India

Mark had the opportunity to travel to India for work last week. He spent two days in Dubai and eight days in Hyderabad. Mark had an amazing time. He said the people were so kind and the food was awesome. Hyderabad is sort of the technological hub of India and has grown up out of the slums. Juxtaposed between the skyscrapers and landscaped lawns of Microsoft, Google, Oracle and Dell is the squalor that existed before the city became what it is today. Hyderabad is notorious for their crazy traffic. Mark saw a man driving a motorcycle with his wife sitting behind him "side saddle" while holding a toddler on her lap - none of them wearing helmets!

Mark had a 24 hour lay over at the beginning and then again at the end of the trip in Dubai. Unlike Hyderabad which is mainly Hindu, Dubai is a mainly Muslim country and has a much more anti-western feel. Dubai is like the Las Vegas of the East. It has beautiful hotels, beaches and malls. Some things you can do in Dubai are indoor skiing, drive a formula one race car, visit the tallest building in the world or lay out on the man made beach shaped like the palm of a hand.

Ten days was a long time to have our Daddy gone! We are so glad that he's home now! He brought Gracie and Quinn home some sparkly bangles, Collin got a hand carved chess board and I got some carved elephants and some beautiful shalls. Let's hope it's a long time before he has to leave us for that long again!