I'm home, and while I'm happy to forgo doing my laundry in sinks, I'd still rather be in India. Sigh. 3 1/2 weeks just ain't enough.
But on the bright side, I have over 2000 pictures to help me remember the trip. I posted a bunch of them here. I still plan to write a couple more entries, for posterity's sake. But right now, I'm planning to catch up on my Netflix movies and sleep.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Saturday, June 9, 2007
mega mart
Stopped in to check out the Mega Mart where you can pick up oil and spices, and a button-down collared shirt!
Snack food aisle:
I tried the mini samosas (how could I not? Look how cute they are in miniature form!). Very tasty.
Snack food aisle:
I tried the mini samosas (how could I not? Look how cute they are in miniature form!). Very tasty.
good-bye goa, hello delhi
First meal in Goa: fish curry. Yum.
This Goan specialty, fried prawns, was amazing. It had this tasty coating with a spicy kick, sprinkled with a little cornmeal.
Next course, pork vindaloo, another Goan specialty. It’s India’s answer to southern bbq, but with a little vinegar and, of course, loads of spices. Heavenly.
No more Goan delights for me; I left Goa and flew to Delhi, arrived a couple of day ago. All that good eating has its price; my stomach is a bit touchy. So I'm easing off the spices a little.
And so yesterday, as I was walking around Connaught Place, horror of horrors, I walk past a TGI Friday's. I snicker and walk on. After passing a few seedy-looking places as Delhi's unforgivable sun is beating down on my head, I pause, turn around slowly, and make my way back to TGI Friday's.
Now before my fellow foodies flay me, I have to say part of the reason I wanted to eat there was because I was curious to see what a TGI Friday's in India would even look like. A sociological pursuit of sorts. And now I know. It looks like, well, a TGI Friday's in Anywhere, USA. Same loud music, tacky decorations and red-and-white striped everything. The only exception: waitstaff required to wear cowboy hats:
So I ordered a coke and a hamburger. Just kidding. But I did order a lamb burger (TGI Friday's [Delhi] specialty!).
The lettuce was brown and wilted, the tomato sweet and crisp, the bun just a regular chain restaurant-grade bun. Nicely char-grilled lamb patty. Some crisp and sour pickle slices thrown in. All in all, a damn tasty burger! The fries tasted just like Bojangle's seasoned fries, yummy.
This Goan specialty, fried prawns, was amazing. It had this tasty coating with a spicy kick, sprinkled with a little cornmeal.
Next course, pork vindaloo, another Goan specialty. It’s India’s answer to southern bbq, but with a little vinegar and, of course, loads of spices. Heavenly.
No more Goan delights for me; I left Goa and flew to Delhi, arrived a couple of day ago. All that good eating has its price; my stomach is a bit touchy. So I'm easing off the spices a little.
And so yesterday, as I was walking around Connaught Place, horror of horrors, I walk past a TGI Friday's. I snicker and walk on. After passing a few seedy-looking places as Delhi's unforgivable sun is beating down on my head, I pause, turn around slowly, and make my way back to TGI Friday's.
Now before my fellow foodies flay me, I have to say part of the reason I wanted to eat there was because I was curious to see what a TGI Friday's in India would even look like. A sociological pursuit of sorts. And now I know. It looks like, well, a TGI Friday's in Anywhere, USA. Same loud music, tacky decorations and red-and-white striped everything. The only exception: waitstaff required to wear cowboy hats:
So I ordered a coke and a hamburger. Just kidding. But I did order a lamb burger (TGI Friday's [Delhi] specialty!).
The lettuce was brown and wilted, the tomato sweet and crisp, the bun just a regular chain restaurant-grade bun. Nicely char-grilled lamb patty. Some crisp and sour pickle slices thrown in. All in all, a damn tasty burger! The fries tasted just like Bojangle's seasoned fries, yummy.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
oh my Goa, t'was nice to know ya
For the ladies: kickboxing team from India!
They were all getting henna tattoos. I asked one of the guys (last one on the right in the pic above) why he didn't get a tattoo of his mother on his arm. "What? Mudder? MY mudder?!" I nodded. "Tattoo of mudder. That's stupid." Then he smiled and laughed and whacked one of the other guys on the leg.
Obligatory pic of sun setting:
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
last night in goa, and the head wobble
It's my last night in Goa. I'm sad. It's a beautiful place, and the beaches are stunning. (Yes, I brought my pale body to the beach. My face is as red as mutton vindaloo right now.) Sadly, I don't have any pics to share. I just dropped off my two 2GB memory cards at the Fujifilm store on 18th June Road (that's the actual name, no kidding!) so I can delete and start taking more.
But before I go on, I have to share this interesting phenomenon that I noticed here in India. People do this curious head wobble thing, gently bobbing their head in a circular motion (I'm trying it out discreetly at my computer terminal right now). I'm not sure why they do it. I'll have to ask about that while I'm here....
So back to the Fujifilm place, I ask how much it costs to burn one CD. The guy at the counter wobbles his head and says "75 rupees." I ask if they burn DVDs. He says yes, that it will cost 300 rupees total--150 rupees for each memory card. I'm confused, wondering why the cost for CDs are per CD, whereas for DVDs, it is per memory card. I ask about this very nicely, but I can tell he doesn't want to haggle with a silly American. With head wobbling, he takes my question and repeats it as a statement, "Each CD is 75 rupees." (pause) (head wobble) "To burn a DVD, it's 150 rupees for each memory card." He stopped looking at me after the first word was spoken; the rest was directed to the memory cards sitting on the counter.
Perhaps tomorrow when I pick up the DVD, I will ask him about the head wobble. I'm sure he would most appreciate it.
But before I go on, I have to share this interesting phenomenon that I noticed here in India. People do this curious head wobble thing, gently bobbing their head in a circular motion (I'm trying it out discreetly at my computer terminal right now). I'm not sure why they do it. I'll have to ask about that while I'm here....
So back to the Fujifilm place, I ask how much it costs to burn one CD. The guy at the counter wobbles his head and says "75 rupees." I ask if they burn DVDs. He says yes, that it will cost 300 rupees total--150 rupees for each memory card. I'm confused, wondering why the cost for CDs are per CD, whereas for DVDs, it is per memory card. I ask about this very nicely, but I can tell he doesn't want to haggle with a silly American. With head wobbling, he takes my question and repeats it as a statement, "Each CD is 75 rupees." (pause) (head wobble) "To burn a DVD, it's 150 rupees for each memory card." He stopped looking at me after the first word was spoken; the rest was directed to the memory cards sitting on the counter.
Perhaps tomorrow when I pick up the DVD, I will ask him about the head wobble. I'm sure he would most appreciate it.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
whoa, super fast connection in goa!
I'm taking advantage of this super fast connection. I've uploaded some pics from the Ajanta and Ellora caves, along with some pics of some families I met.
My driver Aleem, and a goat!
This is one of the families who took my picture. And so I took one of them.
Another family. I snapped one photo, then asked if they wanted to see a preview on my LCD screen. They all crowded around my little camera in .05 seconds. When I asked to take another photo, they immediately started smoothing their hair down, particularly the men, and agreed:
And here is a pic post-grooming:
These girls were particularly lovely. I took some video of them singing in one of the caves. I'll have to upload it on Youtube when I get back.
My driver Aleem, and a goat!
This is one of the families who took my picture. And so I took one of them.
Another family. I snapped one photo, then asked if they wanted to see a preview on my LCD screen. They all crowded around my little camera in .05 seconds. When I asked to take another photo, they immediately started smoothing their hair down, particularly the men, and agreed:
And here is a pic post-grooming:
These girls were particularly lovely. I took some video of them singing in one of the caves. I'll have to upload it on Youtube when I get back.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
new plan
Well, just as I anticipated, my plans got all scrambled. I was supposed to catch a 6:50 pm train tonight from Mumbai to Jaipur, but luckily my friend Ankit emailed me before I left, warning me about some riots that broke out in Rajasthan, which are getting worse. The riots started a few days ago, when one particular community in India, the Gujjar, began a protest campaign for more government benefits. The BBC gives a rather tidy synopsis. It's crazy. At least 23 are dead. There's a shoot-on-sight order in two districts of Rajasthan. Needless to say, I won't be going to Jaipur right now. I'm really thankful for Ankit's warning, glad he knew I was headed there. My train was one of the few that was not cancelled, or else I would have blithely gone on. And now I know to check ahead for such news before traveling.
So I'm making a few changes. Going to head further south to Goa. If the riots don't cool down in time for me to take a train up to Delhi (all train and bus routes wind through Rajasthan), I will fly to Delhi, where it's supposed to reach a cool 115 degrees by Friday.
So I'm making a few changes. Going to head further south to Goa. If the riots don't cool down in time for me to take a train up to Delhi (all train and bus routes wind through Rajasthan), I will fly to Delhi, where it's supposed to reach a cool 115 degrees by Friday.
A thali lunch--with Ankit!
This particular thali was all veg, and despite being the carnivore that I am, it was very satisfying! Thali is basically a meal consisting of a selection of different dishes. This particular place served unlimited food, buffet-style, and they brought the food to YOU--very dangerous when one is very hungry and very lazy. It was like Indian dim sum. One all-you-can-eat thali was 135 rupees = $3.36. The roti was divine, especially after the waiter drizzled a little ghee over it. We finished off the meal with a tasty yogurt drink, and Ankit got these delicious rice ball thingies (note to self: must write down names of such items next time).
This tiny feast was had at Chowpatty Beach:
I also tried this snack, wish I could remember what it was called. Ankit and his sister Sadvhi (aurgh, I'm probably butchering the spelling of her name) motioned for me to stand closer to the food vendor. I was given a small silver dish with a puffy cracker-like thing, sitting in a little sea of light green juice. A hole was punched through the top, more juice inside with some chick peas floating captive in the cracker. I was instructed to pop the whole thing in my mouth, no small feat as the cracker is about the size of a large bon bon. I almost choked when I bit into it; all that juice kind of exploded and I wasn't expecting it. It was sweet (mango?), minty, a bit sour, spicy, crunchy... delicious!
This particular thali was all veg, and despite being the carnivore that I am, it was very satisfying! Thali is basically a meal consisting of a selection of different dishes. This particular place served unlimited food, buffet-style, and they brought the food to YOU--very dangerous when one is very hungry and very lazy. It was like Indian dim sum. One all-you-can-eat thali was 135 rupees = $3.36. The roti was divine, especially after the waiter drizzled a little ghee over it. We finished off the meal with a tasty yogurt drink, and Ankit got these delicious rice ball thingies (note to self: must write down names of such items next time).
This tiny feast was had at Chowpatty Beach:
I also tried this snack, wish I could remember what it was called. Ankit and his sister Sadvhi (aurgh, I'm probably butchering the spelling of her name) motioned for me to stand closer to the food vendor. I was given a small silver dish with a puffy cracker-like thing, sitting in a little sea of light green juice. A hole was punched through the top, more juice inside with some chick peas floating captive in the cracker. I was instructed to pop the whole thing in my mouth, no small feat as the cracker is about the size of a large bon bon. I almost choked when I bit into it; all that juice kind of exploded and I wasn't expecting it. It was sweet (mango?), minty, a bit sour, spicy, crunchy... delicious!
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