It is a quarter ‘til 9, local time. I slept the entire flight here from Mumbai to Bahrain. It started at 6am. That means I had to be at the airport at 4am, leaving my hotel in South Mumbai at 3am. Of course, I decided to just not sleep. Another rep helped me with this. We ate pizza at a place on Marine Drive that I always hit when staying in South Mumbai. Just as we arrived outside the pizza place, all of Marine Drive was shut down for the motorcade of Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister. He was having dinner at our hotel. We got out of there just in time. After the pizza, we went into the bar next door for a few Bombay & tonics. Had to do it. Next we hailed a cab and went to a shopping and nightlife center known as Phoenix Mills. Some prospective grad students at the fair earlier that day had told me about it. Two of the clubs that we’d been told to go to were closed for private parties. The first we tried to weasel our way into. Didn’t work. The second we just tried to crash. That didn’t work either. Might have been because we were the only ferengi in the joint. The place was popular, but not with foreigners. For our third try we settled on a sports bar, had some more drinks, and played some pool with some rich locals. One gave us quite a ride, back to our hotel in his chauffeured car. I then packed, showered, and was off.
Is this perhaps the last time that I will exit India? Part of me hopes so. I’m tired of runny nose, irritated throat, and loose bowels.
So I sit in the Bahrain airport again. Last time I was here, I believe that I was on my way to a few days off in Goa. This time, I’m headed in the opposite direction, to Istanbul. I’ll have one day there, tomorrow, a Saturday, with nothing scheduled for work. I’ve never been to Istanbul, or Turkey, before. Luckily, one of my infamous exes, the Turk, is there to be my guide.
Here are some views from the rooftop venue where our fair was held…
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