i need iron!

The pilgrimage to the Venkateshwara Temple in Thirupati is customarily the beginning of a month of fasting and purification. Devout Hindus refrain from intoxicants (including alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine), harming others (including animals), and just try to be kind and gentle and clean and pure. In keeping with our attempts to pay honest respect to the rituals that we took place in, some of us made vows for the month of August.

Chris and Franc took it the most seriously, as they both gave up alcohol. Chris has been dry for 21 days. He seems pretty OK. He did NOT give up coffee though, in order to remain moderately civil and in order to not kill someone. We both gave up meat for the month, to honor the “do no harm” mandate. It has been relatively easy, as being pure veg in South India is quite simple. I mean, this is a place where restaurants have the veg or non-veg clarification in the name of the establishment itself. Strict Hindus do not eat any meat, ever, and so this is a society very careful and conscience of its use of meat in public establishments.

So we are vegetarians, and Chris is a teetotaler.

As soon as September arrives, we're going to Singapore to eat huge steaks and get loaded . . .