Phat Pat in India

My parents just returned from a 12-day trip to India. For those of you who know my parents (particularly my dad), it is beyond shocking that they made the trek. My brother and sister-in-law traveled with them. Here are some highlights from my brother:

"Here are a few choice words of my Dad's:

1) Standing in line to see the nightly Indo/Pak border closing west of Amritsar, 'I didn't realize how white I was.'

2) After 5 days of eating vegetarian Punjabi food, 'I now realize it is possible to have a good meal without meat - just don't tell anyone I said it.'

3) Talking to someone in Nebraska on the phone about our visit to the Golden Temple in Amritsar (one of the most holy sites in Sikhism) 'We just visited the top Muslim temple in India, which is in Ameristar'.

4) Discussing the cosmopolitanism of Doha, Qatar, 'Who knew that all of this could be in the middle of nowhere?'

5) When eating plain aloo prantha (b/c Dad doesn't eat yogurt, eggs or pickle) in the village 'This is the best breakfast I have ever had!'

6) Inquiring about the cost of construction of the fort in Bikaner (which was completed well over 400 years ago), 'How many Indian rupees do you think this cost back then?'

7) When we were flying out of Amritsar at the end of the trip, a very old bus shuttled us from the terminal to the plane. When we got to the plane, the automatic bus doors had some mechanical problems and wouldn't open. The ground crew had to kick them open. If Dad would have seen this at the beginning of the trip, he would have blown his top and would have wanted to return home right away. At the end of the trip, he thought it was hilarious and couldn't stop laughing about it."

Benny, Lila, and I had breakfast with Mom and Dad this morning. They are tired, but had such a wonderful time. They got to see so much and felt truly lucky to be able to see India. I'm so proud of them!