Has It Only Been A Week?

Okay, so I arrived in India only just more than a week
ago, and it feels like a lifetime. I've already
gotten a little homesick, a little sick sick (a
cold...not the Delhi Belly, yet), and a bit starving
for someone to natively speak English. Nevertheless,
things are going well. I'm not going to really write
much about the trip thus far, because I'm on dial-up
at an expensive place...pictures and more details will
come once I get to Bangalore in four days.

Still, here's the route thus far: Mumbai to Bijapur
to Badami (with a side trip to Pattada Kalla) to
Hampi. So far, I've barely come across other
tourists. But not anymore. Hampi is uber-touristy.
Still, the nice thing about not being with other
tourists, and about looking Indian, is that I can get
by with paying the Indian entry fees, not the
Foreigner fees. That saves me quite a lot of green
(or, actually, reds, blues, etc etc.).

I'm not going to go into too many details, but give
you a quick sketch of things I've observed in India
thus far:

1. Only here can a cow walk into a restaurant, just to
be given a bisquit.

2. A baby monkey snuck into my room and stole my
toothpaste one night.

3. I've got the gestures down cold! You will all me
so annoyed with my head bobbing once I get back to the
states. (fyi, head bobbing is similar to the Italian
word "prego." It can signify anything from maybe to
thank you to perfect to not sure to you're welcome to
okay to sounds like a plan...)

4. Men here often hold hands when they walk together.
It's a way of showing friendship...and nothing more
than that.

5. The buses are an excellent way to travel. They
take you to all the rural villages, allowing you to
really explore. However, you have to have a strong
stomach, a strong butt, strong knees (if you have long
legs), and a great life insurance policy.

6. Kids are soooo cute. Unless they mob you and
almost make you fall down. Still, they're cute while
doing this.

Alright, final thoughts before I leave to explore
Hampi. Mumbai is a zoo. Bijapur isn't worth
visiting. Badami rocks! And Hampi seems VERY
promising.

I'll try to blog again once I reach Bangalore in a few
days.