I visited a mall not too far away from my parents' home. You may be able to guess what I'm about to say: I was impressed. Once again, it felt as though I was back home. From Swarovski to an Apple iStore (a distributor as opposed to an official Apple-owned store) to a myriad of boutiques for Nike, Adidas, etc, and a large department store, it all exists.
I am finally getting used to the "chaos" of the street, with only occasional heart beats skipping as opposed to every other one :)
PS: Here's a shout-out to the good people back home who've been reading and leaving messages: Melanie, Ami, Adam, Scott. Thanks y'all!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
India: A perpetual symphony in sync
The India that had been emerging in my mind shortly after I landed was a bifurcated one: rich vs. poor; educated vs. uneducated; clean vs. dirty, etc. However, I do not believe that perspective represents the truth. Instead, India is more like a live orchestra or symphony. The individual pictures taken at a specific place and time do not do justice to the dynamism and complexity of the place.
Having thought about how to best share my experiences here with you, especially if you've never been here, I'm still at a loss. It's simply not possible. You simply need to visit this place in order to understand it. It's a hodgepodge of a little bit of everything, but together it all works very well. Much like an orchestra in which the individual pieces by the violinist or cellist may sound strange, the individual photos hardly scratch the surface in presenting the true India to you. So, while a picture may be worth a thousand words, the words in this case are all synonyms and don't really describe much.
I continue to marvel at the immense population density and the troubles that come along with it. For instance, driving is a seemingly treacherous activity here. The honking never stops; cars, bicycles, motorbikes, rickshaws, cows, monkeys, dogs, goats, camels, humans all criss-cross in and out of traffic at will yet everyone is very tolerant and I have never seen anyone get angry. The people's patience makes them all saints. The general tenacity is overwhelmingly conspicuous and admirable. I presume the whining-per-GDP ratio, if it can ever be measured, is lower here than in many developed countries.
Here's an interesting image for you: there are a lot of stray dogs, but their tails are almost always up and skyward (a sign that they are happy). I actually tried to approach a stray dog (with the back of my hand) and it freaked out and growled at me. I suppose they are not used to people being nice to them and they prefer to be left alone. But, the point of this happy dog image is that people here accept their circumstances and live with them happily. Happiness is all relative, you realize when you're here. We can't go around feeling sorry for people. Of course, there is a lot of work that needs to be done vis-a-vis improving economic and health outcomes.
Last week I told you that I had a tailor make me a fitted shirt. I got the shirt today and I was thoroughly impressed. I have a picture attached (it's not yet pressed so pardon the underwhelming quality of the photo). So, the total cost? Under fifteen bucks. Yep. Amazing.
This weekend we went to a place called Madhubhan Resorts and Spa in a town called Anand. It's about a 2-hour drive from here. I was thoroughly amazed and impressed. It's comparable to a five-star resort and I felt as though I had instantly been teleported back home. More telling, however, was the trip there on a four-lane toll road. This time, there were only authorized automobiles and, again, it felt as though we were on an interstate cruising at over 70 MPH.
Madhubhan Resorts and Spa
The fine highway on the way to Anand
My tailor-made shirt
Having thought about how to best share my experiences here with you, especially if you've never been here, I'm still at a loss. It's simply not possible. You simply need to visit this place in order to understand it. It's a hodgepodge of a little bit of everything, but together it all works very well. Much like an orchestra in which the individual pieces by the violinist or cellist may sound strange, the individual photos hardly scratch the surface in presenting the true India to you. So, while a picture may be worth a thousand words, the words in this case are all synonyms and don't really describe much.
I continue to marvel at the immense population density and the troubles that come along with it. For instance, driving is a seemingly treacherous activity here. The honking never stops; cars, bicycles, motorbikes, rickshaws, cows, monkeys, dogs, goats, camels, humans all criss-cross in and out of traffic at will yet everyone is very tolerant and I have never seen anyone get angry. The people's patience makes them all saints. The general tenacity is overwhelmingly conspicuous and admirable. I presume the whining-per-GDP ratio, if it can ever be measured, is lower here than in many developed countries.
Here's an interesting image for you: there are a lot of stray dogs, but their tails are almost always up and skyward (a sign that they are happy). I actually tried to approach a stray dog (with the back of my hand) and it freaked out and growled at me. I suppose they are not used to people being nice to them and they prefer to be left alone. But, the point of this happy dog image is that people here accept their circumstances and live with them happily. Happiness is all relative, you realize when you're here. We can't go around feeling sorry for people. Of course, there is a lot of work that needs to be done vis-a-vis improving economic and health outcomes.
Last week I told you that I had a tailor make me a fitted shirt. I got the shirt today and I was thoroughly impressed. I have a picture attached (it's not yet pressed so pardon the underwhelming quality of the photo). So, the total cost? Under fifteen bucks. Yep. Amazing.
This weekend we went to a place called Madhubhan Resorts and Spa in a town called Anand. It's about a 2-hour drive from here. I was thoroughly amazed and impressed. It's comparable to a five-star resort and I felt as though I had instantly been teleported back home. More telling, however, was the trip there on a four-lane toll road. This time, there were only authorized automobiles and, again, it felt as though we were on an interstate cruising at over 70 MPH.
Madhubhan Resorts and Spa
The fine highway on the way to Anand
My tailor-made shirt
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
More from Ahmedabad
I visited Mahatma Gandhi's museum today. The site used to be his ashram and house, and has now been converted to a semi-memorial. Unfortunately, it's rather poorly put together compared to a Smithsomian museum, but I suppose it's better than nothing. For instance, there are lots of pictures attempting to depict various events, but there are no descriptions under each one detailing the purpose or time of the picture. At any rate, it was a good place to visit and think about the wisdom he left the world.
This is my dream, too, for the US.
"US Pizza." I wonder if they know that pizza is an Italian food. It seems as though adding "US" may help any business acquire more patrons.
Yep they definitely have cows. The funny thing is that the cows are well behaved and know not to get in the way.
The epitome of the convergence of technology amidst poverty.
A few locals play cricket on a vacant lot on a Saturday evening.
This is my dream, too, for the US.
"US Pizza." I wonder if they know that pizza is an Italian food. It seems as though adding "US" may help any business acquire more patrons.
Yep they definitely have cows. The funny thing is that the cows are well behaved and know not to get in the way.
The epitome of the convergence of technology amidst poverty.
A few locals play cricket on a vacant lot on a Saturday evening.
Friday, June 24, 2011
From the streets of Ahmedabad
I had a chance to peruse the streets today. It's so overwhelming that I don't really know how to describe it at the moment, so I'm just going to let it percolate before I write about life on the streets.
Instead, I'll focus on my quick retail experience. Shopping here is an amazing experience -- you get the full focus and attention of their knowledgeable staff and are treated as though you actually matter. It's quite gratifying. The choice of product (in our case, fabric) is incredibly vast with varying degrees of quality based on your budget.
As soon as you approach the store, they open the door for you (these are individual boutique type stores and not large retail chains). Often, someone will offer you water - not by asking you if you want some, but it will just arrive on a tray within minutes of you starting to look around. As a side note, I kindly thank them for the offer and never drink the water because I'm trying to be very vigilant about where I eat and drink to avoid acquiring any superbugs. It's really just a personal precaution and not a statement of the hygiene.
The retail experience is pretty cool too. In our case, the sales guys showed us fabric after fabric after fabric based on what we wanted, etc. As an experiment, I have a shirt being tailor made for me. It will take them 3 days. So, we'll see how they do, but I'm confident it will be well done. So, how much would you pay for a tailor made shirt? Add your guesses to the comments section. I'll report back with the price and a picture once I get it and it's satisfactory.
Attached are some pictures from the lively streets. For a larger/clearer view, click on each one.
Instead, I'll focus on my quick retail experience. Shopping here is an amazing experience -- you get the full focus and attention of their knowledgeable staff and are treated as though you actually matter. It's quite gratifying. The choice of product (in our case, fabric) is incredibly vast with varying degrees of quality based on your budget.
As soon as you approach the store, they open the door for you (these are individual boutique type stores and not large retail chains). Often, someone will offer you water - not by asking you if you want some, but it will just arrive on a tray within minutes of you starting to look around. As a side note, I kindly thank them for the offer and never drink the water because I'm trying to be very vigilant about where I eat and drink to avoid acquiring any superbugs. It's really just a personal precaution and not a statement of the hygiene.
The retail experience is pretty cool too. In our case, the sales guys showed us fabric after fabric after fabric based on what we wanted, etc. As an experiment, I have a shirt being tailor made for me. It will take them 3 days. So, we'll see how they do, but I'm confident it will be well done. So, how much would you pay for a tailor made shirt? Add your guesses to the comments section. I'll report back with the price and a picture once I get it and it's satisfactory.
Attached are some pictures from the lively streets. For a larger/clearer view, click on each one.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Follow-up from the Flagship lounge
I checked on the Blue Label availability -- they did not have it. They, did, however have Black Label. But, not close enough. Still, who I am to complain! I don't think I mentioned that they had a backdoor directly to the gate, which I crossed promptly at 4:00pm, the boarding time as written on the boarding pass. No lines. No senseless waiting and being shoved around. You go from drinking Perrier in the lounge to a cool glass of orange juice upon embarking. Did I mention the first class seat... no? Well, let me tell ya...
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