tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-203740392024-03-19T18:17:30.921+05:30Bangalore MonkeyTwo New Yorkers spend <strike>six months</strike> 18 months!?! in Bangalore and other places in India.Tripp Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06654231926830775673noreply@blogger.comBlogger290125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20374039.post-3319857927318315652008-09-16T19:06:00.004+05:302008-09-16T19:18:44.392+05:30Trip Coaching at Budget TravelSo today at noon I'll be answering questions about India over at Budget Travel. It would be foolish to pretend that I'm knowledgeable about all of India -- who is? -- or even that I am an extremely learned expert about any of its sections. But I am hoping to help people start thinking in the right direction about what they want to go and what they want to do. By the way, my fellow travel editor (Tripp Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06654231926830775673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20374039.post-74114097557318620982008-06-18T19:54:00.002+05:302008-06-18T19:56:04.450+05:30Another BlogHey, so I'll continue putting random India stuff up here occasionally, but head to the main blog for more current updates.Tripp Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06654231926830775673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20374039.post-55454576460926605342008-05-08T02:23:00.001+05:302008-05-08T02:23:43.986+05:30Goat Achieves Immortality.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } C215 - Indian Goat, originally uploaded by C215. Hey, I'm really late with this, but remember that funny goat from long ago? Well, it got turned into a stencil by a street artist. Pretty cool, huh?Tripp Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06654231926830775673noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20374039.post-36055994408249679802008-01-15T05:05:00.000+05:302008-01-15T05:11:27.249+05:30Another Yank Going HomeThe entertaining "Firang Squirrel" is about the be leaving India as well. Her post about it (from earlier this month) is a good read. Don and I are doing well, busy getting our stuff out of storage, re-connecting with friends, and rounding up some work. Weirdly the jet lag super-sucked this time, not sure why. Before it went away in a few days, but this time it's really taken a good dozen days toTripp Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06654231926830775673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20374039.post-39507199957714888302008-01-04T08:35:00.000+05:302008-01-04T09:09:31.024+05:30Back in New YorkAnd now we're in New York after a nicely uneventful flight on British Airways. I finally got to see Darjeeling Limited and would sometime like to visit whatever country it was supposed to be set in. It looked like India, but that's more or less where the similarity ends. I also discovered that when you're checking in on BA, and if you do click that box specifying meal preferences, it actually Tripp Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06654231926830775673noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20374039.post-60544651951717547482007-12-31T19:42:00.001+05:302007-12-31T19:52:06.683+05:30Will This Demon Fit in My Carry-On?Another packing toughie, like yesterday's nativity scene, this was a Pottery Town purchase. It's about 12", and the pottery is very thick. I've wanted one of these for a long time. The figures are meant to be hung or placed on the outside of a house or construction site to protect it -- mine has a hole in the back of his head, just ready for a nail. Presumably they work by scaring away trouble. Tripp Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06654231926830775673noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20374039.post-72206385869355496572007-12-30T20:18:00.000+05:302007-12-30T20:33:11.273+05:30Manger SceneHere's one of the things I'm struggling to pack up. A couple days before Christmas I walked to Pottery Town, an area near the Cantonment Railway station where lots of (you guessed it) pottery is made. The potters work out of their houses, and I think mainly have standing orders from businesses, but they will also just sell to people who wander by. The place really swells in the days leading up toTripp Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06654231926830775673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20374039.post-159204835271680512007-12-30T20:17:00.000+05:302007-12-30T20:17:57.659+05:30Packing Tape Is Your FriendUnbelievably, our time in India is almost at an end. I know I've thought that twice before, just before we were heading back in July 2006 and then in April 2007, but this time it looks as if it's really the case. I'll try to write up some sort of wordy summing-up (who doesn't love those?), but don't hold your breath. The last week or so has been full of packing tape, buying stuff (mostly cloth), Tripp Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06654231926830775673noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20374039.post-74639699245222904672007-12-30T20:06:00.000+05:302007-12-30T20:13:23.828+05:30Wine Time 18: Flamingo Chenin BlancFlamingo Chenin Blanc 2005380 rupees14% Yet another wine we drank a while back. It was hard to be thrilled by it. It had a nice, sweet, honey-like frangrance, but the taste itself was way too sweet for us. Not so memorable. We have to give it a 5 for being boring.Tripp Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06654231926830775673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20374039.post-28697035256012074162007-12-26T17:45:00.000+05:302007-12-26T18:03:02.067+05:30Wine Time 17: Sula Blush ZinfandelSula Blush Zinfandel Rs. 39512% alcoholAs usual we drank this entry before we could take a picture, so I don't have any photographic evidence of its orange-red, tawny color, perhaps its best aspect. The smell was pleasing -- subtle and fruity, but quick to evaporate. It's not very deep, but it doesn't have anything unpleasant about it either. It's an insubstantial, fruity, fun wine. We give it a Tripp Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06654231926830775673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20374039.post-49915071042130766322007-12-25T18:12:00.000+05:302007-12-25T19:13:55.581+05:30Merry ChristmasMerry Christmas to everyone celebrating it today. This kolam-like message was found in the Russell Market area today. Last night we had Christmas dinner over at the neighbors. It was pasta with tuna. Not exactly a traditional Christmas goose, but it was wonderful. And then, plum cake. Of course. And this morning I went to a couple church services. I wasn't sure where to head, since I didn't have Tripp Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06654231926830775673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20374039.post-26156224922099481752007-12-24T17:51:00.000+05:302007-12-24T18:42:33.472+05:30Wine Time 16: Sula BrutSula410 rupees11.5% alcoholChristmas and (even more to the point) New Year's are right around the corner, and for some people that means a flute of sparkling wine. If you're going for real, honest-to-goodness French Champagne in India, be prepared to pay through the nose --- at least 1200 rupees, and possibly closer to 3000 inr ($75). At prices like that, you'd best make your parties on the smallTripp Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06654231926830775673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20374039.post-60757653157912292542007-12-24T09:34:00.000+05:302007-12-24T09:49:52.169+05:30Wine Time 15: Sula Chenin BlancSula2007395 rupees12.5% This wine is semi-dry, which for secret Wine Expert reasons actually means "slightly sweet." I'm sometimes a little leery of such wines, because I think a bad sweet wine can be awful, much less bearable than a bad red wine. Anyway, this one is really, really good. It smells a little like honey, a little like flowers. The flavors are clean, crisp, and not overpowering. We Tripp Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06654231926830775673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20374039.post-23049254416895638112007-12-20T22:14:00.000+05:302007-12-20T22:29:17.030+05:30Rambo Beer PubSince it's almost the same as my last name, I loved the Rambo bar of Calcutta. I discouraged us from going in since it looked so grim, but maybe I shouldn't have: a backpacker site says it's "seedy and toxic-smelling," "a dive for sure," "quite famous" but also "foul and definitely not famous." Intriguing! Anyway, "off-cum-on" means you can buy liquor for drinking off the premises as well as for Tripp Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06654231926830775673noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20374039.post-51833456336747135312007-12-19T20:52:00.000+05:302007-12-19T20:56:02.384+05:30Our Nightly EntertainmentHere's a short video Katherine shot with her camera. Behold the bats, who fly out of the trees in back of our apartment every night around 6:15 or whenever the sun sets. A little before they do their thing, many of the birds all start flying back to the trees. So there's a little bit of sharing going on.Tripp Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06654231926830775673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20374039.post-67719448960998002152007-12-19T20:20:00.001+05:302007-12-19T20:23:44.860+05:30Wine Time 14: Bluefolds Shiraz reduxWe already did this wine, but it found its way back into our house all the same. It seemed like a 5.5 last time, but maybe it's a little better than that. How about a 6? It's still thin and kind of dull, but it did improve once we left it open for a while and let it breathe.Tripp Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06654231926830775673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20374039.post-20680730492229421502007-12-19T20:01:00.000+05:302007-12-19T20:18:04.545+05:30Bangalore GloomAll is gloom in Bangalore today. It's rainy, cold, and gusty. It looks like this:OK, that's really Minnesota from a couple weeks ago. But here in Bangalore it feels very damp and cold all the same. Everyone who had a sweater or something similar had put it on. And just about everyone seemed a little down in the dumps. On the other hand, my auto-rickshaw driver kindly agreed to slow down a bit Tripp Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06654231926830775673noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20374039.post-17181375500681751862007-12-18T10:58:00.000+05:302007-12-18T11:21:21.735+05:30Wine Time 13: Seagram's Nine Hills ShirazSeagram465 rupees13.5% alchoholI usually keep the empty bottles of wine we've drunk until their contents either get written up here or we've completely forget what exactly the wine was like. I'll try to clear up the backlog, and then at least the apartment will stop looking so much like a frat house. Here's another wine from Seagram's relatively new Nine Hills line. We reviewed the Chenin Blanc aTripp Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06654231926830775673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20374039.post-85254412534560390692007-12-17T21:40:00.001+05:302007-12-17T21:59:11.249+05:30The Goat of GhoomThe Goat of Ghoom cracked us all up. How does he get his hair so curly? And why is he inside the basket? Ghoom is a town a few miles from Darjeeling. It's on most tourists' radar as the first stop the Toy Train makes from Darjeeling. There's also a great monastery.Soon after I took this picture, Don grabbed the GoG and ran like hell for the Toy Train to make his escape. But the train only goes atTripp Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06654231926830775673noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20374039.post-13530013989102027542007-12-17T21:20:00.000+05:302007-12-17T21:26:53.051+05:30Photos Are FunWe used to have this blog, see, where I'd post random pictures and go on and about Indian wine, goats, traffic, and other obsessions. Not so much anymore! I hope that will change. Anyway, our friend Katherine has posted lots of good pictures from her recent visit and vacation with us. Click here for the slideshow.Tripp Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06654231926830775673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20374039.post-34912063516080306452007-12-07T16:40:00.000+05:302007-12-07T16:51:20.366+05:30GangtokWe left Gangtok this morning, driving about 4 hours over very dramatic roads to Darjeeling, another mountain town. Darjeeling was once a hill station, where the British Raj went to escape from the heat of Calcutta, but now it's a very large city as well. It may be even a little colder than Gangtok. My fingers are a little numb as I'm typing. We've had some fried rice and momos (dumplings) for Tripp Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06654231926830775673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20374039.post-14282604450648825932007-12-05T17:23:00.001+05:302007-12-05T17:25:22.847+05:30Heavy BreathingWe're in Gangtok in the mountainous Indian state of Sikkim at the moment. We just drove in a couple hours ago. Although it's not super-high, it's high enough that I feel a little dizzy. It doesn't help that the sprawling city is on a mountain, so going from one street to another involves big flights of stairs. Even with the cardio I've been doing, it's a bit much. So if there are even more typos Tripp Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06654231926830775673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20374039.post-49703336277747614292007-12-03T06:13:00.000+05:302007-12-03T06:14:33.482+05:30Calcutta et alSo as we continue our attempt to see a few more of the places we didn't reach yet, we're heading off this morning to Kolkata, Darjeeling, and Gangtok. Our friend Katherine just flew in from the states yesterday for this trip. In Kolkata we're looking forward to College Street and its many streetside books, Bengali fish, and of course over-the-top British Raj monstrosities, I mean monuments. So Tripp Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06654231926830775673noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20374039.post-34717822161654970862007-11-27T20:39:00.000+05:302007-11-27T21:04:42.276+05:30Getting Ready to LeaveSo we have about a month left to spend in India, and we have a lot to do in that month. A friend is visiting, we both have lots of projects to start and finish, and then we have to pack up. And at the moment we're just really ready to go back.Thanksgiving made me happy, although the food wasn't going to win any gourmet awards. The turkey was a little tough, and the pumpkin pie had been made Tripp Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06654231926830775673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20374039.post-47319882903485634922007-11-25T10:50:00.000+05:302007-11-25T10:56:07.132+05:30Parrots Bite SnakeThe front page of today's Deccan Herald had this awesome series of photos of a couple parrots picking on a rat snake they hadn't taken a liking too. I think that rat snakes will eat more than just rodents . . . . I think the snake is a very nice color, but I guess I'm glad I didn't see it in the park myself.Tripp Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06654231926830775673noreply@blogger.com0