First Day in India

Ahhhhh…blurb blrb. This is the sound of my brain trying to fight through jet lag to come up with some semblance of a proper sentence with the greater goal of making an interesting post which is seeming somewhat unattainable right now. Nonetheless I shall power through and hopefully won’t scare away my followers.

It is 3 am when I walk out of the airport into the balmy air. I thank god that it is early and that I still have time to get used to the humidity before the high temperatures at noon. I look at the expectant faces of people holding up signs for various visitors. My driver nods as I point to his sign and goes off to find his car. Two young men “help” me wait for him, but really want to get paid for touching my bags. I get whisked away by my driver through the mostly empty streets. There is the de rigueur honking that is accompanied by a flashing of the high beams.

My hotel room is fabulous. The Crescent Park Hotel in Nugambakkam (not to be confused with the Hotel Crescent Park) is wonderful. I have to find out how much my work is paying for this room. I get high speed internet and hot showers! Not to mention the A/C and TV. Luuuuxxxooorryy!

My big escapade for the day was a trip to Spencer’s Plaza. It is a bustling shopping mall with shop after shop of salwar kamis, kurtas and saris (Shelley – they had some salwars that they sold separately, however they had designs on them that I wasn’t too crazy about and they came with a duppatta – I am going to go to the major market tomorrow and hope I will have better luck there). There are also electronic stores and eateries (I had forgotten about the cookie place there). I just bought about 60 movies on 3 DVDs for about $12 (which I am sure was way over priced).

Okay, I feel I have done my “first day” duty and have managed to put a few words together. Hope all is well where ever this posting may find you!