This is it

The poet Amir Khusrau once wrote, inscribed on the walls of the Red Fort in Delhi,
"If there is a paradise on earth,
this is it, this is it, this is it!"
(Agar firdaus bar roo-e zameen ast,
Hameen ast-o hameen ast-o hameen ast.)
Now he may have have been talking about the breathtaking marble wonderland in the country's capital, but the same can be said for where we are at right now.
Yes me, cassandra and now nick, have not been keeping up with our posts lately, but surely not because there has been nothing to talk about. We have travervsed the northern half of the country now, having been to Delhi, Rishikesh, Chandigargh and Udaipur these past few weeks only now to find ourselves in the picturesque paradise, heaven on earth, of Goa.
We spent our time in Rishikesh with Gary and Marika (cass' parents who joined us for a week long holiday) meditating on the peaceful surroundings, doing yoga, tuning in and tuning out at classical sitar shows and a rafting adventure in the Ganga with Gary. We had such a blast with them and it was truly sad to see them go. I cant tell you how nice it is to see a familiar face after such a long time.
And being here with one of our best friends, the incomparable Nicholas Luchak, has been a dream for me and cass. We've been doing a pretty good job in my opinion in not driving ourselves nuts, but having Nick around has kind of brought us back to real life. And its truly great just having another set of wide eyes and an open mind to see all the wonderfully crazy things we have the past few weeks.
And seeing the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Ashram in Rishikesh, where The Beatles visited in 1969, was the perfect way to start it off.
We spent the following weeks introducing nick to the indian railway system and general way of life. The Nek Chand Rock Garden in Chandigargh was like being able to walk through ones weirdest dreams and taking in the serene surrounding of Udaipur, the setting of the 1983 Bond-flick, Octopussy. Mixing with locals, taking art classes and being invited over for dinner,it was really just a swell time.
But now we are in Goa and have been for the past week or so. Its paradise. We've become friends with an unreal indian jam band, truly the most legit cool dudes in the entire country, who love 12 minute full out jams on classics and hate bollywood and typical mainstream india. nick even got the chance to jump on stage with em and pound out a couple zeppelin staples.
i also got treated to lobster dinner for my birthday which was pretty excellent.
We'll tell you more about Goa soon enough though, today we've embarking on a trans Goa scooty adventure. We'll show you what life looks like next time, the cameras already packed up. till then
love love love
this is it, this is it, this is it