So, I survived the first revenge strike by the cockroaches: the attack wasps. Despite the bite, the staph infection, the abcess, the minor surgery, and the alternate day dressing changes, and the still somewhat open wound, I have prevailed! Frustrated by their failure, the cockroaches made a second strike using my arch-nemesis: an attck pigeon! They know how much I fear and detest pigeons so this was the perfect weapon. I hate the strange sheen to their feathers, their freaky cooing sounds, and especially their beady eyes that stare at you with thinly veiled menace. You know that they just want to attack and peck out your jugular vein. Yuck! When I left for Goa, I left the kitchen window open about an inch on each side. I closed the door as I always do. When ... read more

On Sunday, as part of my hotel package, I had an all day sight seeing tour of Goa followed by a sunset river cruise. I was the only foreigner on the tour which was all conducted in Hindi. It was sometimes hard to tell where we were, but I had my trusty "Eyewitness Travel Guide" and could follow along somewhat. The tour guide did make sure I knew what time to be back to the bus each time we stopped. Two women from my hotel were also on the tour and they were helpful in telling me where we were at each stop. Brief history of Goa: In 1498, Vasco da Gama became the first European to set foot in India through a sea route, landing in Calicut (Kozhikode) in Kerala, followed by an arrival in ... read more

I ventured out today and made a quick run to Galleria, the closest "shopping center" to where I live. I hit the ATM, paid my Airtel bill, ate lunch at The Coco Palm, and picked up a few groceries at a small market. I took a bicycle rickshaw and snapped a few photos along the way (which is difficult when you are hanging on for dear life). Funny story about Airtel: No one here trusts the mail so all bill are paid in person at a retail store. Some businesses, like Airtel, have drop boxes around town as well. I figured that if the mail isn't reliable, the drop boxes are probably not so hot either. There's no obvious lock on them so I'm not sure how secure a check would be in there. Checks here ... read more

After a good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast, I headed off to Fatephur Sikri. Jai was on time and there were no arguments about the route since there was only one destination. We drove through Agra, including the old part of town, and them headed down the road originally built by Akbar. When I was in Agra in 2005, we tried to reach Fatephur Sikri, but due to the main road being closed (for some reason I can't now recall), we tried to take side roads. After driving around for about three hours, we took a vote and, at 6-2, headed back to Delhi. I was disappointed at the time, but I can now undertsand why we couldn't get there. The term "main" road is a bit of a misnomer as there are unpaved sections ... read more

My day started at 3:15am as I needed to be ready for a 4:00am airport pick-up for a 5:50am flight. I was ready, but 4:00am came with no taxi. Then it was 4:05am, 4:10am, 4:15am and still nothing. My CRA Ashish called to see where I was since I was going to pick him up on the way to the airpor. He had booked the taxi last night, but when he called the company at 4:15am, they claimed they had no booking and they had no taxis. Ashish tried two other cab companies with no luck. It was 4:30am at this point and we were trying to decide what to do (you have to be at the airport at least an hour early to make it through security and board the plane) when he said "I'm ... read more