Touring Mumbai

When Doc and I first arrived here, we had the idea that we would ‘go local’. Just see the sights for ourselves and rely on the high prevalence of English speaking natives to get by (something like one in five speak English). We found out two things really quickly.

The first is that while a lot of people speak English, it’s not a version of English I can understand. I am getting a little better, but the strong Indian accent (overlaid on a British pronunciation) really throws me. The second thing we learned is that we are targets of opportunity. There is no hiding the fact that Doc and I are tourists and it’s pretty apparent once we open our mouths that we are American tourists. America, according to Indian doctrine, is the land of the rich and the famous. Well, we aren’t famous, so that means we must at least be rich. There is a beggar class made up largely of children and the mis-made who see us as their natural benefactors. Add to this the ‘everyman’ who wants to sell us something or take us somewhere… it’s a mess.

The only solution is to hire a guide/factotum. Now, here is where the system in India comes in. It’s as highly networked a society as you can imagine. So, everyone has a brother or a cousin or someone they are ‘bestest of friends’ with to call. The way you do it is to broach the subject with someone on the hotel staff. They all speak passable English and understand the needs of the tourists.

If you don’t want to pay top dollar, ask someone besides the concierge, go a bit lower on the pay scale. Explain you want someone who speaks English very well who can show you around. Slip them $10 US or better. (Be careful though, you are unwittingly establishing your ‘worth’ and subsequent price levels.) They will make a phone call or two (and yes, they have cell phones…duh) and soon enough, a brother or a cousin will show up.

Our guide is Jamal. We aren’t supposed to pay him directly, but can buy him food and tip if we like. We are supposed to pay our contact, $20 a day US. I can tell you it is more than worth it. Jamal is part beggar/shopkeeper repellent, part knowledgeable local, and part decent companion.

The first day we went with him, he took us to buy some more appropriate clothing. It’s hot here. And it’s ‘moist’. Light cotton is the rule. Jamal took us through some alleyways and byways and generally got us good and lost until we arrived at what I assume was a shop run by one of his relatives. There, we got loose fitting cotton pantaloons, short sleeved shirts and some new walking shoes. I’m embarrassed at how cheap everything is here.

We then took a side trip to see what Jamal called a ‘Magi’. This was a holy man giving a show. He broke some poor chicken’s leg — hanging and bloody — and then put a knife through it’s neck. He then shook what I took to be a dying/dead bird and it sprang back to life, leg and neck showing no signs of damage. To be honest it struck me as a bit primitive and stupid, but the locals loved it and I put a few coins in his bowl.

I’ve got lots more to tell, but will wait till tomorrow…

Rich American

Well, I did pretty well on the Australian Open. Made a few bucks and I’m feeling like a happy monkey. I’ve been reading the complex sports arbitrage books (I got two from Sports Arbitrage World). They are math heavy and I use the software at the Trader Zone to do the number crunching for me. I think it’s a real advantage having these books before they become available to the general public… gives me a leg up for the World Cup.

Mumbai

What a hectic couple of days I’ve had! Where to begin? Well, on the flight from Australia, Doc and I shared a row with a really nice lady from the US. I’ll call her Maggie. She’d also been at the Australian Open as a ‘treat’ before her main goal, which is IVF treatment in Mumbai (that’s Bombay, India, for you old-timers). So, Maggie was travelling alone, first to the tennis matches and then to Mumbai to get pregnant through in-vitro fertilization.

News From Home

It’s been nearly a year since I left Tulsa for my big adventure. One of the things that happens when you are be-bopping around the planet is that you lose track of time and forget that the people you left are slugging along in the same lives you left them in.

Wrapping Up Oz

Well the open turned out to be a crazy show. What with the: “Is Venus wearing undies?” bit (Yes, she was, they were dark colored and close to her natural skin tone) and the trouncing of the Belgians — it has been a ride. One of the coolest things were the signs in the crowd (held by various hotties), “I slept with Tiger Woods”.

Getting Ready For India

You would think that travelling with a doctor would make health care issues easier. Dr. Wattles, however, is/was a pediatrician, so I guess he isn’t up on vaccinations you need to get for travel to India. The difficulty for us is that we should have been vaccinated last week instead of this week. We won’t have full immunity.

The Australian Open

Hooray! The Aussie Open is just about here. For the enthusiastic sports arbitrager (yours truly) that means an excellent chance to build up my savings again. So, I made a deal with Doc. If he hangs around with me here in Australia until the AO (starts on the 18th), I’ll go with him to India.

Cricket!!!

If there is one thing more than any other that is alien to Yanks visiting the Empire it is cricket. (Yeah, I know it isn’t the Empire any more, but how else to describe the countries involved?) Tea time is odd. Driving on the wrong side of the road is odd. Liters, Kilograms and the Imperial gallon — all odd. But for outright mysterious, nothing beats cricket.

Holidays in Oz and Katoomba

Call me a geographical bigot. I like my Christmas and New Years with snow. I suppose it worked out for the best though, with the warm weather and sunshine, Christmas down under doesn’t bring up the homesickness and yearning for Christmas past that it might if it looked at all like Oklahoma. It’s been in the mid-70s all week… Ho ho ho.

Avatar — Two Viewpoints

Well, things don’t always pan out the way you think. On the way back to Stuart Hwy (for the drive to Sydney) Doc was rummaging around and found a box that Bennie had left. It had some lotions and candles she probably uses in her massage business. So Doc convinced me to head back to Alice Springs and drop it off (probably cheaper to mail it).