Days 17 - Interesting India
India ended up being interesting for several reasons. For one, it was my birthday, and though this information wasn’t tattooed on my forehead, somehow the word got out and everywhere I went I was greeted with birthday surprises. Second, it was our first overnight port, so we really got to feel the city, at least more so than others.
As soon as I walked out of the ship gates I was hounded by rickshaw drivers. A rickshaw is like a really slow taxi with only three wheels and no real windows or doors. Perhaps a better way to describe it is to say it is a tricycle (as opposed to a motorcycle) enclosed in a bubble-like container. I selected one guy completely at random and hopped in. His name was Najeeb, and I thought everything was fine until we excited the main port gates and another guy hopped in the car and started driving.
Growing up, my parents watched way to much 20/20, and I was sure that soon enough there would be a special about an American girl (me) getting into a taxi by herself and never being heard from again. The second fellow was introduced to me, I swear to god, as Apu (like the Simpsons character), Najeeb's brother, and he never said a word the entire day.
As it turns out, these two guys ended up being upstanding gentlemen. The reason Apu didn't speak is because he doesn't speak English. Najeeb kinda speaks English...sorta...
Our first stop was at the Taj Residence Hotel. As it was my birthday on arrival, I decided to reward myself with the royal treatment. The Taj was a mock-palace hotel, and it was everything you can imagine. Silk bedding with a beautiful canopy and lots of pillows, hardwood floors, in-room internet, room service, silk robes in the closet, and much more. Upon check-in I had to give them my passport where they noticed it was my birthday so they sent a cake up to my room with a bottle of wine. It was heavenly.
Back out on the town, the boys and I went crazy. Apparently the bell boy told them that it was my birthday as well, and so everywhere we went I was greeted with gifts; free drinks at dinner, free incense at Santa Basilica church, a free peacock fan at an import trading house, snacks on the beach and much more. The most startling thing about the city was the amount of livestock just wandering the streets, especially goats. Everywhere you looked there were goats walking down the street, eating out the trash, or relaxing on the side-walk. I also saw several cows and chickens. Apparently they are all owned, though nothing is on a leash, has a collar, or is enclosed in any kind of yard, and they are raised for food. I stopped asking questions at this point.
Later in the evening I was running a little low on cash so I asked my boys if there was some place to exchange money. The sun had already set and they started turning down dark alleyways, and soon I was completely lost. We pulled up to the back of a rundown house and I thought for sure this was it. I was going to die here and end up a special report. I was in the middle of trying to remember where my pepper spray was when this old guy came out of the house and says, "You got the money?"
OH CRAP, OH CRAP, OH CRAP.
Then, he pulled out rupees and I let out a huge sigh of relief. He actually ended up giving me a better rate than the money exchange place I went to earlier in the day did. Then I realized that we were in the back yard of his house, and slowly family members were beginning to peak out.
I had caught them in the middle of dinner and the whole family was gathered around watching TV and doing normal family things. Najeeb again indicated that it was my birthday, and the old man called for one of his daughters who quickly sat me down and began to henna my hand. It was the most intricate beautiful design I had ever seen, and it took here seconds. She had clearly done this before.
While she was painting my arm, the rest of the family began to spill out into the yard, investigating the commotion. The eldest son was clearly the most educated, and spoke the best English, so he translated everyone's questions. Soon, the entire neighborhood started peering into the yard, and I was surrounded. I think I was adopted as an honorary member of the family. At one point I blew a kiss to the eldest son and he blushed and all the women said, "Oooooooo...." It was positively adorable, out of a movie or something.
Finally, after a couple hours of chatting, more food, some Indian wine, and several tubes of henna later my drivers took me back to the hotel.
It really was a perfect day, and birthday.
As soon as I walked out of the ship gates I was hounded by rickshaw drivers. A rickshaw is like a really slow taxi with only three wheels and no real windows or doors. Perhaps a better way to describe it is to say it is a tricycle (as opposed to a motorcycle) enclosed in a bubble-like container. I selected one guy completely at random and hopped in. His name was Najeeb, and I thought everything was fine until we excited the main port gates and another guy hopped in the car and started driving.
Growing up, my parents watched way to much 20/20, and I was sure that soon enough there would be a special about an American girl (me) getting into a taxi by herself and never being heard from again. The second fellow was introduced to me, I swear to god, as Apu (like the Simpsons character), Najeeb's brother, and he never said a word the entire day.
As it turns out, these two guys ended up being upstanding gentlemen. The reason Apu didn't speak is because he doesn't speak English. Najeeb kinda speaks English...sorta...
Our first stop was at the Taj Residence Hotel. As it was my birthday on arrival, I decided to reward myself with the royal treatment. The Taj was a mock-palace hotel, and it was everything you can imagine. Silk bedding with a beautiful canopy and lots of pillows, hardwood floors, in-room internet, room service, silk robes in the closet, and much more. Upon check-in I had to give them my passport where they noticed it was my birthday so they sent a cake up to my room with a bottle of wine. It was heavenly.
Back out on the town, the boys and I went crazy. Apparently the bell boy told them that it was my birthday as well, and so everywhere we went I was greeted with gifts; free drinks at dinner, free incense at Santa Basilica church, a free peacock fan at an import trading house, snacks on the beach and much more. The most startling thing about the city was the amount of livestock just wandering the streets, especially goats. Everywhere you looked there were goats walking down the street, eating out the trash, or relaxing on the side-walk. I also saw several cows and chickens. Apparently they are all owned, though nothing is on a leash, has a collar, or is enclosed in any kind of yard, and they are raised for food. I stopped asking questions at this point.
Later in the evening I was running a little low on cash so I asked my boys if there was some place to exchange money. The sun had already set and they started turning down dark alleyways, and soon I was completely lost. We pulled up to the back of a rundown house and I thought for sure this was it. I was going to die here and end up a special report. I was in the middle of trying to remember where my pepper spray was when this old guy came out of the house and says, "You got the money?"
OH CRAP, OH CRAP, OH CRAP.
Then, he pulled out rupees and I let out a huge sigh of relief. He actually ended up giving me a better rate than the money exchange place I went to earlier in the day did. Then I realized that we were in the back yard of his house, and slowly family members were beginning to peak out.
I had caught them in the middle of dinner and the whole family was gathered around watching TV and doing normal family things. Najeeb again indicated that it was my birthday, and the old man called for one of his daughters who quickly sat me down and began to henna my hand. It was the most intricate beautiful design I had ever seen, and it took here seconds. She had clearly done this before.
While she was painting my arm, the rest of the family began to spill out into the yard, investigating the commotion. The eldest son was clearly the most educated, and spoke the best English, so he translated everyone's questions. Soon, the entire neighborhood started peering into the yard, and I was surrounded. I think I was adopted as an honorary member of the family. At one point I blew a kiss to the eldest son and he blushed and all the women said, "Oooooooo...." It was positively adorable, out of a movie or something.
Finally, after a couple hours of chatting, more food, some Indian wine, and several tubes of henna later my drivers took me back to the hotel.
It really was a perfect day, and birthday.
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