Happy New Year! We hope 2013 is a wonderful year full of prosperity, health, adventure and success! Our adventures in Southern India have included many bus rides (we are over 100 hours of bus and train journeys since our arrival at the end of November) and beaches. My favorite spots would have to be Varkala in Kerala, Gokana in Karnataka and Palolam in Goa, all with soft sand and stunning sunsets. The coast is full of sun, sand, cows but very little Internet. Everyone thinks that all of India is as connected as the Call Center Hub of Bangalore or the other major cities, but really most of the places we have stayed have been smaller more rural places. In the last six months we have stayed in 64 beds in four countries and traveled thousands of miles.

A highlight of our travels in India has been the many wonderful locals and fellow flashpackers we have met. On the train to Vizag, we met Swapna who gave me a saree (see photo above). See us in Kanyakumari (photo below). Thank you to everyone who has shared our journey literally on the road with us or by reading and commenting on our newsletter and website! Lisa and George (Click here to sign up for this newsletter. )

Links to a few recent posts: About my birthday project 45x45 in the Huffington Post--we helped over 49 families, a video from Thailand: Bangkok in the Pouring Rain, , and in the Huffington Post for my Dad's Birthday: Tribute and Legacy: Being Present.