So the last six weeks have been relatively eventful I guess.
Among the things to catch you up on (my great mass of loyal readers you) are:
·
My weekend in Delhi -- a pleasant garden city, decades
ahead and with a pulsing underground scene (all of this in comparison to Addis).
o
I relived Delhi memories including:
o
Indulging in my favorite regional Indian foods –
particularly Goan and Bengali
o
Remembering the convenience of 1) metro travel
and 2) autorickshaws
o
Re-noticing the amazing orderliness of the
official quarter of central Delhi – block by orderly block of (decently)
well-kept bungalows and impressive gardens
o
Observing (and taking advantage of) the remarkable degree
to which the high-end lifestyle continues to develop in Delhi: new
international brands for the country (Starbucks, Louis Philippe), a hip dj
party in the middle of a rundown neighborhood—where women are afraid to be seen
outside in their (moderate) club garb, a country house pool party where
twenty-somethings are waited on by old servants bearing kebabs
o
Appreciating the kindness of Sonum as my guide
for the weekend
·
Two weeks of trekking, hanging out, and eating
well in Nepal, for which I can rely on the descriptive powers of my companions
Zev and Eliza:
o
(Further posts to come)
·
(A little less than) twenty-four hours in Dubai,
an interesting setting in its own right, as well as a strange in-transit
counterpoint between Kathmandu and Addis.
o
My excellent layover adventure included:
o
A morning swim in a four star hotel
o
A trip up the world’s tallest building where sand
clouds obscure the horizon
o
Stocking up on much-needed electronics as well
as delicate Parisian fare at perhaps fanciest mall I’ve ever been in
o
Zipping on the metro back up to the “old town”—mainly
from the 1950’s, the museum in the restored fort touting modern Dubai’s ties to
nomadic desert culture and values
o
A public boat taxi across the creek for a few
dirhams
o
Strolling through the charmless “gold souk” in
which an absurd flow of precious metals pass through rows of modern shops that
each individually could be at home in a strip mall
o
A trip back to the airport with a Pakastani cab
driver who thought my travel beard and American-ness meant I’d been in
Afghanistan
o
My delight at finding bourbon in Dubai duty free
o
Enjoying a last meal in Dubai of a Big Mac extra
value meal in the departure area
o
Getting a glimpse at global labor flows on my
discount flight back to Addis, which was 95% women (Ethiopian domestic servants
returning home) as compared to my flight in which was 90% male Nepalis heading
to become construction workers
·
Another trip out of country (to be fair, I did
work for a week in between :-)),
this time for a long weekend in the Seychelles:
This one was less eventful per se, except to say that I enjoyed being in a beach paradise so perfect that Bacardi has used a Seychellois beach in its ads as an on-screen stand-in for the stereotypical pristine Caribbean paradise of sand and sun. (Also very good creole food – particularly the octopus curry)
·
The news of first the Westgate Mall attack in
Nairobi and later an explosion in Addis in which two Somalis in a neighborhood
near my own seem to have accidentally blown themselves up while constructing a
bomb.
o
A few thoughts:
o
Most public safety news that I hear in Addis
comes primarily through rumors – particularly as I can’t follow the real (i.e.
Amharic) local news sources – but the accidental bomb blast notice came from
the US Embassy as well
o
This follows on the heals on a report a couple
months ago where a Sudanese news source claimed bombs had been disarmed in the
Addis airport, as well as talk of crackdowns by public safety forces on the occasion
of Eid-al-Fitr around the same time (Google it)
o
Meanwhile in DC though a crazy man was shooting
up a naval complex and a crazy woman was running down police officers in her
car -- to some degree these are risks that we run to live anywhere
So that’s been the last six weeks, more or less. Same old
same old I guess.
For Nepal photos, Zev and Eliza should be able to provide.
For the wonders of Dubai and the Seychelles, stay tuned and I’ll try to throw
something your way.
Max
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