Kite Flying!

My favorite spot - at the tea stand

A New Fear

I have a new definition of fear - crazy India driving in the dark during monsoon rain.

Kite Museum Photos

The beginning of the recent kite obsession started after watching the 'Kite Runner'. Keyur from my office took me to Ahmedabad's Kite Museum which has a collection of kites formed over the last 100 years. I will post some pictures of the kites after Keyur and I pick them up.

Pictures

Today I was impressed

I just came back from my final fitting for the suit. I was telling people in the office that something miraculous needed to happen. The last time I was there for the trial fitting I was not impressed one bit. The tailor came a great way in one week but more needed to happen. The jacket fit decent that time but the pants were not even close. I'm sure it is a sight to see me with pants that are painted on but it is not my cup of tea. I left him with instructions how they needed to fit. The idea of the final suit was scary thought to me. I thought my money was wasted for sure.

Today I went back and in the fitting room the pants felt great! I brought my dress shoes and belt so I could put it on as an outfit. Everything about the fit for the pants were good and they even survived the extreme squat test. When the jacket went on it looked amazing. It has a nice slim tailored look. I am really happy with how the whole thing turned out. I ordered a backup pair of pants as well as a dress shirt to go with the suit. I have a wedding to attend the week I get back the US. While I was looking at shirting material I saw a light lime green linen material so I ordered one of those as well! It should make a nice light summer shirt.

I feel so much better. I was seriously dreading this experience. But everything worked out in the end. While I was outside waiting for my driver the tailor came out and offered me tea. I accepted and while we were drinking I asked how long he's been making suits and he said he is 50 and has been making suits for 35 years. His dad was a tailor and so is his son. I told him I will convince Randy to get his made because I really like mine.

Where's my monsoon at?

There still has not been any significant rain in Ahmedabad. I'm not gonna lie, I want the rain. More days are cloudy and the wind picks up but everything is still very desert-like. Who knows what's going on? I only have a month left so every day passes is one less day I will have to deal with it.

Randy and I went to Vimal's to start our suits. Vimal is the premium brand for Reliance Industries who owns just about everything (they are basically the same as Tata Industries). When Randy and I left Vimal's the last time we thought we had a pretty good understanding of how this suit process was going to go. Naturally when we came back it very quickly turned into a cluster***. We apparently did not ask the right questions about cost because the price seemed like double from last time. More people got thrown into the mix (too many cooks in the kitchen) and now statements about what they CAN and CANNOT do are going around.

Last time we were told the suit material was about Rs.2000 and stitching is Rs.3000 (Rs.5000 is $100). When we came back it was Rs.2000 PER METER and it'll take 3.25 meters to suit me. So after settling from the shock of the suit doubling in price I regrouped and decided to start haggling. I say, "Well, this guy and I are buying at least two suits with the possibility of two more depending on how well you do with the first. What discount can you give us on the stitching?" They say, "it doesn't how many suits you buy. You can get 10 suits and price is the same." I look at Randy and say that I guess I'm only getting one. Randy's out entirely. He needs to check if he can get the same thing done in the US with less problems. This is when the salesman jumps back in and says, "But we can give you a discount on the material." Haha, of course, I was putting up a fight over the wrong variable. They gave me a whopping 10% discount.

I bought a Super 120's 100% merino wool medium brown herringbone fabric. I gave them a picture from this month's GQ so let's see how they do with the pattern. My trial fitting is next week. Frustrating experience.

Monsoon is almost here

I expected the monsoon to begin the way it in Forest Gump - instant downpour. It first dizzled a week ago and every other day the clouds roll in at night and storm for a couple hours. It happened again last night but earlier than usual. The staff tells me that will become more frequent until there is no break at all between the rains. It has cooled things off though.

Skinny Minny Update

Stef upped their cookies to 3 packs/day.

Pictures

Pictures from Taj Mahal, New Delhi, Krakow and London

Nice random assortment of places that I visited in a little over a week.
Facebook link

I met a senior designer for a fashion company on his way to Ahmedabad yesterday from Mumbai on my Jet Airways flight. I was looking into having some suits made before I went home but India's abundance of polyester really gave me a pause until I knew exactly what I wanted to have made. I went to Macy's with my mom to see their selection and the conclusion I drew was no matter the pricepoint: 100% lightweight wool.

On the plane I met this guy who's business trip was to visit all the factories where Haggar's sources their fabric for a particular type of dress pants. So not only did he offer to send me free Kenneth Cole pants but he told me exactly where to go to have suits made. The top floor of Vimal's on CG Road has the same material they use on Ralph Lauren Purple Label suits. He gave me a few other pointers as well but I am excited to see if I can get a $2000 suit for $100 like this guy said.

Day one in Krakow

First order of business today after settling in was to get something to eat! This was more challenging than orginally thought because I wanted to find the EXACT placet to get something amazing. Krakow is surprisingly difficult to navigate and eventually I just picked a place. I ordered bigos and to my surprised it actually tastes the way my dad makes it! His version includes more cabbage though.

By the end of the day and 1.5L of beer later, I rolled myself back to the hostel. In the US, after I have large meal I may feel like I gained 10lbs but it is only a temporary feeling. After today's meals I know I gained 10lbs for good. These meals stick to your bones.

More Kerala pics and off to the Taj Mahal

Some of my Kerala pictures on Facebook.

Stef and I are off to New Delhi in a few hours to visit the Taj Mahal (which is in Agra) and head home to Chicago. I am looking forward to beating up some merchants haggling over intricately carved marble elephants with inlaid semi-precious stones. My favorite part is when my counterpart exclaims, "We need to eat from this money. I cannot go any lower." I respond, "so does my family and I like to keep my money. I need a bigger discount or I will give myself a discount by buying less." Then they usually go talk to their manager for a while and another Rs. 500 ($10) comes off. Actually it doesn't matter how much comes off; I am not happy until the prices comes down 30-50%. I expect all the merchants are selling at 300% of cost so I need to do my best to get it back to that amount.

Kerala - South India

Jordan

Family history

I know Jordan is next to Israel and Dead Sea divides them. What I did not put together until now is that modern day Israel used to be Palestine and I will be less than a hundred miles from where my grandfather trained during World War 2. I am glad to have the opportunity to come so near and about a month later to travel the land of my namesake.

This is about close to Iraq as I will ever get

This weekend Stefanie and I are going to visit one of the seven new wonders of the world. Early Saturday morning I fly into Amman, Jordan via Dubai. I planned my arrival to Jordan so I could have everything arranged and ready before she arrives plus extra time in case I am my delayed.

However, HER flight was delayed so my time cushion grew. I will have almost 12 hours in Amman so I will go sightseeing! Jordanian food has a great reputation for being amazing so I will get an early start by trying a couple restaurants over the 12 hours. Next I hope to tour the Jordan Archeological Museum. Amman's name in Roman times was Philadelphia? I'm so excited. I will be bouncing in my cubicle in anticipation over the next two days!!

Information on Amman
Petra location

Making plans for Krakow

Even though Stefanie and I will be in Jordan with weekend I am making reservations for my trip to Poland! My apartment is down the street from Hotel Elektor. I will walk every single meter of Krakow Market Square and surrounding area.
Jana Lux Apartments

I do not speak Gujarati

It is not uncommon for someone to approach me and start gabbing away in Hindi or Gujarati. I will politely tell them I speak English and from the United States. They usually respond with "ahh" and do their head shake. Today I was eating powa like I do every morning and a couple on their scooter stop to ask for directions (or at least that is what I thought they were asking me. I just gave them a head shake as I was chewing and they left). Minutes later when I got up to get my second plate (a plate is about the size of a CD) and the women who was standing waiting for the bus took my stoop! Since I had a pretty sweet spot that was in the shade (which is important as it is already 90 deg at 9 am) I sat close to her attempting to steal some of my shade back. She went off in full rapid fire Gujarati (or Hindi I'm not sure) and made a "2" motion with her fingers. I am guessing she was calling me fat and that I did not need a 2nd plate of powa. Either way I told her I speak English and that I am from the United States. Oh that did not stop her. She kept gabbing away about something so I kept talking back. I had fun. I paid my bill (Rs. 10 or $0.20) and I left.

Skinny's pup

I know I have not blogged on this, but I feed Skinny's pups as well as Skinny. Her litter must have been born around the time I arrived in India. There were at least 4 because I could see them from my balcony. When I started feeding Skinny her pups would come by and I would feed them too. By this point there are only 3 pups.

When I started feeding them they were probably between 6 and 8 weeks old. Fun puppy times. Now they are 12 to 14 weeks so they are beginning to lengthen out and get taller. The other day I was waiting for Nick outside my apartment because we were going to get powa for breakfast. I noticed one of the pups dash across the street and start army crawling under a gate. I kept an eye on her since the gate look REALLY low to ground, but she is small so I thought she would be fine.

The pup is just about under the gate when I hear a high pitched scream. I look closer and sure enough the puppy is screaming her head off because her lower leg got caught and she was stuck. I immediately ran across the street and gently unhooked her leg. Her entire pack ran to her assistance before I got there but it is not like they could unhook her. Skinny put her muzzle in my hand afterwards and then Nick showed up so we went to grab breakfast.

This morning I went to feed the dogs and the pup who caught her leg wouldn't come over to me. The other two were feeding and Skinny had her fill too. I was wondering if the puppy thought I was the one who hurt her to explain to myself why she was standing away. She was just standing there at a distance watching me. Then I saw her take a few steps; not moving any closer but to the side. Broken leg. Her leg is just hanging there and it wasn't moving. I wonder when I will only see 2 puppies.

Tomorrow: Meeting an Indian judoka

My neck feels good and I have been lifting for a solid 6 weeks weeks. It is time to get banged up again. Bhavik will introduce me to a black belt judo instructor tomorrow. His school is near to the office and he's agreed to meet me. I am excited because I have not grappled since before New Year's. I do not know what to expect from tomorrow's meeting but I hope he will welcome me and my "newaza".

The questions I want answered are:
Will he instruct me or can we simply roll together?
Will his head be in the right place or do I have to be worried about ego?
Is his ground game better than mine?
Does he have any judo buddies that I can play with too?
Where can I find a gi?

I really hope his school is air-conditioned. Otherwise 100+ deg days and steamy - yay.

Chittorgarh Fort - Largest fort in Asia

Link to Google Maps
Nick and I decided to jump off of it!

Skinny Minny - My dog

Skinny Minny lives outside the walls around my building. She is literally bones with fur. She usually is hunting for food through the old garbage when I walk to the gym in the morning. I decided to start feeding her the cookies I eat Nutella with. She likes them just fine. If I were her, I'd ask for Nutella please.

Udaipur

Pictures from the City Palace, Jag Mandir, and the Monsoon Palace in Udaipur.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2339006&id=14835439&l=4e3ad

Meat Market

The picture pretty much says it all. Except the smell says something totally different.

Day 2 with the post office

Ankoor and I collected all the right materials to get this finalized. We drive back the post office and no one is speaking. Just silence. Before I know it I am sitting across the desk from the person who frustrated me so much yesterday and he carefully examining all the documents while sitting relaxed in his chair. It is obvious he does not have care in the world and he certainly does not care about me. I am not totally convince he can speak English, nevermind actually read it. But what he can read are numbers...

When the man puts the papers down, Ankoor signals to me it is time for the money - Rs. 1000. I slide it across the table and my file folder is laid down on top of it. As soon as that exchange is complete he points out that the cost of my shipping is $31.00 and that needs to be added into the tariff. I sharply respond that shipping costs have no bearings in a tariff tax and this is ridiculous. He says it increases the value of the package and therefore the tariff. I tell him that if this package was lost and I have to file an insurance claim that I would not be reimbursed the cost of the shipping and only the value of the contents. I look to Ankoor and his face tells me to drop it. I am not going to win this one. So after I pay the man the penalty he raised my traffic from Rs. 2300 to Rs. 2700 (or about $8).

I am now wondering if I will receive my package. He tells Ankoor that it should be delivered to the KJWW office either tomorrow or the day after. We will see.

Dealing with the Department of Foreign Post

About a month ago I order a lens for my camera. The lens is getting great reviews in the states and I thought it would be fun to have it over to here take some great shots. Plus I have the time to master using it. So I emailed the company inquiring about shipping to India. The company is located in Oregon and they said "no problem". The shipping cost was almost reasonable at $31.0 for United States Postal Service. I made sure to pay with my credit card so just in case I never received it I could always call my bank to have the charge removed. I receive notification that the lens shipped. Since I am unsure of how the mail works here I thought it was safe to have it shipped to my work address.

Last week I receive a letter that there is problem with my package and it is being held at Customs. Granted the lens is kind of goofy looking so I was joking to myself that they must have thought I was a spy. I spoke with Ankoor, who is in charge of making arrangements for me while I am here, about picking up my package. After nearly a week of him trying to track where we had to go, at what time, to meet who, and on what day we finally went to the post office today to pick up the package.

Gamar drove Ankoor and I deep into the heart of Old Ahmedabad and even Ankoor and Gamar got lost. Ankoor tried to use the GPS on his phone to locate the post office but the whindy roads proved to be too much for the locating device. Eventually after doubling back a couple times and asking for directions we eventually made it to the government building. I expected the condition of the building to be nicer than the rest since it was post office, but no it definitely was not.

The three of us sit down in the foreign post office waiting room while the workers find the appropriate forms. Originally Ankoor thought all I would have to prove is that I was visiting in India and prove that I worked at KJWW. So he brought a letter of employment and I brought my passport. After a few minutes I am given a customs form to fill out before I go to the main office.

Ankoor and I are instructed to go to the main office to discuss my package. Ankoor tells the head guy who I am, what I am doing in India, and that I requested this package for personal use. The man responds by saying that the problem is that I had it sent a business address. Since the package originated from a business they are considering it a business to business transaction which carries a tariff charge, 15% of the stated value of $300. However, the shipper did not state how much was paid for shipping they are going to add that on too at 20% of the stated value. Naturally, since I am clearly importing something to the country they ask me where my importer-exporter license is and since I do not have one I am required to pay a penalty fee of 100% of my previous charges.

When it was all said and done, they wanted to collect Rs.6600 from me (or $135). I immediately tell them I am not paying that and I want a better explanation of the charges. A new form appears with a bunch of itemized lines and at the top there is a charge for shipping. I tell him I do not understand why I am being charged for shipping when I paid for shipping in the US. He shows me on the customs form where the sender did not fill out the shipping costs, so they are assuming there were none and they will charge me now. I tell them I have a receipt in my email that shows the shipping cost and if I supply it for them can the charge be dropped? Ok sure, they had no problem.

Then they explain the 15% tariff charge because of the business to business transaction and associated penalty fee for not having an importer-exporter license. I retort that it is not for my company but for me personally. We go back and forth arguing whether it was important to add "c/o" when I listed KJWW under my name. Apparently that made all the difference. I threatened to bring in my credit card receipt and show that I paid for it from personal funds and not company funds. At this point my total fee has dropped to Rs.4500.

The man says fine he will waive the 100% penalty fee but I still need to pay the tariff and a Rs. 1000 fine. This totals Rs. 3300. I am sensing the fine will go straight into his pocket so I counter offer by paying a Rs. 2000 fine but no tarif. He tells me this is impossible as he needs to fill out the paperwork with this tariff attached. I agree to the Rs. 3300 while gritting my teeth. As we walk out of the office, Ankoor confirms to me that the Rs. 1000 will go straight to that man. I need to go back to the office so I can print my order receipt. Tomorrow I will try again to pick up my package. Hopefully I will actually walk out with it...

Itinerary

I made Stefanie's travel plans today to come to India. She will leave April 24 from O'Hare headed to Amman, Jordan. Simultaneously, I will leave Ahmedabad to take a connecting flight in Dubai to end up Amman. From there we will take a car 4 hours to Petra. I booked a hotel that is 300 meters from the archaeological site entrance. We will spend two days exploring this ancient site.

Afterwards we will drive back to Amman to catch a flight to Doha, Qatar and connect with another plane that will take us to Ahmedabad. Everything is shaping up now. I am getting excited. Visiting Petra has been on my list for quite a while now.

But for now Udaipur will have to settle this weekend. This will be an adventurous weekend for Nick and I. James Bond Octopussy was filmed there. I definitely plan to see the Lake Palace. Next week I hope to make plans to visit the Elephant Temple at the caves of Ellora. This will compliment nicely with Petra.

"No pain, no gain" in YOGA!?!?

Nick Hrabak is the India office's new technology mentor. He arrived in Ahmedabad over the weekend. He normally works out of the Des Moines office and we just so happened to go to school together at UIowa. Nick and I sat by each other in a few classes, have a social circle that intersects and he started at KJWW one semester ahead of me. It is nice to have a familiar face in India.

We joined a yoga school together to exercise and learn about this art that India created. We bought handmade mats to use as our cushions in class and they set us back 129Rs!!! Or $2.20. We are enrolled in a beginner class for 10 days and then we can switch to the normal class.

So far the beginner class is just that, beginner. However, for Mr. Gumby himself (me) that is just fine. My hips are crying by just sitting in indian style for 30mins. Breathing and meditation exercises take up the majority of time. However, in the 75 minute class there are plenty of opportunities for me to show of flexy skillz (or lack thereof).

Yesterday my instructor saw me grimacing in pain and just looking stupid attempting to stretch and said, "No pain, no gain! You will one day become flexible! But today you must suffer!" Not quite what I expected to hear. I have heard similar things before but they came from my swim coaches and from Christian. But it did get my butt in gear and told I can tell myself it is okay to feel like this. Naturally I am in TONS of pain when I stretch my hips but now I have the okay to attack it like I attack anything.

Nick and I are only 4 classes in, but I look forward to this time and I am already sleeping better. I cannot wait to start the normal classes.

Uttarayan - Kite Day

January 14th is a holiday in Western India. The holiday is called Uttarayan, in english we call it Kite Day, and celebrates the sun traveling north. I'm not too sure what that means historically but practically it means everyone takes the day off to fly kites! Every man, woman and child send kites up in to sky. Thousands of kites were everywhere and everyone has one mission; cut them down.

Clothing cords are bought up in long spools, like 1000 yards or 2000 yards, and powered glass is rubbed into them. This process makes the cord VERY abrasive and dangerous. The kites are tied with this cord and the glass enables every kite flyer with the ability to cut or be cut.

The excuting the plan of cutting down other kites is very simple. If your cord goes over another cord, you simply let go. The wind will pull kite as fast as the wind will go, towards the horizon, and away from you! This applies are very fast downward force. If your cord goes under another cord you strategy is reel the kite back to you as fast as humanly possible. The wind will keep the kite up in the sky but as you pull it back the kite will end up directly above you. Your kite string will act sword swinging up and toward you. Whoever excutes their plan the fastest will cut their opponent's kite cord and the kite will fall from the sky.

When a kite is cut the winner will scream like, well...an Indian (but like a native American after he scalps a red coat). Everyone flies their kites on roof of their apartment buildings. Since there are so many apartment buildings in such a small area, everyone is very close. The sounds of primal screams emanate from all directions.

Something to be careful of are the falling strings. Usually the kites are very far away from you when they are cut. As such, the length of the kite cord is very long. The kite is cut the string falls and lands on anything; buildings, trees, and YOU. The cord owner will reel the cord back in very fast to immediately send another kite up to the sky seeking revenge. If the cord lands on you, it will stay on you since it is almost like sandpaper. When it is reeled in, it will pull and cut at you. The experience is quite unpleasant.

For those wondering, I did cut down a kite. It was a proud moment and I did receive much praise from my flying partners. Cutting down a kite during Uttarayan in India is like tapping out a jiu jitsu black belt in Brazil. Yeah right...but that is what I tell myself. And I certainly don't think about the six other kites of mine that were cut.

Adalaj - Step Well

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2327064&l=7050e&id=14835439

Hitesh, his wife, and Pallab took me to Adalaj on Sunday. The drive only took 20mins from my apartment. A description of the Adalaj is one of my last photos - it is best described there. All I can say is that access to a historical site like this is impossible in the United States. You could go ANYWHERE and touch ANYTHING! I got quite handsy.

Out and About

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2326694&l=fcca4&id=14835439

Today was my first chance to walk around my new environment. Sadly, I had a hard time finding beauty in this area of poverty and extreme contrasts in living conditions. The quality of life varied so dramatically in such a close proximity that it was depressing. I saw a girl who looked like she was 11 and she was pregnant. A young boy, perhaps 3 or 4, was crying face down in the dirt and appeared to be eating it and a young woman bathed herself completely nude on the side of the road. Her only form of privacy was a sheer scarf she hung up to shield herself. Once I recognized what was going on, I diverted my eyes to respect her attempt at privacy.

About a block away from all this was a major shopping center with a mall and many restaurants. It all seems so similar to home but it's not. Since I didn't really know where I was going, I bet myself to see if I could walk to work without getting lost. I won! Took me about an hour (with shopping detours) and no twisted ankles. I'm really happy I brought boots with me.

Breakfast

I brought 50rs with me when Gamar picked me up for my run. Granola and soy milk was getting old for breakfast. I wanted something different! After my run he took me to street vendor to have 'poha'. It was unlike anything I've had and it was absolutely delicious! Little spicy, similar flavor and color to pad thai and lime juice is squirted on top of it. I might I invited myself to some illness. Time will tell, but the food was so damn good. Three plates (two for me and one for Gamar) was 21rs (or a little less than $0.50).

Apartment photos

Pictures of my pad and views from the balconies.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2325939&l=2bafd&id=14835439

Photo album

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2325269&l=83d6e&id=14835439

Running in the Park

...is not quite what I expected. I was told that running in the park is safest place to run outside of a health club. Running early morning is best because there is the least amount of people there. Ok, makes sense. Then I find out I need to have my driver, Gamar, take me there. So I had to call Gamar at 7am this morning to take me. Yesterday I found out there is a lake at the park you run around and it'a about 1.5km around (or about a mile).

This morning I'm thinking I'm going to run three laps. So I didn't even bother to start my watch when Gamar dropped me off because I already had it in my mind that I'm going for distance. The lap, in reality, is maybe 1/4 to a 1/3 of a mile. After I did my 3 laps in about 10mins (I'm ended up timing it by the number of songs that played on my ipod), I decided I needed to run another three laps.

The park was VERY crowded at 7am. Shocking to me was that everyone was there to exercise. Mostly everyone was walking laps, like Grandpa did in the mall. A few small groups were scattered around doing yoga. I felt like joining in. A few people were running and some were running the opposite direction that I was going. Excellent, now I can race them. I did my best to maintain foreign relations by showing my running competitors how much better and faster I was than them :)

As for the "lake", it was a step from a retention pond but it really reminded me of rock corry in Elmhurst. There was enough water in it so I couldn't see the bottom but it hardly looked filled. And the running path was dirt.

My day in Delhi

I asked the front desk at the Ashok to have a driver take me around Delhi for 4 hours. We left at 10am and I had to be back by 2 to get ready for the airport. While I was speaking to the front desk, another American approached me and asked if he could join. His tour group was going on a longer tour that day and he didn't want to be for so long. He offered to split the cost, so it was fine by me. The ride would cost us 1000 rupees total ($10/person).

Our tour only took us to New Delhi. To visit the old city would have taken a better part of the day simply to travel there and back, so there wasn't enough time budgeted. We asked the driver to take us around and show us the sights, whatever that meant. My travel partner's name is Gene. He is about 50 years old and from Oregon. He is an ER doctor and is in India for a medical conference about adventure medicine.

Gene immediately needs to instruct the driver that we are in no hurry so he doesn't need to drive quite so crazy. Driving in India is only possible because of the size of their little cars and bikes. Lane markers have no meaning, turn signals aren't used, traffic signals are obeyed but they are rarely found, their horns are used plenty...beep beep - I'm coming up behind you, beep beep - I'm starting to pass you, beep beep - thank you or I'm ready to pass this next person. Gene was looking for his seat belt in the backseat so our drive hops out on the busy road to look for the belt receptacle. Nuts.

The first place we go is the President's house, Rashtrapati Bhavan. We stop and I take some pictures (which are posted in my last post. Pictures of the monkeys, the lion gate, and of me by the cannon.) It's a foggy day so it is difficult to take good shots without the fog hindering the shots. The house...errr, palace is HUGE. I can only see a little bit through the fog and I can see that the palace must be half a mile from the gates.

The next place we drive by are the India Gates. We do not have a chance to stop because it is blocked off, but it is very large and immediately reminds me of the Arc de Triomphe. At this point I sense our driver is struggling to find other places of interest. Fortunately for Gene and myself, we are having a blast riding in the back as our driver expertly navigates the street. Just the busy city life is entertainment enough. Our driver now asks just if we want to go to a stop....

We pass several market places, buying and selling is going on everywhere on the open streets. I'm wondering if we are going to stop somewhere like that. Our car pulls up to a nice building with fine jewelry in the windows. We are at an expensive store. I'm told our driver gets kickbacks from the shop keepers if he takes us to their store and we buy something. Considering it was my first shopping experience, I wanted to get the lay of the land without making any purchases. I have nothing to compare the prices to so I didn't want to pay too much.

Inside the shop I realize it is multilevel and there are several large rooms with lots of sales people to "help" us. The first showroom I think was an instruction room to all the nice things they had to sell. Tapestries hung from the walls with wooden carving, beautiful oriental rugs laid on the floor, glass cases were filled with jewelry, small wooden carved figurines, painted boxes and pieces made of stone and bone.

As I move in to the next room, the selection for each of these items is out of control. Hundreds of every kind of figure are available in every material - wood, stone, metal, ceramics, bone. The prices vary from 200 rupees to 50,000 rupees ($4 to $500) and I couldn't really tell you why other than it appeared to be made of a different material. My salesmen is working very much to get me to buy ANYTHING. Honestly, I was interested in a chess set. It was made from the bone of some animal I never heard of and looked very nice, but no I was not planning on spending $300 my first day in this shop. I look for Gene and I'm told he's downstairs.

I find Gene in the "rug room". Walls are covered from floor to ceiling with rolled up oriental rugs. The salesmen in this rooms begins to unroll a couple rugs, all of which are very beautiful, and describes how they are 600 knots/inch and the wool is from the Kashmir region and it took 3 workers 4 months to make this rug. The size he is showing us measures 12' x 6'. The price is $375. I immediately begin to think how can I bring this home.

Then Gene asks to see the large rugs, the ones that will cover the entire room. Now there is a crew of salesmen and helpers in the "rug room" to assist with anything. 4 rugs are just about immediately are rolled out and stacked on top of each other. Now we are told these rugs took 3 workers for a year and half to make...or 4 and half years for one! The prices included packing and shipping to the United States. All this splendor for only $2700. I walk out of the room and now Gene is explaining to the salesman how he's not allowed to spend this much money without his wife present. The salesman says he should surprise her.

We leave the shop and our driver asks us if we want to go to another store. We say NO. I will finish this post later.

Arriving in Delhi

I arrived in Delhi at 10pm the local time. It was surprisingly foggy. I couldn’t see much of anything from the airplane window. Navigating through the airport was easy enough because everyone was herded from the gate directly to customs. The customs official quizzed me about from family origins because I marked that I was of “Non-Indian Origins”. He insisted to know because my name is half Indian…(Matthew is Indian according to him).

From customs, I was pushed along to the duty free shop. I grabbed a 1000ml bottle of Jack Daniels to “hold me over” but I couldn’t pass up an equal sized bottle of Jameson for $20. I’m not too sure how I am going to travel with this to Ahmadabad. Baggage claim was adjacent to the duty free shop. Carts were plenty and easy to find so it wasn’t a competition to have one. My bags come through the carousel in a timely manner so at least I didn’t have to endure additional stress of waiting too long.

I pushed my cart through the final customs checkpoint. A man collected the stub from my customs form to show that I had gone through the process. I wanted to take some pictures while in the airport but scattered men with assault rifles made me feel like I should wait until later. After the checkpoint, there was a booth to exchange currency. My KJWW guides said to pick up 10s, 20s, 50s, and 100s. They had none, only 500s and 1000s. I decided to wait until the hotel to exchange.

Finally I walked through barricaded path where all the drivers stand with their signs until I found my name “Matthew Kaleta” on a large sign for the Ashok Country Resort. My driver was a short skinny man who looked at least 40 years old and wore an all white suit. He greeted me with a smile and asked how to pronounce my name. I’m used to pronouncing my last name for people, but to explain the pronunciation of my first name was a first. He encouraged me to exchange money at yet another booth and they too were fresh out of the small stuff. Now I feel like they intentionally don’t have small bills to force me to leave a large tip, now I know I am going to hotel for the hotel to exchange.

My driver asks to push my cart and I allow him to. We exit the airport and it quite chilly – about 50 deg F and humid. The fog is somewhat dense and visibility is limited. It makes everything seem much more mysterious. Where we walked out lots of cars and small SUV’s are waiting. The SUV’s look like covered versions of the landscaping Gators and the cars are large but bulbous in shape. They look very cartoonish. None of them look new. All are very old and worn.

Dark sky compliant site lighting must not have made its way to Delhi yet. The area is lit by very tall poles with large clusters of high-pressure sodium fixtures (the kind that create very yellow/orange light). In the fog these glare bombs casts everything in an orange haze. I can’t see farther than 100ft in front of me. My driver and I are walking to his car and it takes us about 5 minutes to get to it. We pass a motorbike parking lot and there must have been a thousand motorbikes tightly parked in that lot.

We reach the car and I decide to let the driver transfer my luggage to the car. I’m curious to see how he handles my big bag (O’Hare weighed it at 66lbs.) The driver manages just fine. I walk over to the side of the vehicle and I receive my first wake up call. I went to the driver’s door, which is usually our passenger door. Oops.

Thankfully the vehicle is a decent sized SUV, equivalent to a Nissan Pathfinder, because the potholes are so bad it feels like we are off roading. In the car, my pronunciation of ‘Ahmadabad’ is corrected (I pronounced Ahm-da-bad, it was corrected to Aim-dabad). Exiting the airport reminded me of leaving a crowded parking lot after a concert. There are no lanes and everyone is going their own way. My driver expertly escapes this area and merges onto the expressway. Here I find that lane markers are not really lanes but suggested guidelines. I particularly enjoyed when a large SUV wanted to pass a motorbike and another SUV that were driving side by side in a 2 lane area and he wailed on his horn and drive right between them. The drive lasted about 10 minutes to the hotel.

The internet availability is spotty and I was only able to send out my email about arriving before it stopped. Today I am going to share a driver with a man from my hotel to sightsee in the new part of the city.

(I wrote this post in Word when internet was not available. These pictures are mostly from my day in Delhi. Descriptions to follow.)

Haven't shaved

I leave today and I haven't shaved since New Year's Eve. My teen-boy Mexi-stache is in full force. Maybe when I arrive in India I'll have a nice full handle bar stache. I will be the macho American cowboy there so it would be fitting. I am not holding my breathe.