Travel, at its best, changes the way we see the world. Join us each week as we dig into stories from people who took a trip—and came home transformed. Travel Tales by Afar is your ticket to the world, no passport required.
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Travel, at its best, changes the way we see the world. Join us each week as we dig into stories from people who took a trip—and came home transformed. Travel Tales by Afar is your ticket to the world, no passport required.
The Ambassador, the President, and Me: an Unlikely Reunion in India
Travel Tales by Afar
21 minutes
1 month ago
The Ambassador, the President, and Me: an Unlikely Reunion in India
Author Charmaine Craig had always felt mysteriously drawn to India—pulled by childhood family legends of ancestors who arrived there centuries ago and copper plates inscribed with ancient privileges that still hang in a Kochi synagogue. But it would take a chance encounter at a dinner party—and the power of old friendship—to finally help her explore her roots.
She set out on a pilgrimage through Kerala's ancient Jewish communities with a former college boyfriend turned U.S. Ambassador to India and a mutual friend who orchestrated their reconnection. From sacred sunrises where three seas converge to an impossible meeting with the last two Jews of Kochi, Charmaine discovers that sometimes journeys into the past have the power to change your life—especially when you have good friends by your side.
Don't miss these transformative moments
The dinner party revelation that set everything in motion
Why Charmaine's childhood bedroom featured only one map—of India
The legend of her ancestor who saved a ruler's son in 10th-century India
Traveling by presidential motorcade through Kerala's lush landscapes
The 4 AM journey through cyclonic winds to witness sunrise where three seas meet
Meeting Keith and Queenie, the reclusive last Jews of Kochi who "never see visitors"
The moment in the sacred waters that changed everything
How friendship, timing, and ancestral calling converged to open a new chapter
Resources
Learn more about Charmaine Craig at charmainecraig.com
Buy Charmaine's books: Miss Burma and My Nemesis
Read Charmaine's Spin the Globe trip to Portugal or listen to theTravel Tales episode
Read the transcript of the episode
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Travel Tales by Afar
Travel, at its best, changes the way we see the world. Join us each week as we dig into stories from people who took a trip—and came home transformed. Travel Tales by Afar is your ticket to the world, no passport required.
