Learning the true meaning of the “Serenity Prayer”
Well folks,
Here it is again, time to blog. If only everything was this easy here. To pick up where we left off yesterday, Amber and I went to go see a travel agent to get our tickets to Delhi secured. Sonja had suggested we go to several to make sure we got the best price.
Well, the first one we went and saw was in a nice clean establishment, but the ladies who operated the desk were less than friendly. Apparently service does not always come with a smile. To make a looooooooooooooong story short, we decided to leave their establishment, in search of travel agent number two. She was busy, so we went across the street to door number three. After much discussion with him, his price was significantly higher than the rude women, but we didn’t want to buy tickets from them based solely on principle, so we returned to door number two. She was again busy, but with another customer.
Deciding now we could take things into our own hands and just buy the tickets online, we went back to our internet cafe and logged into 4 different Westjet type local airlines to do our own shopping. One hour later, we decided on what we were going to buy, to only then find that you could only purchase them with a LOCAL Indian credit card. VISA just won’t do everywhere I guess.
Back to door number two. Still busy.
In an effort to gain some perspective, we decide lunch is in order, and then we can meet up with Sonja after she has done her yoga.
Good thing Captain Highliner makes tuna in a can, cause Amber still decides she doesn’t like curry and things like vindaloo and masala just don’t sound like something that doesn’t have curry in it…so tuna sandwiches will now be her staple lunch. Sonja and I however dive face first into curried this and spicy that, naan bread with spinach and hummous dip, rice and of course…chai tea.
Lunch now over, Sonja heads to the internet cafe and we head back on our hunt for the elusive plane ticket.
Back to door number three. We inform him of our new pricing that we got on the internet and he agreed to match it. However, what we then found out was that allegedly the prices change from minute to minute, and that the price was now several hundred dollars more, only 20 minutes later. Hah, I say!
Principles out the window, we truck back up to door number one, almost 4 hours later now, tell her which airlines we want tickets on, negotiate the “fee” for using their Indian credit card, and walk out with tickets only $2 more than what we could have paid ourselves if we had had our own card.
Are you confused and exhausted now just reading this? My shoulders are cramping remembering what it took to finally get it done.
In an effort now to relax, we head to the beach. It is then we try and negotiate a scooter for Sonja to ride for the week. She has found that it is much more expensive here than in Mysore, so she has started to choke on the price the guy is haggling with her for the scooter, and I am sure I am going to need to set down my bag and start the Hindlick remover on Sonja!!!
We finally get him down to a price she can live with, take the keys and saunter past all the gyspies selling their wares in wooden scaffolding type huts and down to the beach.
It was beautiful to see the Arabian Sea. I thought perhaps it was the Indian ocean, but I was wrong. Very warm indeed to stroll through. We had found out though that the beach just near our hotel is much nicer, so with Sonja behind us, Amber and I head out in a motorized rickshaw for the drive back. The driving still is crazy, no matter how long we are here, I don’t think it will cease to amaze, frighten and baffle us!
Once we were back at the ranch, we checked out our own beach. Much nicer, certainly less rocks, but still the same peddlars hawking their wares. We each had a Kingfisher beer, only 750ml each! Barely worth opening the bottle! Watching the sun set, an Indian woman meditated on the rocks with the water lapping over her legs and hips. It was very serene just to watch her.
Amber and I played around being cover models for Sports Illustrated, but I don’t think we will make any covers any time soon.
It turns out though, that Indians don’t know what a cart wheel is! I was suddenly struck with the desire to cartwheel down the beach near the water, so I had Sonja tape it for me. When I was finished, there were two Indian women sitting there slack jawed, and she said, “What was that? How did you do it? What do you call that? Why did you turn your self upside down like that?” When she still didn’t get it, I did a few more and the two of them were giggling like school girls. I found out tonight from Sonja that they also don’t take swimming lessons, so most of them don’t know how to swim either.
After that, an Indian couple wanted to have us in their pictures, so they could show their family what Canadian girls look like, and ones that can turn themselves upside down while flipping down the beach….Too bad I didn’t have a touque on while I was doing it…cememt the image of a crazy Canuck once and for all.
The evening meal was next….at about 930 pm. It is too hot to eat earlier. Guess what Amber had? A pancake!
Sonja had something with curry in it, and I just told the waiter to surprise me….just no fish! I ended up with Chicken Masala and some weird rice, but it was delicious. And Amber had a pancake….
How much more fun could we girls have in the rest of the night you ask? Well, we needed now to do laundry. Everything we have is soaked in sweat and sand and who knows what else, and we all needed to scrubs socks etc.
Is there a washing machine here you ask? Nope. We had a bucket and my nail brush. Amber brought some laundry detergent with Downey, and away we went, mp3 player in hand, or rather ear…and scrubbed away.
When we were finished, it looked like a yard sale with all our clothes hanging out to dry wherever we could put them. The clothes line was full, the window rod was full, the hooks in the bathroom now occupied…
I went outside to relax in the hammock for a bit with my music while Amber was inside, only to have the rope break just after being attacked by some form of vampire ant….my arm with fang marks in it, bump on my head from crashing to the ground, and sweaty again from the heat only having just got out of the shower. Argghh!
I have to go eat something now, and shower after the day we have had, so I will end this now….
Stay tuned to find out what Amber ate today, where we went and how we managed to evade the Hell’s Angels of India in a ride for our lives on our scooters….oh, and creepy back room parlours….
We fly to Delhi tomorrow, so once we are estabishished, we will see about connecting up again before we hit the Taj Mahal….
Later skaters!
Annie and Amber