Low Key

Yesterday was a low key day. I took it easy as to not get sik and it worked! To show you the area I'm in, I hardly went out yesterday and was offered hash 3 times. The foreigners here are all hippies. But not the good kind of hippie. The arrogant druggy type of hippie. But it's safe. One local did describe Pahanganj as "the slums."

I mostly read, watched tv, and slept. Indians love cricket. It's on the tv all the time. It's even on the news. I' talking CNN and CNBC. And not just a blurb either. Everyone was discussing "the top 7 reasons why the Indian cricket team sucks." And they won! They beat West Indies, which is now a country apparently.

Today, I did more. Delhi has a great metro. It compares favorably to New York or DC. I walked around New Delhi, which was very nice. The place I wanted to go was closed, because of some festival honoring Gandhi. I saw several monkeys. That's not racist, I mean actual monkeys (Who am I, Don Imus?) I yelled at a couple of monkeys, "You monkeys are fucking hillarious! Thanks for making my day!" Then I saw a guard behind a gate looking quizically at me. Later, there were thousands and thousands of screetching bats hanging on to several blocks worth of trees. I wasn't afraid of bats before. I am now. But this is just your typical national capital, monkeys and bats roaming around.

While I was walking around in Connaught, an upscale tourist spot, 4 guys came up to me (at separate locations) and said, "Nice beard." Then they each (inocuously) followed me. Back home, the girls all want me to shave the beard and walk in the other direction when they see me. I wish there was some way to switch the two groups.

The people have been nice and the food great. I had two wonderful tikka dishes. I did have a hissy fit in the Subway (fast food chain). I wanted pickles on the side. They said, "Not allowed." Instead of in the sandwich, I want it on the side, what's the difference? Every other Subway in the world lets you have pickles on the side. These are reasonable points in print, but not as much when your arms are flailing about, making more of it than should be. I instantly felt bad.