So yesterday (Sunday) was the first time we left the hotel since we arrived. After being in the room all day Saturday sleeping and having nothing to do on Sunday, we decided to bust out. I needed to get a mobile phone, just something cheap and prepaid so I can make calls locally to T's office and the hotel if we're out, etc. We talked to the front desk to figure out where we could get one, and if one of the drivers could take us there and wait outside the store. The main reason we were worried about leaving the hotel before T got his work cell was that we wouldn't be able to call the hotel and tell them when to come back and get us, so we felt better knowing there were parking spaces outside the phone store and the driver would just wait.
We headed outside of the
complex and within a couple of minutes saw some pretty crazy stuff. Cows and goats walking in the street, people living in tents and shacks on the side of the road...you hear/see about these things on TV or in movies but it's an entirely different experience to witness in person. It was a very small area of the road that had the tents but it was still really sad. Further along the traffic got busier and it was kinda scary. Driving at 4am is a TOTALLY diff situation since there aren't many cars. During the day there are people everywhere, especially on scooters and auto rickshaws and none of them really look where they're going. People use their horn every 2 seconds and I had to shut my eyes a few times!We got to the store and picked out a really basic phone for me...the guys who worked there were really hard to understand and I think we didn't make it clear enough what we wanted, because when we left and got back to the hotel to set up my phone we realized there was no SIM card. So yeah, I can't use it at all and now we need to go back, ugh.
The rest of the day was uneventful, we hung out in the room playing online, Skyping with family/friends and watching the India vs. England game of the Cricket World Cup. We went to the hotel bar for dinner and ended up having a good (but Americanized) meal. I had fries (which were awesome, btw) and a grilled panini with tomato, pesto and mozz and T had a chicken club sandwich. We tried Kingfisher, the popular beer here. It's actually pretty good. There were a bunch of Americans sitting at the bar and I wondered if they worked at T's office. It will be nice when we actually know people here and make some friends who can kind of show us the ropes. After dinner we heard some noise outside and realized they were setting off fireworks. No clue why, but it was cool. I hadn't brought my camera down to dinner, so didn't get any pics.
Today was T's first day at work so I am in the hotel doing work (writing some wedding planning articles and editing a writer friend's manuscript) and watching Bollywood music videos. Learning some awesome dance moves - haha. And yes, I practiced some in front of the TV! Speaking of music, we went to breakfast this morning and they were playing an Indian-sounding instrumental version of Dido's "White Flag" on a loop. After hearing it for the fourth or so time I wanted to throw something! Oh, and the other day there was a lady in the pool area singing "Smooth Operator" with Indian instruments in the background. Classic.
Oh, and today I saw an infomercial for Proactiv. Apparently it's new in India and it's also really expensive! Rs 2,995 (about $66). Yikes. The spokesperson is Celina Jaitly, a popular actress. I'm trying to learn who the stars are here!
xoxo,
K
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