Introduction

It has been an ambition of mine to travel to India for many years. My interest was initially piqued by my first experience of eating lamb vindaloo at a local Indian restaurant in my home town of Melbourne. After further Indian eatery experiences, Indian fare soon became my favourite cuisine. Combine this with my passion for the game of cricket and I came to the conclusion that if Indian folk and I shared a love of the same food and sport then it would be worthwhile learning more about incredible India and its' people.

Fast forward 10 years and my ambition is being realised. Over the next five weeks a great adventure will unfold as I travel through the subcontinent to watch the Australian cricket team take on India in a series of four test matches. (I will be attending the first three test matches in Bangalore, Chandigarh and Delhi). I will also have the privilege of attending a Hindu wedding near Hyderabad through the kind invitation of an Indian work colleague back home. Add to this a tour of the north and north-west of the country and I hope to return enriched by the cultural experience, not to mention fattened up somewhat through indulging the bone-fide regional Indian food from the cities and towns I visit along the way.

Accompanying me on the journey will be my close friends Adam and Sue. Adam will commence the tour with me and Sue, his partner, will join us a couple of weeks later. We will spend most of the time together but we will also split and rejoin each other on occasions as we pursue our own Indian odysseys.

I will attempt to update this blog regularly as I go. It will serve two purposes. Firstly, as a keepsake diary of my travels and, secondly, to allow those close to me to follow my journey. Blogging is the modern equivalent of the postcard, only instant and interactive! In addition to a chronological travelogue approach to my writing I will attempt to work through themes and individual experiences along the way. I hope you enjoy the read. Please feel free to post comment and question and I will happily answer them.

* Update Friday 24th October 2008 - due to a scarcity of decent Internet connections and spending most of my time having a ball over here I am quite a bit behind updating this blog. I will, however, keep at it during my journey and catch up when I return to Australia