Greetings from Hyderabad

We have been in Hyderabad now for more that 24 hours.

Our flights went well. We were about 30 mintues late arriving in Hyderabad, which means we arrived at 3:30 a.m. local time. All luggage arrived with us! We made it easily through immigration and customs.

Our driver was waiting for us outside holding a sign that said, "R&R Travel" Welcome Mr. John Murray. When we got to the van the same sign is posted on windshield of our van and appears that it will travel with us wherever we go.

The van is large and comfortable. More like a mini bus. Air conditioned which is very nice.

We went to our hotel checked in and got a couple of hours rest. Then ate breakfast and headed out to see Hyderabad. We went to Golconda Fort and the Qutur Tombs. Two sites of ancient historical significance in Hyderabad. Our tours there took longer than we expected so we dropped our plan to visit Charminar and the Birla Temple. Stopped at a restaurant for lunch then exchanged money and did some shopping.

Before heading back to the hotel we went to St. Theresa's Hospital and Tender Loving Care Home, the orphanage where my daughter Meghana spent the first 17 months of her life.

The children at the orphanage were a delight to play with. I hope I can post some pictures of our interactions with the children. Sister Theresa Marie, the director of the orphanage, was hospitalized. It wasn't long until one of the girls at the orphange came up to me, took my hand and said, "Sister is calling" and she led me from the orphanage over to the hospital to visit with sister. Soon another girl had brought John Nathan. It is obvious that these girls love and care about Sister. Very touching.

While John and I visited with Sister, the others were back playing with the children. After John and I returned we gathered for tea and cake that the staff had prepared for us. We suddenly releazied that Andrea was not with us. We soon discovered that one of the girls wanted her to meet Sister and had taken her over to visit after John and I returned. Andrea had a nice visit with Sister Theresa Marie.

After tea and juice and cakes and cookies we got a brief tour of the hospital that is connected with orphanage.

By the end of our visit we were exhausted from a full day and healthy dose of jet lag.

Today after breakfast we leave for Chiluvuru. It will be about  6 hour ride in our van, which means another adventure. So far our attempts to arrange for mobile internet while we are in the village have not been successful. So our internet access may be very limited. We will update you as often as we can.