(Sort of) Safe at Last

Well, our ten-day vacation is over.

After we got rid of the taxi driver from hell, our pre-family vacation improved exponentially. We spent our last two days in Ooty, a formerly British hill station, where many films are shot and where they grow lots of tea (including Chocolate Chai). I'll upload photos (a lot) as soon as I find an internet cafe with a card reader.

After three domestic, post-Mumbai-terror-attack flights, my parents and I have finally safely landed at my grandparent's house in Bhavnagar, in the state of Gujurat. I was only asked for ID on one of the three flights and I was allowed to carry my leatherman (with two sharp knives, pliers and a screwdriver attached) onto the first flight we took, just days after the attacks. At least I was well-equipped to defend myself.

We arrived the day before yesterday and were met by my Aunt who lives in Albany but comes to India with my uncle in the winter.

My grandmother was with my grandfather in the hospital where he was staying because of complicatiosn that arose from the eye surgery he had a few weeks ago. I wasn't sure what to make of his hospital. One wall in his room had stars-and-smiling-suns-moons-and-planets wallpaper and the window had Pokemon curtains. (They couldn't have given him a room for adults?) The room itself was also pretty spartan, as was his bed, with it's one-inch thin mattress. And, they were dealing with his stomach problems by giving him liter after liter of sesame seed oil. (Maybe they were just saying it was oil to keep things simple?) Regardless, they released him yesterday and he's home, but bed-ridden with a catheter and a long list of prescriptions. On the bright side, he looks really cool with the sunglasses he has to wear, and the solid white goatee he's grown.

The pace here is slow. This visit's no different than any other (our last was in August, 2001). I spend my days reading, walking around town and doing minor household chores (I get to feed the cows outside our leftovers!) and visiting friends and relatives. It's nice, but I may have to duck out early when it gets to be too claustrophobic. The biggest plans I have are to visit Lothal, a 4,500-year-old city (from the time of Mohenjodaro and Harrappa) not far from here. I'm also hoping that a relative who works at the shipbreaknig yard near here will be able to get me in to check it out.

The shipbreaking yard is the largest in the world, but it has apparently been hard to get in since Greenpeace exposed their shitty work conditions a few years ago. Also, the pawn shops in the area apparently can have some amazing stuff pulled from the ships prior to their destruction.

As I said, expect photos soon and more frequent posts.