I thought I would start a new thread for all the exciting stuff I see and do here.
So every car trip in this country is it's own adventure. I've kind of told you all about the traffic situation but that is not the only aspect. Today we went to lunch with a friend who is here on an 18 month assignment. He had his driver take us over to Shipra Mall, which involves going through a very small underpass that his wife named "The Tunnel of Certain Death"... for some very good reason. In the US, this would be a one lane tunnel. Here, it is at least 3 lanes. I'll post the picture later when I get back to the hotel.
While at Shipra Mall, we had lunch at McDonald's. Happily, the fries taste the same here as in the US. At this juncture, yes... that is happy. We looked around a little at some of the shops. It is a very westernized mall culturally speaking, which is also nice.
Tonight, after work, I'm going back to the market we went to a couple nights ago to get a henna tattoo. Should be interesting.
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MM
That which does not kill me postpones the inevitable.
Henna tattoos (called mehandi) are the norm for the local women during festivals and weddings. This is the season for those things here. Tomorrow is some sort of festival where the women fast for a day until the moon rises as a show of sacrifice for love of their husbands. I'm told there is some ceremony later in the evening for when the fasting portion of the day is over. Deepshika, the wife of Sandeep who is one of our hosts here, has invited us to their house to see the rest of the deal. Nice of her. I went with her to get the mehandi done. She tells me that it is exceedingly rare that foreigners are willing to get the mehandi done. It is a bit of a committment... one has to leave the henna gel on your hands for 2 hours for it to dry, then it is a while after you scrape the extra off until you can wash your hands.
We have tried quite a variety of Indian foods. Some of which I really enjoyed. Others of which I did not really care for. We are getting along okay with the food though. The hotel feeds us breakfast which is a combination of baked goods, milk products, cereals, potatoes, and various indian foods. Little Man has been getting scrambled eggs in the mornings. I've been eating french toast. Those things are fairly normal. There is bacon on the buffet which I believe is actual pork bacon, but it is not smoked and cured like it is in the states, so it doesn't taste quite right. There are also chicken items, some of which are good. The "hash browns" took me a while to figure out. Their interpretation is to bake a potato, form it into patties, then sear the flat sides. Not bad... just not what one would expect.
Tonight after work, we are going to the Hard Rock Cafe. Yep... getting me a hamburger!
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MM
That which does not kill me postpones the inevitable.
It seems like they're giving you a taste of their culture when you want it, but also trying to accommodate you with things you recognize. That's pretty cool. I'm actually getting pretty jealous.
The hotel does go out of the way to accomodate as much as possible. Largely, it is a nice experience. I have had to have someone come to fix the safe in the room... it still doesn't necessarily function as it should at all times. Also had to have someone come replace the battery in the card slot on the outside of the door to my room (so I could actually get in!).
The peeps have been just wonderful. They are happy to take us places and help us out with negotiating in the stores and introducing us to the local food. Even one of the hotel's drivers, Lucky, had a good time taking us around on Sunday. He suggested a few places that the guys who were with us had not been to. If it weren't for this kind of thing, the stay here would be fairly difficult to handle.
Overall, it has been quite a positive experience. Some things have been difficult to adjust to. There is a lot of things one has to just roll with as the nature of most things here is rather inconsistent. This morning was a rough for me, but I'm doing better now. Only 9 more days left!
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MM
That which does not kill me postpones the inevitable.
