Sunday, July 19, 2009

Hard Rock Cafe: Pune and another hike

I should start by mentioning the fact that my last post requires a correction. As such, this post is going to be written in reverse chronological order, which should be interesting. Despite my claim that we had no plans to see a Bollywood movie, we saw a Bollywood movie tonight: Dil Chahta Hai. We went to Ajay's house for dinner tonight, and they offered to show us a Bollywood movie. Bollywood movies are long, unrealistic, and follow the same basic plotlines. On the other hand, the music and dance numbers are fun and the actors and actresses are insanely beautiful.

Dinner tonight was from Smokin' Joe's, a local pizza place. According to Thomas Friedman's book The World is Flat (which I just finished), pizza is now the world's most popular food. After all, any culture can take a flat piece of dough and put "toppings" on it. Not surprisingly, our pizzas were not sausage and pepperoni, but supreme veg, tandoori paneer, chicken tikka, and the special (a mix of chicken, onions, and spices). Pizzas are culturally adaptable, unlike Big Macs and french fries. The fact that pizza places exist in India is evidence of cultural exchange, and the way pizzas are made is evidence of cultural adaption.

This morning we woke up after about 6 hours of sleep to go on another hike with Dr. Kelkar and Dr. Joshi. This time it was at a farm about a half hour south of Pune. Despite the rain, wind, and lack of breakfast, it was a good time--climbing hills certainly affords a good view of the surrounding area. Rural India is really quite beautiful and offers a nice break from the smog-choked streets of Pune. I've found that one of my favorite things to do abroad is simply go walking and hiking (preferably with a camera, which is unavailable thanks to the Indian Ocean). While it shouldn't be the only thing you do, it does allow you to see a lot without having to pay for any transportation or sightseeing.

Last night we got back to our apartment after a wonderful evening at Hard Rock Cafe, Pune. This is my first time going to a Hard Rock Cafe, and we had a lot of fun going with Vinita and her friends. When we walked in, we were shocked by the number of foreigners there. After 7 weeks of seeing almost no tourists, it was a bit of a surprise to see...white people. Then again, we don't live in an area frequented by tourists, nor is Pune known as a tourist hotspot (the top three tourist hotspots in India are probably Delhi/Agra, Mumbai, and Goa). In all, we had a fun weekend, even if it is short, as we worked all day Saturday. None of us enjoys the idea of six day workweeks, since it means making a choice between resting over the weekend and doing something over the weekend.

I apologize for not having pictures with this post. First, because I do not have a working camera, I'm not able to post pictures immediately. Second, my internet connection is currently too slow to upload anything. Thus, for those of you following on , you'll just have to check back later (hopefully I'll have pictures--and maybe a new post if I can get it done--within the next 24 hours or so). for those of you following on Facebook or another external site that imports the blog, you'll probably have to go to my actual blog to see the pictures: http://summerinindia2009.blogspot.com.

[Edit: pictures now included]

Picture credits to Kevin Schell.

1 comment:

  1. Yeah, they may eat pizza, but have they ever seen four teenage mutant ninja turtles eat it like there was no tomorrow?

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