Masala Remix (India 2008)

So. . . It begins almost where I started last year. I wanted to go on a crazy journy before law school, and now I am back. Stupid? Maybe, but this time its more work than play.

So I am on a legal study abroad with 20 students, 5 of them Indian from NJS Kolkotta. That has been the best part of the experience. It is also neat to be with people when they first arrive in India. The first morning we went for Chai at a roadside wallah and one of the girls was mortified that some of us would drink that stuff. But I realized I was like that also my first time here. I was scared to drink and eat from dirty places but I got over that pretty quickly.

The first morning we got up at 6 am and went to Agra. Agra is still the same hole of a city it was last year. However, we stayed at a Taj resort (Of the famous Taj hotel group from Mumbai) and it was great. We had a pool, a 36 inch flat screen TV, clean showers and toilet and even TP (no hand this time around). So we hung out by the pool after going to the Taj Mahal and drank some beers. It was nice because Agra is one degree hotter than hell this time of year. I also could not believe after thinking about the crap holes i stayed in last year that I was staying in a hotel in India with a nicer TV than the one I have back home in the states.

The next morning we headed back to Delhi (its about 6 hours back and forth). We had a small game of how many people can you spot going to the bathroom in a field from the bus going, I think we got up to 8 on a 6 hour ride. We got back around 5-6 and I rounded up 6 other people to come out to a fancy dinner at my favorite spot from Delhi last time, Veda. It was amazing again. However, with the wine, tasting menu and more drinks it ended up being $80. Now this would have for sure been a 200 dinner in NYC but $80 bucks could probably by a small village in India. We had see bass, Lamb stuffed with chicken, Lamb chops, sea bass lemon saffron ice cream and a few other veggies. Anyway, it was worth it. After dinner we went out to a fancy bar in the Imperial hotel. Now by fancy I mean it was the nicest hotel i have ever seen. They even had draught beer which is unheard of in India. We then went to this place called the Park Hotel and it had a bar called fire which was super nice. It was fun to see the nice side of delhi. Plus, it was a good slow intro for the others I was with into India.

This trip has been a lot easier to handle. We are on an A/C bus so you do not get the smells and sounds of India. I personally don't like it becasue it definitly effects the experience but I can live with it by reconciling that it is just different. Plus, for the most part the meals are taken care of. Now that I am on my own (I opted to get my own hotel) I can get out and eat at the dhabas (little street joints) around town. Its much more fun. The meals at the hotel in Shimla, where I am now, are good, but they dont have the taste and flavor that you get from the places on the street.

Our supervisor does scare us a little bit. I think it is just because, since it is only her second year she has not had the chance to venture out and try different things on the street. She got all worried when I wouldnt negotiate a food package itwh the hotel and I told her I would just grab something quick on the street. It is nice having professors and teachers that you know you can rely on if something happens. That makes it a lot nicer.

I do think that I am outgrowing my backpacking spirit a little. I do see that the nice hotels my schoolmates are staying in are much nicer and cleaner. However, I still feel that when i am in India its worth roughing it a bit.

Sorry for the break, the ride to Shimla was hell. Since our group is through a travel agency, we go on a bus the whole time which is so freaking slow and misreable. It took us 12.5 hours to get to shimla. The train would have been half the time. But i caught up on sleep so its ok.

So Shimla is an Indian hill station. I have seen very few western tourists. Its at the foothills so I cant see any snow capped peaks but I am at about 7,000 feet right now and it looks like some of the peaks around may be a few thousand feet higher (under 12 becuase that is the tree line here). Today was the first day we could see the hills because it has been raining and dusty.

So there are not many great stories. This trip is much more tame. I did get attacked by monkeys twice yesterday. It is scary as hell. I turned a corner and 6 came after me with their mouths open making noise. I turned around and ran. THe other one attacked me and this girl in my group when we were coming out of a market and I had my new monkey stick, but i got so startled i just ran and let the girl fend for herself. I know i bring new meaning to the world chivelry, but I do not want to get bit by a monkey.

Today was my first day of classes. For the Wmitchell kids, Professor Krishnan is great. He is a wonderful professor. Everyone loves him. He gave us the driest material to read but class is intersting. It is amazing having the Indian students put their input into our discussions. The INdian students are the best in their class here. One of them got an offer from the most prestigous law firm in england but turned it down for a scholarship at Oxford. He is more refined than anyone I have ever met. THe other kids are from very interesting backgrounds, one is a pandit (Kashmiri hindu) raised in Assam and his father owns tea plantations. I would love to go visit out there but I do not have time. There are two girls from Bihar (one of the poorest and most lawless regions in India).

I am going to go upload some pics. Just so you know, I am writing this in an internet cafe above a roller rink playing the theme song from Beverly Hills Cop.

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