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panpsychism
July 2009 
Quickies: Travel to India, Dubai, Rio and Guanajuato (Mexico)
Posted on Feb 22nd, 2008
by 
Anand
Anand
Hmm...haven't updated this blog in quite a while. I've seen many an abandoned blog on the web. Don't want this one to become a "Blog in a Bog" or a blog that has sunk in the morass of the web.
I traveled a helluva lot last year.
First, I went back to India - mainly Bangalore (now Bengaluru) - to spend a month and a half in a research lab. Once again, I ended up meeting a whole bunch of people in the Bangalore pubs and restaurants. Bangalore has plenty of young kids funded by NGOs crawling around. These kids are from all over the planet, they are bright, well educated and motivated to make a difference. I caught Aerosmith while I was there. I've never seen a stadium act in India at close quarters and it was quite an experience. I wrote about it here.
On the way back to the US, I stopped over in Dubai. Now, this was an unexpected treat. First, I want to mention the ease with which I could get a visa, hotel and desert adventure package booked - all from Bangalore. I merely went to the Emirates office, paid them some money and they took care of the rest. You're met at the airport, a taxi takes you to your hotel and you start the adventure tour after a short rest. The driver of the Toyota 4x4 - and this is mentioned for a reason - was from Syria and he had the disconcerting habit of playing a CD which alternated between Bollywood and "Western" tunes creating an odd juxtaposition in my mind since you don't often taste this brew in the US. After showing us the city, he proceeded to drive into the sand dunes, over the sand dunes, under the sand dunes, well you get the picture. A sand dune roller coaster ride - a first for me. And then we were introduced to dune buggies, sandboarding, some serious (ahem) hookah action, fantastic food topped off by a belly dancing lesson. Unfortunately, I don't remember too much of the late evening. I think I had a good time...
After that we took a trip to Guanajuato, Mexico. This is a very pretty town nestled in the middle of some hills. Has quite a bit of history too. This is where all the action took place in 1810-1811 when Miguel Hidalgo - widely considered to be the father of the Mexican independence movement - inspired many Mexicans to get up and fight. We took a tour of the neighboring towns including a narrated tour of Hidalgo's house which has been preserved as a museum. Again, I'm struck by the general friendliness in the air - in sharp and unpleasant contrast to arriving back in Houston to the sounds of an overbearing security guard bellowing instructions on the right way for us to get through the line.
Finally, Rio... A bizarre place. Imagine you are decked in your finest, sipping some fantastic wine and duelling at the same time. The duel is for real, the saber goes through you like butter, bright red blood oozes from the many wounds and you keep drinking and bleeding, drinking and bleeding...that's Rio in a nutshell. Four people from our conference group got mugged in broad daylight. I made eyecontact with at least three bums who got up from the side of the street to follow me and then abandoned the idea - with a smile - after I made eye contact. Never wear sunglasses in Rio. We went as a group to a nightclub and found that there were more women than men in the nightclub and quite possibly many a transgender as well. I was mercilessly hit on by numerous "women" who all turned out to be hookers. Now I know how women feel. And when I asked a woman to dance with me, she informed me that she wasn't for sale. We got out of that place in a hurry...but certain body parts were black and blue. Again, Rio is a very friendly place once you get away from the strip. I don't think there's any race consciousness and the sensuality in the air has less machismo than in a former Spanish colony - Brazil having a Portuguese background. To know more about Rio, watch City of God. Shows a side of Rio's reality that you do not want to see.
I traveled a helluva lot last year.
First, I went back to India - mainly Bangalore (now Bengaluru) - to spend a month and a half in a research lab. Once again, I ended up meeting a whole bunch of people in the Bangalore pubs and restaurants. Bangalore has plenty of young kids funded by NGOs crawling around. These kids are from all over the planet, they are bright, well educated and motivated to make a difference. I caught Aerosmith while I was there. I've never seen a stadium act in India at close quarters and it was quite an experience. I wrote about it here.
On the way back to the US, I stopped over in Dubai. Now, this was an unexpected treat. First, I want to mention the ease with which I could get a visa, hotel and desert adventure package booked - all from Bangalore. I merely went to the Emirates office, paid them some money and they took care of the rest. You're met at the airport, a taxi takes you to your hotel and you start the adventure tour after a short rest. The driver of the Toyota 4x4 - and this is mentioned for a reason - was from Syria and he had the disconcerting habit of playing a CD which alternated between Bollywood and "Western" tunes creating an odd juxtaposition in my mind since you don't often taste this brew in the US. After showing us the city, he proceeded to drive into the sand dunes, over the sand dunes, under the sand dunes, well you get the picture. A sand dune roller coaster ride - a first for me. And then we were introduced to dune buggies, sandboarding, some serious (ahem) hookah action, fantastic food topped off by a belly dancing lesson. Unfortunately, I don't remember too much of the late evening. I think I had a good time...
After that we took a trip to Guanajuato, Mexico. This is a very pretty town nestled in the middle of some hills. Has quite a bit of history too. This is where all the action took place in 1810-1811 when Miguel Hidalgo - widely considered to be the father of the Mexican independence movement - inspired many Mexicans to get up and fight. We took a tour of the neighboring towns including a narrated tour of Hidalgo's house which has been preserved as a museum. Again, I'm struck by the general friendliness in the air - in sharp and unpleasant contrast to arriving back in Houston to the sounds of an overbearing security guard bellowing instructions on the right way for us to get through the line.
Finally, Rio... A bizarre place. Imagine you are decked in your finest, sipping some fantastic wine and duelling at the same time. The duel is for real, the saber goes through you like butter, bright red blood oozes from the many wounds and you keep drinking and bleeding, drinking and bleeding...that's Rio in a nutshell. Four people from our conference group got mugged in broad daylight. I made eyecontact with at least three bums who got up from the side of the street to follow me and then abandoned the idea - with a smile - after I made eye contact. Never wear sunglasses in Rio. We went as a group to a nightclub and found that there were more women than men in the nightclub and quite possibly many a transgender as well. I was mercilessly hit on by numerous "women" who all turned out to be hookers. Now I know how women feel. And when I asked a woman to dance with me, she informed me that she wasn't for sale. We got out of that place in a hurry...but certain body parts were black and blue. Again, Rio is a very friendly place once you get away from the strip. I don't think there's any race consciousness and the sensuality in the air has less machismo than in a former Spanish colony - Brazil having a Portuguese background. To know more about Rio, watch City of God. Shows a side of Rio's reality that you do not want to see.
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