Our Diwali Date

After leaving India two years and five months ago, I've finally started craving Indian food!  So with Diwali this week, last night seemed the perfect evening to have our first Indian meal in Korea.

Well, as I'm starting to learn, things don't go always as planned.  Turns out there's both a "Sinchon" and a "Sincheon" metro station that are both on the same subway line.  And they are incredibly far away.  Of course, I thought I was being so smart about it.  While the English is spelled "Seocho", it's pronounced "So-cho", so I didn't think anything of directions saying "Sinchon" but actually getting off at "Sincheon".  Ah well, it seemed too good to be true that the #1 rated Indian restaurant in Seoul was actually only one subway station from our apartment.

As I continue to learn, it's always good to have a back up plan.  For last night's Diwali date, we instead head to Asia Luna by Coex Mall, which all the Indians in Samsung rave is the most authentic Indian food they've had in Seoul.  Sure enough, when we enter, there's a Bollywood movie playing and a fridge full of King Fishers.

I was shocked when I found my heart skipping a beat reading the menu.  I couldn't believe how excited I was about the food!  We proceeded to order way too much, but reasoned that this is a celebration, after all!

We reminisced about our Diwalis in India.  Tyler's favorite was when he was living in Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa, whose name (I just learned) means "Lord of the Universe."  He and our friend, Jack, rented motorcycles on Diwali, passing hundreds of lit candles along the way.  All I remember from my first Diwali was how loud all the firecrackers were well into the night, and of course the city being lit up like Christmas.

The word "Diwali" actually means "rows of lighted lamps."  The holiday celebrates the return of Lord Ram from 14 years of exile and his victory over the demon, Ravan.  Essentially, a celebration of good triumphing over evil.  The primary gods represented in Diwali are Lakshmi, goddess of light, wisdom, and fortune, and Ganesh, god of new beginnings.

We toasted to our own new beginnings here, and to India, where this adventure all started.  Who could've guessed at that first Diwali in India the wild ride we'd be on now...