thursdaysd -- Thanks for the link! I knew about the dowries and I now remember hearing the term bride burning, but I didn't really know what it meant. I had no idea the numbers were so high -- absolutely horrifying. And that whole concept of having to live with the groom's family and do the bidding of the groom's mother...

Magster - where to next? I'm sad that this report is over. Enjoyed it immensely.

dgunbug -- I'm sorry it has come to an end, too -- was a great way to relive our trip! For our next trip, we are renting an apartment in Paris for a month in the spring -- have to get a dose of France every so often.

Really not sure about the fall. We have relatives in N.Z., so we may visit them along with some Australia (Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth). Maybe with a South Pacific stop thrown in also. I would also love to visit Turkey and/or Bulgaria & Romania. Isn't it true that the more you travel, the more you want to see?

I know you are planning a trip to China. I think you will really enjoy that. One place I highly recommend (you probably saw in my trip report) is Pingyao, such an enjoyable smaller city.

On the subject of India and women, I just saw this link to a report called "India's Deadliest Secret:"

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/ind...-2020-15126835

The report discusses the disappearance of 40 million girls (before or after birth) mostly because of the dowry system that makes girls a financial burden. This is just Part 1 of a series that also touches on concerns for the future regarding gender imbalance.

If you haven't yet read in, put this excellent and highly readable (don't let the title turn you off in to thinking it is too esoteric and academic) book on your reading list. It doesn't just cover India but also the conditions of women in other developing nations.

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by NYTimes columnist Nicholas Kristof.

Forgot to ask you Magster. I know you said you'd go back to India, but not really soon. What part of taking a month loong trip do you think was just too much? Were you just on the sight-seeing go too much, or was it just the fact that this is India?

As far as your desires for other places: Romania is still one of our all time favorites even though it has been more than ten years since we visited. Go to the Maramures area to really step back in time. Turkey is another favorite we long to return to . There we limited ourselves to 3 areas--Istanbul, Cappadocia, and the southern coast for a ways straight south of the area of Cappadocia. Coastal Turkey was our least favorite part of the three locales, and in many ways and many places the Turks have sold their souls for the sake of commercialized beach resorts. We want to return to visit Eastern Turkey and the Black Sea coast. Bulgaria is on my must-visit list too.

Magster - what a shocking news report. It certainly explained the lack of men on the street which was so obvious. Thank you for providing this link.

As for China, we definitely intend to go to Pingyao. After reading your report and others, we have decided against just doing the standard travel itinerary to China.

julies -- Thanks so much for the feedback on Romania! When you visited 10 years ago, the country would have been very undiscovered. I definitely want to go there, either in 2012 or 2013.

And for your thoughts on Turkey. Your comments confirmed my feelings that we should stay clear of the coast -- except perhaps for Ephesus.

Regarding India, I feel better about the length of the trip now than I did when we first got home. However, India is wearing. At about the 3-week mark, I noticed that we started to get tired of the cows, the dirt etc. If you go for a long trip, you might want to consider buidling in some real downtime to recharge.

dgunbug -- Have a fantastic time in China! I'll look forward to your trip report (and I'll be anxious to hear what you think of Pingyao!)

on turkey, i think you are fine on the coast as long as you do not go any further east than anatalya in the south.

we went to romania about 3-4 years ago, click on my name to find my trip report... it was interesting but i would not put it in the top 10 locations..

We spent 3 weeks in Turkey about 5 years ago. We rented a car and enjoyed it immensely. The coastal/mountain route is one of the prettiest we've ever driven on and if you like ancient ruins, you will not be disappointed. The beaches are lovely and the people were very friendly.

Magster - I agree with julies about Maramures in Romania, and would add Bucovina. Despite having a "tour guide from hell" I really enjoyed Romania, and keep meaning to go back and see more. TR at http://wilhelmswords.com/eur2006/index.html - includes Ukraine, which I would also recommend, especially Lviv.

I just got back from a trip that included Bulgaria - see http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...d-bulgaria.cfm

thursdaysd -- Thanks so much for the links. Loved your blog! My husband, who speaks Russian, wants to go to the Ukraine so discovering that they primarily speak Russian there is a huge plus for us.

Cool that he speaks Russian, and I loved visiting Ukraine, but be careful! Language is a big issue there, and while they speak Russian in the Crimea and the east, they speak Ukrainian in the west. I managed with English, but I think German might have been more useful for a non-Russian/Ukrainian speaker.

My husband always talks of going to the Ukraine - back to his roots. I didn't think there was much there to see. I'll have to explore that as a future trip.

With regard to turkey, there is so much more on the coast other than the resorts and the ruins are incredible.