india.

i swear india wasn't supposed to be a vacation. but then again. it's me.

people smell. cuz it's hot and they're poor. and they end up smelling like the food. the food smells. cuz that's what the food is like. heavy, pungent, and spicy. the country is at 1.1 billion people. the city of mumbai is at 22 million people. i wasn't phased at the circumstances cuz i've been to enough of these developing nations. i don't give money to the begging naked starving children (if you give one, a million come running...and they're most likely pimped off by their drunken dad at the nearby corner). i don't get phased by the traffic and i make sure i pee at every moment because i know there's going to be traffic. im used to the honking of the horn as a way of driving. and that smell of burning plastic just reminds me of the smell of opportunity.

With that being said. i appreciate jakarta a lot more.

the curry all starts to taste the same after a while. although i ate some decent things, on a whole, i just can't seem to get used to it. i dont think i'll ever crave this flavor. i quasi understand how this cuisine can make people so heavy. and the people there, although many vegetarians, do get very huge from this curry oily cottage paneer cheese, pita bread diet. chubby man is one thing. but there wasn't one single woman over 40 that wasn't HUGE. that sari wear doesn't do anythign for the figure either.

it was good that i stayed 2 extra days. it not only got in extra meetings and "schmooze" time. it allowed me to see the full city and appreciate bombay for it's entirety bcuz santa cruz and the renaissance center did not depict the city in such a great light. i went out to china house on thursday night and there were zero chicks. i was looking for bollywood women. and with population probablity i thought i was going to find some. nope. went to the mall on saturday. nada. ended up @ president hotel, wink bar. it was a bit better. i even at street food and then took a local taxi home

what can brown do for you?

sunday was a treat. got taken out on a boat 15 min past the gateway of india to mandwa. u look at bombay from afar on your hammock, private pool, private house, private staff. it was great. then we attended our agents engagement party. we basically did a 5 star hotel tour around the city. your basic hotel party in suits and dresses. but this time more sari's, hand henna painting (the darker the stain the more your husband loves you), indian food, and indian dancing. indians definitely know how to party.

yay for indian hospitality.

night 1. @ the four seasons restaurant and lounge overlooking the city

kati roll spicy has heck.

day 2.

MSRP 2100 USD

day 3.

IMG00483-20100514-0835 by slurpyderpy.

had to eat chinese food.

developing nations ride the horn. if there were rules. there'd be chaos.

IMG00522-20100515-1214 by slurpyderpy.

our sacred cow. we passed by her every morning.

IMG00526-20100515-1257 by slurpyderpy.

The famous bridge.

IMG00529-20100515-1306 by slurpyderpy.

can't get the mosque when the tide is high.

IMG00532-20100515-1319 by slurpyderpy.

CRICKET

IMG00535-20100515-1335 by slurpyderpy.

TAJ

IMG00538-20100515-1352 by slurpyderpy.

THE GATEWAY

IMG00537-20100515-1351 by slurpyderpy.

we are tourists...

my sis had been raving about pani poori for so long. it's just a shot of flavored water that you pour into a fried puff that's filled with either lentils or potato etc. however, the water has this sour fermented dirty laundry sock taste and i poured way too much of it into the puri. only the tandoori chicken was ok.