Indian Food

Prior to coming to India, I had eaten Indian food about a dozen times. I didn't really know what anything was, but it tasted pretty good. What I enjoyed the most were buffets, so I could sample a bunch of stuff. Again, didn't know (or remember) what it was, but it was tasty.

So, what have I learned so far? Not much! Maybe by the time I leave I'll associate Indian name with ingredients and spices. And, I can't take credit for the images below; they came from a Google Images search.

I fell in love with naan before I left for India. I know it's kind of silly (equivalent US thing would be I LOVE ROLLS, THEY ARE SO GOOD!), but it's a comfort to know that if I don't like the main dish, I can munch on naan. It's a flat bread, like a yummy, buttery tortilla. I think this is the only traditional food Molly would eat in India.


But, so far, I haven't disliked a main dish. They serve chicken and lamb/mutton as meats, and loads of vegetables for...you guessed it, veg meals. They also make paneer, which is my favorite thing in the entire world: cheese! It has a ricotta-like consistency, and is usually fried up with spices or a spicy vegetable gravy.


Today I had some fantastic sweets called Gulab Juman. They're very popular in India. It's basically a deep fried ball of dough in a sugar syrup. It tastes like a juicy donut hole.


So, I've been eating mainly in the hotel. The restaurants are considered safe for Westerners. Lunch comes from a menu, Indian and Middle Eastern. There are a few American chains in Delhi, but I absolutely refuse to eat from them. So, as yet, I'm not sick of curry, I haven't been sick from curry, and I've been eating well.

India Basics

I left from Newark on Saturday morning at 8AM EDT, connected in London at 10PM BST, and landed in Delhi at 10:30 IST. That was 14.5 hrs flying time, but I was on Virgin Atlantic, which is a pretty awesome airline.

So, here are some basic stats on my stay and on India. I'll elaborate as time progresses.

• Purpose of my visit? Training and leading a team with a co-worker, J, to do the job we've been doing for the past 6 months so we can do cooler stuff :)
• Arrived on Sun Aug 24th, leaving Sat Sept 20th
• Staying in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, which is a 5* hotel in New Delhi.
  
• J and I share a driver. J will be leaving in 2 weeks. Another coworker, S, will be arriving next week, and will also be staying a month. S is working on a different project

The biggest questions I have gotten from people involve the preparation for my trip, and what precautions I have to take, etc. So, I'll give the spiel:

• Shots: Hepatitis A, Typhoid Fever, Updated Tetanus/Diptheria, no less than 2 weeks before leaving.
  
• Drugs: Recommended to take malaria preventative if you travel outside urban areas. I opted not to take these, because there are 2 drugs that you can take. The side effects of one are upset stomach and vivid dreams, the other may cause daytime psychosis (hallucinations and that sort of thing). I chose to buy some bug spray and take my chances with malaria, which is treatable (with the same drugs as above).
• Visa: You have to get a visa to enter the country for any reason. I have a 1-year business visa.
• Water: I'm sure you've heard 'don't drink the water in Mexico'. Same in India, probably all of Asia, a lot of South America, Africa, and the Middle East. The water treatment is not as good as it is in the US and Europe, so there are lots of tiny creepy-crawlies hanging out in the water. The natives' bodies are used to them. Foreigners' bodies are not. So, I drink bottled water. I brush my teeth with bottled water. I can't have ice in my drink. I can't eat fruit or salad that's been rinsed in tap water ('closed' fruit, like bananas and melons are ok). Thankfully for the huge environmentalist part of me, the bottled water is just treated water from India (one of them comes from right over river in NOIDA), and it's not fancy schmancy water from France or something.
• Food: I can eat whatever I want, as long as it's properly cooked. Street vendors are out of the question, though, unless I want to spend a day or 2 in the bathroom. And let me specify 'whatever I want'. No beef (cows are sacred to Hindus), very little Western food. Yes, there are chains here (McDs, Pizza Hut, Domino's), but I don't eat at them in the US. Why would I do it in Delhi?
  
• Traffic: Crazy. People, bikes, scooters, cars, trucks, buses, rickshaws and yes, cows, all share the same road. Horns are used liberally, usually in place of turn signals. Painted lines for lanes? Psh, those aren't really followed. I've seen zero stop signs, a few stop lights (where the beggars come out with their wares), and zero signs of accidents taking place. It may be crazy, but they all know what they're doing, and I don't feel like I'm going to die while the driver is doing his thing.
• Weather: Hazy, HOT and humid. Highs in the mid-upper 90s every day. And this isn't the hottest part of the year; April-May is! It is monsoon season though, so there are a couple heavy showers a day. I'm in the AC all day at work, AC at the hotel at night, so I'm doing just fine. Another note: the smog is terrible. I'll be very surprised if I see blue sky while I'm here.
  
• Electricity: Since the infrastructure isn't the greatest, the power goes out for about 30s about 4 times a day. Computers still work in the office, but it's weird if the lights go out in a restaurant. You just look around, wait till they come back on, and carry on.
• Safety: People are out to rip you off. That's just the culture. Bargaining/bribing is critical to getting anything done. Thankfully the hotel is not like that. And for personal safety, I would never go anywhere but the most touristy of places by myself here. Some people speak English fairly well, but not well enough that I feel safe. I'm glad I have my co-workers as travel buddies.
  

I'm sure there are more things that I've forgotten, but I thought I'd get this out of the way. If you have any questions, please post a comment, I'd love to answer anything you want to know about India (but were afraid to ask)!

Chincoteague

Jonathan, Ma, Molly and I spent a week in Chincoteague Island, VA, in our rental house called Oyster Crackers.

Oyster Crackers, across from Mr. Baldy's restaurant

Chincoteague Island is off the Eastern Shore of Virginia, right next to NASA Wallops Flight Facility.

View Larger Map

On to the week. The first full day we were there, Sunday, we were driven off the beach and forced into a souvenir shop for 45 mins by a wicked thunderstorm and HAIL.




After that, the weather was good, save a stray thunderstorm one of the nights. Perfect beach weather, even if the waves weren't great most of the days.

On Wednesday we went to the Maryland side of Assateague, because the views of the ponies in Virginia were lackluster.

You can't even see the ponies in the fully zoomed out version. Assateague Island, VA

That's better! Assateague Island, MD

In addition to time on the beach, which was just about every day, we ate ice cream, played mini-golf, cooked out, slept in, watched the Olympics, tried to watch the meteor shower on the beach, listened to a ghost story at a campfire at the beach, and ate bad food at the restaurants in Chincoteague. You'd think that a town in the bay that gets tons of fresh fish every day would know how to cook it, but...the 4 restaurants we tried didn't. In any case, it was a nice relaxing vacation before my big travels to India!

Random Viking dude in an empty lot

Fish and Chips and the Sky

I finally sat down and had fish and chips at The Anchor, a pub on the bank of the river Thames. I was people watching and writing a letter when I looked up at the sky and WABAM there was a sundog. I ran (yes, ran) to the nearest bridge to take a halfway decent picture. I love the sky.



Just a quick update. New pictures from my adventures of the weekend are linked on the right.

London and the Countryside

Saturday was spent wandering around London. First stop was Borough Market, where I picked up a roast beef sandwich, fudge, and ice cream. The sandwich was good, the fudge was crap, and the ice cream was ok. Glad I tried the fudge before buying a box to bring home to Maaaa. Then I went to Tower of London. I didn't go in (what can I say, I'm still a cheapskate sometimes), but I got some up close pictures of Tower Bridge. The reason I went over there was to get onto Tower Beach, but I now realize that it is scheduled for next week. Whoops. There was also a "spaceship landing site" and "secret police" on the other side of Tower Bridge. I can't figure out what was going on after a quick Google search. Oh well.

Tower Bridge. There's a drawbridge in the middle that raised after I crossed over

Off went to Portobello Market. Think NYC street fair, with antiques thrown in with the crappy clothing and trinkets. I poked around the shops though and found some neat stuff. After that I took the Tube to Kensington, where all the museums had closed at 5:30. LAME. Looks like I'll be going there next Saturday before my plane takes off. I laid in the sun in Hyde Park for a bit, grabbed dinner, and headed back to the hotel. Lots of walking, but the weather was decent; mostly sunny, temps in the upper 60s with a light breeze.

Sunday was I'll-suck-it-up-and-be-a-tourist day. I was going to take a train out to Bath, but decided to take a tour bus instead. That way, I was able to stop at Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath.

Windsor Castle is where the Queen spends most of her time. It's outside London near Heathrow Airport. It's a big sprawling castle that's been around a long time. Only one part of it is open for touring, but it is still in use: that's where the Queen hosts her dinners and entertains her guests. No pictures allowed inside, but I would love to be royalty for, let's say a month, to just be able to enjoy living in a CASTLE.

Round Tower at Windsor Castle. The Queen wasn't there; you can tell because the flag with three lions is not raised. She's on holiday in Scotland.

After that we were on our way to Stonehenge. First we stopped off at the local Stonehenge Inn, which is a pub in a military town next to Stonehenge. It's in the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere farm fields. But, they're pretty middle of nowhere farm fields. I've always wanted to see Stonehenge, and I'm so glad I got to do it. It's a bit anticlimactic because it's so touristy, but well worth a visit.

Stonehenge (henge = circle)

Bath is named that way because it is home to the only hot springs in Britain. The Romans used to use it. When they left, the British filled it in and forgot about it until the 1700s, when they decided it would be a good idea to preserve and restore what remained. Wise choice. It was really neat to see, touch, and walk on the old Roman architecture. Looks like I need to head to Rome next, then!

Can you see any of the bubbles from the hot springs?

Bath is a pretty little city. Two architects, a father and son team, designed the city long ago, and the buildings look just about all the same; the only exceptions are how fancy the moulding is on the outside of the building.

Street in Bath

All in all, I think the tour bus was money well spent. The tour guide was great; he knew a lot about the areas, made it personalized, was cheery, and answered everyone's questions. I will admit to feeling like a herded sheep at some points, and I didn't spend nearly enough time in Bath, but I expect that I'll be back to England at some point in the future, playing tour guide to some friend or family member.

London, Round 2

I've been lucky enough to have been sent back to London for work again. I'm here for another 2 weeks. I got in midday Monday, so I haven't had time for anything but work yet, but here's what I think so far.

The Same
The hotel, the smell of the hotel (not bad, just distinct), the 5 minute walking commute down either Fish Street Hill or Pudding Lane, the many different and delicious offerings of fruit juices, the office, the weather (still hasn't rained on me!)

Different
More daylight, dozens of people outside the pubs at lunchtime (!!)

Yeah, London doesn't change much :) I feel completely comfortable here. Just wish I had friends and family here to enjoy it with me! I'm still planning my weekend, but I'm thinking about heading out to Bath. It's supposed to be the quintessential English town.

Edit:
I thought these were in the vending machine downstairs, but it must have been somewhere else that I saw them. If I find them in a store, I will be sure to purchase them.

Catching Up

I'm a slacker. I know it. It's hard do to do anything extra in a day because I've been so busy! Here's what's been going down.

Early June: My grandfather passed away at the age of 83. He had his ups and downs after having his stroke last year, and his body just couldn't take anymore. I plan on doing a tribute post at some point; he had a really big impact in my life.

Mid-June: My sister turned 20, my brother turned 9! We also attended the PA reception for Jonathan's brother and sister-in-law.

Early July: Celebrated 4th of July in Baltimore with Jonathan's friend Victor. Went to wedding #3 of the summer. I was a bridesmaid in Sara and Todd's beautiful wedding. It was at the Dorito church in State College, followed by a reception at Tussey Lodge. It was fantastic seeing everyone again. Pics stolen from Ashley.

She smacked his hand out of the way :)

The wedding party at Tussey