89 Days in India: Ending day two

It's been a fun day. Since I arrive last night at 5:40 pm I guess this is technically my second day here.

I went for three long walks today. Everyone stares at me. I don't look Indian enough I guess. No one has said anything to me, no one is bothering me. But then again I'm not in or near any touristy area so I'm sure that makes a difference. Went out of the neighborhood and into the 'city' area. Saw lots of street food vendors, they all looked delicious. Will have to sample tomorrow. I saw one place that had samosas, they were 14 cents each (6 rupees each). I'm going there tomorrow. Only problem is all I have is 500 rupee bills. I need to get change. The house boy said he would get me change in the morning, and take my shirts to be ironed.

Late morning I asked for a soda, they had to go get me one. They also brought back a small bag of masala chips (masala is a mixture of spices, chaat means snack, thus chaat masala is a mixture of spices used on snacks). These ruffled potato chips were the best chips I've ever had. I need to see about exporting a container load full when I leave here.

Lunch, OMG! Huge lunch, and absolutely delicious. The smells and flavors took me back 35 years. There is something about they way it's cooked here or the ingredients used here, something. It had that Indian 'thing' about it. I had dal (yellow lentil soup), more flavorful than normally found in the states. Rice, chapatis (Indian flat bread made of finely milled whole wheat flour), peas and cauliflower, for dessert apple slices with chaat masala. I didn't eat the hard boiled eggs or salad. The flavors, the flavors in India is so Indian, flavors and aromas I haven't had since I was here 35 years ago. Hard to explain. Wonderful memories stirred up and I ate my entire meal with a big smile. Dinner was at 8pm and included dal, saag paneer (cheese cubes in a spicy sauce), rice and chapatis. The dal tasted as good as it did during lunch, the cheese cubes I'm not fond of but the sauce was outstanding. The cook asked if I liked Indian food and I of course had to say yes!

There's a guy out in front of the guest house ironing laundry. He's using the largest iron I've ever seen. And it's heated with coals. I'm thinking that as big and heavy as this iron is he probably doesn't need to heat it, the weight of it alone should flatten wrinkles. I have got to get a picture of that tomorrow.

There's not really a shower in the bathroom. It's a nice jaccuzi tub, and it does have a handheld shower head. No enclosure though, guess I'll have to be careful. The two young guys working here in the guest house are excellent cooks. But it's a bit awkward having someone at your beck and call (it really is!!). I'm not used to having someone watch me as I eat, or having someone keep an eye on my every move trying to anticipate my every need. But I'll admit that it is convenient at times.

Here's a few random photos I took on my second walk.