Millionaires, Momos, and Miscommunications

A McDonad's in Delhi -- Some things are the same, and some are different

Everyday here continues to be exciting, and it's not always the big things that make it exciting, but also the little things. In today's post, I will tell you about meeting a millionaire, a bad experience while eating Momos (potstickers), miscommunications with my driver, and some other interesting stories. It's the little things that can't be planned for that make travel interesting and exciting. After all, if everything went according to plan, life would be boring.


Saturday

Yesterday, I finally got a chance to visit the Red Fort in Delhi and the Old City. Because it was Diwali, the streets were less crowded than normal. When I arrived at the Red Fort, my driver told me it was closed, which I was not happy about -- considering it was my second time trying to go there. Also, I had called the tourism office which told me it was open. Thankfully, after my driver circled around the fort, he found that it actually was open, and that I was able to go.

The Red Fort was constructed by Sah Jahan -- the same guy who built the Taj Mahal, and it was constructed after the Taj. I had a guide show me around who told me about the fort's history and helped me imagine the dancers that used to put on shows, opulent gold and curtains which once adorned it.

After the Red Fort I strolled through Chatni Chowk, which was an action-packed bazar. To escape from the commotion, I decided to go to the Oberoy Hotel for lunch, which is one of the nicest hotels in Delhi. It seemed like a rather opulent thing to do, but I thought it would be fun.. The hotel was gated off and our car was thoroughly checked before we were allowed to enter.

I sat by a window in the restaurant and ordered a cocktail. Then, a guy walked up to me and started chatting me up, which at first made me rather uncomfortable. I had once been hit on by a gay guy in London, and it took me a while to realize it, but that's another story. "My mother is thinking of ordering that, how do you like it?" he asked. He then invited me to sit at his table with his mother and friend, and I decided not to refuse.

As we talked, I learned that the young guy I was talking to was one of the top executives at an Indian cosmetics company. His friend sitting next to him was a political news anchor for a television network. My new friend told me stories of opulent parties he had been to, his travels around the world, his dating adventures, and more.

Using his charm, he also managed to get us a free meal. The hotel had offered to give us free drinks because he was dissatisfied with something. He then brashly walked up the waiter and said, "Well at least let me pay for the food?" Of course, with Indian hospitality, the only appropriate answer was no.

So I walked out of the Oberoi Hotel two hours later, having met new friends and not having paid a penny. I had a nice evening at home with my housemates watching fireworks burst from all directions.


Sunday

Today, I hung out with Elyse and Punam (one of my colleagues from the office) and enjoyed doing some shopping and seeing some more parts of town I hadn't seen before. We went to a Sikh temple, Christian Church, several places for shopping, and concluded with an excellent Italian dinner at a place called the Big Chill -- a restaurant that had posters from American movies lining the walls. and played Michael Jackson Music.

At Dillihad, one of the markets went to, with Punam's help, I got prices that were less than a third of what I was being charged at tourist shops. It was a great place to go with lots of local craft vendors at reasonable prices. It really goes to show how I was being ripped off before, and reinforces the mantra of not going places that drivers recommend. (Drivers always get a kick back and send you to expensive, high-pressure shops.)

After our shopping there, we sat down to eat momos -- which are kind of like potstickers. I also drank Indian fruit beer (which really isn't beer, but rather sparkling juice). Unfortunately, the drink attracted bees, and a bee ended up touching the tip of my tongue as I tried to swallow the drink! My tongue was sore I felt awful for a few minutes, and even started to shed a tear. But, rest assured, there is no stinger in my tongue, and I'm feeling entirely better now. A little ice cream to numb my tongue did the trick. Key takeaway -- ice cream is the cure to everything.

The other funny thing about our journey is that we went in two cars and my driver was following the other driver, even though there would have been space in one car. My driver came this morning, even though I texted him that he didn't need to. Because I think they get paid by the day, I didn't want to send him home. Also, I thought that perhaps at one point our plans might diverge, but eventually it became clear that I wanted to just go to all the same places. At one point, I had Punim ask him if he wanted me to sign off for the day so he could go home and I could just go along in Elyuse's cab, but he seemed unenthusiastic about the idea. I guess he wanted to work and he wanted to have the hours accounted for. It seemed kind of wasteful having two cars following each other, but only in India is there such as an abudnace of labor that this arrangement was actually more considerate for my driver.

At the end of the evening, I was going to leave a few minutes before Elyse and Punim, but I couldn't find where my driver was. I tried calling him, but of course, he couldn't explain to me in English the location he was parked in. I ended up giving my cell phone to a policeman who offered to explain to the driver in Hindi where I was standing. Still, ten minutes later, he wasn't there. (Note also that I called him from my American phone - which has a high cost per minute- since my Indian phone was out of battery.)

Finally, Punim found the corner I was standing at and helped me make it back to my cab, which was parked on the completely other side of the mall. If I didn't have a backup cell phone with me, I could have been stranded there quite a while. When I finally got back to the car, Rahesh said "I'm sorry sir" multiple times. I think he was waiting in the right spot and it was really my fault for being in the wrong spot. The moral of the story is to always know your meeting spot, and to always charge your cell phone.


Tomorrow it's back to work, and I may not have time to post again for a few days. I'll be super busy with meeting with my team, and with staying late for client calls. I feel like I am a dignitary on a mission. President Manmohan Singh is visiting Barack Obama next month talk about collaboration between the United States and India, and I'm meeting with my Google team to forge closer collaboration with our work. OK, so I'm much less important than the President, but I wouldn't want to be the President. I love my job right now and intend to work hard to make this business trip a success.