July 29, 2003 My First Time in a Pub! Ever!
Well, another day has gone by and today I am actually putting everything straight into the computer...no go between hand writing...Yesterday was another long and fun day...I was originally supposed to go to the Desikachar Yoga center about 20 minutes from here, but then Ravin's mother, the "organizer", decided I would be in too much of a rush because I had to be back by 1 to eat lunch before my 3 o'clock massage...so I cancelled the appointment and made a new one for Wednesday. And then decided to go out shopping and called Rachel, the new Israeli lady I met here, and she met me and we went off to check out the local department store...Kind of like a small size Mashbir...(Macy's, whatever) . But the first worry here in the house was that is was a very hot day since the sun was shining and that I must take an umbrella and hat to keep the sun off me!. It is altogether a 5 minutes walk up to the corner, but they were all quite concerned. Well, truth of the matter is, my last walk in Tel Aviv when I went to pick up my tickets from El Al was 100 times worse...there is actually a cool breeze here and although it is muggy, it is not terrible. and there are plenty of trees lining the street so most of our walking was in the shade anyway. And I enjoyed seeing the sun for the first time since I left home!
The store was wonderful. First of all, it was air-conditioned...had forgotten how pleasant it is to come off a hot street and into an air conditioned building. They have absolutely beautiful clothing, both Indian and Western and a very large variety of designer type stuff which is "very" expensive...as much as 1400 rupees for a full set but 300-500 rupees for a nice top. So, I just prowled around yesterday looking with Rachel, but will go back and buy some other day. I will check out another shopping mall where I am going to check out a big bookstore Landmark and will check the styles and prices there also. There really is no need to have clothes sewn when such nice things are available ready made. And I know nothing about fabric so have no way of knowing if what I get from a fabric store is good or not etc. Ravin's mother is willing to come with me to a tailor but also recommended first seeing if I can get what I like ready made... I will also check out Anokhi when I get up to Delhi and probably also buy a couple of things there as well, since I have NOTHING which compares with the clothing I bought there and his mother said I will have a hard time finding quality fabric similar what they use in their clothing in any fabric store. She had never seen clothing from Anokhi and was quite impressed with the styling and quality of the cotton...she is, as her son says, "a woman who loves to spend money" ...she has champagne taste and it drives her son crazy since they must start budgeting for medical care and she refuses to change her life'...she wants to continue living "in the manner she has become accustomed to"...but I imagine it is very difficult to change a life style...many people at home in Israel have found themselves in the same place over the past couple of years with all the Hi Tech companies collapsing etc... Money is not everything, but it certainly makes life alot easier when you have it.
Well, enough of that...after that we went across the street, checked out a local hairdresser since I am still thinking about having my hair cut...I don't know if it is the water here, but my hair looks terrible all the time! On the other hand, it took me so long to grow it, I hate to cut it now. I'll wait a little longer and see. Then I saw a beautiful florist shop and went in and bought some flowers for Rita. Hope she likes them...I';m not so sure but it made me feel better that I was able to bring her something for all her hospitality.
Then I came home, ate lunch and again had my massage...This time we were careful not to get any oil on the burn area and also covered it for cleansing afterwards...
Then went to rest, read, listen to music talk to Ravin...we have fascinating conversations about so many topics...I am finding out so many things about different cultures, as he is...I was telling him about some things in daily life in Israel and he finally came to the conclusion that he could not live there. Wonder why? (Nothing to do with the security situation...just social etc.)
Then we decided to go out. At first he thought we would all go, his parents as well to Movin Pik (there is one of these in Dovrat (In Israel) as well) ...don't think I spelled it correctly...and have ice cream or coffee etc., but in the end we went off to a fancy bar in a fancy hotel. It was quite nice...I had beer (!) and we had some more pleasant conversation, laughed and just enjoyed the ambience...As most of you know, I NEVER go out to places like that and it was a novel experience for me sitting in a bar drinking and talking...and to think I had to come to India to do that! New things every day in life! Ravin is a wonderful companion and I will sadly miss his company when I leave him in a couple of weeks...
Now, while we were sitting there, he says you must go see the loo...they have got the most unusual sink! Well, always one for interesting sites, and after a beer I had to pee anyway, so went off to the loo....first of all, the lobby of the hotel was amazingly beautiful and unique...very simple but quite impressive with lots of glass, bamboo (enormous pieces), and unusual architecture etc...one wall of glass with water flowing behind it...just beautiful...don't know if I am describing it well...but it was quite impressive and well done and in very good taste. Well, I got to the loo, and immediately looked for the sink. And didn't find one! Along one wall were 3 faucets at some distance from each other, and then the whole length of the wall just a pale green frosted sheet of glass! OK..I went to pee and then curiously came over wondering how I could turn the water on...does the glass have a secret opening in it? does it cover the "real" sink?...couldn't figure it out...so, very hesitantly I turned on the water...it just pours straight onto the glass and then, because of a precise angling of the glass, runs off into what must be a drain system of some sort. Truly unique and quite clever...simple and practical....and very easy to keep clean...very interesting concept in design...Ravin was quite pleased to see my expression when I came back...
We stayed there for a while and then came home, dinner and quite late off to bed. And now it is this morning...I will be going to get my glasses checked today...
The store was wonderful. First of all, it was air-conditioned...had forgotten how pleasant it is to come off a hot street and into an air conditioned building. They have absolutely beautiful clothing, both Indian and Western and a very large variety of designer type stuff which is "very" expensive...as much as 1400 rupees for a full set but 300-500 rupees for a nice top. So, I just prowled around yesterday looking with Rachel, but will go back and buy some other day. I will check out another shopping mall where I am going to check out a big bookstore Landmark and will check the styles and prices there also. There really is no need to have clothes sewn when such nice things are available ready made. And I know nothing about fabric so have no way of knowing if what I get from a fabric store is good or not etc. Ravin's mother is willing to come with me to a tailor but also recommended first seeing if I can get what I like ready made... I will also check out Anokhi when I get up to Delhi and probably also buy a couple of things there as well, since I have NOTHING which compares with the clothing I bought there and his mother said I will have a hard time finding quality fabric similar what they use in their clothing in any fabric store. She had never seen clothing from Anokhi and was quite impressed with the styling and quality of the cotton...she is, as her son says, "a woman who loves to spend money" ...she has champagne taste and it drives her son crazy since they must start budgeting for medical care and she refuses to change her life'...she wants to continue living "in the manner she has become accustomed to"...but I imagine it is very difficult to change a life style...many people at home in Israel have found themselves in the same place over the past couple of years with all the Hi Tech companies collapsing etc... Money is not everything, but it certainly makes life alot easier when you have it.
Well, enough of that...after that we went across the street, checked out a local hairdresser since I am still thinking about having my hair cut...I don't know if it is the water here, but my hair looks terrible all the time! On the other hand, it took me so long to grow it, I hate to cut it now. I'll wait a little longer and see. Then I saw a beautiful florist shop and went in and bought some flowers for Rita. Hope she likes them...I';m not so sure but it made me feel better that I was able to bring her something for all her hospitality.
Then I came home, ate lunch and again had my massage...This time we were careful not to get any oil on the burn area and also covered it for cleansing afterwards...
Then went to rest, read, listen to music talk to Ravin...we have fascinating conversations about so many topics...I am finding out so many things about different cultures, as he is...I was telling him about some things in daily life in Israel and he finally came to the conclusion that he could not live there. Wonder why? (Nothing to do with the security situation...just social etc.)
Then we decided to go out. At first he thought we would all go, his parents as well to Movin Pik (there is one of these in Dovrat (In Israel) as well) ...don't think I spelled it correctly...and have ice cream or coffee etc., but in the end we went off to a fancy bar in a fancy hotel. It was quite nice...I had beer (!) and we had some more pleasant conversation, laughed and just enjoyed the ambience...As most of you know, I NEVER go out to places like that and it was a novel experience for me sitting in a bar drinking and talking...and to think I had to come to India to do that! New things every day in life! Ravin is a wonderful companion and I will sadly miss his company when I leave him in a couple of weeks...
Now, while we were sitting there, he says you must go see the loo...they have got the most unusual sink! Well, always one for interesting sites, and after a beer I had to pee anyway, so went off to the loo....first of all, the lobby of the hotel was amazingly beautiful and unique...very simple but quite impressive with lots of glass, bamboo (enormous pieces), and unusual architecture etc...one wall of glass with water flowing behind it...just beautiful...don't know if I am describing it well...but it was quite impressive and well done and in very good taste. Well, I got to the loo, and immediately looked for the sink. And didn't find one! Along one wall were 3 faucets at some distance from each other, and then the whole length of the wall just a pale green frosted sheet of glass! OK..I went to pee and then curiously came over wondering how I could turn the water on...does the glass have a secret opening in it? does it cover the "real" sink?...couldn't figure it out...so, very hesitantly I turned on the water...it just pours straight onto the glass and then, because of a precise angling of the glass, runs off into what must be a drain system of some sort. Truly unique and quite clever...simple and practical....and very easy to keep clean...very interesting concept in design...Ravin was quite pleased to see my expression when I came back...
We stayed there for a while and then came home, dinner and quite late off to bed. And now it is this morning...I will be going to get my glasses checked today...
posted by Jane @ 10:24 PM
<< Home