Jaipur, The Pink City: Last Frenetic Stop Before Amanbagh

We have arrived in Rajasthan. It's 6:15 AM on March 3, 2007. Yesterday we took an early morning flight from Delhi. Unfortunately there had been dense fog in the morning and when it cleared there was a backlog of airplanes trying to get clearances. We ended up waiting over 2 hours to get a clearance (to contact ground!) and our 30 minute flight ended up taking 3.5 hours. It's always something it seems.

After about an hour of waiting with the door closed, ready to taxi, the woman sitting next to Karin (I was by the window and she was in the middle seat), called a flight attendant over and sternly told her that she wanted to get off the plane because her meeting in Jaipur was going to be over by the time she got there. The FA was gracious and tried to calm her down but Karin's neighbor began getting really irate. The FA said she would work on it. From that point on, every time an FA came by, our neighbor would give her an earful. Finally, the pilot made an announcement over the PA and said that although he was sympathetic, it would be impossible to let people off because that would activate a bunch of security issues which would delay us significantly and might mean losing our place in the queue to get clearance (it had taken 2 hours to get from 35th to 2nd). The woman was incensed. She called over an FA and said that she would not allow the plane to take off if she was not permitted to exit immediately. The FA said they were working on it and eventually told her that security would be by to escort her off. Fifteen minutes later, the FA came by and whispered to our neighbor that she could leave. The woman was escorted off the plane and the door was closed. The pilot then came over the PA (in a thick Australian accent): Ladies and Gentlemen, We apologize for this delay. The passenger was allowed to deplane and we managed to keep our place in the queue. We will be taxiing in 2 minutes. Just so you know, that passenger did not advantage herself in any way. She was taken away by security and will be held until the plane lands in Jaipur and is cleared. It will be up to them how to handle her after that.

About 35 minutes later we were landing in Jaipur (note that driving or taking the train to Jaipur takes 5 to 6 hours on a clear day). Once in Jaipur we grabbed a cab (through the "government prepaid office") and headed to the Sheraton Rajputana. The hotel itself is nothing to blog home about but it was really hard to get anything so last-minute in Jaipur.

We had decided to do a walking tour of the old city that is laid out in Lonely Planet Rajasthan. I had a train ticket that I had to cancel and the concierge told us that the train station was just behind the hotel - "walking distance".

Karin, I apologize for that walk. While it only took 4 or 5 minutes, it was disgusting. When people, cows, dogs, monkeys, and goats use roads as lavatories, they require regular street cleaning. As street cleaning has apparently not yet come to Jaipur, pedestrian activity is to be avoided.

We arrived at the train station, and while there was not a word of English on any of the signs, a couple of people in line immediately offered to help me navigate and I quickly ended up in the correct line with the correct form and accurate instructions as to how to proceed. People here are are constantly offering assistance (not just the touts).

Once the ticket was canceled we grabbed a cab and headed to the New Gate of the Old City. We had lunch at Ganesh Restaurant, which was recommended by Lonely Planet. Tons of tourists use the Lonely Planet guide so the place was full of non-Indians - even though it did not even have an English menu. It was actually an open-air concept on top of the old city wall itself. Food was tasty but neither of us reacted well to it. I think that is going to be our last adventurous meal of the trip... particularly since we are soon heading to Amanbagh.

Following a tasty lunch, we headed into the bazaars of the Old City. There are hundreds and hundreds of tiny shops - most with someone outside trying to pull people inside. Karin was tiring of being constantly approached by shopkeepers and others trying to sell us silk and silver and saris and... sweets (had to find something that started with "s"). But I was getting into it. I was haggling over prices and kidding with them. It's fun to see how fast the prices plummet when walking away from a shop. The further into Jaipur we got, the fewer tourists we saw, and the less we were approached. I don't think Karin enjoyed that walk as much as I did.

As you might expect, cows are all over Jaipur... but so are monkeys. It's quite something to be surprised by a dozen monkeys that show up out of nowhere and sit down to take in the view.

The walking tour ended at what I am guessing is the only McDonald's in Jaipur. We checked out the menu (click on the pic to see Paneer Wrap and more) and used it as an emergency bathroom stop. We then crossed the street to negotiate for a ride back to the hotel. Our choices were a taxi-van or a tuk tuk type open motorized 3-wheeled vehicle. Since we had paid 50 Rupees for a taxi (Ambassador) coming to the Old City, we balked at the 150 Rupees that the taxi driver quoted us. He immediately went to 100 Rupees. We told him we would pay the 50 Rupees (~$1.15) that we had paid to get there. He balked at that. After a serious standoff he was at 80. We then turned to the tuk tuk driver who was offering to take us for 50 then 40. Karin took over this negotiation. She was really standing her ground. Eventually the tuk tuk went to 35 rupees ("lower than Indian price") and Karin had squeezed the taxi driver down to 60 Rupees. We agreed to the 60 and took the taxi. The tuk tuk driver, who had been negotiating hard to get our business shook my hand warmly and smiled after we told him we'd be taking the taxi instead. I think he had enjoyed the 3-way bargaining session.

As soon as we were back at the hotel, Karin hit the bed. I, on the other hand, hit the internet. For the third time since I arrived, we failed to muster enough of an appetite to actually have a real dinner.

Overall I really enjoyed Jaipur. The haggling was fun and I like interacting with the shopkeepers and Jaipurians, and especially with the cute kids that are always interested in talking to us. I could do without the begging and the touting and the horrendous smells (I'm gagging just mentioning them) but that is part of the cost of visiting these places and one learns how to minimize that exposure after a while.

Here is the blog plan: Since I neglected to post for a number of days, I have a backlog waiting to be added. I'm going to post about all that from Amanbagh over the next 3 days. This is going to be a welcome respite following the hectic pace at which our senses have been confronted over the past week and a bit.

The pictures posted here are of some of the shops we walked by, lunch in the Old City of Jaipur, the Jaipur McDonald's, and a busy Old City roundabout replete with vehicles speeding in every direction and cows.

Thoughts About Travel In India

Sorry about the delay in posting. We do not always have internet access and often when we do, we do not have time to sit and create a post. I have been writing on the planes but some of it needs editing. For now, here are some thoughts about travel in India:

It is now 12:00 PM on February 28^th. We are on a Spice Jet 737 at 35,000 feet heading for the Holy City of Varanasi. Spice Jet is one of the many new airlines in India. This one is rather similar to Southwest in that it uses only one type of plane to minimize training and maintenance costs, has no first class section, is quite inexpensive, and is ticketless.

Travel in India is at a watershed. The introduction of multiple low-cost competitors to Air India, coupled with the availability of online booking for air and train travel and the presence of very low-cost cellular service are about to transform this country into an easy country to navigate – the operative point being that it is “about to” transform travel… It’s not quite there yet. Right now there are many growing pains: the websites are often not working properly – both for train and air booking, and the airlines do not accept foreign-issued credit cards, making it extremely difficult for us to book flights. I ended up having to use an agent for some tickets and for others Eric graciously let us use his India-issued credit card (let me know if you are booking India travel and I'll pass on the number).

Rail travel is ubiquitous and inexpensive (16,000,000 passengers per DAY!) but there are many delays, its website needs considerable rethinking, and their booking system only works properly about 50% of the time.

Travel by road is a mess. Traffic is awful, conditions are poor, and road rules are either non-existent or largely ignored. Add to all of the above that there is corruption at every turn and you can see that there is room for improvement.

But it is changing incredibly quickly right now. I think in 5 to 7 years traveling here will be considerably easier and more efficient. That is the primary reason that we have cut Jaisalmer out of our itinerary. Air travel through Rajasthan will be ubiquitous soon enough and there will be no reason to endure 15-hour train rides. We’ll come back in 5 years to test that theory on Rajasthan.

I see two primary ways to travel in India while still avoiding the constant touting and tenacious begging: Probably the best way to do it is by knowing people who live here. If you travel with locals you will see a side of India that is wonderful while avoiding the pitfalls that otherwise cannot be completely controlled (true anywhere really but more so here). If that is not a possibility, joining a tour group that has a good reputation and decent itineraries would also work. These companies arrange all travel, take care of pick-ups and drop-offs that avoid the touts, and are ready with contingencies when things (inevitably) do not go as planned. I know National Geographic sponsors travel here but there are probably dozens of decent companies that do so.

The alternative is to be aware that your taxi windows will often be knocked on when you are stopped in traffic, you will be approached and sometimes followed through train stations (not in a menacing way – but it’s annoying), and someone will often be trying to sell you some product or service that you have no interest in. It is very inexpensive to do it this way but it does cost in other ways.

I will be posting about Delhi, Varanasi and Jaipur shortly. We've seen some amazing things. And some other things too. Our flight to Jaipur is boarding.

Taj Mahal And Complete Itinerary Change

I am sitting by the pool watching hundreds of Kites hovering effortlessly above Delhi, searching for prey. They are magnificent raptors and fill the entire Delhi sky. I also saw them hovering in Mumbai but they are ubiquitous here. They must be floating on thermals because they hover for hours and never flap their wings.

Yesterday (now 2 days ago) we went to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal. The Taj makes it onto most wonder-of-the-world lists, although it is not an official one of the Canonical 7.

Let's start with what was wonderful about the trip to Agra. The Taj is stunning. The stark white marble structure is breathtaking. Walking onto the grounds and from a rather dismal town of Agra and being confronted by this heavenly structure is quite an ethereal experience.

The trip to Agra was also very pleasant. I had booked an express train (Shatabdi Express) that left at 6:00 AM. The train was very comfortable. The breakfast they served was quite good, and we left and arrived on time.

Also nice was visiting the Baby Taj. This is also a mausoleum. It's not nearly as grand as the Taj but it also does not attract crowds the way the Taj does. I think there were about 4 people there with us - as opposed to thousands at the Taj Majal.

But not everything was smooth sailing. My research had yielded the following: 1. Go with the "government pre-paid" taxis and drivers by making the arrangements at the government office in Agra. 2. Since the only express train back to Delhi is at 8:30 PM, do your Agra sightseeing and then get on whatever train is leaving for Delhi when you are done (there are about 10 over the course of the day). 3. Do not bother staying in Agra as there is not much to see beyond the Taj.

And this is how it actually worked out: We were accosted by touts as soon as we were off the train in Agra - on the platform. One guy latched on to us and even though I said "no" 10 times, he followed us to the government office. I spoke to the government "official" who sold me the official ticket for the official day-tour and gave me the official paper to give to the official driver. He then pointed to the tout that had accosted us on the platform. This did not please me. Obviously the touts and the officials work together now.

We went to the tout's car and told him what we wanted to see. He was nice enough and agreed to start with the Taj Majal and then to go from there. From the beginning we felt some resistance to just doing things the way we wanted them done. He had an idea of an itinerary and while he would agree to what we wanted he did so begrudgingly. As the day progressed, our itineraries diverged. He became quite adamant that we visit some "government shops" which we would love. We had told him no a number of times. Once we made it clear that we had no interest he started begging us to go because he gets paid by the shops and that just a few minutes of our time would make a huge difference in his life. In the end we did agree to go to one of the shops both because he was getting something out of it and to alleviate some of the tension that had built up in our taxi.

After visiting the Taj, the Fort, and Baby Taj, we were ready to get out of Agra. While the sites were nice, the constant harassment by touts made everything leading up to each site unpleasant. We were constantly saying no. And they do not accept no. Apparently they have learned that "no" really means "maybe" and they milk that maybe-disguised-as-a-no as far as humanly possible.

There is much more that I could write about the day and maybe I will later - but we are leaving soon for Varanasi and I have to wrap up this post so we can get going. I'm going to skip to the trip back.

We got to the train station and bought a ticket that could be used on any train (and upgraded according to availability and bribability). Unfortunately every train was significantly delayed - up to a few hours for some of them. We made our way to platform 2 where a 3:30 train was leaving at 4:40. Platform 2 must not see a lot of caucasians because we both became aware that we were being stared at. Eventually we moved to another part of the platform where there were fewer people. While we waited we were approached by shoe-shine people. Once again the word "no" was quite ineffective as one guy went so far as to start applying some cream even after my 5th adamant "no".

Once on the train we settled into a berth. When the conductor came by he told us it would be another 320 for us to sit in the 2AC class. I paid him and he wrote out a complicated receipt. As he was wrapping up, the guy that we had been chatting with across from us, told the conductor that he had made a mistake and had undercharged us. They went through the complicated fare-book together and came up with a way to demand another 200 Rupees from us. I thanked our neighbor profusely for his dedication to setting things in India straight. Must be the fist time in history that anyone ever paid the official upgrade rate on a train.

Upon arrival in Delhi we had another unpleasant tout experience - no time to tell - but it was enough to convince us to change the rest of our itinerary in India. We will now fly to Varanasi. Then we will train only to Jaipur. We are cutting out Jaisalmer altogether. Since air service is going to soon be ubiquitous in this country there is no reason to endure the long rides that are so vulnerable to delay, touting, and other unpleasantness.

The only problem with our sudden late-date change is that this is really really high season and hotels are astonishingly scarce. We have manged reservations but they're not ideal.

I'm out of time. Email us and let us know what is happening with you all. Will write when we have more time.

xoxo

The Reunion, Italian Dinner, Debate, Farewell

We're together! Amazing as it may seem, all of our planning actually worked out and we ended up in Delhi at the same place at the same time. When I pulled up at The Oberoi I grabbed my bags and started for the entrance - through the 30 or so guests and staff cajoling for cars. I hadn't seen Karin and Anjum standing outside but luckily Anjum spotted me and called out my name just before I disappeared into the abyss. Here's the scene:

I heard my name and turned to see Karin smiling in the distance. Our eyes met, and suddenly everyone went silent, stopped moving, and turned their attentions intently on us. Then some classic Bollywood tune started playing. All the men gathered behind me and all the women gathered behind Karin... and started dancing. Oh how they danced! Time slowed down and we started running into each other's arms. Karin's hair was blowing in the wind, her sarong falling particularly beautifully in the moonlight... and I looked dashing in my Armani suit and white tie. As the dancers became more and more frenzied, we ran faster and faster into each other's arms, culminating in an incredible passion-induced embrace that seemed to last only a moment but in fact went on well into the next number. I wish you could all have been there (can never hurt to have more back-up dancers, you know).

Well, it was great to see Karin - and Anjum. They were outside because Anjum was just about to leave. And leave she did. After three and a half weeks together, Anjum and Karin bid each other adieu and Anjum drove off, leaving Karin with me! We made our way into the hotel chatting about what her trip had been like.

We then went upstairs and [PORTION EDITED OUT IN THE NAME OF DECENCY BY THE INDIAN MINISTRY OF INTERNET DIGNITY AND BLOGWORTHINESS]. Harry came back from the spa soon thereafter and by 10:00 PM we were having dinner in the ITALIAN restaurant here. Karin and Harry are apparently done with Indian food for a long long time (that's what Karin thinks). Dinner was delish. Inspired by a particularly good pasta dish, Harry will be learning Italian next year and we intend to parlare solamente in italiano thereafter.

We discussed their impressions of the trip, of India, of capital punishment, and of legalization of drugs. Harry is going to send out an email eventually but here is a brief summary of what they (primarily Harry) expressed to me (correct me if I'm wrong) in the form of debate and dialogue:

1. The ratio of lack-of-comfort to difference-they-were-making was too high. While they were willing to endure being cold and wet, without toilets and plumbing and general rudimentary conveniences, they would have preferred to make those sacrifices somewhere even more remote, helping people who had even less access to health care. You just can't satisfy these people when it comes to helping people in need.

2. Harry had his fill of India.

3. Harry supports a basic libertarian view of how governments should be approaching legislation in general.

After an enjoyable meal and at around midnight, we gathered Harry's things and accompanied him to the lobby for his farewell scene (fewer dancers but still good energy). He then left for the airport for his 2:30 AM flight (international flights arrive and leave at crazy times in India - usually in the middle of the night).

By the time he left I had been totally exhausted for hours... following my 2 hour sleep the previous night (if you call 6AM to 8AM "night") and no nap! We got back to the room and I passed out. I think Karin was using the internet at the time. I slept for almost 6 hours! I think I have finally acclimatized.

It's 9:30 AM now. We will have breakfast and then will explore Delhi. We are scheduled to do a day trip to Agra tomorrow and then to leave for Jaisalmer in western Rajasthan the next day. Karin and I have not had a chance yet to finalize our itinerary but will do so by tonight.

Tea with Tibetan Monk, Bus Ride From Hell, Delhi Haven

It's 3:15 pm in Delhi. We arrived early this morning. Recap:



Yesterday morning A and I awoke at 5:40am to catch morning prayers at the Namgyal monastery near the Dalai Lama's palace. Before entering the temple we removed our shoes and placed them on the racks. The sign above the racks said, "make sure that your shoes are not stolen by someone."



We watched rows of monks chanting in the low-pitched gutteral tones interspersed with bells ringing. It was very spiritual once my stiff body got accustomed to sitting cross-legged on the wooden floor for an hour. It's amazing what six straight nights of camping does to your flexibility. I did manage to meditate for a few minutes at the end. It was surreal.

After that we strolled on the footpath around the complex. We got a bit lost and walked back (we were walking in the wrong direction, or as is written on the signs, "circumambulate this way"). [Oh, and on the roads in Himachal there were speeding signs with interesting wording like, "If married, divorce speed"]

Yesterday's highlight was having tea with our monk friend Gelek. After a yummy Tibetan lunch on the patio of Chonar House, A and I decided to check out the monastery office to see if he was there. Luckily he was, and he invited us to sit for tea. It was awesome (both the tea and the experience).

The rest of the day was spent wandering around Mcloud Ganj. It was a beautiful sunny day so we basked in the sun. It was great to feel some warmth at last.



Ok, onto the bus ride. We were due to get on a 12-hr overnight bus to Delhi leaving at 6pm. Our luggage was strapped on top of the bus, and we crammed inside. The bus was not chartered for us alone, and we were asked to leave the first 10 seats empty. Which we did. But once the 10 additional passengers got on, their tickets showed seats 11+12 (where A and I were sitting). Even though there was room to shuffle them around to fit, they refused, and after much debate, A and I decided to just suck it up and sit with strangers one row ahead. It was not really a big deal until Anjum realized that the woman next to her would need the window wide open for the entire trip (due to motion sickness). It was quite cold by then. So we offered her a dramamine, and by chance the lady accepted (what a relief!) She was asleep 10 minutes later and Anjum reached across and closed the window. Where else would someone accept an unknown drug from a total stranger?

Ok, so we thought we were set! But then the roads were windy and within one hour five of our team had vomited in make-shift barf bags (including one in the row behind us). The windows were opened. We were cold again. After three hours the roads were less twisty. But we were not in the clear, because our inconsiderate passengers had reclined their seats back to their fullest, leaving about one inch of leg room. I'm not usually one to complain about that sort of thing, but the seat was touching my knees! Me! I took another dramamine to put myself in a coma. It worked until my freaking tiny bladder woke me up to go. Picture this: six American (and Canadian) women lined up on the Indian roadside squatting as oncoming traffic passes by.

The only reprieve from all this was my neighbor Tenzin, who turned out to be a really nice Tibetan guy on his way back home to Delhi. He escaped Tibet nine years ago with his brother on a six week trek across the Himalayas with a group of 40 people. They ran out of food, shoes worn through, but still managed to reach Nepal with the entire group in good health and without frostbite! He was somewhat clausterphobic so I offered him some dramamine. That drug is a life-saver.

We finally reached Delhi at around 6:30am and at Harry's insistance headed straight to the lovely Hotel my mother had reserved for us. That was a great move. The first thing I did was go to the lobby restroom to wash my hands and face and dry them with a perfectly white, soft, face towel. Bliss...

A's friend Ritika later picked us up for some brief shopping for gifts, followed by a hearty (non-Indian! non veggie!) meal of pizza and pasta with fries on the side. Yum!

Jaime will be here in a few hours. We will have dinner with Harry and send him off to the airport at midnight. Then Jaime and I we will begin our Rajastan holiday. Yay!

The medical expedition is over. It was a great experience that has had a profound impact on me. I do not necessarily feel transformed, but I certainly have a greater appreciation of my luxuries back home; namely, clean, potable, heated water, and accessible quality healthcare. Obviously I have a lot more to say, but will leave that for individual conversations with all of you.

:)
Karin

Mumbai Continued: Parsi Food, Chai Tea & Bread and Butter. Art Galleries.

It's 5:30 AM. Eric was just telling me about his experience as a fellow Wall Street Journal journalist in the region when Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered. They had collaborated on stories and he had been staying in Daniel's guest house. I definitely have to read A Mighty Heart, Mariane Pearl's account of the tragedy.

This morning was not particularly productive as my friends here slept through most of it while I wandered his apartment in a daze, cursing Hypnos (god of sleep) for his sadistic decision to torment me so.

We ended up going for lunch at Britania, a great Parsi restaurant, and walking around Kala Ghoda, Mumbai's premier art district. We visited a few galleries and then went into Yazdani Bakery for chai tea and bread with butter. Eric and Zainab also took me through Watson's Hotel, which was built in England in the 1860's. It opened in Mumbai as an exclusive whites-only hotel, which eventually inspired the founding of the incredible TAJ group of hotels by Jamsetji Tata. Watson's was the swankiest hotel in Mumbai for much of the early 20th century but eventually lost favor and was finally sold in 1960. The hotel was closed and tiny offices were haphazardly built within. Eric describes it as a great example of how lease law in India can turn magnificent buildings into blights as landlords cannot evict tenants or raise rents and so have no incentive to conduct even minimal maintenance. The building is a shambles - and is largely occupied by lawyers (see pic from lobby), which attests to its utter failure to remain a productive and decent component of modern society.

Land use issues are a common and seemingly ubiquitous theme in urban India. Not only do landlords get stuck with tenants paying almost no rent, but squatters will move into almost any building that is not guarded 24/7. Because squatters are numerous and vote (as opposed to the wealthy who tend to vote much less), politicians make unrealistic promises to them to get elected. The result is a protected class of people who are keeping large portions of cities from being properly developed as politicians and squatters perpetuate a symbiotic, but ultimately very destructive, democratically entrenched downward spiral into decay and blight.

Following our walk in Kala Ghoda we returned to Eric's place for a desperately needed nap (I had slept 2 hours the night before and was exhausted). Eric woke me at 10:00 PM so that we might continue our intensive tour of Mumbai's nightlife. We ended up at Dome on the roof of the Intercontinental Hotel - modern hotel and a beautiful view from the roof. When that closed, we headed to Henry Tham's. And when that closed we headed home.

It is now 10:00 AM on Feb 24. I'll be seeing Karin today! Once again I slept from just before 6:00 AM until around 8:00 AM and was painfully unable to sleep anymore.

This afternoon I will be heading to Delhi on Kingfisher Airlines. My source tells me that Vijay Mallya, the Chairman of Kingfisher Airlines, is the Indian version of Richard Branson. Apparently he runs a very good airline.

This evening Karin and I will be able to answer the question posed in the very first post on this website. Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion to that mystery and to our upcoming Rajasthan adventure.

Mumbai: From Bollywood To Child Labor; The Heat, The Smells, The Slums, The Party

What a confusing title! But Mumbai (Bombay) is, in many ways, a juxtaposition of diverging socio-economic, environmental, and class distinctions.

Eric lives on the 28th floor of a fine building in a very nice part of town (Colaba). His 300+ degree view of the city and ocean is spectacular. From the apartment it's possible to watch the daily catch coming in, people enjoying themselves in a beautiful manicured park, a shanty-town surrounded by upscale condominiums, and the daily buzz of a vibrant city.

Yesterday morning Eric took me to the docks where the fish come in and are cleaned by a small army of workers. As we entered the area we were told that photographs were not permitted. In fact, we were repeatedly told that as we walked through even though we had no camera visible. There were hundreds of people - mostly female - kneeling on the concrete cleaning fish, shrimp, and squid. Of the fish workers, a good portion of them were young children (probably why pictures are not permitted).

The smell was absolutely disgusting - thousands of pounds of fish coming through daily, much of their carcases discarded and rotting on the hot pavement (high yesterday was 94), and every few blocks a corner that served as a makeshift lavatory (based on the abominable smells that were confronting us). I did not get any pictures but that's one image that will stick (and I mean stick) with me for a long time.

That walk did not last long but we were both exhausted from it and returned to his place to relax. Eventually we headed out for lunch (or breakfast depending how you define these things). We ended up at Rajdhani in the Crawford Market for unlimited gujrati thali - as in a set menu, an army of staff that kept the plates full of vegetarian Indian food, and quickly being ushered out as soon as we were done. Very efficient. And quite delicious. Cost of that feast was in the $3 range.

We then walked through the Crawford Market. People were asleep everywhere - on the ground, in baskets, on tables. You name it, and it's a bed in India.

We returned home and napped. I woke up just in time to go out for dinner. Our friend Fabio arrived from Pune. I only ever knew Fabio with a buzz-cut but now he's sporting long flowing locks. He resigned from Merrill Lynch a couple of years ago and has started a consulting firm here. Was good fun to see him.

We headed out at about 9 PM for dinner at a rooftop Indian restaurant (not vegetarian this time). Gorgeous place. Food delish. And apparently the sheesha was good too - though that's not something I enjoy. We mostly talked about our days at SAIS and what life is like in India.

Following din din, Eric's friend Zainab joined us and we headed to Olive - a popular hangout for Bollywood types. Lots of beautiful people. Eric knew everyone.

One of the first people we met there was Asad Shan - Veejay on B4U. He does exist, as evidenced by the 54,100 returns that Google gave me. This from Wired Magazine:

Asad Shan was working as an investment banker in London when he decided to jump ship and start a new career in modeling and acting. After a stint at the New York Film Academy, and some success on the runway in England, he moved to Mumbai, hired an agent, and is busy trying to make a name for himself.

Apparently there are a lot of people moving here to take advantage of the booming Bollywood entertainment industry. Check out this BBC article where Asad is also featured. We also met Vibhav Krishna, Mumbai Entertainment Lawyer to the Bollywood Stars.

We hung out at Olive until about 1AM and then headed to the J.W. Marriott to a place called Enigma. Fabio had a 6:30 AM flight to Goa and our plan was to stay out most of the night and then to take him to the airport.

Enigma was loud and jumping and good fun (thanks to my earplugs). We were there when it closed at 3:00 AM and then grabbed a bite in the Marriott's restaurant. Fabio from Rimini ordered... pizza! And enjoyed it!

We drove Fabio to the airport and were back at Eric's place by 5:30 AM. And then the unthinkable happened... I got on the computer and Eric's connection died! Waking him up to reconnect did cross my mind but I caught myself and headed to my bedroom. The last thing I remember before falling asleep was... sunrise. Eric can run up walls.

This morning I woke up at 8:30 AM. I was completely and utterly exhausted but unable to sleep. Thankfully Eric came out to briefly check his email shortly thereafter and I again have internet access. And by 9:00 our Agra train tickets arrived at the front door.

Tomorrow I shall fly to Delhi to be reunited with Karin! Tomorrow evening dinner with the trio. Then Karin and I shall then begin the rest of our adventure together in India.