What A Weekend

I have not written since the middle of last week, and of course so much has happened since then I don’t even know where to begin. I guess I’ll just go day by day.

Thursday:

This day was so weird. It started off with our driver being really late to pick me up. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, but it’s almost impossible for me to drive here, and Apoorva doesn’t even want to try. So we hired a driver, Vicky. I guess he wasn’t feeling very well that day, so on his way back from dropping off Apoorva at the office he stopped to get some medicine. However this meant he was an hour late picking me up, and therefore an hour late meeting up with my friend Caryl. Talk about mixed feelings. I was concerned about Vicky because he was not feeling well, and I didn’t want him to have to work while sick. But on the other hand I was upset I was late. Not at him of course, just the situation. It’s been a really long time since I’ve had to rely on anyone to get from place to place. It’s the sense of loss of control that I hate and pisses me off in these situations. I miss my car ☹

We finally got on our way after I tried to convince him to take the day off, but he refused. An hour later (takes an hour to go 5 miles because of the traffic) he drops me off at the Hyatt where Caryl is staying, and we get in her car to go to Bandra (another suburb of Mumbai about ½ hour further south). Vicky was going to go back to the office to wait for Apoorva to get done with work. But then the poor guy hits a motorcycle pulling out of the Hyatt. Fortunately no one was hurt, and he just paid the traffic cop 100 rupees and everything was fine (about $2.50). Interesting I know, but I guess that’s how they deal with those types of things over here.

So finally Caryl and I are on our way. We meet up with another expat for lunch and then a hot oil head massage at a local beauty salon. I guess many India women massage coconut oil into their hair about once a week so that it’s soft and straight. So we thought we would try it out. Well it was about the weirdest thing I’ve experienced so far, I don’t know if I’ll be able to accurately describe it here. So the first part was fine. The guy just massaged olive oil (better for my type of hair I guess) into my scalp and hair. Then he started to massage my head and neck. It was a little too rough for my taste, but still ok. Then he starts massaging my face, and then my ears, like inside my ears. Eeeeww!!! Then he gets out this machine he wears like a glove that vibrates violently and then proceeds to do everything again, except my his hand is vibrating because of the glove. This includes the face massage (I thought my teeth were going to fall out) and ears (I probably lost some brain cells… I’m not using them anyway).

So then once I’m done with the freaky massage, the guy washes out my hair and then blows it out. The stylists who are doing my two friends (who both have black or dark brown hair) do a quick job of it leaving them with damp, unstyled hair. Mine however takes his sweet time. Halfway through three or four other stylists line up behind him and watch him style my hair. They are transfixed. I will say that my hair has not looked that good since stepping off the plane. However ten minutes after I stepped out of the salon it poofs up again because of the humidity. I miss my straight hair ☹

So that was my Thursday. Oh, I almost forgot. My wildlife sighting for the day was three monkeys!!! Two adults and a baby. They were being led on a leash by a woman who would get them to do tricks if you gave her some money.

Friday:

Friday was Independence Day for India so Apoorva had the day off. We took the opportunity to do some sight seeing in downtown Mumbai. We saw of few of the major tourist attractions (Gateway of India, Hanging Gardens) and at lunch at the Taj Hotel, one of the better high end hotels in the area. The restaurant served Mediterranean food and it was so yummy. Since it was a 5 star hotel I could actually eat come chicken and it was delicious!!

Saturday:

Saturday was another holiday, Raksha bandhan, which is a Hindu festival celebrating the relationship between brothers and sisters. During the day women and girls tie a Rakhi (a beefed up friendship bracelet) to their brothers and male cousins. I think it’s supposed to be a sign of loyalty and affection. The elder brother in return offers a gift to his sister and vows to look after her and protect her for the rest of her life. As Apporva's wife, his sisters (and cousins) tie a loomba (same thing as a Rakhi except it dangles) to my bangles, since I am now a part of him.

So we spent the whole day with Apoorva’s family meeting various relatives, doing these little ceremonies, and eating a lot of food. It was a fun holiday and I really like the symbolism behind it.

Sunday:

We went to one of the larger malls on the other side of town to do some grocery shopping and to look for some more furniture (we really need a TV stand and a desk). The mall was really great, much better than the one across the road from our apartment. It basically has everything you need right in one place and the food court is amazing. I think I’ll be able to get there on my own in an auto rickshaw (a little three wheeled taxi). I hate riding in those things but it would be worth it to go to that place.