So, I'm back in India!
And this time Walker's with me. His first time in India. Too bad we're going to be shopping most of the time. And jetlagged the rest of the time.
We took a flight through the United Arab Emirates on the way here. And I realized that all the traveling, I've ever done, I have never had a layover in the Middle East. Ok, that's not entirely true. I did stop in Dubai once, but it was the middle of the night, the airport was empty and I was there for like 2 seconds, so that doesn't count.
Anyway, when we were landing, it was incredible. You see pictures and you read about it, but it's different from actually seeing it: desert. As far as the eye can see. (In one direction, anyway.)
UAE is really trying to boost their tourism trade. There were countless ads for UAE tourism on the plane. There was one magazine that was devoted to just that in its entirety! And they're opening a Guggenheim and a Louvre there too. Each gets it's own separate island. In case you don't find the rest of it enticing enough.
We were at the airport in Abu Dhabi for about 3 hours. It's a gorgeous airport. But it's a little bit like a giant shopping mall from which you just happen to be able to catch a plane.
Walker and I sat down at a coffee shop to kill the time. We got a couple of cups of coffee and some water. Which we later found out came to about $18.
Say what?!
My honeymoon with the UAE was over right then and there.
On to Delhi.
Last time I was here it was so cold. I had to walk around my parents apartment bundled up. We would huddle around the space heater every morning and every night. Not now! It's like 90 degrees. The minute I got off the plane I started sweating. Ahh! That's the India I know and love. All this was made all the more humorous because it was SNOWING when we took off from NYC.
Walker and I were remarkably well rested seeing as we had not slept that much. (I watched 5 movies on the plane. One of the movies I watched, The Sentinel, I didn't realize until about 2/3 of the way through the movie that I had seen it before. Not very memorable, that one. I do, however, highly recommend Madagascar 2. So funny!!) So my parents picked us up and took us home to freshen up. And then we went to this restaurant that they had promised to take me to during my last trip, but we hadn't been able to go - a place famous for their southern seafood dishes.
Next thing I know the waiters are tying bibs on us and we're elbow deep in lovely, spicy crab. Crunching it, cracking it, chewing it. It was cooked in a cocomut curry sauce. Yummy! And these crabs were HUGE. They brought a live one to the table before we ordered (which almost made my mom order vegetarian instead, but she resisted). That thing was bigger than a football (for lack of a better analogy...I guess it was close in size to a large dictionary, but I don't see how that makes things any clearer, so I'm ready to move on.) Move over Maryland! Mmm, I'm getting hungry now just thinking about it! Luckily there are leftover in the fridge and I am not above eating them at 7:07 in the morning (mostly because it's like 5pm on the east coast right now). I got crab all over the wall and the table and Walker got crab all over his face, but my parents were pretty much pros.
The perfect meal to end the day.
We all went home and Walker and I passed out.
And the next day...we went to McDonald's. Lol!
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