Random Notes

November 27: Finally on my morning walk to the ruins, I met the man who mans the ticket booth. The guards all knew me by now. They pointed me to the ticket man. I paid him 50 cents and got four tickets to cover the past entries. The tickets are nice, like the entrance tickets to other archeological sites. The tickets probably cost over 12.5 cents to produce!

November 21: I walked out of my building and in the back of the parking lot one of the guards was smoking. When he saw me coming he quickly threw his cigarette on the floor and smushed it. Then I realized what a great thing it is. No one smokes here anymore. He was the first person I have seen smoking in the month that I have been here. The Indian Government passed a law banning smoking in all public places, both indoors and OUTDOORS! Great job, well done!

November 17: Today I pulled almost the same trick the old man pulled on me on November 13th! I was going to Connaught Place. I walked to the south gate of the college where there are auto-rickshaws waiting. I could not find any for over ten minutes. The regular rickhsaws do not go to CP. The taxis do not like to go there because it is only about one and half mile from here. So I started walking towards it. After about 200 yards there was a car stopped on the side of road. I saw a man watering a tree nearby. So I waited. When the guy came back to his car and opened the door I asked him,"Could you please give me a ride just a few blocks on this road?" He asked me where I was going and then said ok. So I got a ride to CP.

November 13: As I approached my taxi cab, an old man standing by also approached the same cab. I sat in the back seat and he opened the door and sat on the front seat next to driver. I stared at the driver and the driver stared at me, both asking who is this old man? The old man said could you please drop me at bus depot, I cannot walk that far. My taxi was facing in the direction of the bus depot. Driver said the we are going in the opposite direction. The old man said okay drop me at the Delhi Gate. So we made a U turn and dropped him at Delhi Gate, about two miles exactly opposite of where he initially said he wanted to go!

November 9: I have gotten used to doing nothing and not feeling guilty about it. In US I am always doing something, office, golf, racquetball or bridge games. Here I do not have office, golf is minimal, no bridge or racquetball, yet I have no feeling that I should do anything!