A Dozen Travel Observations

In a follow-up to my last post about my travel experiences to India back in 2006, this one talks about the journey I took in 2009. It turns out, my iPhone wasn't completely useless, given I had it with me at all times, I just jotted down things as they came to me. Of course, the standard caveat that these are my interpretations and observations.

1. I blame Hollywood for two things: every time an English man says "Hello" expecting him to say "poppet" right after, and second, hearing airport announcements in the English accent and thinking I'm at the Umbrella corporation.
2. Mobile technology in India is booming and yet very different. The iPhone doesn't turn heads here. This does.
3. The Delhi smog has a charcoal smell to it, the type you get from an earthen kiln. The LA smog does not prepare you for it. Don't worry, you'll get used to it pretty quickly.
4. Crossing a street in Delhi is like playing real-life Frogger.
5. In Delhi some of the best food are in hole-in-the-wall joints. Word of advice, don't try and convince the chef to cough up the recipe. Relish the memory and move on.
6. If you want to enjoy all the sights and sounds, expect to get sick. You're not from the area and the local microbes know that. Pop in a couple of broad-spectrum antibiotics, and you're as good as gold.
7. When in queues, the notion of personal space ceases to exist. Queues for that matter cease to exist.
8. In Delhi, like LA, the automated flush will go off while you're still using it.
9. Anthony Bourdain is right, you'll always like the food you loved as a child. I will always love rajma-chawal.
10. Indian food is a lot better in India, but Glenfiddich & coke tastes the same, unless it's Glenfiddich and Thums up which is exquisite.
11. There's something very magnetic about the sound of evening prayers rising above the city din.
12. LAX needs a face lift bad.

Quote of the Day

You can observe a lot just by watching.

                                             --Yogi Berra

Update:

One of the anonymous feedback I received on my post about resolutions was the use of the word irregardless. The sentence has now been rewritten.