DUNK YOUR GANESH

WEDNESDAY-Finally made it to Hyderabad, got to sleep in a nice hotel with my hubby and use a SHOWER and real toilet! (I was in China for 2 weeks and didn't use a real toilet, but that doesn't mean I'm used to it and like it)

After our complimentary breakfast, Brian took me with him on his Photo Walk. He was in search of insects. He likes to photograph insects. He found a black and yellow centipede of which that he took about 20 million photographs. Some pretty butterflies and red dragonflies were also the subject of many pictures. And there was the weird looking bumble bee that was way over photographed!





I do not have a clearance badge, so I was not allowed in the part of the hotel where all the meetings and conferences are being held- which is also where the internet cafe is located.

Yesterday was a big day in Hyderabad. It was "dunk your idol in the Lake Day'. Not just any idol, but the GANESH idol. The elephant headed god. Story goes; his dad accidentally cut off his head and vowed to cut the head off the 1st animal he saw when he stepped outside and to replace his son's head with the head of this animal. If he could put a cut animal head on his headless kid, why couldn't he just stick the kid's own head back on his neck?



So, the roads were crowed and closed off to traffic. For this reason, there were many cancelled meetings at the hotel, as about 1/3 or more of the conferences were from a hotel across town,

I went shopping with Alia today. She bought a lot of little ganesh statues as gifts. Alia is here in India with he husband, who is also attending the conference. He is lawyer though (Space policy lawyer). She has lived in the USA for 2 years. She is from Mexico. She is about 25. They don't have kids. And have plenty of money, it would seem! I accompanied her to a tailor in town. She was having half a wardrobe sewn for herself it seemed. 3 silk shirts, a blouse, a jacket, a sari and a few other pieces. Her husband had 2 wool suits being made. She tried on a few things , mainly her sari.

After the tailors, her driver took us to a temple. We had to take our shoes off and check them. No cameras or cell phones were allowed either. No chewing gum or foods allowed in our purse. This was a polytheistic temple. all through the temple with different idols. There were walkways to go up to the idol, bow, make the appropriate funny hand signs and get a mark on your forehead. I had no desire to do so, but it was interesting to walk around and see it all.

I have been having some mild asthma stuff since yesterday. The air is so muggy and polluted here! I could barely breath at the tailors- which was on the 3rd floor of a skinny building. I tried my inhaler after I got out and to my surprise I discovered it was empty. oh great. I breath long and deep through my nose. At the temple it is worse as I am climbing all these stairs. I had to sit down a couple times and it was all I could do to breath without a major panic attack. I felt like I was suffocating. I tried my inhaler again- hoping the fumes would at least do SOMETHING. Then when we got out I bought a cold COKE. The cold liquid and the caffeine and the AC in the car helped a lot.. Tomorrow I will stay in my nice A/C hotel room all day!

I don't think I have jet lag. I landed here Tuesday, rested a bit, went to bed on time (around 10) and woke at 5AM. that is a little early, but really not early enough to be jetlag I don't think. I didn't have a jetlag problem going to China (or coming home) either. Brian always gets jetlag for a week.



here is a picture from outside the tailor shop:


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