination for the Delhi locals, and then over to Connaught Place, which is a huge market in the middle of a massive roundabout with hundreds of tiny shops as well as street vendors. We had a yummy Chinese lunch, and I was very well behaved with only a few minor purchases (for which Sudhakar proved a formidable bargaining force). That night a group of 12 or so of us met up for dinner at a wonderful place called Bukara in the hotel next door to ours, the menu is entirely Kebabs, and apparently all the heads of state that have visited Delhi have eaten there -- Clinton, Blair... and now the Virginia delegation too! It was a fun night as I met a number of the delegates that I hadn't known before -- mostly from Northern Virginia.

Sunday, the 22nd -- The mission officially began on Sunday, as most of the group arrived early Sunday AM. We met at 9:30 and took 2 buses full of merry travelers on a turbo tour of some of Delhi's touristic highlights -- we had about 40 people with us, and I found it lots of fun (of course, we all know I'm a tour junkie -- I just eat up all the juicy tidbits of info/trivia!). We had a really good guide, Sunny, on our bus and I learned alot. The weather was hot, as expected, but very pretty -- blue skies and lots of green & flowers. I enjoyed the excursion very much. Upon return to the hotel, I took a small group back out to do a quick bit of shopping based on my previous day's experience -- it was a bit rushed, but at least everyone came home with a purchase. Then, we had our first official "team briefing" with Secretary Gottschalk, Secretary Chopra and the Deputy & Assistant Secretaries, along with Paul, Rick, Vince and I from the VEDP team. We reviewed the plan for Delhi, then adjourned for the opening reception -- more than 100 people had arrived -- and then off to a really lovely dinner hosted at the Imperial hotel (the photo of those guys in the turbans and orange outfits was taken there).

OK -- I'm going to stop here for now (realizing I haven't actually shared anything NEW ... but merely recapped what I'd already shared with you) because I'm about to run off to my YOGA class! This has really been something I wanted to do -- yoga in India -- and today it's working out that I can do it here at the Taj spa. So, I'm off for some much needed stretching. And I'll continue the travel update when I get back.

Love,
Kim