So after 3 months in South India, we headed for Israel. My cousin Eric was getting married so we decided that it would be good to see the family and flew to Tel Aviv. It was a bit of a shock to go from India to Israel, the two countries having very little in common except for them both starting with I and their birthday being very close. We found Israel to be an amazing place, very modern, but yet quite traditional. Tel Aviv which has only existed since 1909 is a bustling place that very much reminds me of Sydney. The city is built on the beach and the people spend much of their free time on or near the shore. We arrived in a heat wave for Mid March, it being 35 degrees Celsius. In the first several hours, we were in the water and adjusting to the new climate. We welcomed the change from the Indian food and got stuck into the Hummus and falafel, which very quickly replaced the dosas and idlys that we had become accustomed to.

The pre-wedding activities were already in full swing as the night of our arrival, we attended the dinner with the immediate family of the bride and groom. There was no pause in activities with the next days lunch being hosted by Dana, the bride's, entire extended family. The food did not stop coming, it was really silly. The sheer volume of food that was served could have fed all of India. And the deserts: Halva both chocolate and strawbery, then ice cream, followed by chocolate cheesecake! I will stop there but there was more!

Then the wedding, which started at 7pm, not grate for the kids. It was an elegant affair at the Sheraton in the city, really great, they did a fantastic job. There were two rabis, just in case one was not enough. Again there was finger food first and then a sit-down dinner with two rounds of mains. A great wedding! Bride and groom were very happy!

We were thankful after the weekend's festivities to have some quite time to get back into out yoga practice. It can be a bit difficult to maintain the regular practice with all the travel and heavy foods, but we were trying our best. It was nice to be able to practice on the balcony of the apartment where we were staying, something special about saluting the sun in the holy land!

We were fortunate to attend an ashtanga class at Ella Yoga one of the many yoga schools in Israel. It was taught by a lovely man from Chile. It was not the traditional Mysore style that we had been practicing in India, but had a few vatiations. It was interesting speaking with the teacher after the class. He pointed out that Israelis are not into Mysore so much as they feel they are getting a bit ripped off, so he needs to change it a bit, kind of keep it interesting. We had become quite used the serious and the method and it was strange to do something a little different.

After 8 days in Israel, we again flew back to India, landing in Mumbai in the early morning. We came strait to the Iskcon Guest House in Juhu beach, about 20km north of the city. Iskcon stand for International Society of Krishna Consciousness. Here we have been staying amoung all the hare Krishna devotees, chanting the mantra and being happy.