In May 2006 I came to Japan to attend the International Conference on Toric Topology at Osaka City University, which was a rousing success. Before the conference, Polina and I spent some time walking around Kyoto, making sure not to miss the trail of thousands of orange gates called tori.

We spent two nights camping by the river Yuragawa, near some villages 40km north of Kyoto.

In Osaka we spent many a happy night over a long dinner.

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After the conference, I flew to Bombay to meet up with David for some whirlwind traveling across India.

Trekking in Himachal Pradesh.

David engaged in his two favorite activities - petting animals and eating sweets.

In Calcutta we stayed with the Basaks, who took us on a trip to their family estate in rural West Bengal. We were quite popular among the local villagers!