An American in India, for the first time

Have been all over India the past two weeks for work with my friend and colleague D. This is his first trip to the "developing" world, and, well, I've known him for a few years, and he has never been what you might call an adventurous eater. I was worried. Our director was worried. His wife was worried. My wife was worried.


You know what? D. did just fine. He more than managed. Of course, he was a little bit thrown into the deep end, as having landed up mid-morning, our hotel was serving neither breakfast nor lunch, I wheeled him over to my grandmother's house, where the food is very vegetarian, very hot, and well, he was going to have to eat with his hands.


By the end of our tour, D. was ordering things even I'd not heard of. Drinking Indian wines. He preferred Reveilo to Grover Vineyards and Chateau Indage, and I can't say I disagree.


He was buying sarees. And negotiating the prices.


He was even playing cricket.


Well, almost. Once we got him facing in the right direction, he was sort of playing cricket.


Ok, so not everything made sense, but not bad for the first time round. Now he's on his way back to the U.S. I've got a flight to Singapore later tomorrow, will spend half a day there, have dinner with my relatives and then head on to Japan.