OK, so now we can talk about India. Start talking about it anyway. Even though I said I'd do it yesterday. But today is still good. Maybe I'll finish. Actually I'll probably write half today and half tomorrow and just post this all at once. Or maybe just write half and post half. Not that that matters to you. So yeah, I went to India. I was somewhat apprehensive going into it. For years I really wanted to visit India, but then after moving back to China back in 2009 and realizing that I live in a crazy place that's just overcrowded and dirty and full of pushy people and sometimes a massive headache, I decided that I did not need to vacation to a place which I imagined to be similar. And that is how I imagined India to be. Not only like that, but an even more exaggerated version of that. So for years I did not want to go. And then my friend Julia suggested we go for New Year's Eve, so I said yes.
We only visited 2 places: Mumbai and Udaipur. We spent too much time in Mumbai, but that was basically because my friend Niki was going to be there and so we agreed to change the trip and start in Mumbai, not meet somewhere else to travel then finish in Mumbai. We did still finish in Mumbai because Julia's flight was out of there, but we just added extra time. So Mumbai was not at all what I expected. Maybe Mumbai is to India like Shanghai is to China - not really like the rest of the country and much easier, more chill, and just nicer. Cause that was my impression of Mumbai. It was actually pretty chill. We did spend most of our time down in the old town area at the very south and didn't see much of the real city, but we saw the touristy bits and I'm ok with that. And it was just pleasant. We spent time walking around, visiting synagogues (there are 9 synagogues in Mumbai, and a super interesting Jewish history in India that I didn't know about until a couple of years ago), eating tons of curry and drinking. What more could you want? Plus people were really nice and helpful. Then we drank a bunch on New Year's Eve, which ended up being not quite what we had expected. The drinking was, but the rest wasn't. We'd been told to just go to whatever nice hotel party, cause they all do them, and stay within walking distance of wherever you're staying. So we went to a fancy hotel bar, and instead of being a party, we got a table to ourselves, and there were a few other tables, and they just brought us lots of food and drinks. It was weird. It was nice, cause there were like 7 of us and we all go to sit together and chat all night, but it was not what we expected. And then when we went outside for fireworks and a countdown, there was no countdown or fireworks. Well, there were some fireworks, but it was like 1 firework per minute for 5 minutes. I'm only exaggerating in that it was actually 1 firework per 30 seconds for 2.5 minutes. Now I am not exaggerating anymore. It was strange. But yeah, so that was Mumbai, and then we woke up on the 1st, ate lunch, and flew to Udaipur. And I'll talk about Udaipur tomorrow. And this time tomorrow might actually mean tomorrow.
But I will talk about a bit of music, specifically Bedouine. So here is a very interesting lady. She is based in LA, but based on the biography I just read about her, she was born in Syria, grew up in Saudi Arabia, won the green card lottery, and moved to America. Then when she went to buy herself a recorder to make music one day, the guy who ran the shop asked her to play a song, and she played Solitary Daughter and blew him away and the rest is history. So we'll start with Solitary Daughter.
Now, clearly that is a beautiful song. But here's the weird thing about her. As soon as I heard her I was enthralled. I mean, she has a gorgeous voice, makes beautiful music, and is basically Nick Drake reincarnated into a woman's body. But for some reason, whenever I would listen to her album (also titled Bedouine), it would never really catch my attention. But then she just kept coming up on playlists, and every time I'd hear her voice I'd be like "oh shit this is good" and then go listen to the album again. And I finally fell in love with it and with her. It took me long enough. I don't know why. She's fantastic. So go listen to Dusty Eyes, and then go listen to her whole album. Maybe a few times, but it is worth it.
We only visited 2 places: Mumbai and Udaipur. We spent too much time in Mumbai, but that was basically because my friend Niki was going to be there and so we agreed to change the trip and start in Mumbai, not meet somewhere else to travel then finish in Mumbai. We did still finish in Mumbai because Julia's flight was out of there, but we just added extra time. So Mumbai was not at all what I expected. Maybe Mumbai is to India like Shanghai is to China - not really like the rest of the country and much easier, more chill, and just nicer. Cause that was my impression of Mumbai. It was actually pretty chill. We did spend most of our time down in the old town area at the very south and didn't see much of the real city, but we saw the touristy bits and I'm ok with that. And it was just pleasant. We spent time walking around, visiting synagogues (there are 9 synagogues in Mumbai, and a super interesting Jewish history in India that I didn't know about until a couple of years ago), eating tons of curry and drinking. What more could you want? Plus people were really nice and helpful. Then we drank a bunch on New Year's Eve, which ended up being not quite what we had expected. The drinking was, but the rest wasn't. We'd been told to just go to whatever nice hotel party, cause they all do them, and stay within walking distance of wherever you're staying. So we went to a fancy hotel bar, and instead of being a party, we got a table to ourselves, and there were a few other tables, and they just brought us lots of food and drinks. It was weird. It was nice, cause there were like 7 of us and we all go to sit together and chat all night, but it was not what we expected. And then when we went outside for fireworks and a countdown, there was no countdown or fireworks. Well, there were some fireworks, but it was like 1 firework per minute for 5 minutes. I'm only exaggerating in that it was actually 1 firework per 30 seconds for 2.5 minutes. Now I am not exaggerating anymore. It was strange. But yeah, so that was Mumbai, and then we woke up on the 1st, ate lunch, and flew to Udaipur. And I'll talk about Udaipur tomorrow. And this time tomorrow might actually mean tomorrow.
But I will talk about a bit of music, specifically Bedouine. So here is a very interesting lady. She is based in LA, but based on the biography I just read about her, she was born in Syria, grew up in Saudi Arabia, won the green card lottery, and moved to America. Then when she went to buy herself a recorder to make music one day, the guy who ran the shop asked her to play a song, and she played Solitary Daughter and blew him away and the rest is history. So we'll start with Solitary Daughter.
Now, clearly that is a beautiful song. But here's the weird thing about her. As soon as I heard her I was enthralled. I mean, she has a gorgeous voice, makes beautiful music, and is basically Nick Drake reincarnated into a woman's body. But for some reason, whenever I would listen to her album (also titled Bedouine), it would never really catch my attention. But then she just kept coming up on playlists, and every time I'd hear her voice I'd be like "oh shit this is good" and then go listen to the album again. And I finally fell in love with it and with her. It took me long enough. I don't know why. She's fantastic. So go listen to Dusty Eyes, and then go listen to her whole album. Maybe a few times, but it is worth it.
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