Singapore

Put a lion and a fish in a blender, and voila: the Merlion.

Sick and Sicker

Sickness has been a common theme for me, since moving to India.

I used to think of myself as a fairly healthy guy. But in the last 10 months, I've been sick and/or injured more times than I can count. As a result I've become a veritable ibuprofen junky, and I've taken to self-medicating with Cipro anytime I get even the slightest cough. I know I'm completely misusing the Cipro when I do this, but it's dirt cheap here, and I figure why kill a fly with a flyswatter when you have a bazooka at your disposal.

However, when I got sick this weekend, again, after just getting healthy two weeks back, I decided it was time to seek the advice of someone other than the internet. Thus began my first encounter with Indian medical care.

The whole experience was fairly painless, though the hospital itself was a great microcosm for India; crazy crowded, dirty, unorganized, and a little old-school (I'm positive the exam room I sat in was British-era). But, on the positive side, the doctor who saw me diagnosed my problem in two minutes, gave me a pile of pills, and now I'm feeling much better.

The best part about this story; the total bill was less than $10. That's not the cost after insurance. That's the full cost for the doctor and three separate prescriptions. Clearly my experience wasn't perfect. But it was affordable and effective. And coming from a country where many people can't afford health care at all, it really forces me to pause and think.

Poolside

I'm not normally a pool guy kind of guy. But I've started doing a lot of things here in India that I never used to do. Hooray for expanding my horizons!

Today I expanded myself, literally and figuratively, by laying around all day, reading, napping, and filling my belly with Bloody Maries (Marys? Mary's?). This has been my view for the last seven hours.

Sloth is good.

Thanks, Minus the Full

Though I am decidedly NOT thankful for my less than filling "feast" (compliments of the BLR International Airport), I AM thankful for all the adventures I've had this year, and for the friends and family whom I both miss and love very much.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Clubin' It

I've arrived in Kolkata for a weekend of museum hopping and monument scoping. In an unexpected spot of luck, I've scored an upgrade to the "Club" floor, which is so nice it gives swank a bad name.

I've only been here and hour, and I've already consumed my complementary fruit, chocolates, and wine.

Signs point to UNLIKELY for me seeing any sights tonight.

The Big Three

These statues are along the walking path I use to get from my neighborhood to the major shopping district 20 minutes away. I've walked by these three dozens of times, but never really paid any attention to them, until today.

From right to left, the statues are of: Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, one of India's founding founders and major political figures; Mother Theresa, who spent most of her life ministering to the poor and sick; and Pelé, football superstar.

I can't even tell you how cool I find this trio. If American Idol had these three as the judges, I would definitely watch it.

I prefer the bees

Look what I found near the ceiling above my dinner table.

Where is that can of Lizard-b-gone when you need it...

Swarm, Baby Swarm!

It’s bee season here in India. And by “bee” I mean giant finger sized killer wasps. These jerks are so big that they make an audible thud noise when they bang against my patio windows.

Charming.

It’s a little hard to see from this photo, but there are about one bajillion bees swarming outside my apartment. And that can only mean one thing; some lucky tenant is about to have a hive form on their porch. I understand from my neighbors that this happens every year. I also understand that the preferred method of eliminating these hives is to set fire to them. No, I'm not kidding... it literally is a bee inferno.