Hotel Living

Bad Hair Day 

Crab and Shrimp Appetiser 

Cappuccino Chick Pea Soup

Kitchari

Vegetable Biryani

Dessert: Kulfi not Coffee

We planned to spend the entire day lounging around the hotel. With the exception of going out to dinner, the day went exactly as planned. After breakfast we returned to our room to read the Sunday papers and then some books that we had brought along. From the hotel’s bookstore we purchased an excellent map of the area where we will be traveling.

I was feeling the affects of very little sleep due to jet lag and lots of rich Indian food, so I was just as glad to take it easy and read. We have been reading all of the editorials in the newspapers and they are all about either Modi (India’s new prime-minister) and his plans for jump-starting India, Ebola or ISIS in Iraq. Two negative events in the world, one potentially very positive. When you enter India, at the airport, there were warning signs about Ebola symptoms;  several Indians returning from Africa have been quarantined as they determine if they are infected.  Many Asian countries such as India, China, Philippines have vast numbers of workers in Africa. The risk is great that they could spread Ebola upon return.

We ask everyone we talk to about Modi and everyone without exception expressed great hope in him. In his Independence Day speech he laid out a vision for India to which people can relate. Less corruption, power to the states, better education, women’s rights, etc. He is a very seasoned powerful and skilled politician and has the possibility of being very effective. He has a super majority of support in the legislature (it is a parliamentary system) and has the potential to change India in profound ways. One interesting thing, that tells a lot about world power arrangements, India which although non-aligned from its birth followed a socialist path, with a rigorous Russian styled central Planning Authority. Modi announced he was dumping the Planning Authority and replacing it with a Chinese Style Office of National Planning. It is clear that Modi and India look to their rival China as model for planning, not Russia. The planning authority is only for major nationwide projects (Electricity, roads, etc.) the rest of the economy is totally free, and of course it is a very thriving democracy (unlike its neighbors China and Russia).

Enough of the politics back to life at the Imperial Hotel. A Steam bath long 90 minute massage for me followed by a sauna at the hotel’s beautiful spa, a steam bath and facial for Cathy. A good way to spend an afternoon. We returned eventually to our room for drinks and did a preliminary pack. We went back and forth on dinner reservations and finally settled on the restaurant VARQ at the Taj Hotel. A short cab ride to the hotel and then we experienced a phenomenal dinner at VARQ. A great Crab Appetizer, a Chick Pea Soup that looked like a cappuccino, Vegetable Biryani, I wanted to go easy, so they made an excellent Kitchari for me, every course was exceptional. We will return here on our next trip to Delhi, for sure!

We returned to the Imperial, and completed our backing, ready to head to the Himalayas. I have no idea of the Internet connections where we are going, so blogs might be sporadic.  On the return taxi ride the driver asked if I was a scientist. Cathy on the other hand asked if I had put my finger in an electric socket. Could I be having a bad hair day?